This year, I had the pleasure of attending my second NY Comic-Con. My first one, in 2011, was a dizzying, eye-opening experience of costumes, nerd love, and getting faked out by the promise of cupcakes. In 2012 I, sadly, was attending a wedding instead of witnessing the marriage of geekdom and even deeper niche geekdom. But this year, I was back and so was a beautifully renovated Javits Center.
I love traveling to the Javits via subway. Looking around in my car, I was wearing my 10th Doctor t-shirt and looked like the only one heading to this thing. But then as I got out on 7th Ave and walked west, I was slowly joined by more and more throngs clearly heading exactly where I was. How did I know? The capes gave it away, mostly. Also the inordinate amount of spandex.
And then, a block away. I witnessed this:
Why, yes, that is Boba Fett on an accordion. And he was playing the theme song from Zelda.
Anyway, the Javits was a big buzz of excitement, art, merch, and—my favorite part—creative costumes. As someone who throws a yearly themed birthday party, you know I have an appreciation for costumes—most especially the homemade ones.
Like this girl who came dressed as a character from Oregon Trail:
Or this homemade Dalek:
In fact there were a lot of Doctor Who related costumes this year, which I appreciated. Though, I thought, a dearth of Harry Potter costumes. Something I think I must remedy next year. (Luckily, I have thrown a Harry Potter themed party before so I am prepared.)
And speaking of Doctor Who, I was pretty thrilled that I had an opportunity to see John “Captain Jack” Barrowman—especially since I missed him at the convention I accidentally happened upon in Dusseldorf, Germany this year whilst on my honeymoon. (True story: you can read about it here).
The line to get his autograph and a photo with him were c-razy long. I mean, I have a photo of it, but I’m not sure how much you can surmise from it since I am a) short and b) not wearing a costume to compensate for that. (Another note to self for next year. Perhaps I can go as Madame Maxime.)
But trust me, it was long. And, also, we had missed the photo portion, which made me sad since JB was wearing his suspenders and giving out hugs. He looks like a good hugger.
Luckily, we just managed to eke into the Q&A session with him. It was standing room only but we got to stand pretty close to the front. If you’ve ever wondered what John Barrowman is like in person, think Captain Jack—but not toned down for television. And I include the sometimes X-rated Torchwood in this scenario. In other words: charming, hilariously inappropriate, and raunchy as all get-out. Oh, and very purty, of course.
JB answered questions ranging from the practical jokes the Torchwood cast played on each other (involved nudity) to whether he likes Thai food (also, surprisingly, involved some nudity. And diarrhea). It was a really fun hour, punctuated by his husband Scott “swishing” out on stage in a Superman costume (“Superman doesn’t swish!” John protested), and John planting one on him. Who doesn’t want a bit of romance inserted into their Comic-Con, I ask you?
My Comic-Con experience ended at the art auction. I’ve actually never been to an auction before at all, so it was fun to sit there with a paddle and see people get razzed over some really beautiful art. The fact that all proceeds went to charity made it that much sweeter.
And what does one do after a rejuvenating celebration of stories and arts and people’s unbridled passion for the above? Channel it into karaoke, of course. So, really, you might say that my Comic-Con experience ended with a rousing duet of “Beauty and the Beast.” There may have also been a Grease 2 song in there…but I’ll never spill which one.
Written by Sarvenaz Tash. Check out her debut novel, The Mapmaker and the Ghost. Photos by Graig Kreindler.