SORRY, BUT...

Folks-

I had hoped to have all of yesterday's con shots color-corrected, loaded and annotated, but there were too many to finish before I passed out. It's just after 2AM as I write this and I'm completely and utterly exhausted. I'll have stuff up tomorrow, so please stay tuned. Until then, here's something to tide you over.

You're welcome!

ON THE LOOSE AT NY COMICON 2010-Day 1

"I love the smell of comics in the morning! Smells like...victory!"

Ah, the first day of the NY Comicon, a time when I channel my inner Col. Kilgore and think of inhaling the musty stench of old comics rather than napalm. That first day is usually somewhat quiet thanks to it taking place on a Friday, when most folks are at work, but this time around things got crowded on early Maybe due to the high unemployment rate...

The main floor. 11AM and all is quiet...but not for long!

I arrived at the Javits Center around 11AM and headed straight for Artists Alley, where I agreed to watch the booth area of old friends Amanda Conner and Jimmy Palmiotti. That turned out to work to my advantage, because the location allowed for the traffic to pass by as I set up Amanda's display of prints for sale, and among that traffic were friends both old and recent.

British publisher Tim Pilcher confers with documentarian Ian Fischer, sussing out when they can meet so Tim can get filmed for Ian's documentary on superheroes and what they mean to us as a culture. (I got interviewed for it some months back and Ian and I have been pals ever since.)

Artists Alley early in the day, soon to be overrun with eager fans.

Amanda's con-issued signage, mis-spelling her name for the umpteenth time.

Situation corrected with the aid of blue, gold and black markers.

Yer Bunche and David "Demonrock" Sharpe, a brother from my years in the Marvel Bullpen (1990-1998). Dave is a unique and genuine human being, one of my very favorite living beings on the planet, and it was a tonic to see him again for the first time in almost a decade.

The Sharpe family. (L-R) Emily, David, Connor, and Bonnie. The last time I saw the kids (1998), Emily was a toddler and Connor was a babe in arms.

I intend to be photographed with my head poking through the hole in this, making agonized faces as Jimmy Palmiotti pretends to pooch me from behind. Stay tuned!

A bitchin' racing simulator.

The main entrance to the dealer's area, an indoor cornucopia of geeky shit to buy.

The main floor, unusually crowded for a Friday.

The Green Lantern and Star Sapphire get down to "Smooth Criminal" with THE MICHAEL JACKSON EXPERIENCE, kind of DANCE DANCE REVOLUTION, only Jackson-specific.

GREEN LANTERN and FLASH scribe Geoff Johns chats about recent projects and fields questions from the fans (many of which he was not allowed to answer), shortly before being asked by a fan to recite the Green Lantern Corps oath. He agreed to do it, provided the audience accompanied him, which we did. Around three-hundred of us. Perhaps the geekiest thing I have ever done in public, I have never been more simultaneously proud and ashamed to be a lifelong geek.

The Riddler and Tank Girl.

Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel Junior.

STAR WARS OVERLOAD: two Wookies, two Leias, one Amidala, and a wee Jedi.

STAR WARS family: proud geek parents, raising the next generation to get its ass kicked in the schoolyard.

A terrific Storm. Extra points for the eyes.

A couple of the Monarch's minions.

What's a con without adorable Japanese cosplayers?

A.C. signs for her ever-growing legion of fans. I could not possibly more proud of my homegirl.

Rockin' the perfect Johnny Storm 'tude.

An especially black Black Cat.

A small section of the line to see Stan Lee. Seriously!

The first time I've seen anyone rock Vixen, and I doubt I'll ever see better. A+!

For those unfamiliar with the character.

That Joker sure knows how to accessorize.

A mighty gathering of heroes: (L-R) The Mighty Thor, Plastic Man, Aquaman.

TO BE CONTINUED.

HAPPY 70th BIRTHDAY, JOHN LENNON

Wee John Lennon, sometime in the 1940's.

A TREASURE FROM THE NY COMICON

My mad passion for autographed pics of favorite celebs continues, and today I managed to get none other than Sarah Douglas, best know to us geeks as Ursa, the black-clad evil Kryptonian chick from SUPERMAN (1978) and SUPERMAN II (1981).

Douglas was really cool and took the time to chat with her fans, something she stated she really loves doing, and you could tell she was sincere. She regaled me and another fan with very funny tales of her movie-making adventures, and I came away from the signing with a smile in my face and warmth in my heart.

'TWAS THE DAY BEFORE COMICON

10/7-

On the day before the ginormous NY Comicon kicked off, I made my way to Manhattan's Jacob Javits Center to attend a press gathering for PUBLISHERS WEEKLY writers and picku p my press badge, and while there I snapped a few "before" shots. First up is a look at the floor leading down to Artists Alley, the space allotted to a cohort of cartoonists, writers and other assorted lunatics.

Barren, save for a lone Javits center staffer, this expanse will soon be so covered with people that not even a trace of the floor will be visible.

One side of Artists Alley.

Here's the signage indicating the press office, where myself and fellow PW writers sat down with our editor, renowned comics-biz gadabout Heidi MacDonald, and hashed out who would be covering which panels.

I'll be covering the following panels:

• Spotlight on Geoff Johns
• Rationalizing Comics and sequential art in the classroom
• Graphic Novels as Young Adult Literature
• Darwn Cooke Spotlight

Then came the evening and the Little Eva Ink art opening at the Illustration House, hosted by my former Marvel Comics colleague Renee Witterstaetter. The place was chock-a-block with classic original works by skilled illustrators and when not engaged in conversation with old friends, I was busy drooling over all the gorgeous artwork.

Yer Bunche, Renee Witterstaetter (aka "the Texas Tomato") and a friend of hers from overseas (whose name eludes me at the moment).

With Michael Golden, one of my all-time favorite cartoonists, spiritual hero of the Marvel Bullpen during the tail-end of my time there, and one hell of a fun guy.

With a piece by Dr. Seuss from his days as an illustrator for manuals for the U.S. military, ca. World War II.

With Kenny Lopez, former Marvel brother and now head of DC Comics' in-house lettering.

The mighty Francine Burke, a colleague from Marvel and DC, pontificating on the biz.

With former Bullpen brother Vince Evans, a spectacularly talented painter.

With the irrepressible Mark Texiera.

Our lovely hostess.

Vince and Renee.

This next item blew my mind when I walked in and saw it:

This is the original painting of "At the Grey Havens" by the Brothers Hildebrandt, as seen in the 1978 J.R.R. Tolkien calendar. I was a huge Hildebrandt freak during the late-1970's, so when I saw this huge piece I almost fell over from shock.

It's about five feet long by three feet wide, painted on masonite.

Detail from "At the Grey Havens." Note the brush strokes.

Detail from "At the Grey Havens." The photo doesn't get it across, but the fabric on Arwen's dress looks completely real when seen up close.

The same can be said of the fluffy bits on Aragorn's sleeves.

Renee, with the Hildebrandt painting for scale.

After the opening wound down, I made my way home to Brooklyn and got a decent night's sleep in order to be fresh and ready to rock on the first day of the 2010 NY Comicon. It's just after 7:30AM as I post this, and now I'm off to shower, eat breakfast and haul my ass over to the Javits Center.

TO BE CONTINUED.