This year's New York Comic Con was a special one for us for two reasons: one, my brother Freddy and sister-in-law Starr would be spending the weekend with us (for the first time!) to go to the convention with us (for their first con!)  The second is that the reason they were coming down was that the boys were covering NYCC with their first-ever press passes for their Blog-Talk radio show, "That's What HE Said."  As we both knew the boys would be busy with interviews and taking video of the con, it wasn't hard to talk Starr into attempting her first ever cosplay with me.

It was funny to watch Starr transform from normal person into cosplayer.  The first picture we took of her, she looked good, but you can tell she was still figuring out where to put her hands, how to tilt her head, that kind of thing.  However, immediately after that, you could practically see the lightbulb go off over her head, and the second picture, BAM!  Instant cosplayer.  I've never seen anyone "get it" so fast!  And every picture taken of her after that makes her look like a seasoned veteran.  (And trust me, a LOT of pictures were taken of her!)

We had chosen to cosplay Harley Quinn and Poison Ivy because Starr is a natural redhead, and Poison Ivy has a series of different outfits rather than one official costume, so we were able to build her a costume out of store-bought components.  My own costume received a few updates as well: I finally bought a new mask to replace the too-small one that came with it, we pinned the collar so that it fit better, and Louis figured out a way to stuff the "pigtails" of her cowl so that they were perky rather than droopy.  I had also bought blue contacts earlier this year, so I wore those as well.  (In fact, I ended up having blue eyes for the entire weekend.)

After we picked up our badges, our first order of business was, as usual, to try to familiarize ourselves with the layout of the convention.  And I have to say all of my worries (based on my experience the year before) proved to be groundless.  It may be that there were more attendees this year than the year before, but the overall feeling of the convention was a lot less crowded.  They must have spread out a little better; I do know that the lanes and aisles both felt a lot wider.  It was a lot easier to get around, a lot easier to browse and to shop, and a lot easier to both pose for and take pictures.  They made sure to label both the aisles and the lanes as well, so it was a lot easier to meet up with people over the cell phone, by telling them to meet you at the corner of Aisle 200 and Lane K.

Everything was nicely partitioned, as well.   The first area you passed through as you entered the Exhibition Hall was the industry booth area.  Marvel, DC, Dark Horse, Nintendo, Sony, Microsoft, they all had large displays of coming-soon products for you to try, and concept art and prototypes for future products.

Past them were the actual vendors, the large (like Midtown Comics and Jim Hanley's) and small (individually owned) comic shops, and private sellers as well, and then some of the toy vendors, and the plushy vendors, and the video game vendors, basically any merchandise that would appeal to the comic book buying demographic was represented in this area.

One of the video game booths we passed had this jungle plant decor that we thought would be perfect for posing Starr. While we were taking pictures, a familiar face came up to us--Jim Norton! He had a microphone and a cameraman, and he was interviewing various passing cosplayers--though we noticed he seemed to talk to the female costumers a lot more often. After finishing with an attractive Elektra cosplayer, he asked us a few questions on camera. I won't say I'm terribly familiar with Jim Norton's entire body of work, but he seemed a little more fidgety and repetitive than usual. We found out later that he was interviewing us in character as Chip Chipperson for Chippah TV.

After that was the Artist's Alley, but that was a bit of a misnomer.  I'm used to Artist Alley's at anime conventions being small tables where individual (or at the most, very small groups) of fans sell home or hand made goods.  This Artist's Alley had that, but it also had actual artists who have been published before, artists who had self-published, and other tables as well, such as the space Pete's Basement set up, showing clips of their shows, selling T-shirts, and signing autographs for their fans.  (By the way, the thought that a friend of mine from my high school days HAS FANS blows my freaking mind.)

Having gotten a good feel for the convention layout, it was time for Louis and Freddy to conduct their first interview.  While the boys were busy, I started introducing Starr to some of our friends.  The first couple we met were Mario Rob, dressed as Dr. Mario, and his girlfriend Courtney, dressed as Lois Griffin.  That's another great thing about comic cons; "pop culture" costuming is more popular there, so I'm more likely to recognize a star from a video game of the 80s or a T.V. show from the 90s than I am a character from an anime that hasn't hit the States yet.

Lou's and Freddy's interview with Josh Glavine of Demiurge Studios about their upcoming game, Shoot Many Robots, went really well.  You can see the entire interview, conducted by Freddy and filmed by Louis (on our friend JenyBean's camera, thanks Jen!), at the boys' website, That's What He Said Media.  Getting the audio levels in a giant hall filled with thousands of comic book fans was tricky, but the boys learned as they went along, and editing what they filmed later really got them some great footage.

Meanwhile, Starr and I were meeting up with more friends, including Joel AKA D.D.R. boy, who nearly fainted when I pointed out that we had met each other TEN YEARS prior, just shy of a week, at BAAF 2001.  We're getting old!  After that, we met up with B-chan, who I had also met (dressed as Anthy) that same weekend.  No matter what, B-chan will always be Anthy to me.  I also got to meet B's boyfriend, Vincent, who is just so gentle and sweet.

Once the boys were done, it was time to do a bit more wandering, as we hadn't really explored outside of the main Exhibit Hall.  We left the main crowd for a bit and strolled through the hallways, seeing what there was to see.  (What the food vendors inside the Jacob Javitis Center were charging was criminal!  But people paid it; it was close and it was convenient.) 

We ran into more friends along the way, such as Anna, looking stylish as always, and Oshi, who is just always so incredibly awesome-looking (SHE HAD A BABY!  WHY IS SHE STILL SO HOT?) that I'd be jealous if she wasn't also so sweet.  We got to hang out with Oshi and swap some real-life news for a bit before she had to run, and after giving our tired feet a break (poor Starr was wearing heels!) we were on the move again.

Beyond the main Exhibit Hall the layout was a little confusing, but we eventually ended up in another sort of "Dealer's Room" that also had booths and vendors; I'm not sure, but I believe that this Dealer's Room was more for online stores to set up a physical presence.  There were less comics for sale here, and more glass tumblers, and cosplay contact lenses, and wall scrolls, and things of that ilk that I'm more used to seeing in anime convention Dealer's Rooms here.  We took a brief look around before moving on-I try not to spend too much money, if any, on the first day of any con.

As usual, our progress anywhere was impeded by everything relating to cameras; Louis was taking a few more pictures than usual in order to set up a convention gallery for his website, I'm always taking pictures of my favorite characters or just really awesome costumes even if I don't recognize them, and seeing as how we were a Harley Quinn and a natural redheaded Poison Ivy duo, Starr and I got stopped quite a bit for photos of our own.

Without even venturing into the Anime Fest area of the Javitis Center, we even really into a few Sailor Senshi!  I was proud that I had remembered to bring my business cards along with me, and I handed out quite a few as  I photographed the Moonies in costume.  I'm sure the rerelease of the Sailor Moon manga had a lot to do with it!

There was a wide range of cosplay quality, as well, which is another difference from the anime cons I've been to.  These days it seems like the level of costuming at the anime conventions has only increased; everyone has perfectly pressed, perfectly stitched homemade costumes (even people like me who buy them from other people.)  Which is great for photographers, and even just fans like me to look at, I would imagine it must be a bit intimidating to anyone who is looking to get into cosplaying for the first time.

And while there were a large number of professional looking costumes to enjoy at NYCC, there were also a number of people who were closet cosplaying and still looking great, and people who had made their own costumes for the first time.  It was a very diverse mix which I was very glad to see.

By this time we were ready for another break, and as I had already warned Pete that his seat was my seat, we figured we'd head back to the Artist's Alley and throw ourselves upon the mercy of The Basement, so we decided to trekk the long way back, but first we headed otuside for a breath of fresh air. As we were standing there, looking at the various people coming into and leaving the convention, I saw a guy around my height wearing a leather jacket walking by me quickly. It was Seth Green! My body absolutely locked up and my heart stopped beating, which I will never forgive myself for, because of course, Louis reached out one of his incredibly long arms, and shook Seth's hand. Mother. Effer.

At any rate, after we had all recovered from "OMG SETH GREEN", we went back to Pete and his boys, and the gentlemen gallantly gave up their metal folding chairs (that they brought from home, by the way; this was apparently a point of contention later in the weekend) so us ladies (though I use the term loosely) could rest.  I wanted to spend more time talking with Pete and Roger and the other panelists of PB.  Louis and Freddy took a break, too, so they could check some of the footage they had gotten, and we also got to meet up with Rich and Jen.  Having an immovable base at a comic con is a really great idea!

After that, it was time for Freddy to film Louis's interview with Bob Burden, the creator of the Flaming Carrot and Mystery Men. Unfortunately, at the time I write this, Louis is working on fixing some audio issues they had that make the interview difficult to hear, so it's not live yet, but I'm sure the boys will get that worked out soon. But Mr. Burden was so incredibly nice, as was Aub Driver, who helped set up the interview, and pretty much everyone we talked to that was involved with Dark Horse.

After we had regained sensation in our soles, we realized we were more than a little bit hungry, as we hadn't eaten yet that day.  Since the food inside the Javitis Center was expensive, we decided to head outside in search of some cheaper options.  We walked a bit (Freddy complaining the whole way—apparently people drive EVERYWHERE in New Jersey, or at least, lazy people do) until we found the Skylight Diner.

I'm not going to talk about the Skylight Diner here—I, personally, don't think they were any better or any worse than any other crowded diner in midtown Manhattan.  In fact, I think we went to the same place last year and had the same experience.  Well, not counting the fact that the waiter insulted my brother a few times, which is hilarious when I do it, and incredibly offensive when someone else presumes to.  But maybe he didn't think he was being offensive-I don't know.  If you're really interested, check out the radio show we recorded that night to hear Freddy complain in full.

After we were finished eating, so much time had gone by and we were so tired that we decided it wasn't worth it to head back to the convention center, especially as Louis and Freddy had their radio show to air that night, so we decided to call it a day and head home for the night.  Of course, that's when we remembered we had left some of our stuff stashed under the Pete's Basement table, so the boys were elected to go back and grab them while Starr and I rested our feet and talked over the day. After all, it was the kids' first convention, and I didn't want to break them on their very first day.  And not only that, we still had another whole two days left!

Me and Joel, AKA DDR Boy

This is actually a nicer shot of us with Batman, but it came out blurry.

I couldn't get over how natural Jen's wig looked, even if it is violet.

"Who's awesome? You're awesome."

More of Poison Ivy

Playing with the wind

It's nice to be a natural redhead

Starr and I with Pete

Can't imagine why this guy would've wanted his picture taken with three beautiful women.