Special Edition: NYC 2015

June 6 - 7

Day Two

Steampunk Batgirl

I got to Special Edition a little later on Sunday and there was maybe a fourth of the people there than there had been the day before, lending credence to my theory that a lot of people had shown up purely to buy New York Comic Con tickets. The joke's on them--and on me too, I suppose--there was a separate cache of tickets for sale on Sunday that had been held back from Saturday. If I had waited, I might have been able to buy a three day pass after all. I wasn't willing to double dip, though--there was no guarantee, and hey, I've never been to a con on a Thursday before, maybe it'll be fun.

Batgirl versus Harley Quinn

I hadn't been there too long before my friend Rich texted me that he had just finished a run (who runs a marathon before a con is even open on a Sunday morning? My crazy friends, that's who) and was on his way to the con, so I met up with him inside and we decided to tour the con together. He has the issue of Amazing Spider-Man #700 with most (if not all) of the major writers and artists' names arranged in the New York City skyline, and he's on a mission to get the signatures of all of his favorites on the cover. Waiting in lines for autographs is as good a place to people watch and photo hunt as any, so we chatted while we waited and while I stopped people for thier photos--although this being a Sunday, there were far less cosplayers than there had been the day before (although it was also a *gorgeous* day outside, so quite a few were outside enjoying the beautiful weather.)

Tuxedo Kamen and Sailor Moon

In comparison, I'll never understand why people buy pre-autographed pieces. I mean, yes, it increases the value of whatever was signed, and of course if the celebrity in question is dead, you kind of have no choice. But for me, the value of the signature is incredibly personal--this writer, this artist, this actor, whoever, signed it for *me*, often while I'm telling him or her how amazing I think he or she is, and how much his or her work has influenced my life. Granted I'm sure they hear that a thousand times a day...but for me, I've only gotten to say it once or twice in my life. And I have to say, I've never met anyone who was less than gracious about it. (Peter Beagle in particular is true gem. But that's another story.)

Dick Tracy! My favorite costume from the whole weekend.

All of the people Rich had sign his book that day were super cool, and I got to introduce him to my own artist friend, Vinnie, who was there again that day with his friend Solo, which was really neat. Rich is quite an artist himself, so the two of them talked technique and influences for a while before it was time to move on. I'm really glad I got to see Vinnie again, as I knew he was heading out early that day. 'Til next con, Vinnie! (Where you will no doubt be sharing your booth with another beautiful woman who makes me question my usefulness on this earth. =D)

I meet another Harley Quinn.

I did do a little browsing of my own--one of my guilty pleasures is the ridiculous covers that inspired the creation of the site Superdickery (which thankfully has been revamped since the last time I visited it--it used to be infested with malware somehow), so I'm always looking for some of the sillier issues of World's Finest (which is...all of them, really), or anything from Batman after the Comic Code went into full swing--and Rich was looking, as always, to complete his Amazing Spider-man collection (I think only has about 14 or 15 issues left to go!) but neither of us ended up getting anything. Just as well--I somehow manage to be *consistently* surprised by how much I bleed money at every con I go to! Worth every penny, though.

My friends Misty Autumn and CHris as Black Widow and Hawkeye

Rich could only stay for a few hours before he had to leave to go do adult things (in addition to running a marathon and visiting a con, he and Usagi Seion--who had been shopping in B&H while we were bopping around the con--were getting ready for her to head off to summer screenwriting classes! I felt positively stagnant in comparison!), but I wasn't alone for long before I got a text from my friend Linwood! He had just arrived at the con, and rambling around is always more fun with company, so I attached myself to him and we took another turn around the floor.
The DC photoshoot

For what it's forth, there wasn't really a lot to do besides wander around and shop (and meet creators, obviously) at this con: I heard there was programming, you know, panels and such, but not only am I not usually into that sort of thing, I had *no* idea where any of it was. If Special Edition was giving out programs and maps, I missed it entirely. Supposedly there was stuff going on in "Theater 1" and "Theater 2", but where those were in relation to where I was, I couldn't tell you even now. That may be something they want to make clearer and easier in the future.

Bombshell Mera

We caught up with CHris and a group of his friends--including Misty Autumn, who took that picture of me with a Gambit back at New York Comic Con 2012 that I absolutely adore--and derped around with them for a while, before I headed outside to see if I could find that day's DC photoshoot. It was a *perfect* day for shooting outdoors--nice and sunny, warm but not too hot, and the area down by the pier is really incredible. I didn't recognize anybody I had met the day before, but on the plus side I got to run into my friend Ziggo, who I had met at last year's Special Edition when I was dressed as Rogue and he was dressed as Nightcrawler and he called out, "Hey, sis!" It's little costume-interactions like that that really make cosplaying my favorite thing in the whole world.

Joker from Batman

Much like the day before, the directors of the shoot broke us up into all sorts of smaller sub-groups, which not only made sure that everyone got into at least a few pictures, but also ensured that we had time to talk to people while it was *not* our turn. The cosplay community occasionally gets a bad rap because of some supposedly catty people, but I have to say that everyone *I've* met in person has been beyond nice and supportive of each other. I had a great time meeting everyone, and seeing how many different ways there are to portray the same character!

Three versions of Mary Marvel

Even though the photoshoot was a lot of fun, by this point my feet in my booted heels were killing me, despite the fact that I had slipped some gel pads into the soles, so as soon as we were done Linwood and I walked towards the lawn area so we could relax and just chat for a while. It was about this time that we noticed that the bottom to my camera, which needs to be closed in order for it to work, had gone missing in action, so all the photos you see from the DC photoshoot on are all from Linwood's phone--which, to my chagrin, takes better photos than my camera does in the first place! Thank you so much for taking these for me, Linwood!

Great Victorian Harley Quinn costume!

While we were resting, we ended up running into Jason Laboy and his friend/apprentice Ed Yeung, who kindly offered to take some pictures of me in my Steampunk Batgirl. Now, this was the first time I had ever put on this corset entirely by myself--I had tried to at AnomalyCon the year before, but had had Patti and Steph and Koi to help wrestle things into place and tighten my laces...*and* it had been "dangerously" low even then...*AND* I had gained some weight in the interim. While I don't think I *actually* flashed anybody all day, I was uncomfortably self-conscious by the end of the day. Lesson learned: do not get into this corset (or probably any other) by myself. If I don't have help, don't wear it. Nevertheless, having the wig on (I *love* how I look with red hair!) and the blue contacts made me feel pretty in spite of myself, and Jason and Ed made me look way better than I did in person. Thanks, guys!

God knows what Joker threatened Babs with to get this picture.

After that, Linwood and I just sat and talked for a bit. This is the first time he and I really had some one-on-one time, just us, and I've said it before and I'll say it again, but I love that all of my "geek friends" are some of the greatest conversationalists that I've ever met. Yes, we're a little odd, and some of us know WAAAY too much about Sailor Moon, for example, but we can also shoot the breeze about jobs, and family, and friends--and then it's right back to Superman's most ridiculous powers from the Golden Age. Not gonna lie, it's pretty awesome. If you're into that sort of thing. Which we all clearly are.

Love this genderbent Harley!

After my feet had finally stopped screaming in agony, we decided to head back to the con to give it a final circuit before I headed out for the day. We stopped to take a few more photos of the awesome cosplayers we saw along the way--and watched Creative Continuity shoot some of their truly epic Special Edition montage footage, which you should check out if you have a moment and enjoy epic...ness. I also ran into my friend Cassi's girlfriend Caitlin, though I didn't recognize her until she posted her own photos later on her Facebook. Cosplayers are SO hard to recognize from one costume to the next! (I should talk!)

Me and Linwood

We had only made it about halfway through the front section when my head started to swim. I'm not entirely sure what it was--it could have been the corset, which let's face it makes it a little difficult to breathe deeply, it could have been the heat (there was no WAY I was taking off my bolero jacket, not with the corset riding that low!), it could've been that it had been a while since breakfast, and I hadn't had any water since, who knows. Even after giving it a little shake, my head refused to clear, so I regretfully told Linwood I was going to have to head out. I knew he was going to AnimeNEXT the following week so it's not like we weren't going to see each other, but I still felt kind of bad.

All of the speedsters

On my way out the door, I ran into Brian Ngai again. He was just finishing up a shoot with someone else, and asked me if I wanted to wait a moment so we could do another one together. I *probably* should have headed home, feeling the way that I did--but Brian's photos are *so* gorgeous that I really didn't want to turn down the privilege of working with him...and the fresh air (well, as fresh as it gets in New York City, anyway) had made me feel a bit better, so I jumped at the chance. Brian got some really great shots that he showed me in his camera before we had to say goodbye, and I can't wait to see the full shoot! I also got to meet a new photographer, Howard of HSL photography, who also took a few quick shots (and also helped me fix my poor little Batgirl symbol--reason number two to never put on this costume alone again, I placed the symbol incorrectly and the tips of the wings were totally bent over by the end of the day), and I hope to work with him again soon.

DC Girls! That's my friend Caitlin as Lady Blackhawk, her friend Rachel as Zatanna, and another friend of theirs as Black Canary.

So, should *you* go to Special Edition: NYC? It depends on what you're looking for. I can't really blame the people who were there just for NYCC tickets; I only grumble about them because *I* want NYCC tickets, too. But personally, I *do* think that shouldn't be your only reason for going, and hope the show's organizers take that into account next year, regardless of what they decide. If you're going because you want the hottest up-to-the-minute news, and special previews, and show-related exclusives, don't waste your time. You can get that much more quickly online these days, and the only exclusives the show had were a few T-shirts--that were mainly of Special Edition itself. But if you want to browse through back issues in peace, or if you really want to meet some of your favorite writers and artists and other industry folk, then yes, absolutely--this is a much better venue for that than NYCC, in my opinion. Even as big as it's gotten compared to last year, Special Edition still bears more of a resemblence to the comic book cons of old than to its mammoth Hollywood cousin in October.

Supergirl!

Am I glad I went to Special Edition? Absolutely. First and foremost, I'm a simple soul: if I can run around in costume with other adult children who are also running in costume, then I'm a happy camper. I had a great time hanging out with the friends that I did see there, and I was really happy to make new friends, which in my opinion is one of the best reasons to go to a con in the first place.

And I had ANOTHER ONE THE VERY NEXT WEEKEND. JESUS CHRIST BANANAS.

Black Cat from Spider-Man

More Photos
In the comics, "cat fights" are way more brutal than sexy.
Great couple.
I love when people use their real hair for cosplay!
The beginning of the DC photoshoot
This was just the residents of Gotham
I love that there was a Sandman in there, too!
I actually prefer the "Option B" of the Bombshell Mera design, but this is super adorable too!
All the ladies.
And now all the men.
And then the entire Captain Marvel family showed up!
"Whatever happened to Mary?"
This costume is SO pretty, but it must have been SO hot!
"And now, a fun one!"
Lady Blackhawk, Zatanna, and Black Canary

More Photos (none taken by me)
Me and Vinnie again!