Redfury71's NY Comic Con report...

My first observation was that this year's NYCC was much better organized than last. There was twice as much floor space, artist alley was in a separate room from the dealers, and patrons could come and go as they pleased without fear of being barred from re-entry by the New York State Police. I didn't have to resort to commando tactics to get in like I did last year! :rolleyes

Being a golden age collector, I headed for some of the big-time dealers first. I was disappointed to see that they were not all grouped together, but scattered about, which made it difficult to find them all. I was looking for issues of All-Star Comics, but for the first few hours I didn't have much luck. Some dealers had none, or only one or two copies. Most that I found were either a) one's that I already had, or b) too low of a grade for my collecting tastes, or c) over-priced. I did pick up a nice copy of All-Top Comics #10 with a cool Jack Kamen cover. You can see a picture of it here (not the actual copy I bought).

I eventually did find a good deal on a major golden age book, but I haven't completed the transaction yet so I don't have the book in hand. When I do I will post it here. Needless to say, I am very excited about acquiring this particular book as it has been a sort of Holy Grail quest for me. More on this soon...

I next visited artists alley and stopped to talk to Irwin Hasen, one of the best DC cover artists of the golden age. Mr. Hasen did some very nice commission work for me last year, so it was nice to chat with him again. And sitting right next to him was Arnold Drake! I guess most Silver Age Marvel fans know Mr. Drake as one of the early writers of X-men, and Silver Age DC fans know him as the creator of the Doom Patrol. But, heck, when I think of Arnold Drake, I think of "It Rhymes With Lust". If you've never heard of it, "It Rhymes With Lust" is a small digest sized, 100 page comic published by St. John in 1950. The art is entirely by Matt Baker, one of the best ever. But the really cool thing about IRWL is that it is quite possibly the first graphic novel ever produced. Originals are impossible to find, but Dark Horse is reprinting it soon so check it out. Mr. Drake had an original copy with him and was very proud to show it off. I really enjoy talking to these men who laid the foundation of our great hobby. They are a treasure trove of knowledge and a real inspiration to me.

In the afternoon, I went to the Marvel 60's Bullpen panel, where Stan Lee, Flo Steinberg, Joe Sinnott, Gene Colan, and Ralph Macchio (ok, he was there in the 70's) regaled us with stories of what Marvel was like back in the glory days. Stan was as animated and talkative as ever, Flo was a sweetheart, Joe and Gene were overly modest, and I think Ralph felt a little out of place. But hey, what a fun panel!

As the panel ended, I spotted Gormuu, Fjor, Jephyork and LikeIAlwaysDo in the front of the room so I headed over to chat with them. Gormuu showed me his loot: some great Marvel Atlas books from the 50's, and some 60's stuff too. I spotted Joe Sinnott pencils in one of the Atlas books (yes, pencils, not inks!) so Gormuu ran off to get Joe to sign it. We all stuck around for the next panel, the Cup o' Joe show. I'm not quite as into the new books as I used to be, but I still pick up a few occasionally so I was interested in most of what was presented. The best part was when a little kid, he couldn't have been more than 9, asked if we would ever see the Hulk in the Venom suit...and you should have heard the "oohs" and "whoas" that rippled through the room. Quesdada was so impressed he asked the kid if he wanted to come work for Marvel.

By this time, the Con was closing for Saturday, so we started thinking about dinner. Gormuu conscripted Cory Sedlmeier into our troop, and we marched off to a nearby diner for a fun and memorable evening. Cory patiently answered our endless questions about upcoming books, and he asked our opinions on potential future projects. Big, super-secret announcement...Millie the Model Masterworks! (ok, just kidding). There was an announcement of the June Masterworks, but I'll leave that for Gormuu to make once he gets the artwork ready.

In all, I had a very fun day. It was good to see some old friends and meet some new ones as well. I hope we can make this an annual tradition and do it again and again. Thanks everyone!
Todd
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Todd Warren
Philadelphia Comic Book Company