Aftermath: New York Comic Con 2012

Made *quite* the splash this year!

Oh New York Comic Con, you and I have such a checkered past. You are the Catwoman to my Batman, the Fujiko to my Lupin- you seduce me with your delightful insanity and crazy outfits and promises of wild adventures only to totally burn me after I finally give in to the idea of us being together. If you weren't in my own backyard I wouldn't even consider us a possibility, as the cost of attending for an out-of-towner I imagine is ludicrously expensive. But yet- I've attended every year since you started 6 years ago and have seen you evolve from a total mess of Fire Marshall shutdowns and hand-written pro-badges to what may well be the first year you've finally gotten your shit together.

"All the world is waiting for yoooou---!!'

I attended this year's NYCC with not the highest of expectations- the show has basically become the east coast's answer to San Diego Comic Con, which though I've never attended myself, has notoriously become a total over-crowded mess less about comics and more about focus groups and test markets. Even the Artist Alley, which has been pushed further back into the corner every year, was outright separated from the con- to the point of no longer even being in the same building! I was outraged! Talk about a leper colony! How COULD they DO this to us?? Even when I got to the actual show on Thursday I had my reservations- bag checks? K-9 officers? Ha-RUMPF! 

Well, I must say- NYCC did eventually win me over. Sure the floor was insane and the seas of people you had to go thru to get from Point A to Point B made even the shortest distance an hour-long trip, but I have to say that what they did with Artist Alley was actually a pretty good move. By separating it from the spectacle of the main exhibition hall and giving it it's own huuge exhibition hall of it's own, Artist Alley itself almost became it's own show. It was easily the size of MoCCA fest or other smaller shows, plus the somewhat lengthy hike to AA from the main exhibition hall provided a nice filter of people who were at the show because they actually give a shit about the medium and those who just want to see cars, booth babes and video games. Not to say it wasn't crowded in AA, but it was def more manageable than everywhere else at the show. I definitely want to look into tabling at AA next year for NYCC. Hopefully I won't have the trouble I did two years ago trying to land a spot.

Wore my Wonder Woman outfit on Friday, which is always a good time!
(Photo: Steve Bunche)

Wonder Wooooomannnnn!
(Photo: Steve Bunche)

Since I was table-free and wandering the show, I figured I'd bust out a couple costumes as well. Friday I wore my tried-and-true Rockabilly Wonder Woman outfit that's always a crowd pleaser, though this was I think the first year I wore it while walking around. I found a corner in the hallway leading to AA that I chilled at for about 2 hours and got lots of pics snapped and even wound up on a news blog or two!! I also was easily recognized by lots of friends and saw lots of folks I hadn't seen in awhile. But awesome as the reception was for my WW costume was, I hadn't expected such an AMAZING a response as I got for the costume I wore Saturday!

Retro Power Girl!
(Photo by Bethany Fong of Comics Alliance)

My concept drawing of my Retro Power Girl costume!

Saturday I wore my Retro Power Girl costume, which I had been working on for the past month and had been planning on doing since right after my wedding last year. Why my wedding? well- the dress, you see, is actually my *wedding dress* repurposed for the costume! And there must have been some leftover bridal mojo left in it, because the reception for my outfit was a bananas! I really wanted to wear another superhero costume in the same vein as my WW outfit, and seeing as how PG and myself have some similar... endowments, she seemed a logical next choice. However, not wanting to wear her actual costume as I don't want my ass hanging out, I opted for a retro version and once I incorporated my wedding dress into the costume it def took a Marilyn Monroe turn. Which is is a look I've played around with before. It was pretty funny too, as I didn't wear my glasses or contacts and had my normally black hair under a blonde wig- a lot of people didn't recognize me! So I had to go up to my friends and say hello- and only then did they realize it was me. Which was pretty fun! Everyone loved it! I couldn't have been happier- I felt like Cinderella! ^_^  Quoth the ever-awesome Chris Sims on Twitter (who's movie reviews on Comics Alliance are SO getting a TILT entry...): ".@PaigeyPumphrey's pin-up Power Girl outfit got into Best Cosplay Ever like five times this weekend." Like here, oh and here! Which I have the fantastic Bethany Fong to thank for, I was lucky to run into her so many times over the weekend and talk about how cute our outfits are. Me n' her- kindred spirits. I also managed to get on The Beat thanks to my friend Torsten! Probably my top NYCC experience however was getting to spend some time with my artistic hero AMANDA CONNER- who LOVED my costumes and even invited me to chill behind her table with her a bit. So beyond thrilled to have spent some time with her, as a fellow female comic artist she is like my Michael Jordan. ^_________^; Many thanks to Steve Bunche for helping out with this spectacular meetup!

 I may look cool as a cucumber her, but inside my
fangirlish 'squeeeeee's are DEAFENING.
(Photo: Steve Bunche) 

Me with Amanda's version of Power Girl!
(Photo: Steve Bunche)

So yeah, I was pleasantly surprised by how well NYCC went this year- even though I couldn't make it out to any after parties aas I was too poor and tired I still got to spend some quality time with almost everyone and meet some new friends and fans.