New York Comic Con. A Comic Con in New York. Comics were there.
NYAF sucked. That wasn’t going to stop me from checking out the NYCC, which you could say is like an Otakon for westerners. Except… it was Otakon, and then some (in scope, not in execution. NYCC did not get Jam Project to perform, to my chagrin). This Con had Western Comics, Eastern Comics (known to some of you as manga), Cartoons, Anime, Video Games, Novels, Webcomics, and… well, a totality of geek culture. Cosplay abounded, as did a few shameful elements of our culture (Hug Me signs and Yaoi paddles ranking high). My main goal for the con was to go to the booths of my two favorite webcomics – LeastICouldDo and Penny Arcade. As ambitious as those goals are, I managed to accomplish them, so I rewarded myself with five apple pies (note – author did not eat five apple pies). Along the way, I learned a few things – for example, Tycho’s favorite author is Mark Twain. Writing this makes me feel like i’m in the seedy world of tabloids – I think I’ll do a story on Britney’s baby next.
I found my way into a Warhammer Online post-con party on Saturday, which was an awesome time. (Dave and Busters is surprisingly good at making cheeseburgers!). I felt like a bit of a fish out of water at first – conversations opened there with “Hi, I’m so and so, what server do you play on?”, and I don’t play Warhammer. Once I learned what a Squig Herder was, things got better. There was Rock Band – the game’s lead (some sort of Jeff) possessed a rich baritone (and one of his favorite games is Zelda. That’s it, I’m applying at the Enquirer). I gave a particuarly spirited rendition of Wanted Dead or Alive – I should really get out to Karaoke more often. I don’t play the game, but the Q+A session at the end was a lot of fun – almost all of the devs were comfortable on stage, and witty. Afterwards, some of the devs and I went bar-hopping – there was a great Southern Rock band playing at Smith’s Bar, and there was a great crazy old man dancing in front of the stage. The White Russian I had was not so great. The overall feel I got from the devs was one of passion, dedication, and a genuine belief that their game is awesome. I’m not sure if my computer can run their game, but I’ll definitely give it a try – passion always produces great products (say that three times fast).