The New York Comic Con is upon us and I haven’t been as excited about it as I’ve been about past shows. I think a large part of that is the fact that the NYCC has fast outgrown my budget and instead of spending the weekend there I’ll be visiting for a day. I’ve become much more excited about that as there’s a huge amount of talent on Thursday that I’m happy to see again and meet for the first time. Of course, the same reason I don’t have the discretionary budget finds me embarrassingly unprepared. Ann, my wife, has begun her professional program on the path to becoming a pharmacist so money is becoming more sensitive as I try to meet all of our needs as well as spend every waking minute trying to maintain the house and kids so that she can spend her time studying. Even before embarking on this path, Ann very graciously and patiently has allowed me to put six large bookshelves in the living room that I put my graphic novels on. The other seventy-five percent of my collection, I have begrudgingly put into boxes in the basement. At one point there was some sort of order to the boxes that went downstairs but that long since went away. Now you can find books piled on top of and between the boxes that did get down there. There are boxes inside of boxes. So I’m going through the Comic Con guest list for the day I’ll be there and as soon as I find myself excited about a name I’m realizing that even if I manage to have the money for any art that I’d like to collect, I have no idea where that particular book is. You know what though? I’ll go and get my geek on and have a great time. It’s not just the art I can collect but the friends that I see only at the shows. It’s the environment and the fact that no matter how frantic life is everything gets paused for just a little bit. The second reason I’m becoming less endeared to the New York Comic Con, and it’s no less important than the budget, is that it almost seems as if it’s grown too big. I think that Reed Exhibitions is trying too hard to emulate San Diego on the East Coast, but it’s not a comic con that’s growing. It’s a pop culture con. There are booths and displays that have nothing at all to do with comics (e.g., cars and tools). I understand entertainment stars, both big screen and small, but this year Boomer Esiason is listed as a guest. I’m a huge football fan so goody for me but again it’s a move away from comics. Lastly and there’s no particular order to the importance of each of these points, attendance. The crowds last year were impossible to navigate. That’s not just my opinion but I know for a fact some panels and creator signings were missed because creators didn’t give themselves enough time to (not) get through the crowds. Now I’m apathetic again. We’ll see how I feel after the weekend.
If you’re not attending the Comic Con at all you can still get your geek on with the Elfquest special Final Quest one shot, $5.99, by Wendy and Richard Pini from Dark Horse Comics. Even though the Final Quest has been online I’m extremely pumped to have a new Elfquest story in hand…
DC Comics is not willing to let ‘the kiss’ go away, and Superman/Wonder Woman #1, $3.99, is supposed to focus on the relationship between two of the DCU’s greatest heroes. Written by Charles Soule with art by Tony Daniel and Matt Banning this promises to be a bold new era for the New 52…
Image Comics’ Walking Dead #115, $2.99, just happens to be the Ten Year Anniversary and that may be why the biggest storyline to ever hit the Walking Dead, in the form of an all-out-war, starts here. Written by Robert Kirkman with art by Charlie Adlard and Cliff Rathburn, it’s Rick versus Negan…
Thor: God of Thunder vol 2 HC Godbomb, $24.99, by Jason Aaron, Butch Guice, and Esad Ribic is what I’m most excited about from Marvel Comics. Collecting Thor: God of Thunder #6 – 11, three time lost Thors unite to oppose the mad plans of Gorr and even that may not be enough to stop the Godbomb from detonating…
Valiant Entertainment is starting its own universe changing war with part one of the Sect Civil War in Archer & Armstrong #14, $3.99, by Fred Van Lente and Khari Evans. “Every enemy. Against each other.” This is solicited as a perfect jumping on point for new readers, but the story of Gilad is just starting in Eternal Warrior #2, $3.99, by Greg Pak, Trevor Hairsine, and Clayton Crain, where he must come to terms with the path his daughter has chosen in regards to his own decision to lay down the sword…
And there are plenty more that are not listed. For a more complete list, feel free to visit your local comic store or favorite site. If you’re interested in more of what I think, follow me on Twitter at Mycomicstore001 or like my Facebook page.
Michael R. Murray is a full-time Letter Carrier for the United States Postal Service who wishes he could clone himself like the Michael Keaton character in Multiplicity.