The Vault of Buncheness: NEW YORK COMIC CON 2013-Day 2 The Madness intensifies

Things picked up considerably on Day 2, since it was a work day that folks could get out of with relative ease.

I met this crew on the M34 crosstown bus from East 34th Street and Park Avenue South, and we cracked each other up during the ride. The buxom beauty in the middle described her look as "Blaxploitation Uhura," which I of course totally appreciated.

A representative of Kaiju Big Battel hands out promotional fliers.

An outstanding Golden Age Flash. I was surprised to see several cosplayers representing as this classic character during the con's four days, and this lady was my favorite of the lot.

A closeup of her excellent helmet. Believe it or not, the wings were made from multiple layers of cardboard. A+

A male Jubilee and a fetching Elektra.

I love that cardboard Dalek.

A Minion.

Jigsaw's puppet.

Callisto from XENA: WARRIOR PRINCESS.

The first of several Scarlet Witches. She's always welcome, as far as I'm concerned.

I'm generally not a steampunk fan, unless the cosplayers do something creative with the aesthetic, and this Scott Summers and Jean Grey more than succeed in that department.

An excellent Dr. Octopus.

Back to Artist Alley!

Proud and incredibly cool mama Michelle, breaking in wee Sadie at her first convention.

New friend Sandra Botero in a homemade superheroine dress.

The first of several Axe Cops.

My favorite of the con's many Black Cats.

The stunning Freya as Ms. Marvel, with the Green Arrow.

(L-R) Bullpen brother Michael Kraiger, illustrator/loon Rick Parker, and Bullpen brother Darren Auck.

Misty Knight, the Valkyrie, and the Black Cat.

Loki (with tesseract) and Thor.

An original and very funny take on Princess Ariel.

A texting Dr. Octopus with Spider-Man's stolen mask.

The Valkyrie leads the way to an all-heroine photo shoot.

The magnificence of cardboard Iron Man.

At the all-heroine photo-op, an excellent Spider-Woman.

I tell you, that kneeling Valkyrie rocks!

The Scarlet Witch and Loki.

The Scooby Gang's Velma, and one of the few of the legion of Harley Quinns who really got my attention.

Jesus H. Christ!

The New 52 version of Supergirl.

Colonial-era Captain America. I especially like the tomahawk.

Doom and Vader: the inspiration and the next pop cultural evolutionary step.

A charming Madame Hydra, aka Viper.

Captains Marvel.

(L-R) Bullpen brother Chris Giarusso and Jacob Chabot.

A.C. signs for her legion of fans.

The Black Widow and Hit-Girl.

Young Loki.

Me, decked out as Gurustein (the character in BEFORE WATCHMEN: SILK SPECTRE that's based on me), with Bullpen brother Dave Sharpe, one of my favorite human beings.

For us old school horror fans: the Phantom of the Opera as the Red Death.

Love that Rocket Raccoon doll!

Dave Sharpe chats with the ever-awesome Larry Hama.

An excellent Domino.

The Fairly-Odd Parents.

A CLOCKWORK ORANGE's Alex, just singin' in the rain.

"McFly..."

One of several Marvel Girls. I was surprised to see this version of Jean Grey represented in such numbers, as opposed to the Phoenix iteration.

Many women showed up as this character (who I am not familiar with) and this one was the most charming of the lot.

Male Sailor Moon. The shoes make the outfit.

The return of the Clock King, complete with face that kept accurate time.

Petite Captain America, with Bucky.

The Clock King drops in on A.C.

Two Robins, both cute as hell in completely different ways.

Getting shot for "Shit Nerds Never Say," by filmmaker Bill Scurry (R).

The Shadow knows...

Icon.

Darwyn Cooke drops in.

Garbage can-helmeted Juggernaut.

A.C. and Power Girl.

The Wasp.

The Wasp's wings.

It's magic! Zatanna and Doctor Fate.

Now, THAT is a serious fan!

An excellent Donna Troy.

Arya, Joffrey, Margaery, and Cersei.

Two-Face.

The Black Panther.

I love it when cosplayers do Wonder Woman's armored look.

Flute Cop and two Axe Cops.

John Constantine.

Nightwing.

Smurfette.

The excellent tattoos of a serious Hanna Barbera fan.

Hunter S. Thompson.

The awesome twins strike again.

A.C. takes a stealthy lunch break while the twins regale her fans.

Bizarro Clark Kent. Much to the amusement of onlookers, I directed this photo by conversing with this cosplayer in fluent Bizarro-speak. It was epic.

Darwyn Cooke, flanked by gorgeousness. Direct quote: "I feel like an African king!"

A fetching Harley Quinn poses with A.C.'s portrait of the character.

A.C. with comics journalist Jill "The Nerdy Bird" Pantozzi.

Thor crashes a mutant photo-op.

An incredible functional homemade R2-D2.

The big red cheese.

Loki texts.

Mermaid Man and Barnacle Boy.

Very subtle.

Best Beast ever!!!

Ursula the sea witch, with Flotsam and Jetsam.

Elvira.

The first time I've seen SAGA-inspired cosplay.

Prince Robot IV from SAGA. Outstanding!

Freakazoid.

An excellent Princess Mononoke.

Aesir in the house!

Classic Spider-Man villain the Shocker, with money bag.

The con's best Robin.

An outstanding Kid Flash.

The new-look Captain Marvel is shaping up to be one of the most popular costumes among female cosplayers.

I really want one of these shirts.

The one and only Paigey Pumphrey!

The Phantasm.

Cliff Chiang.

An excellent Batwoman.

THE FIFTH ELEMENT represents!

Neverlanders: (L-R) Princess Tiger Lily, Wendy, and Peter Pan.

The bravest woman at the con.

After corresponding and being Facebook friends for years, I finally met David Walker, the mastermind behind BADZZ MOFO magazine face-to-face. The nab knows his shit and is one hell of a writer!