Next Thursday, I’ll be attending the New York Comic Con for the second time.
Due to my hectic work schedule, Thursday was the only date I could attend. It’s also probably the least craziest day of the convention so that’s a bonus. I’m kind of bummed though that the Stranger Things panel’s the next day, but there’s nothing I can do about that.
The first time I went to NYCC was back in 2011 under different circumstances as I got to attend as a press member with then co-worker Kristina Behr (@KristinaBehr and a great person/friend). She was the entertainment reporter at the time and needed a cameraman. Naturally, I volunteered for the job.
It was really the first comic convention I attended so imagine our surprise when we saw people dressed up in both cool and sometimes weird costumes. I particularly remember a guy dressed up as Beetlejuice and Kristina doing an interview with him that was pretty odd even for us. It was something we couldn’t stop talking about afterwards.
Another memory I have was going to the Artist Alley and meeting the Atomic Robo comic creators. They were amazingly awesome and funny. Somewhere in my house, I still have the commission Scott Wegner did for me.
The other memory was that there was a big Avengers movie presence as it was set to premiere shortly. I kept hounding Kristina about how big of a crush I had on Cobie Smulders, who played Agent Hill in the movie and also was in “How I Met Your Mother.”
After an exhausting day, we finally got to the Avengers press junket and Kristina got to interview a number of cast members. After interviewing Cobie, Kristina asked her if I could get a picture with her. Cobie was so incredibly nice and meeting her is still one of my favorite moments of my professional career.
Fast forward to 2016 and now, attending the NYCC is all about collecting.
I noticed earlier on Reddit and the Funko Funatics message board that e-mails were being sent out to notify the winners of the Funko booth lottery. Naturally, I got excited and checked my e-mail…
…to find no such e-mail in my Inbox or junk mail folders.
My first reaction was pretty bitter to be honest. Gone were the dreams of snagging the Thanos XL Dorbz and Pop! Rides Indiana Jones Adventure. I was imagining seeing jacked up prices for both of these on eBay and the bitterness was as bad as a thousand lemons.
The second reaction was the expected “Hey, let’s try to say that I write for PopVinyls and guilt NYCC/Funko into getting a ticket” reaction. I won’t go that route because A) that’s taking away some goods from someone else, and B) I don’t operate that way.
After a few minutes, my bitterness was gone and I thought about the possible stuff I might be able to get instead such as the Fugitive Toys Snoopy Rock the Vote! 3-Pack. Or maybe hunt down some of my personal grails like the Pop! Sonic the Hedgehog series or Unmasked Baymax.
I haven’t decided if I’m going to go for the Toy Tokyo lottery as the only item that interests me is the Count Chocula Dorbz Ridez. It may end up being a “day of” decision.
Whatever happens, I’m sure I’ll make the best of it.
Whether I go home with absolutely nothing (highly unlikely) or a bag full of Pops and Dorbz from other booths (probably), I’ll write about my experience here next week.
Matt Norris