A MIGHTY CONFLUENCE OF GEEKDOM: THE 2009 NY COMICON PHOTO SAFARI-DAY 3

After the crushing tumult of the previous day things calmed down considerably, but there was still fun to be had and geekish good will permeated the atmosphere. My obligations were minimal, so I took the time to relax, meet and greet, do a wee bit of shopping and bullshit a little before enduring a two-hour book-signing line, but more on that later...

DAY THREE: THE (RELATIVE) CALM AFTER THE STORM

I spent much of the early portion of the day in Artists Alley, occupying a vacant seat next to Amanda and thankfully giving my flat, aching feet a well-earned rest. As the throng milled about I chatted with A.C. as she drew sketches for the fans, and we both yakked it up with a number of pros who stopped by to say "hi."

A.C. chats with fantastically-talented Frenchman Stephane Roux, the guy who did that awesome BIRDS OF PREY cover featuring Black Alice that I bought last year. (See below) The guy's not only an excellent illustrator, he's also a total sweetheart with a great sense of humor and I have not one bad thing to say about him. A class act all the way!

The colored and printed version of the BIRDS OF PREY cover I bought through Stephane Roux's representative last year.

Yer Bunche and Stephane Roux.

A.C. gets her ass kicked by Power Girl, the first issue of whose ongoing series Amanda is working on at the moment.

This Power Girl was first encountered last year and when she turned up this time I asked for her info so I could mention her by name on this here blog. She's Elizabeth Amber Delaney, a fun, knowledgeable and funny she-geek (just like my old pal A.C.) whose excellent Herofashions blog site is well worth checking out, and it offers a lot more than just chronicles of her excursions into crafting quality superhero-wear. She's a riot and I hope to see her again next year, rocking what my extremely reliable source tells me may be a slightly modified Power Girl outfit from the new ongoing series...

Power Girl fades off into the convention throng.

This charming Englishman is Tim Pilcher, a U.K.-based editor and writer who penned the well-researched and fascinating EROTIC COMICS: A GRAPHIC HISTORY FROM TIJUANA BIBLES TO UNDERGROUND COMIX (out now) and EROTIC COMICS 2: A GRAPHIC HISTORY FROM THE LIBERATED '70S TO THE INTERNET (due out in March from Abrams Books).

I thought I knew a lot about erotic comics, but Pilcher leaves me light years behind as thoroughly and entertainingly evidenced in his two volumes, both of which I give my highest recommendation. If you like it naughty, sexy or even just plain downright filthy — and if you read this blog, it's a safe bet you do — then you owe it to yourself to pick these books up and leave them on the living room table, right where your grandma can read them and hopefully tell you a thing or two about such literature that's not found in either volume.

And speaking of naughty...

Amanda draws a commission sketch of Archie comics' leading ladies Betty and Veronica...

...only this time depicted topless and merrily displaying nipple rings. As A.C. so eloquently put it, "It's like I'm nine again!"

A.C. chats with a rabid fangirl (I use "fangirl" in a good way).

L-R: Yer Bunche (former comics negro), Floyd Hughes (British ongoing comics negro), Keith Williams and James Hoston (Yankee ongoing comics Negroes). After this photo was shot, we were all taken out and lynched.

The DC Comics arena.

Roughly one sixth of the line for the Joss Whedon DOLLHOUSE screening: I love a lot of Joss Whedon's stuff too, but I'll be damned if I'd stand on line for an hour or two for a screening of a TV show that I could watch in the comfort of my own home, naked if I chose to, just a few days later. Well, maybe if star Eliza Dushku gave me a Frenchy...

Funny in hindsight, but this was the first time I ever thought of Wolverine's outfit from a fetishwear point of view.

A WATCHMEN assortment.

It just ain't a comics convention without an appearance from the Mighty Thor, Norse god of thunder!

In a clever nod considering the upcoming WATCHMEN flick, this con-goer represents as The Question, the Steve Ditko-created inspiration for Rorschach. Oddly, this was the first time I've ever seen anyone attempt this character, probably due to the completely blank face, and I think this guy rocked it rather well.

Behold the knee-trembling evil of...The Monarch!

For all you G.I. JOE hardcores: a paironess of The Baroness.

Sweeney Todd and Mrs. Lovett, caught strolling "by the sea."

Sally, from THE NIGHTMARE BEFORE CHRISTMAS.

A fetching distaff Dr. Horrible, decked out in the character's togs once he gained admission into The Evil League of Evil.

Superman's back! And now he's your uncle!

For those of you idiots dumb and un-American enough to actually believe Captain America is dead: Bucky, aka the "new" Captain America.

Is it just me, or is this Iceman kinda scary?

The Green Lantern and the first Sue Storm I've ever seen at a show. Now if only she'd have rocked it Kirby-Style...

The Central City contingent.

Hands down, this guy was the best of the several Dr. Horribles who represented. He takes the prize for a well-done and accurate costume, accented by his uncanny resemblance to Neil Patrick Harris.

Old School Marvel in da house! Doctor Strange walks among us mundanes, and his presence only pissed me off because the guy hasn't had his own book in ages and was utterly wasted in WORLD WAR HULK. Word of advice to Marvel Comics: bring back Brian K. Vaughn!!!

The ultimate superheroic douchebag and Dr. Horrible's arch-nemesis, Captain Hammer.

Dark Horse Comics' X, alongside the very best of the weekend's several Black Canaries.

The line for the Dave Gibbons WATCHING THE WATCHMEN signing. I was about sixteenth on line and stood there for two hours (I got there early and was still sixteenth in line) so I could get my pal Adrian's copy of ABSOLUTE WATCHMEN signed, along with two items of my own (WATCHING THE WATCHMEN and THRILL-POWER OVERLOAD, the latter of which was the one I really wanted signed). What sucked about this was that the line had to be woven so that it was four people deep in a futile effort not to infringe on the space of the booth around the corner, but at least the fans were nice and very enthusiastic. However, I was saddened that the handlers would only let Dave the assembled get only WATCHING THE WATCHMEN and one other item signed; I totally understood due to the crowd being beyond what the exhibitors were prepared for — and I frankly was gobsmacked at the fact that the exhibitors were surprised by the size of the crowd, apparently not having taken into account that Gibbons is the co-creator of THE SINGLE MOST POPULAR AND CRITICALLY ACCLAIMED GRAPHIC NOVEL OF ALL TIME, a fact that would guarantee lines the length of the exodus from Egypt if properly promoted, and to say nothing of the hype and anticipation for the WATCHMEN movie drumming up considerable potential business — but it's all good. I got Adrian's book signed and got mine signed as well, and since I know Dave from having edited roughly about the first thirty pages of his graphic novel THE ORIGINALS before I got the boot from Vertigo I can get him to sign THRILL-POWER OVERLOAD when next I hit the Bristol Con in England. Too bad the fucking thing's heavy to lug around, but if I have to mule it over to the U.K. then so be it.

Two hardcore fans await their turn.

Dave Gibbons signs for the faithful.

Late on Sunday afternoon: Wonderland shuts down.

Sunday night at Union Hall in Brooklyn: exhausted, overwhelmed and in sore need of a beer and a shot.

Well, dear Vaulties, that's it. Another Javits Center show come and gone, leaving huge smiles and empty wallets in its wake, and I assure you I'll be there for another round of outright geekery in 2010. I hope you'll join me!

A MIGHTY CONFLUENCE OF GEEKDOM: THE 2009 NY COMICON PHOTO SAFARI-DAY 2

Having survived the first day of the convention with no unpleasantness, I girded my loins and other parts for the inevitable mad, crushing crowd that would inevitably occur on Saturday. While the crowd was every bit as dense and constricting as anticipated, this year things went much more smoothly thanks to a generally fun and friendly vibe put out by all in attendance, and as a result it seemed to me that everybody had a good time. And, what with it being the weekend proper and all that, there were scores of cute chicks rockin' superhero gear, cosplay getups and all manner of costumes that kept the shutterbugs very busy indeed.

DAY TWO: KNEE DEEP IN THE HOOPLAH

"Batgirl, whose baby are you?" This 1960's Batgirl gets my vote as the best outfit of the show. Well done, lady!

It's that most dreaded of villains...The Spoiler!

That's obviously the Joker and Nightwing, but who's the other guy? Is he some guy from Bensonhurst who shops at the local Army surplus store?

A timewarp back to the '90's: Tank Girl lives! (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

All I have to ask is, "Where can I get one?"

The only Zatanna I saw all weekend.

An Imperial Stormtrooper goes in search of a $5.75 hot dog and a $4.00 soda.

DC Comics royalty. (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

My work-buddy Brian flees the rampaging Hulk.

Hulk got back!

The show's best Wonder Woman.

Last year's excellent Black Manta makes a triumphant return.

When I saw this guy last year I was too focused on the overall effect and impressive helmet (with voice-altering speaker) to notice Black Manta's equally impressive package. (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

Mark Texiera, longtime friend who was born to draw hot chicks. One of the sweetest human beings in comics and raised on a steady diet of Edgar Rice Burroughs and Robert E. Howard influences by way of Frazetta, Tex's illustrations are guaranteed to put hair on your chest.

Tex drawing the Dark Phoenix for a fan.

J.G. Jones (Y: THE LAST MAN, FINAL CRISIS) attempts to hypnotize Yer Bunche.

A loose selection of THE OUTER SPACE MEN, a line of bendy space toys from the late-1960's that are beloved by those who once played with them (including Yer Bunche). Not built to withstand the rigors of steady play, these aliens often suffered lost limbs and broken wire cores (to say nothing of often becoming the favorite chew toys of the family pooch), so if found in anything resembling good condtion nowadays they command staggering collector's prices.

See that big green guy on the left? That's Colossus Rex, a warrior from Jupiter whom X-MEN artist Dave Cockrum used as the model for Ch'od of the Starjammers. I've still got him and he's in one piece, but the bendable metal core at his shoulders and hips are shot. Even as such he's still worth a decent chunk of change, but I'd never part with him for sentimental reasons.

A selection of never-released and variant OUTER SPACE MEN.

Astro-Nautilus: once my favorite plaything, now a prized collector's item worth about three times the Vault's monthly rent if found mint on the card. Maybe someday I'll have one again, but definitely not now...

It's the all-Asian Marvel explosion! (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

Yer Bunche, representing for Publishers Weekly Comics Week. This location turned out to be ideal for capturing the costumed fun on camera.

Wonder Woman stops by the PWCW booth.

A charming Beauty and the Beast visit the PWCW booth. I normally loathe couples costumes because usually one of the participants looks like they'd rather be dead and in the clutches of a necrophile before being seen in a costume, but these two were both obviously into it and I think they rock.

I had to follow that dose of wholesome romance and decency with this portrait of two of my favorite humans on the planet, Michael Kraiger and Darren Auck. Friends of mine for just under twenty years, we're brothers from our days together in the wild and wooly Marvel Bullpen of 1990-1998 and it failed to surprise me when they walked up to the PWCW booth with beers in hand and did not have one for me, even though they knew full well that I'd be there. Douchebags...

Snow White at the PWCW booth.

The Black Canary graces the PWCW booth with her presence.

Behold! The awesome power of Geekdom at the PWCW booth.

This booth was located a ways across from the PWCW booth, but I never got a chance to go over and ask just what the hell it was all about.

Snake Plissken.

I like to think of this guy as The Spirit begging for the money that his movie failed to make.

Cosplay at the food court.

One of the best statues of Namor, the Sub-Mariner I've ever seen.

General question: would you pay Rob Liefeld $150 for a drawing? I know how I'd answer...

Of the many impressive items seen here from Executive Replicas, the one I want most is the ridiculous (and accurate) green sea monster from THE HORROR OF PARTY BEACH, one of the worst movies ever made and damned near the last flick I ever expected to see a toy from.

Executive Replicas' gorgeous 2001: A SPACE ODYSSEY space pod.

The Go Hero retro Buck Rogers display. I can't wait until my Buck Rogers figure arrives in the mail at the office!

The WATCHMEN banana. Oooookay...

Artists Alley sees some serious traffic.

Plaid Spider-Man. What more need be said? (photo courtesy of Bill Wrigley)

Most surprising and unique outfits of the whole weekend: Where's Waldo? and Carmen San Diego.

Two Jedi, rockin' the saberage. The Jedi presence this year was drastically reduced from years previous, so is this a sign that STAR WARS is finally in its death throes?

The only Trekkers I noticed all weekend. And am I wrong, or is the guy Neal Adams' son?

Old School Marvel in da house! The Wasp and Giant-Man: best couples costume ever, and my favorites of the entire weekend (I always award extra points to those who rock it Old School.)

The Spirit.

The Empire represents.

Fun with Carbonite!

Gotta love girls with guns: a medic from the TEAM FORTRESS 2 video game.

The magic of custom-made t-shirts.

The shiniest Supergirl ever.

The 1990's Superboy. I always wanted to ask: what's up with that garter belt?

Superchica!

Spideys and a toothsome nursie.

For you G.I JOE fans: Snake Eyes and Scarlet. (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

Slave Leia and Han Solo: as a couples costume, this definitely passes conceptual muster.

The Scooby Gang hits the food court for some $12.50 pork fried rice.

A Ghostbuster.

The Ghostbuster's Proton Pack: once a source of awe when seen at cons in homemade versions back in the days, these can now be had from a number of manufacturers for as much as $1000, depending on the assorted bells and whistles they come with.

Just in time for the WATCHMEN movie: Rorscach and The Comedian.

Rorschach and Harley Quinn.

Two Rorschachs hit the loo, or "Showing up in the same prom dress." (Photo courtesy of Bill Wrigley.)

Rogue, Joker, and what I can only surmise is a video game character.

I have no idea what this attendee is supposed to be, but I love the antique-looking piece of gadgetry that she's sporting.

Old School Marvel in da house! Red Sonja rocks it '70's-style.

I have no clue what the fuck this dude is supposed to be, and I don't care. All I know for sure is that he's completely awesome.

Cosplay girls on the loose. (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

Nightwing and an outstanding Disco Dazzler (I stress the "disco" to distinguish her from the later, immensely uninteresting X-Men version). She's accurate right down to the roller skates and ranks among the best costumes of the show.

The Disco Dazzler and her family: shots like these just make me glad to be alive.

Ms. Marvel represents (Initiative-supporting bee-yotch...)

The Jim Lee version of Batgirl from ALL-STAR BATMAN and her cosplaying companion.

Oh, to be undead and in New York... (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

A cuddly and very leafy Poison Ivy.

Little Felix Wrigley represents as Uatu the Watcher at his very first con.

Felix and his ultra-geeky daddy, my old pal Bill, who proudly told me he planned this costume while the kid was still gestating (Felix's mom rolled her eyes heavenward as this was recounted).

More G.I. JOE: a pair of Snake Eyes. (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

Kid Flash, formerly Impulse, of the Teen Titans.

Jughead!

Poison Ivy and Catwoman.

A "so bad it's good" Iron Fist.

The best Iron Fist of the weekend.

Kyle Rayner: once the Green Lantern, now Ion.

Dick Tracy, cleaning up Artists Alley.

The Black Cat. (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

"Hawkaaaaaaaaa!!!" Blackhawk represents.

The Invisible Man and Poison Ivy.

Old School Marvel in da house! Gwen Stacy, Peter Parker and Mary Jane Watson.

Solomon Grundy and Kid Flash.

Princess Giselle from Disney's ENCHANTED.

Elektra and She-Ra: the most unlikely team-up of all time?

The lovely Dr. Girlfriend.

Proof that us geeks simply do not give a fuck, this rather slender Donna Troy has moxie to spare.

Elektra and Storm. Or is that Della Reese?

The title (emphasis on "tit") character from CRY FOR DAWN and Shadowcat.

Dawn again: all I have to say to this is, "Damn!!!" (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

Captain Jack Sparrow.

A teen Dr. Horrible.

The Marvel arena, where the fans were whipped up into an Islamic Jihad-like frenzy.

Future Jedi.

Part of the legion of Slave Leias. (Photo courtesy of Sam Roberts.)

Yer Bunche represents for Themyscira.

Another Wonder Woman represents.

Tune in tomorrow for the WATCHMEN signing, a return engagement with Power Girl, more costumed lunacy and the end of the show in part 3: "THE (RELATIVE) CALM AFTER THE STORM."