New York Trip: Comic Con

My trip to New York began well. I flew on my own and with minimal fuss. I discovered that I love to travel by myself. Sometimes I can be a little anti-social, so the ability to move quickly from gate to gate, bury myself in a book on the plane, and not worry about losing my party was great for me. It would have been terrible to die alone, but luckily--no death.

Actually, I'm zombie MB and I'm writing this to you while I'm sitting here eating BRAINS.

Ok, lame. Sorry.

So, made it to the Big Apple. I was a little hesitant when it came to getting from Jersey into Manhattan (because I flew into Newark instead of JFK), but I made it quickly to the city and with relative ease.

After leaving Penn station, I decided that I would explore that side of town (middle West side) and ended up on the edge of the island about an hour later. I still hadn't found the convention center, however, which worried me. My phone was low on battery and my backpack was starting to get awfully heavy.

I decided to give it one last go, so I hopped onto the next street headed East and lo and behold, there it was. The conference center. Finally.

After waiting in line for about fifteen minutes, I finally had my press pass. Turns out that a press pass only gives you permission to enter everything; it does not give you a guaranteed seat to any event. Luckily I didn't have my sights set on any event that would be too difficult to enter.

Panels and Workshops


1. Justifying using graphic novels in the classroom

This was a great workshop, and I am so glad that I made it into the Con in time to attend. The presenters were regular educators and librarians (who probably felt a little out of place among all the costumes and booths) who had used graphic novels in their classroom successfully. Their students had really enjoyed the entire process and learned much more about literature throughout than most people might assume. I took an entire page of notes and cannot wait to get them typed up and put together. I don't think I'll be able to incorporate anything until next year for my regular English classes, but I can't wait to try some things with my Creative Writing kids. I think they'll enjoy it!

2. Trailers

I wandered into a screening of the latest trailers from some major studios. It wasn't necessarily what I would have chosen to attend, but I was actually waiting for the next panel (see event 3!). I saw a great trailer for Battle: Los Angeles, and the newest Harry Potter trailer. I also saw the trailer for Sucker Punch, which looks like it's going to be just that, but I'd already seen the trailer this summer. Once that was done it was finally time for the event I'd originally come to see.

3. Hanna panel

This panel was for a new movie coming out next March called Hanna. It's directed by Joe Wright (Pride and Prejudice, Atonement, The Soloist) and stars Saoirse Ronan (Atonement, The Lovely Bones) and Eric Bana (Black Hawk Down, Troy, Time Traveler's Wife). I will admit that I went to go see Bana in person, and he was even more handsome in person--even if he did have short hair (I prefer longer hair). What I wasn't expecting, however, was how good Hanna looks. I think it'll be a very interesting movie, and I'm sure I'll enjoy it since I've enjoyed everything wright has done so far.

4. The Floor

The Floor. Capital "f." Seriously, it was just one big maze of gaming and company setups, booths, shops, and other exhibitions (like a crazy section for the re-release of the Alien movies on Blu-Ray). To be honest, I found this the least interesting part of the Con for me. I wasn't really there to shop or to meet any artists, so I basically wandered around looking at everything. I did stop by Her Universe though, a shop I've loved for awhile now. I finally got my Empire Strikes Back thermal hoodie, my new favorite piece of clothing.

5. Sherlock screening

By far my favorite part of the Con. As soon as I saw the it was screening I made sure to have my butt outside and in line a full hour-and-a-half early. Since it's written by Steven Moffat and Mark Gattis (two people behind Doctor Who) I was quite excited for the quality of the writing. BBC America approached me to do an interview (I think the guy chose me because he thought my shoes were cool), and I even signed a release, but the doors opened early. I decided to forgo the interview so that I could get a good seat. The show started, and I was in heaven. I've never watched a movie with such a responsive and fun audience before! These people knew when to laugh, appreciated all the inside jokes, and clapped at all the right times.

That screening made me so excited I decided to invite my students over for the American premiere on PBS tomorrow night. I hope they enjoy it as much as I did, but if not, at least I tried.

Here are some pictures from the convention for you all:

I enjoyed my time there very much, but I realized that I'm positively mild compared to other fans. It helped put my geekiness in perspective. I spent my day there on Friday and half of my day on Saturday. That was plenty for me, and I feel like I got to see all that I wanted to see. All in all, I'd say it was a success.

Next post: 

The city