You’re probably wondering what I can add to the NYCC 2014 arena after members of the Pop-Break staff (Luke, Lauren and Al) brought you such fruitful news all weekend long. They met celebrities, sat in panels with exclusive footage, and really just got some good stuff for this here site.
Well, they handled one side of NYCC while I gladly took a majority of the other: walking the show floor. You can’t imagine the scope of the convention unless you’ve been there. Each year it seems that more people crowd into the Jacob Javits Center from the year before. I mean, I remember going in 2007 when I was in the same room with Stan Lee. There was minimal security, a white wall behind him, and probably about 100 people in the room. If Stan Lee guest starred in a panel now, forget seeing him unless you are press, VIP, or extremely lucky.
Just recently the news dropped that NYCC was bigger than San Diego. I believe it. Over 151,000 people attended this year, making it extremely easy to see that wandering around the floor was a task. Booths and exhibitors take up a lot of space as well, so there’s no way you won’t collide into someone at least once.
This was my eighth year at the convention, which encompassed much sight-seeing. Between an epic 75 years of Batman showcase, many toy prototypes which were visible for the first time, beautiful art, or just many eccentric elements, New York Comic-Con is always a feast for the eyes.
Speaking of, during this past weekend I spent some time in virtual reality as Istrapped on Toothless googles for a How to Train Your Dragon flight simulator. You play as Hiccup aboard his trusty dragon, the aforementioned Toothless. The goggles immerse you in the Viking world, and headphones drown out the real world as all you can hear is music and wind. Fans blow on your face to cement the illusion. It was a great time, but sadly it was only a promotion for the blu-ray. Over way too briefly, the demo was definitely worth waiting in line for.
The theme of seeing great things was basically the atmosphere of the weekend. The biggest sight fest was truly the cosplay. 2014 was truly the best year for “dressing up” in all the 8 years I’ve been at the convention. The most popular had to be people turning into Guardians of the Galaxy. Star-Lord, Rocket Racoon, and Groot were huge and most likely the first time these characters were so well loved in costume form by NYCC attendees. In addition, there were some outfits that were just so creative that I was severely impressed. Among them-young Carl and Ellie from Up, a dude as Han Solo with a Millennium Falcon hanging at his torso, a baby Hiccup with a Toothless-disgused push cart, and Muppet Avengers.
I can’t possibly list them all or show them all here. But I can’t begin to imagine how much work people put into their costumes, or how much thought. It really was an outgoing year for cosplay.
And that includes myself. My Saturday at NYCC consisted of donning a costume from The Lego Movie-that of the central character, Emmet. My girlfriend, Jacie, gladly joined the fray as Wyldstyle, also from the film. The team further grew as fellow Pop-Breaker Harry S. Jackson (aka The Chief) only worked in black as Lego Batman. And last but not least, his girlfriend Brittany shipped into costume as Benny the Spaceman.
Our torsos were all homemade, with Harry sporting a Lego Batman head and Brittany a helmet. Cardboard was put to work for all of us, and we all made these costumes weekend projects and tweaked things after work. What was something done for fun (while still time consuming) became a massive part of the weekend we never could’ve imagined.
We were celebrities. Participants in NYCC became our paparazzi. Kids wanted to stand with us. People shouted our “names” as we passed by them. We became featured on websites, YouTube videos, and hashtags. Hell, even Harry’s Batman got a spot on CBS news to promote Lego Batman 3.
It was insane. There’s a likely chance that we will be posted on Facebook without our knowing. People will show our picture to friends and kids. It’s nuts, but man, it was a great feeling. Pure strangers to everyone the day before, a lot of people knew us on Saturday.
I’ve only cosplayed three times before this, but I feel that 2014 may never be topped unless there’s something extreme in my comic-con future. It’s actually been interesting to try out my artistic side and really see how to create a costume without it all being store bought. With that said, I’m going to take the time to list some rules of cosplaying for those who wish to take it on:
1. Aim for homemade. Store bought costumes are fine, but if you can put some work into it, people will respond that much more. Take it from me, it may take a lot of time, but if it is something you love, it’s worth it.
2. Don’t reject a photo. Yes, smiling and posing may become tiring, but don’t ever turn down a photo. This turns people off and makes you seem rude, even though technically your outfit is made for somebody to like and appreciate.
3. Own it. You may be hard on yourself based on the finished product (Im guilty of this, not going to lie), but ultimately somebody loves what you did and that’s more than enough. Criticism can only take you so far; you worked hard, so showcase it!
And that’s pretty much it. It’s actually ironic that this weekend, when cosplay was the highlight, I met Heroes of Cosplay star Yaya Han. She complimented the wardrobe of my girlfriend and I, which was pretty amazing (needless to say she was extremely nice and in addition didn’t charge a ton to meet her. Take notes, celebs). To a lot of people, me and my group were some sort of heroes, mostly in the eyes of kids, which was awesome.
In the end, I don’t feel like I had enough time to really take in the floor this year. For that I fully blame my brush with fame. But whatever time lost was worth it, without regret. Every time I go to New York Comic-Con, there is something that makes it stand out. This year, it wasn’t an item, or a panel, or a celebrity. It was time spent with my friends (some of them master builders). That’s always what means the most to me when it comes NYCC. Always will be.
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Logan J. Fowler is a senior writer and video game editor on Po-Break.com. He contributes his thoughts every week for Trailer Tuesday and has his own column called “A Link to the Past.” Logan’s “kid at heart” nature has led to his discussion about pop culture that many geeks love to talk about, including superheroes, Super Mario Bros., Pixar, and Muppets, amongst other things. In addition, one of his first pieces for the site, “Top Ten Comic Book Movies,” was picked as a “Freshly Pressed” piece by WordPress and remains one of the site’s most well-read articles. Currently, Logan works as a Special Education Instructional Assistant at Roosevelt School in Manville NJ. At the present moment, he is enrolled in Rutgers Online courses, pursuing a Teacher of Student with Disabilities certification. He graduated from Wagner College in 2005 with a Bachelor’s Degree in Elementary Education and in 2007 with a Master of Science in Education Degree in Birth-6th Grade Literacy. Also many of Logan’s friends have said that he moonlights as Spider-Man but this is so not true. Wait, are those police sirens I’m hearing?! Gotta go! -thwipp-
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