Day 4, the final day. The most mellow hours of the four-day extravaganza, and a malenky bit sad because it's the last day of NYC's maddest fan event for another year.
9:30am: the admission line (and weapons check) for artists, vendors, and V.I.P.'s.
The lower level's entrance, 20 minutes before the public was admitted. Reminded me of some of the mall scenes with zombies in the original DAWN OF THE DEAD.
Animal Man.
Captain Boomerang.
Matthew Maley and John Bligh: two vile degenerates, foisting pornography upon the innocent attendees. IS THERE NO SHAME???
From the Master Replicas Group's ultra-impressive 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY collection, a three-foot super-detailed model of the Pan-Am Orion III spaceplane. This beats the living shit out of the version Aurora Models released fifty years ago.
From the Master Replicas Group's ultra-impressive 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY collection, the command section of the Discovery One.
From the Master Replicas Group's ultra-impressive 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY collection, the one item I would absolutely love to own: a limited edition wall-mounted Discovery One H.A.L. 9000 command console, complete with semi-interactive voice of H.A.L. and working light displays. It's gorgeous as a decorative piece, but the crowning glory of this item is that it's also a Bluetooth speaker system. I really, REALLY want one, but at the pre-order price that's one buck shy of a grand, it's out of my reach.
Prototype for a high-end collector's figure of FIST OF THE NORTH STAR's Kenshiro, complete with leather pants, pending manufacturer's approval. It's nice, but I still prefer my comparatively dinky imported children's toy of the character ,issued by Bandai in 1985. And the one from 33 years ago features Kenshiro in his signature sleeveless leather jacket and pauldron. (I'm not a big fan of the shirtless versions of Kenshiro. To me, him without his leather jacket is like Superman without his cape.)
GAME OF THRONES' Olenna and Margaery Tyrell.
Princess Buttercup, the Dread Pirate Roberts, and a couple of Rats of Unusual Size.
Sterling Archer and Lana Kane.
Best Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy EVER.
Young Hellboy. (photo by Eric Hamilton)
Eric Hamilton, forced to submit by the Phantom Zone miscreants. (photo courtesy of Eric Hamilton)
Possibly the greatest kid's costume ever. (photo by Eric Hamilton)
Joel Hodgson of Gizmonic Institute.
Black Manta.
An advocate for Poe Dameron.
Jean and Scott.
Father/daughter Batman and Raven.
Gwar fan dad and the Aquabats.
A superb shirt.
A superb Ali Wong. The other side of her sign advocated in favor of butthole-licking.
Russ and a fan dressed as Lilo. Russ was one of the animators on LILO AND STITCH (2002), so I had to photograph him displaying some of his art from the film next to Lilo.
Judge Death.
Trixie, Speed Racer, and Racer X.
Dr. Zoidberg and Amy Wong.
Charles was back, this time as the Black Canary.
The Black Canary prepares...
...and lets loose with her sonic scream.
A mask-less Mister Miracle.
The main causeway as seen around 2pm.
Daredevil and Iron Fist.
At Russ's table, Jaime Botero sketches.
After I told her about INFRA-MAN, which gets my vote as the most entertaining live-action superhero movie ever made, and filling her in on its superlative villain, Princess Dragon Mom, Jaime checked out some reference images and created this topless pen and watercolor portrait of her for me. Just plain lovely.
A Sentinel, under attack by the X-Men.
The Sentinel under attack, as seen from behind. Note Storm flying above its head.
Jiji and Kiki.
The Three Musketeers of all four days: (L-R) Yer Bunche, the lovely Jaime Botero, and Russ Braun. Jaime and I were there to act as support and keep Russ company, a task that was, as always, a blast.
(The most special of thanks to Russ, for bringing me along as his "plus one." Sure, I happily serve as his support when he needs breaks or heads off to participate in panels, but I'm immeasurably grateful for both his friendship and his kindness in having me along at his table. It's fun, as it allows us to hang out out all day, plus Artists Alley is one of the best vantage points for photographing the cosplayers. Anyway, thanks, Russ!)
GAME OF THRONES' Brienne of Tarth.
With buddy Robert Hack, the superb illustrator of CHILLING ADVENTURES OF SABRINA.
As seen after closing: a living scarecrow eerily waves goodbye to the departing conventioneers.
COME BACK NEXT YEAR FOR NY COMIC CON 2019!!!
