I started the Friday of the comic con at work, since the exhibition floor doesn't really open until the afternoon, I decided not to use an entire vacation day to attend, when I could just leave early, go to the con, and change in a bathroom before hitting the floor. Fridays are generally less crowded anyway, so I had decided to wear a new Elegant Gothic Lolita dress that had not made any appearances out yet, rather than one of my more flashy costumes.

Once at the convention I used my phone to find Louis and Mario Rob fairly quickly. They helped me pickup my badge, but most of the free swag they give out when you check in was already gone! This should have been Hint Number One, you'll see why later. Once I was properly identified, it was time to hit what I think of as the "dealer's room"; the main floor.

There were a lot more people there in costume for a Friday than I expected-in fact, there were a lot more people there for a Friday, period. I didn't mind at all as this, combined with the fact that I was in a more tame outfit than usual meant that I was getting asked for photos left myself, meant that I could take more pictures of other cosplayers than usual. I tried to focus more on comic book costumes, only deviating when I saw anime or video game characters from my favorite fandoms.

The New York Comic Con featured a LOT of sneak peeks that we were interested in. Right away the video game exhibit drew us over for our first look at Epic Mickey for the Wii, a game that Louis was very much looking forward to. As always there were displays of statues and busts that would be available for sale shortly, rare variant versions of action figures, and previews for new and upcoming comic books from all of the major companies.

Of course, Louis was mainly there for comic book shopping, looking to fill in holes in his already existing comic book collection, and keeping a lookout for anything new and interesting. This, too, gave me plenty of chances to photograph other people, because Louis can honestly spend a good fifteen to twenty minutes flipping through the bagged issues in each of the boxes at every single table that's set up. I don't mind, though: if there were ever an "All Sailor Moon" Dealer's Room, I'd be just as engrossed!

As it turned out, Friday at Comic Con ended up also being known as, "Crissy runs into people from every part of her past" day. Not that I'm complaining! But it does seem like I spent half of the con on my phone, texting people, "Where are you now? .okay I'll be right there!" or "Come meet me here!"

The first person (aside from Louis and Mario Rob, of course) that I ended up running into was Doc the Stampede. He is one of my absolute favorite people and getting to spend time with him at a con (or anywhere, really) is one of the best parts of my weekend. We hadn't seen each other in a long time, so we spent a lot of Friday catching each other up on our lives and doings and whatnot, and after a bit he joined us in our tour around the convention floor.

Our progress was mainly impeded, not by me for once, but by Mario Rob being stopped every five feet for photographs! The truth is, everyone LOVES Mario, from the thirty year olds who grew up with him, to the three year olds who are just discovering him for the first time. And let's face it, Rob makes a GREAT Mario. Not only does he have the look down pat, but he's studied his voice and memorized his movements so that he can pose on cue. Everybody wants their picture taken with Mario!

Not long after that we ran into another friend of Mario Rob's, Artiga. He had just come from work so he was actually just wearing the suit that he has to wear for that, but it wasn't long before we decided he was, in actuality, cosplaying James Bond. He was nice enough to oblige, and our party had picked up a fifth member. Back to the convention floor we went.

There truly was such a wonderful assortment of costumes at this convention, I was impressed no matter which direction I looked. As I mentioned before, comic book costumes made up the majority, and I gravitated towards them as well, but there were plenty of obscure video game characters, beloved 80s cartoon characters, and references to pop culture everywhere. Everyone was so creative and talented, I was really in awe!

Around this time we met up with my friend Pete, of Pete's Basement, and some of his friends. Pete was busy buying, comparison shopping, showing off his swag, AND taking his own pictures for his own convention report, but he joined up with us all the same, boosting our number from five to at least six or more (depending on whether the other guys from Pete's Basement were with us or not-they fluctuated.)

The highlight of Mario Rob's day had to be when we run into some dude named brentalfloss (which, everything else aside, is an admittedly kickass name.) I didn't really know who he was (although I think I'd heard of him) but apparently he makes up amazing parody lyrics to popular video game (especially the old 8-bit ones) theme songs.

He's gotten to be quite popular, and has been an invited guest at many cons. He even invited us out to an after party that night after the con wound down. I would have liked to have gone, but by 9 PM we were pretty pooped…but I'm getting ahead of myself.

By this point we had threaded our way throughout most of the floor, and were in the most remote, recessed corner, where the strangest products were up for sale. Things I would never personally spend money on, but someone must, because why else would they be made?

There were far too many things featuring genetalia that should never even be in the same sentence as genetalia, but still the strangest toy I saw was the naked, glow in the dark, talking, Bobble-head Stewie Griffin bank. Why was he naked? Why would you need your bank to glow in the dark? How does the talking mechanism work if the head is bobbling back and forth? The world may never know.

Not long after JenyBean joined us, sporting her “Pete's Basement” tank top as she was there to help out the boys. I had seen her recently anyway (we hang out quite a bit during the week) but of course we HAD to stop foot traffic and take pictures of each other. The party was now up to seven people!

Next on the hit list, DJ Ranma S! He was there in his classic Ranma costume, which perhaps uncoincidentally (given his handle) is what he was wearing the day I met him, at the very first anime convention I ever went to, all those years ago. Is it possible we've been friends for ten years now? It is indeed. And the party was up to eight!

Let's see, I've known Ranma for ten years and Beanie for at least as long, how could I possibly beat that? How about by running into an old friend from high school, Richie! He's the guy responsible for getting me into drama and musical theater in the first place. We've been in and out of touch at various points over the years, but I've now known him for…wow. Literally over half my life, as I met him when I was 14. We had a lot to catch up on, so he joined our group as well. Have you ever tried to navigate a crowded convention floor with about nine people?

Richie and I had a lot to catch up on as well, so we continued back out of the realm of scary toy banks and headed back towards the more usual con fair. I really wasn't interested in buying much of anything, but Louis was still on the hunt, so I was able to spend my time talking to my friends, trying to find more friends, and taking pictures.

The comic cons are definitely branching out—there is a lot more to see, do, and shop for than just obscure (or not so obscure) Golden Age comics as there used to be. Most conventions are trying to appeal to a broader spectrum of fans; you've got your Sci-Fi fans (most of the Star Wars or Star Trek variety, but the Dr. Who faction has been steadily increasing in visibility if not in number in recent years).

You've got your anime and manga crowd (and in fact the New York Comic con was partnered with the New York Anime Fest, but…it was hard to tell in the “main” dealer's room), you've got your hipsters (who are there to enjoy everything ironically, of course), and a fair assortment of “everybody else”.

Richie introduced me to some friends of his, and ended up taking out his camera equipment and comparing it with what the Pete's Basement crew had along with them. What is it with boys and needing to compare, uh, equipment?

Since we had picked up enough new people who had just arrived at the con, we decided to double back and make yet another tour of the con floor.

Soon after, it was time to add another member to our group—Mike Fischman! I hadn't seen him in a long time, either, but it's always fun to shoot the breeze with him about cult horror movies and grindhouse films and other subculture points of interest. Even though Mario Rob, Artiga, and Mike pretty much formed a little “guys club” group around Louis, we were now a full group of ten, and things were getting a little hairy.

And it was about to get bigger, in more ways than one—who should I run into next but an old college friend (and sorority siste) of mine, Nora, and her husband Chris! Now, you might have noticed that Louis is tall, especially compared to me, but Nora is tall compared to Louis, and Chris is tall compared to Nora? Where does that leave me when I'm next to Chris? Well, really, the pictures speak for themselves. And we now had an even dozen.

By this point, my feet were killing me. True, I had worn a fairly comfortable costume, but I had ruined that by wearing my favorite pair of Mary Janes, which happen to have a four inch heel. Louis had also spent up to (if not over) what he had allotted himself for the day, and our group of people was truly making traveling difficult, so we decided to at least start heading for the exit, because saying your goodbyes at a party (or even just a party-like atmosphere) always takes much longer than you think it will.

And I was right—who should we meet on the way out but Jessie Pridemore, looking fabulous as always. Had we not been about to drop I would have loved to have spent more time with her, she's always a great girl to spend time with and talk about anything and everything. But I at least snagged a quick picture with her before we had to move on again.

We had to make one quick detour before we could leave, though: the Midtown Comics “booth” (although really, it's more like an entire quadrant of the floor!) Not for any of their wares that they might sell (although they sell just about everything), but so that we could see Hal, a very good friend of ours who works there. I used to see Hal at least once a week when I worked in midtown Manhattan, but due to my “new” job in Queens, I hadn't seen him since…last Halloween, possibly. Time passes so quickly! I wish I could have spent more time with him!

We said our goodbyes and left the con with Pete, Jen, and another of Pete's Basement's guys, Gerick. Gerick had found a parking spot (mirable visu!) and since he apparently lives about eight blocks away from us, a fact I did not know up until that time, he was kind enough to offer Louis and I a ride home. My poor, tired, aching feet were incredibly, incredibly thankful.

We had to take it easy that night in order to prepare for tomorrow...after all, I had a very big, very important to me costume I was planning on debuting the next day...

Nightwing from Batman.

Another shot of Deadpool

Glen Quagmire from Family Guy

Trucy from Apollo Justice: Ace Attorney

More eating of Pete

Me and Richie

Poison Ivy and Harley

Hit-Girl from Kick-Ass

My friend Nora's husband Chris

Me and Beanie

Me and the painted girl