You probably heard the news. Yesterday Stanley Martin Lieber passed away at age 95. The world knows him better as Stan ‘The Man’ Lee.
While with Marvel comics, Stan Lee collaborated with various artists. Among some of those artists were Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. During Lee’s tenure at Marvel he worked on numerous titles. You might’ve heard of a few: Spider-Man, The Hulk, The Fantastic Four, X-Men, Black Panther, Thor, Ironman, and countless others. These various titles became many of the staples within the Marvel legacy.
After Lee retired from Marvel, he continued to stay in the spotlight. During 2006 and 2007, he hosted a reality show on the Sci-Fi Channel, now known as Syfy. It was titled Who Wants To Be A Superhero. As someone who usually hates reality shows, I absolutely adored season one. Later I got to meet the winner Feedback and runner-up Fat Momma. The contestant I was personally rooting for was Major Victory. Hugging him was one of my highlights during NYCC 2007.
Go to any comicbook related news source, and you’re sure to hear more detailed accounts Stan Lee had on modern pop culture. I was lucky enough to catch a panel Lee was on, during NYCC 2016. Moderated by film director Kevin Smith, it was Stan Lee, Walter Simonson and Chris Claremont. In my files I have a crappy photograph of the panel. However, this YouTube video will suffice.
I’ve had enough of death lately (personal reasons). So with that I’ll leave you with my tribute to Stan Lee. My second tribute which included Spider-Man, when Steve Ditko passed away a few months prior. He’s with Spider-Man, superhero from Forest Hills, Queens. Queens being my hometown. Excelsior!
Stan Lee with Spider-Man. Sketch by Michele Witchipoo. Nov. 2018.
From Thursday Oct. 6 to Sunday Oct. 9, I felt as if I lived at the Javits Center. That’s because it was the annual New York Comic Con. Earlier this year I received my Pro pass for which itself felt good.
As usual it was packed and the cosplayers were out in full force.
NYCC. Photo by Michele Witchipoo Oct. 2016
To the left as you walked into the main entrance, there was a entire section dedicated to Wonder Woman. Not just because the Wonder Woman movie will be released in 2017, but Oct. 2016 marked the 75th anniversary of the character’s first appearance. There were also a lot more Wonder Woman cosplay than ever before.
Wonder Woman booth at NYCC. Oct. 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo
Wonder Woman booth at NYCC. Oct. 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo
Wonder Woman booth at NYCC. Oct. 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo
Wonder Woman booth at NYCC. Oct. 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo
Wonder Woman cosplay at NYCC. Oct. 2016. Photo by Michele Witchipoo
To my relief there wasn’t as many Harley Quinns, but plenty of Pokemon characters. There was some unique ones that stood out above the others. Darth Maul looks happy here.
NYCC. Photo by Michele Witchipoo Oct. 2016
NYCC 2016 had an increase in Bob’s Burgers cosplayers. Louise and Tina Belcher were the most seen. Occasionally you would run into the entire family.
NYCC. Photo by Michele Witchipoo Oct. 2016
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
During the course of the four day event, I checked out a few panels. Panels are very good. For one, they give you a wealth of information in regards to the comic book industry, or discuss pop culture. If all else fails, you can rest your weary feet in the seat closest to an outlet to recharge your cell.
The Panel for Trump Magazine (No, not Donald!), a short-lived publication from the 1950s.
The other panel that grabbed my attention was the panel titled ‘Bringing Stories To Life: Holding a Comic Con at Your Library.’ Here local librarians from Connecticut explained the ins and outs of operating local comic cons from the library.
Librarians from CT discuss how to do comic cons at the local library. NYCC Panel. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016.
Back for more cosplay.
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
Classic Planet of The Apes. NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
One thing you cannot forget. The real reason why we have comic cons in the first place. To promote comics. As in artists, writers, pencilers, inkers, etc. Onward to Artist Alley.
Walking around the Javits Center was exhausting. It was time to head home and come back another day.
During the NYCC, I found out there was going to be a panel for the latest Planet of The Apes reboot series. Since I was a huge fan of POTA, I trekked all the way out of the Javits Center to the Theater At Madison Square Garden. That’s where they held the special events, like the one for Doctor Who earlier during NYCC.
Point blank, this Q&A ‘career conversation’ with actor Andy Serkis, who portrays Ceasar in the Apes reboot was the only letdown during NYCC 2106. This might be clarified why in separate blog post.
Actor Andy Serkis after finishing his Q&A panel during NYCC 2016.
I stuck around however to catch the Stan Lee panel at the same venue. Which went off much smoother. Moderated by film director and famous geek Kevin Smith, the panel also had Walt Simonson and Chris Claremount. The packed house was treated to an oral recollection of Marvel comic history. Insert very crappy photo of the panel itself.
Very bad, blurry photo of the Stan Lee panel at NYCC 2016 with Kevin Smith, Walt Simonson and Chris Claremount.
Barely getting enough rest, it was time to head back to NYCC.
Classic Star Trek cosplay on the NYC subway. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016.
Since NYCC has become so popular, expect free swag. During the weekend I got a free Monster energy drink which I usually never touch, some wafer cookies and a complimentary sample of Death Coffee.
The cosplaying continued.
Ronald McDonald as Thor. NYCC. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016.
The last day of NYCC was spent getting merch I didn’t need like this Muttley POP. Then off to cruise Artist Alley once more.
Troma booth at NYCC 2016. Photo by Michele Wtichipoo Oct. 2016.
Adult Swim book at NYCC 2016.
Various Planet of The Apes art
Planet of The Apes motion book display as seen during NYCC 2016
This year there was some new interesting talent in Artist Alley, as well as those established such as Terry Moore (Strangers In Paradise), Joe Staton, and Erik Larsen (Savage Dragon).
One person that stood out was graffiti artist Andre Charles, otherwise known as ACharlesNYC. I brought a pin from him. He was so kind to give me a second one for free. Which was a score because I was having trouble which color to choose from. Besides, it’s always good to share old school NYC memories with someone.
Another new comic I discovered during NYCC was titled Pugly.
Also snagged a free issue of Faith, a popular comic book title now published by Valiant.
Of course some more cosplay.
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
NYCC cosplay. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016
Some T-Rex creatures were spotted as well.
Another trend I noticed. This year people were cosplaying with their pet dogs. I asked someone cosplaying a character from Adventure Time how he got his dog in. He replied listing your pup as a service dog. While it’s cute, I was left wondering if it was safe at all for the dogs themselves.
Adventure Time cosplay. NYCC. Photo by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016.
Another curious observation during the NYCC weekend. I kept on seeing something scribbled on the bathroom doors inside the ladies room. Later I discovered it was a quote from The Handmaid’s Tale in Latin: ‘don’t let the bastard grind you down.’ Quite fitting for these times, especially during the current U.S. Presidential election, in which NYCC was the perfect escape from. Ironically, this was the same weekend that news broke out about Trump ‘grabbing pussy.’
Quote from Margaret Atwood’s book The Handmaid’s Tale in Latin: ‘Don’t Let The Bastards Grind You Down.’ NYCC. Photo by Michele Witchipoo.
In all it was fun as always. Maybe one day I’ll have another table at NYCC Artist Alley again. Till next year.
Superheroes resting at the shoe shine stand. NYCC 2016. Photo taken by Michele Witchipoo. Oct. 2016.
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