New York Comic Con Show Report by Brad Bradley, CGC Pre-Grader
The New York Comic Con is the second-largest pop culture convention in America, replete with the latest in toys, video games, anime, movies, and — of course — comic books!
Beginning on Friday, April 18, a team of us from CGC arrived at the Jacob K. Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan, where our booth had been assembled amidst all the dealer’s tables in preparation for what we assumed would be a busy show. Before the show even opened to the public we had our work cut out for us, as dealers and exhibitors took advantage of our easy access and stopped by our booth to submit books for certification. This kept us plenty preoccupied, right up to the official door opening at 3:00, and as the public swarmed in, we quickly realized that none of us would have much time to be idle.
Only two hours in, and as our main Friday event arrived, people started gathering around our booth in even greater droves, and why not? Our guest was none other than industry legend Stan Lee! Thirty ticket-holders who had made donations to the Hero Initiative got to meet and chat with “The Man” at the CGC booth and have two items signed by him, making both items eligible for CGC’s prestigious Signature Series! Customers at the other end of the booth were frankly amazed that while they were submitting books featuring Spider-Man, Fantastic Four, and the X-Men, their beloved co-creator was sitting mere yards away!
If we thought that Saturday would provide us with some downtime to recover, we were soon dispelled of that notion! For Day Two brought us two more legends signing at our booth — John Romita Sr. and John Romita Jr.! Both were at the CGC booth to meet fans and sign autographs together, with all proceeds benefiting the Hero Initiative. The booth, now more than ever, became a focal point of the convention floor for eager fans, excited onlookers, and happy Signature Series partakers, resulting in many satisfied comic fans and CGC customers.
Throughout the weekend, our Signature Series team — represented by Kevin Boyd at our booth, with witnesses including Peter Dixon, Kris Moore, and Chandler Rice and his wife Sharon — took advantage of the enormous guest list at the con to obtain signatures for many of their customers. Some of the big names to provide autographs included Dick Ayers, Grant Morrison, Ron Garney, Jim Lee, Nic Cardy, Bryan Hitch, Jerry Robinson, Neal Adams, Mike Mignola, Joe Simon, and Joe Sinnott. These names are just a sampling of the talent that were present. Many of them not only graced some comics with their autographs, but some with incredible sketches as well. There are now a great many “blank cover” variants of Fallen Son #3 and Secret Invasion #1 that feature some gorgeous one-of-a-kind sketches. Look for many of these to eventually be added to our gallery!
When the dust had settled Sunday evening, a weary CGC team felt a great deal of satisfaction. We had set a record for submissions at a show, with submissions totaling more than 4,600 books, and our booth had played host to some of the most important names in comics. Our thanks go out to convention staff, the amazing guests that attended, the hard-working Signature Series witnesses, and the general public who made the 2008 New York Comic Con a success!
