Autumn in New York is a special time indeed. The phrase itself is special enough to have inspired a song and a movie at the very least. Summer is great in the city, but it can be oppressively hot. So, when fall begins to take over, the city seems to breathe a collective sigh of relief. The swelter gives way to cooler temperatures. The weekly escape to the Hamptons and the Jersey Shore ceases and people begin to recapture their love affair with the Big Apple. Personally, I've always loved being in New York in the fall. A brisk walk through Central Park on an autumn Saturday is pretty hard to beat…unless, of course if it's Columbus Day weekend. On that particular weekend the city yields its midtown streets to a particularly fascinating group of individuals. That's because Columbus Day weekend in New York is also Comic Con Weekend when the Jacob Javitts Convention Center on the west side of Manhattan turns into pop culture central.
The 2018 New York Comic Con show floor. Photo by Chris Barry.
Comic Con is not just about comics anymore. It hasn't been for years. Now it's about movies, television, animation, video games, collectibles, toys, books, clothing, props, cosplay, anime, and so much more. It's become a focal point of the entertainment industry. A strong presence at one of the major comic conventions like New York, Chicago, or San Diego is an essential aspect of any good promotional plan. If you think this audience will latch onto your book, movie, or game then you're there in full force. If this crowd embraces it, it becomes entrenched in the collective psyche of this community and that translates into financial success.
New York Comic Con has become a fall tradition for me and my kids. We've been going together for years now and there's no end in sight. My daughter has been away at school in Boston for the past two years, and each year she's made the pilgrimage back home to attend NYCC with me, her brothers, and a small group of her best friends, who also return home to New York for the weekend just to attend. We converge on New York City's west side for a day, sometimes two. It's exhausting. It's fun. It's exhilarating. It's crazy. Most of all, it's time spent with thousands of other like-minded individuals. I love this crowd. They're some of the best, most interesting, creative, accepting, and wonderful people that I've been fortunate enough to spend time with.
As a Disney fan, I'm there on a quest. I'm there seeking out what the Walt Disney Company and all of its entities have to offer. Nowadays, with the company owning Marvel and Star Wars, you can't turn a corner without seeing something that can be traced back to Disney. As a traditionalist and as a MousePlanet staff member, I'm there really looking for Disney, not Captain America, nor Darth Vader. As in previous years, it's become obvious that the Walt Disney Company saves its big panels, screenings, and revelations for their own version of Comic Con—the D23 Expo—so sometimes you have to look hard to find Mickey and friends represented at NYCC. Let's take a look at what I found in my weekend of searching with my Top 5 at 2018 New York Comic Con.
5 – Chevrolet Disney-Wrapped Vehicles
One of the coolest promotional displays in recent New York Comic Con history had to be the Disney-wrapped Chevys right inside the main lobby of the Javitts Center. As you walked in you were greeted by a Mickey Mouse 90th birthday Chevy Bolt…
Chevrolet celebrates Mickey's 90th by giving him a car all his own. Photo by Chris Barry.
…a dark and mysterious Chevy Equinox celebrating the 25th Anniversary of the The Nightmare Before Christmas…
Jack Skellington and Sally were driving “The Nightmare Before Christmas” Chevy Equinox. Photo by Chris Barry.
…and the show-stopping Chevy Corvette emblazoned with Cinderella; Jasmine and Aladdin; Belle and Beast; and Ariel on the front hood.
The hood of the brand new Corvette features Ariel from “The Little Mermaid.” Photo by Chris Barry.
These vehicles were a popular photo-op for sure, but it would have been awfully cool if they let you enter into a drawing for a chance to drive one of them home. As much as I love Mickey Mouse, I suppose it would be pretty awesome to win the Corvette. I could go out and buy a Bolt or an Equinox, but there's no Corvette in my immediate future, never mind one wrapped in classic Disney characters!
4 – DuckTales Comics
I was a huge fan of the original DuckTales series back on The Disney Afternoon in the late 1980s. I think I loved that series because it was inspired by some of my favorite comics of all time, the Carl Banks Disney “Duck” comic books. Carl Banks created around 700 comic books centered around the residents of Duckburg, primarily Donald, his nephews, and Uncle Scrooge. These books featured Donald and his brood going off on adventures throughout the world and even into outer space.
George Lucas referred to the Carl Banks series of comics as “cinematic.” He and Steven Spielberg even credit the legendary giant rolling boulder booby trap scene from Raiders of the Lost Ark to a Carl Banks Scrooge McDuck comic book. The original DuckTales series followed in the same tradition as the original Banks stories and that's what made the show special. Years later, in 2017, I couldn't have been happier when Disney decided to reboot the series for Disney XD and Disney Channel.
Joe Caramagna, writer of DuckTales, signs my issue #1. Photo by Chris Barry.
It seemed only natural to come full circle and bring the newest version of DuckTales back to its roots, comic books. In 2017, IDW Publishing began a new series of DuckTales comics. The IDW booth is always a stop for me at New York Comic Con. They've released some of my favorite comic series over the last 10 years and are now partnering with Disney to produce comics featuring the aforementioned residents of Duckburg, as well as Mickey Mouse and the longest running Disney comic series of all time Walt Disney's Comics and Stories.
IDW had a convention edition cover of DuckTales #1 available for sale. Writer Joe Caramagna was there signing the limited edition books, and we had a great chat about the history of the series and both of our attachments to the adventures of Donald, his uncle, and his nephews. Meeting the authors and artists of the books you love is always a high point of any comic convention, and my talk with Joe was a highlight of my day at New York Comic Con. Not to mention, I now have a convention exclusive edition of DuckTales #1 signed by the author. Pretty cool.
3 – Disney Cosplay
Cosplay—dressing up in costumes representing your favorite superheroes, video game stars, animated characters, or movie stars—is a staple of any comic convention. You can't walk ten feet without running into Spiderman, Batman, Goku from Dragon Ball, or various The Walking Dead characters. I always get a big kick out of the more unusual cosplayers. Last year I loved the Bob Ross and the year before it was Arthur the aardvark. This year seemed to be the year of Rick and Morty cosplaying. They were everywhere.
Of course, I was looking for people dressed up as Disney characters. I saw some Belles, a few Annas and Elsas, and a great Rapunzel and Flynn Rider. My three favorites are in the three photos below. Following up on my DuckTales fandom, I was pretty happy to see this woman's take on Launchpad McQuack.
I found a female Launchpad McQuack checking out the Disney vehicles. Photo by Chris Barry.
There were a few Kim Possibles walking around, but this pair dressed as Kim and her pal Ron Stoppable complete with Rufus, the naked mole rat, were my favorite.
Kim Possible and Ron Stoppable at New York Comic Con 2018. Photo by Chris Barry.
My favorite Disney cosplay of the whole show was this family dressed up as characters from Coco.
Miguel and his family from “Coco.” Photo by Chris Barry.
2 – Disney Producer/Animator John Pomeroy
Imagine my surprise when I stumbled upon an honest to goodness Disney animator at New York Comic Con. John Pomeroy joined Disney in the early 1970s and worked on such Disney classics as The Many Adventures of Winnie The Pooh, The Rescuers and Pete's Dragon. He then left Disney with Don Bluth to form Don Bluth Productions where he produced and animated such films as The Secret of NIMH, An American Tail, and The Land Before Time as well as the Dragon's Lair video games.
When Bluth closed up shop, Pomeroy returned to Disney and worked on the next generation of Disney classics like Pocahontas, Fantasia 2000, The Tigger Movie, and one of my all-time favorites, the highly underrated Atlantis: The Lost Empire. It was the latter film that I spoke to John about, telling him how much I appreciated Atlantis and felt that it doesn't get the credit that it deserves. Another fan felt the same way and was also telling him this simultaneously. John seemed genuinely flattered, speaking about how Atlantis was a labor of love for all involved, and that it was so good to hear from fans of the film. It seemed almost like a validation to him, and it should be. His work spoke to me and this other fan.
John Pomeroy's sketch of John Smith from “Pocahontas.” Photo by Chris Barry.
This encounter is the kind of thing that many fans go to Comic Con for: to meet and have a conversation with an artist or a writer that they admire. I didn't expect to meet John Pomeroy that day, so I was thrilled to spot his booth and pay him a visit. It makes you feel good to be able to praise an artist in person, especially when the work he created has spoken to you, and even more so when you feel that the work he created doesn't get its due. I was glad to see that I wasn't alone in my love of Atlantis and I'm quite sure that Mr. Pomeroy appreciated our kind words. I love Pocahontas. It's a beautiful film, but I could have talked to John about Atlantis all day.
1 – Amourable Art by Pat Kenrick
To me, Comic Con isn't about the celebrity panels or the sneak peeks at upcoming films. It's about the fans. The people that attend conventions like New York Comic Con do so because they feel a powerful connection to the worlds created by this room full of storytellers. They buy the clothes, collect the merchandise, read the books, and watch the films because they revel in the escape that it provides them. Sometimes the fan gets to become the exhibitor as they get to pay tribute to the films, characters, and stories that have meant so much to them. Those are the booths at Comic Con that I love discovering. I admire a fan that has taken their passion, turned it into something creative, and are now on the other side of the aisle showing and selling their wares at the show.
I walked into Pat Kenrick's booth and immediately fell in love with his art. It has a simplicity to it that is often very hard to find at a comic convention. It's a wonderful marriage of pop culture fandom and fine art. His watercolor, cut, and paste technique produces some truly unique imagery and I just had to buy myself Peter Pan…
Peter Pan and Tinker Bell as imagined by artist Pat Kenrick. Photo by Chris Barry.
…and I brought my wife home Tigger.
Tigger as imagined by artist Pat Kenrick. Photo by Chris Barry.
I also bought my daughter a wonderful Harry Potter print of the Three Brothers from the final Harry Potter films. Pat does a beautiful job honoring the people, places, and things from his favorite stories, books, and films while simultaneously creating beautiful works of art. It was my favorite discovery at this year's New York Comic Con, and I'm sure you readers out there would love his work as well. Check it out at www.AmourableArt.com.
Another New York Comic Con has come and gone. I went. I spent. I walked and walked and walked some more. I met as many interesting and wonderful people as I have in years past, and I had a total blast doing so. I know going to Comic Con has become a bit of a scene. It's gotten increasingly harder over the years to secure tickets, especially for Saturday. Over the last few years, the organizers have made fans jump through many hoops to get tickets as they continue to try and keep badges out of the hands of scalpers and ticket brokers. Despite that, New York Comic Con is a fantastic event with so much to offer so many people. Fans of all ages and walks of life can head over to the west side of Manhattan each year and let their geek flags fly.
At every comic convention I go to, large and small, I make it a point to seek out as much Disney material that I can find. I found some fantastic Disney related stuff at New York Comic Con this year. I also make it a point at every con I attend to look for one new, up and coming, or independent comic or book to bring home. As much as I'm looking for that elusive Justice League comic to add to my collection, I'm also there to discover something new and give someone else their shot. This year, that comic book was called Star Power. I spent some time at the creator's table in the Artist Alley section of Comic Con. The art work intrigued me and I wasn't disappointed when I got home and read the book. If you're into good comics and are looking for something new and different, yet classic and approachable at the same time, as well as something the whole family could read and enjoy, head over to Star Power's website and give her a shot. It was a great find and I've already ordered the next in the series.
As I walked around the seemingly endless room full of booths and tables, as always, I was struck by just how amazing this group of people truly are. You'd be hard pressed to find a more dynamic collection of individuals anywhere. It's refreshing to see so many people walking around so in love with the many different aspects of good storytelling. At times it is life affirming. It kind of reminds me of another group of like-minded, creative, accepting, and fascinatingly unique fans who all converge on a singular magical place to escape into far flung worlds inspired by classic storytelling. Can't imagine who that is, can you?
That's it for another Comic Con Top 5. I know I'll be back next year and hopefully there will be more great Disney stuff to report on. As always, I'd like to hear what you have to say. Click on the link below and let me hear your thoughts on my choices above and I'll see you next time with another Disney Top 5.
