Aftermath: NYCC 2014

OMG, New York Comic Con... My last show of the season and most definitely my busiest, craziest and 'chew-you-up-and-spit-you-out'-iest. This 4-day behemoth of nerd and pop culture (Oct 9-12) was the site of our lovely 10x10 shared booth #2875 on the Exhibitor floor, that I shared with partners-in-crime Little Asian Sweatshop and Maria Danalakis.

Got my Natalie Dormer smirk on!

I came in to start setting up Tuesday by bringing our tables and chairs, because on the Exhibitor floor you are only buying space. You can rent tables and chairs from the convention center, but you will be charged an arm and a leg for them. I just went ahead and bought some fold away tables at Home Depot. Still cheaper. Wednesday all three of us came in and brought our merch and started setting up our booth. We have also started realizing the amazingness of TARPS! We can set up all our stuff and just leave it on the table if it's covered! Before, we used to take everything and put it under the table, then every morning of the show put it back where it was. It was a huge pain. Not anymore, tarps are where it's at!

Each different color was a price group. Dark blue where we were was the 'cheap seats', but still was almost 2 grand for just a 10x10 space.

Tuesday's load-in, all by myself! 2 tables, 2 chairs!

Wednesday's setup! Home for the next 4 days!

 Thursday was crazy. I don't know if it was that Johnny-Come-Lately ticket holders could only get that day because they're not used to the INSANITY that NYCC has become or what. (Seriously people, start paying attention.) But Thursday was literally like a Saturday at any other show, but spread over about 4 football fields and consistently busy. We were NOT expecting that, especially with what little we knew about traffic on the main floor. Most of my experience on the main floor of NYCC has been in passing (save for 2010 when I shared a booth), passing and weaving and trying to get from point A to point B in one piece. But behind the safety of 'Fort Booth' we at least could stand in our own personal bubbles and take in the crazy crowd flows and people watch. And of course, network and make money! The crowds were so crazy on Thursday that almost half of mine and Fenny's giveaway promo postcards were GONE. And we got A THOUSAND of them, each! Fenny and I were thinking we'd have to run to Staples in Midtown and run off some Xeroxes before they close. Which would have suuuuucked. And then this is how smart and awesome my husband is: while at home, he found a local print shop that can make us actual postcards and then suggested Fenny and I get 1 card with both our graphics on either side. See, we had both been giving out individual cards. At the same events, where we're usually standing right next to each other. If we have one card for the both of us- twice as many cards to go around. Duhhhhh, me. Which is good, because with rush fees we had to shell out like $430 for them. A mistake we won't make again. Plus now- double exposure for our brands!

Our view from the booth of the far left wall of the main exhibit hall

Since all 3 of us girls love to dress up for shows but wanted to wear different stuff but still match in some weird way, we decided each of our days would have a theme. Thursday was TRAVEL! I was a Stewardess, Fenny was a Star Trek OS ensign and Maria was a sailor! So by air, by space and by sea!

We are now beginning our descent into NYCC. Please return your trays to their upright position

I think the addition of my beehive wig really adds to it.

With the crowds as crazy as they were, there were also no announcements being made for the exhibitor floor closing at 7pm. Actually as far as I could tell there weren't any announcements at all on the exhibitor floor. So at 7, the floors were still full of attendees and potential customers. I mean it's not like all of the people on the floor are just going to "poof", go away right as the clock strikes 7. So they *finally* got con staff to go down each aisle and herd the attendees down towards the exits around 7:30. Which sucked because we were trying to get down to the Rawr! Burlesque show in Dumbo, Brooklyn at 8 and totally missed it. Boo. Oh well, we got burritos.

Aw! Maria's sisters came by to wish us luck!

Then came FRIDAY!! We were already BEAT just from Thursday. We took a car service from my apartment in Williamsburg, Brooklyn to the Javits Center all the way over on the Hudson in Manhattan. Traffic was crazy. Today's dress-up theme was FORMAL FRIDAY. Fenny and I bagged our outfits to put on at the show, because they were redonk and we were going to again attempt to go out after the show.

Still kicking! Let's do this!!

I was Andy Warhol Marilyn Monroe, much like I was at Dr. Sketchy's Factory Party way back when. I went without my glasses, so most people I know were indistinguishable blobs until they came within 6 feet of me. Fenny wore her wedding dress with Chun-Li hair buns and Maria was proper dainty lady. It was busy Friday but almost not as crazy as Thursday, which was weird. It was still busy enough though. Marilyn was a bit much to wear for vending a show as intense as NYCC, it's really a drinking and partying costume. In a well-lit bar. The restrictive dress, lashes, gloves and blue fur stole are fine for 3-4 hours, but a 9 hour workday and you wanna rip everything off and go screaming naked down the aisles. As the day progressed you could see my wig slide further back on my head, haha.

Marilyn!

Formal Friday Booth Selfie!!

More Marilyn.

Our booth, looking slightly more disheveled.

After the show on Friday we went and saw the opening of Daughters of the Atom, an X-Men tribute art show at One-Shot Gallery, which is in St. Marks Comics in the East Village. I had done a Ladytron piece for this gallery over the summer for an Image Comics tribute show.

I did two pieces this go around- Illyana Rasputin, aka Magik and her best friend Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat. You can see more about my pieces (including purchasing information) and the rest of the pieces in the show at the online gallery!

Illyana

Kitty and her dragon Lockheed.

Me at the opening, I'm so tired.

We were already pretty over everything by the time Saturday rolled around. Commuting to the show was awful. The trains were all screwed up by my house so we had to take a car and it was raining like crazy. Getting in was a cattle call. I had a mild freakout. It was a rough start.

"A Joe in a Pit of SNAKES!"

Our theme today was 'Retro G.I.Joe and Cobra'! Fenny and I reprised our roles as Office Baroness and Cobra HR Manager and were joined by tablemate Maria as G.I. Jane and special guest star cosplay buddie Val as "Shirley from the Crimson Guard division".

Me and the Boss.

I was a grumpy Baroness- my hair curled up in the rain.

Maria was adorably earnest as G.I.Jane.

As far as Saturday went, it was pretty busy. By lunchtime we had all made back our table costs, so yay! Most of it was a blur. I know Fenny and I went home and stuffed delivery nachos in our faces over the stove. We were also in bed by 10:00- because we're all about that rock and roll lifestyle, amirite??

Gone without a trace.

Sunday's theme was "We're SO TIRED!" Nothing fancy, just us and our normal clothes. 

Casual Sunday!

All three of us did awesome this year! It took me about a week to recover and a day of bed rest just to catch up on sleep! I just want to say thank you to everyone who came by our table over the weekend. My body may have been chewed up and spit out, but my heart is over the moon seeing all your lovely faces. Let's do it all again next year, because it's going to take me that long to forget how bad my calves hurt at the end of the show.