My first New York Comic-Con experience started before I even stepped foot inside the building. Half the passengers on the subway ride there were dressed in their favorite comic book heroes like Spider-Man, Harley Quinn, and Batman. I didn’t know what to expect being a Newbie, so I got some prepping a month beforehand from a cameraman I know who is a Comic-Con veteran. He warned me, “expect a lot of people,” “don’t go on Sunday, it’s crazy!” and “be organized, know where you’re going.”
First of all, there was more than “a ton of people,” it was an insane, massive crowd that basically took up every available space in the building, some even sat on the floors. I was not organized at all because I didn’t have the event schedule ahead of time and since there was no real press package, I found myself struggling to push past these huge adults in costumes, some I had to duck to get around just to reach the check-in desk hoping they had all my information; luckily they did.
They handed me a comic book styled pamphlet which had descriptions of each event so I decided to catch a sneak peek of the upcoming film “The Grudge,” to be released in 2020, directed by Nicolas Pesce. I talked myself into thinking I was going to see the whole film but of course, we only got a tiny teaser of what to expect and I have to say that it does look pretty scary. The director said the audience can look forward to a whole level of “messed up,” well that’s sort of what he said but we can’t drop F-bombs here but the point is, we can expect the character’s evolution to be something we haven’t seen before. It was really cool to hear the actors’ perspectives on their preparation for their characters along with their thoughts on the benefits of working in the horror genre in comparison with others, which was more freedom. It was a great discussion.
You can’t do Comic-Con without getting photos of people in their costumes, so after asking random people to let me take their picture, I somehow fought my way back through crowd just to end up on the wrong side of the building looking for a panel discussion which I missed by the time I got there, which is why the cameraman told me to be organized and know where I’m going. Luckily, it actually turned out well because I caught a really great discussion called “From Screen to the Page.” I was super excited about this one because I happen to be slowly writing a screenplay right now and listening to expert authors Tochi Onyebuchi who wrote “Riot Baby,” Max Brallier, author of “The Last Kids on Earth” series and Ted Caplin, along with Jenni Hendricks who wrote “Unpregnant,” who all went to film school and have extensive knowledge about writing screenplays and transitioning to novels which were truly helpful. They spoke about having more control writing novels because of the need to convey the characters’ emotions through words in comparison to film where you have the emotions brought to life by the actor so screenplays require fewer words on the page. I thought it was beautiful when they spoke about finding the fun in creating moments in your writing, something I struggle with sometimes. One thing they touched on that was very important is how they all got their big break and tips on how to actually get your work published and sell your story. This was an amazing talk, the authors were entertaining, well-spoken and relatable which is something I didn’t expect.
My very last panel I was to attend got canceled but I didn’t know it. I show up and sit down, waiting to be wowed about a discussion on blacks in publishing when I turn my head to my right and see a very nice looking man who was just about to leave. We begin talking about my work, then his work and he decided to stay since he enjoyed my company. (😍). He showed me photos and talked about his passion for archaeology and science, then I spoke about my love of documentaries about human, civil and women’s rights. Anyway, I realize that I may actually be in the wrong room, so I ask the woman on my left what this discussion was about. When she told me it was about some book I’ve never read I immediately got up and so did the nice man and we left. The event employee advised me that the discussion I wanted was unfortunately canceled abruptly, so I said goodbye to the nice-looking man who took my work information only and I made my way back to the press lounge. Hopefully, my editor gets some sort of e-mail from him asking for my whereabouts so I can have one of those beautiful stories of how I found love at Comic-Con and that anything is possible!
The last day I took some time to walk through the many aisles of comics and other books by new authors, many who were African American superheroes, some even women which I thought was awesome and something I never grew up seeing but hope to see more of. As I was leaving, it clicked, why the heck didn’t I get a picture of The Joker? I just saw the film days ago and I spotted the best Joker ever and I didn’t ask him to take a picture. I looked all over for him which was insane because of the number of people but I kept saying to myself I want him to be my last picture but I never saw him again. I also thought about the many people including myself who are forever influenced and inspired by words on a page and it makes me so proud of my job; it also encourages me to become a better writer and storyteller. As I walked back to the subway I still see crowds of people asking to take pictures with different characters, how cool is that! When I got home I sat down to finish this piece and as I put together the photos, I take a closer look and guess what? The Joker is in one of them after all haha!! What a great ending!
