As a treat and a belated birthday present, I was fortunate enough to go to New York City Comic Con, one of the East Coast’s largest ‘popular culture’ events, including some of the best-known comic and graphic novel artists, and my favorite– anime and manga characters. The editor of ARTES e-magazine arranged press passes for the event for me and my parents (because I am under 18) and the first thing that stood out for me was how easy our access to the convention was. We had decided that it might be fun to use this opportunity to apply my writing skills to describe the event, becoming the youngest writer to contribute a feature story to the magazine. I was very excited about the possibilities to be at this amazing show and on my first official writing assignment, telling the story from a young-person’s perspective. artes fine arts magazine

My mother, father and I stepped from the subway and out onto the street, walking the four blustery blocks to the Javitz Center, on the city’s West Side. Once outside the building, we were immediately surrounded by a group of costumed, and delightfully geeky convention-goers. Some were just talking to their companions about comic book characters, many were in costume. Among the jovial, costumed pedestrians, one had a rubber snake wrapped around his chest and carried a yellow, construction paper fez. It was now ten a.m., and as we moved at a brisk pace to the main entrance, thanks to our press passes, people wielding megaphones and clad in lime green Comic-Con shirts directed us swiftly past a tight-packed line of people waiting to get in.  After registering and avoiding a half hour’s wait, we entered the main exhibition area, to discover that the size of the projected crowd was still manageable. By this time I was beaming from ear-to-ear, being a longtime lover of manga and anime (short for animation)—the American comics’ Japanese counterpart. Upon entry to the first big room, banners hung from overhead, and tables were loaded with Japanese merchandise. Some tables were edgy, like one that played eerie music and sold metal-studded everything.

Other tables were eye popping. One vended fluorescent cat ears, tails, and spiked, punk respirators that were props for cosplaying. Cosplaying is dressing up as a character from an anime or video game series. I loved pointing out to my parents my knowledge of anime characters. A lot of people cosplayed, even as American pop-culture characters. I couldn’t help hugging a few—like a person that cosplayed Jareth from Jim Henson’s movie Labyrinth.

Despite their being a lot of people zipping around, they were all very friendly. It was entertaining to hear them exclaim some of the same thoughts that I had been thinking to myself. If there ever was a term, “All geeks think alike” it would most definitely apply to this convention. There were people beta-testing the newest video games at desks lined with beautiful artwork, and people on a platform trying out the Lets Dance 3 game for the Wii .

Other electronics consisted of Wacom tablets where you draw on a track pad that was connected to a screen; or you could draw directly on a touch screen. While I was waiting to try out the touch screen, to compare it to my tablet at home, there was a lady that was drawing a character with expert strokes. We struck up a conversation and it turned out that she publishes a Internet comic. When I attempted to draw on the screen, I found it rather clumsy because it was an old model, but it also furthered my respect for the artist before me.

Prototypes of action figures in glass cases were swarmed with fans, and occasional uproars came from stages where they talked of video games and ‘fandom.’  The big thing for every vendor was Katanas – Japanese swords – that you could buy, along with other pointy ninja weapons. Unfortunately, you had to be eighteen to hold one, so I wasn’t allowed. Some stalls exhibited intricate action figures, imported games from Japan, and there was also shelf-upon-shelf of Manga.

Upstairs, after a quick lunch break at the cafeteria (where there was a lot of options for good food) we toured the main anime portion of the convention. This room was smaller, but wasn’t crowded and there was a lot more opportunity to talk to the artists.

I was overjoyed to meet an artist that had been a longtime favorite of mine (username Zeiva) that I had followed on an art sharing website—Deviantart. She lives in California, but came to sell absolutely beautiful prints of her digital art. It was fabulous to talk to her about her art and she was very nice, and I couldn’t resist getting a couple of her gorgeous prints. I was star-struck to meet one of my idols. The tables on this higher level were mostly handmade craft artists, there was a lot of clay figures, stickers and buttons. One of the most reoccurring themes for pins were Hayao Miyazaki movies, such as Spirited Away, Doctor Who, Kingdom Hearts and oddly enough, the kid show My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic. This show, seemingly intended for young girls has earned itself a fan-base of much older viewers, mostly guys, but seems deserving of the vast variety of viewers. Internet centered video’s, called Memes, were also featured, such as Nyan Cat. Beyond these stalls was a big, open atrium with a fantastic view of the Hudson River, complete with food services and demos of card games. Cosplayers unwound at tables and there was a live show discussing various anime-related subjects.

Downstairs was another mammoth room, mostly featuring small comic book presses and reading areas. It was mainly focused around the drawn, American comics, which ranged from superhero to realistic dramas. This area connected to the first we had explored earlier in the morning. By this time, it was about three in the afternoon and the crowds were so dense, you had to plow through them, or possibly maneuver through them like a game of Tetris. My parents and I concurred that it was about time to leave, deeming that it was too busy to get anywhere. After soaking in all that I could, I knew it would be better to go, after enjoying myself to the fullest over those last hours. My experience was that it would be difficult to return to a stall later in the day because the isles became too dense with people. But, the turnout of all the fans and junkies was very good for these traveling artists who pay to have stalls and meet the spectacular people that popped up at this convention.

Whether you are a fan or not, this trade show is an amazing experience, and an experience you should have at least once in your life. Even after the convention, I have memories I will relish for years to come. Hope to see you at Comic Con 2012!

By Sasha Rubin, Contributing Student Writer