Boston Con Wrap Up!

Hello everyone! Oh how I have missed you... We had a great time at the Boston Comic Con! I'm going to break it down just as I did with the Albany Con about some likes and dislikes. Evan T. will be chiming in at some point as well, as he was there working the entire weekend, and The Editor and I were only present on Saturday.

The Boston Con honestly, was smaller than I thought it was going to be. However, it seems to be growing by leaps and bounds. That being said there were a lot of great stores there representing (Newbury Comics, Harrisons, Midtown, etc), as well as a lot of independent dealers offloading their stashes. The Editor and I made out VERY well in the comic book department. We found a lot of filler stuff at great prices, as well as a bunch of variant covers at phenomenal prices. When it was all said and done (and the comics were put into the database), the price that the comics were valued at was three times as much as we paid for the books, so we were pretty happy.


I was amazed that we stuck to comics only. I'm such an action figure nerd that I was fully expecting to drop a hefty wad on what I call "accessories". Besides the comics, I got two prints. One of the Hulk, that was adorable, and going to be hung in the Danger Room (AKA nursery), and one super amazing Ms. Marvel print.

For being a smaller con than NYC, the Boston con still had a TON of amazing artists featured. I got my variant cover of "The Wonderful Wizard of Oz" signed by J. Scott Campbell, who I give HUGE props to, because he was signing ALL day. I also got my issue of "Sea Bear and Grizzly Shark" signed by Ryan Ottly (who is super awesome), but the crown jewel in my day was getting an issue of "Catwoman" signed by the amazing Adam Hughes. I've been a HUGE fan of Adam's work for quite some time now, and I missed my opportunity to meet him at NYCC, so it was completely amazing to finally get the chance to meet him.

There were a ton of great costumes there as well. My favorite moment of the day was when a guy dressed up like Deadpool went in for a photo op with a four year old dressed like Wolverine. Deadpool guy pulled out his (fake)  guns, and as soon as little Wolvie saw the guns, he automatically stuck out his fingers like he was making a number "3", and started growling and trying to knock the guns out of Deadpools hands. It may have been the cutest thing I have ever seen in my life. Ever.

My only complaint was something that I'm sure happens a lot, but I have been lucky enough to not encounter it until this past weekend. While The Editor and I were standing in like waiting to meet J. Scott Campbell, the line was seemingly going nowhere. I asked The Editor why, and he pointed out the fact that several people in line had stacks of literally DOZENS of copies of comics for the artist to sign. I'm sorry, but that is TOTAL bullshit.

I can completely understand if you're a huge fan, and want to geek out to your favorite artist. I've been there. I've done that. However, when you make it blatantly obvious, by having numerous copies of the same issue, that you are nothing more than some douchebag who is going post the comic on e-bay, you should be reprimanded. Artists are too nice to say anything, so I'm going to. The following is a short letter that all dickheads like that should remember:

Dear Asshat,

I understand that you want to use someones fame to make yourself a quick buck or two, however, there are some of us here that are true fans. That being said, if you could limit your items to ten per person, the rest of us would not want to bust your stupid face in. Most of us would just like to geek out on an extremely talented person, and have that signature in their personal collection, and I promise it will only take one minute TOPS for us to do so. We're trying to respect you, so please try and respect us.

Thanks,

The True Fans

P.S. After having the artist sign 100 items for you, don't try and shake their hand. It only makes you look like an even bigger tool.

So there you go! I'll be back on in the next day or two to discuss a cause that friend of Carly on Comics and proprietor of Downtown comics, Andy LeClair, will be organizing very soon. It's a fantastic cause that is very close to my heart, so I'm hoping to rally a few of you readers to give me a hand helping him out. More on that later in the week!

Crazy Carly's Weekly Rant...

Hello everyone! I hope you are having a better day than we are here in Upstate New York! I spent the first 20 minutes of my day trying to pry The Editors car door open with no success. After the warm, but rainy day yesterday, of course Mother Nature feels the need to squash any feelings about nice weather we might have but dumping like, an inch of ice and 3 inches of snow on us. YUCK. I've decided that once The Editor and I need to upgrade house size, we are sooooo moving this show to California. Sure, they may have a crap economy just like New York, but at least they have nice weather there, so it doesn't make you feel quite as bad about it. And I know, you're like "But Caaaaarly, they have EARTHQUAKES in California!". To that I say, at least I don't have to own a snow brush.

As you can see, I'm on quite the ranting roll already this morning. The past two days I've just woken up crabby as all heck, and it hasn't gotten better. I blame it on cabin fever and progesterone. Today, we're going to talk about the movies, and why I prefer staying at home to going out to a movie 100 to 1.

Saturday night The Editor, Cara M., Evan T. and myself went to see a movie. We're kind-of nerds, so we thought we'd start watching all of the Oscar nominated films of the past year, starting with the winner: The Kings Speech. My review of the movie is as such: It was wonderful. I love British things, I LOVE Helena Bonham Carter and Colin Firth, and they has Corgis in it. Corgis are the best dog ever, so I was happy. The movie centers around King George IV and overcoming his speech impediment before he becomes king. It's a fantastic movie, that in my opinion deserved the Oscars it won. If you're a history geek like me, you'll like it even more.

There were a few things I didn't like. Not about the movie, but about the movie going experience. There are reasons that the "old way" of Hollywood trying to make money is failing, and I would like to touch on those reasons just a little.

1) Limited Seating- Okay, so , we show up at the movie about 20 minutes in advance for the 6:10 show. I think that is a perfectly reasonable time to show up for a movie that has been out for give-or-take 2 months now. Anyhoo, we show up, and of course, there is like, no seating. We quietly take our seats in the lower section closer to the screen, and get ready to be King's-speeched. Well, riiiiiight about the time the movie starts, an usher announces that they've sold out the show, so we're all going to have to squish together. Yeah, $12.50 for a ticket where I have to sit right next to a dude who not only picks his face, and bites his nails through the movie, but also feels a need to crack his knuckles and take up all of the arm room too. I. Hate. Awful. People.

2) Commercials- Ugh. I don't have to deal with these at home, why the 'ef do I have to deal with them at the movies? I don't even pay for cable, yet, I pay to watch commercials before a movie. Remember the good ol' days when they just ran trailers for like, 45 minutes before the show started? That was awesome.

3) Movie Placement- Please, for the love of God, don't ever put an action movie next to a drama. The Adjustment Bureau was playing in the theatre next to us, and it was suuuuper hard to concentrate on a dialogue based movie when you could hear the explosions happening in the theater next to you.

4) Children in Inappropriate Aged Group Movies- You run into this ALL the time. The worst offender I can remember is when a man trotted his toddlers into The Dark Knight and they proceeded to scream and cry the whole time. For real? You couldn't get a babysitter? You couldn't just wait the two months for the Bluray? As cute as you think your kids are, there is a time and a place for kids. If they're under 10, that place is at a PG movie. No exceptions. I don't care if you think your kids can be "intellectually challenged" by this movie, the rest of us just put up half a tanks worth of gas to see this movie, and your child should not have to be tolerated. Furthermore, The Kings Speech received an R rating?! WTF?! There was no nudity, no violence, and the only cussing was done in a way that was part of his therapy. I love our puritanical society...

Don't get me wrong, I love going to the movies for the most part. To me, it's less about the commercials, and the ticket prices, and more about the people around me that can totally ruin the experience. I love being able to get out of the house with my friends, and seeing something on the big screen and all of that. However, with ticket prices through the roof, and the fact that I have an 55 inch LCD TV in my living room, I've decided that my house is a much more desirable location to watch a movie. No screaming kids, no commercials, and no gross strangers sitting next to me. Just me, some reasonably priced snacks and the people I love. Oh, and I can pause the movie if I need to pee.

Watson Day 2: More of the Same...

So last night, the Watson lecture was more of the same from the first night. The crowd was split 50/50 as to whom attended the first night lecture, and who didn't, so the panel felt it necessary to reiterate a lot of what they had said on Monday. Since I decided to blow my nerd load and write the longest post in Carly on Comics history yesterday, I'll take it easy on you today. Today, like when I went to NYCC, we will be discussing lecture etiquette. I will be posting some of The Editors notes near the end, just in case he felt there was anything significant that was spoken about last night that I missed. There will be another long post tomorrow, wrapping up the lecture series. On with the politeness!

Let's just face it. Everyone likes you better when you're nice, right? When you have learned and utilize basic social skills, you don't look like a total a-hole when you go out in public. At the age of 27, I have now come to realize that a lot of people are missing this filter, and just say and do whatever they want, even if it's being a complete jerk to the people around you. For those of you who can actually CONTROL yourselves in public, kudos, keep it up! Below are a few tips for those of you who go the other way.


1) If you're sick, stay at home. - Last night I was sitting to one of the most irritating families on the planet. Mom, who sat next to me, was hack-coughing like she was going to choke and die any moment. Did she excuse herself and go get some water and take care of the situation? Nope. She proceeded to hack and cough her mucous and germs all over me. I hate being sick. I mean, I REALLY hate it. I had mono for 7 weeks last summer, and it sucked. The weather is just starting to get nice, and I really, REALLY don't want to be laid up because some stupid soccer mom in her stupid Uggs thinks she's a good mom by infecting a room full of people with her grossness. People like her are the reason the zombie apocalypse would spread like wildfire.

Only you can prevent an undead outbreak.

2) Treat the lecture as if you were at a movie. - Nay, on second though, treat it more as if you're going to a Broadway show. The panelists are people too, and they are giving up three evenings of their lives, three evenings of being away from their spouses and kids, to talk to a bunch of people who DIDN'T HAVE TO PAY TO BE THERE about something they've been talking about for months. The least you could do is put your cell phone away. And god help you if you pick up a phone call in the middle of the lecture. You will get a death stare from me that says "This is your warning. Do it again, and that phone is going where the sun don't shine". Of course, I understand if the house if on fire, if your kid forgot to take hid Ritalin and now he's holding the babysitter hostage, etc., there are exceptions to every rule. However, do NOT pick up your phone to tell someone you can't talk because you're at a lecture. That should be automatic execution.

Put it on airplane mode, jerk-ass

3) If the floor is open for questions, don't ask stupid questions.- Ah yes, the ol' comic con wonder... For some reason, whenever a large group of nerds is in a room together, listening to a panel discussion, as soon as the panel is open for questions, there are at LEAST 8 nerds who want to ask questions. Most of them are dumb questions which have already been answered once or twice. The best way to avoid this is to ask your friends if they know the answer to your dumb question first. Chances are, they do. Also, if your friends tell you your question is stupid, don't play the hero and go ask it anyway. It just makes you look like an idiot.

4) Don't bring a child under 15 to a lecture at a college. - The past two nights there were an amazing amount of parents who thought it appropriate to bring their kid(s) to the lecture. Bad idea. As previously stated, I am a 27 year old nerd, and I don't quite understand everything that is being said. I'm 27 and there are points when I get antsy in my seat. That being said, unless your kid has taken a bunch of Ritalin or Benedryl, he or she WILL become restless. Restless = irritated, irritated = whiny. Please do not bring your child to a lecture to whine. Also, do not ignore your kid when they become whiny, because the rest of us cannot ignore your kid as well as you can, and it doesn't make us irritated, it makes us pissed. Either remove the whining child, or take them to a more kid-friendly environment to begin with, like Chuck E' Cheese.

When your kid looks like this, it's already too late.

5) Respect the arm rest- Arm rests do not exist in a chair solely for comfort. Arm rests serve as a barrier. Please keep this in mind at all times. One of the most uncomfortable things in the world to me is being touched (or coughed on) by someone I don't know. Please PLEASE respect that, and when you take off your coat, at least TRY not to smack me in the face with it. If hitting me in the face with your jacket is unavoidable, please, for the love of god, apologize. Also, in addition to you not spilling over into my seat with your personal belongings, respect the fact I don't like strangers touching me, and try to keep yourself from spilling over into my seat.

Keep yourself to yourself.

It's really all about respect and common courtesy. Not just for the presenters who are graciously giving their time to educate you, but also to the people who are your audience-mates. Together, we can make the nerd community a nicer place.

B.O. Bombs and Fart Circles

So, we attended the Albany Comic Con today which is about 1/100th as big as NYCC. It's always a fun time to go, even if you're just planning on stopping by. I've gone to so many Albany Con's now, that I have my favorites that I like to go visit. My two favorites have to be Nick Tapalansky and Jackie Santiago. Most recently, Nick wrote the graphic novel "Awakening", which is a very noir type murder mystery, involving zombies. Nick is an extremely talented author, who is well on his way to making a name for himself. I picked up the second volume of "Awakening" today, and I'm super excited to start reading it. Jackie happens to be Nick's brand new wife! About a year and a half ago, I started digging through Jackie's artwork at one of the cons, and now I have four pieces of her artwork in the Nerdatorium at my house. Her artwork is very distinct, and I would almost call it anime-ish. She creates her own characters, but she also draws her own rendering of different female comic book characters. I have Supergirl, Robin, Ms. Marvel and Catwoman on my wall :-) I couldn't be happier for these two, as they are not only incredibly skilled at what they do, but also two of the nicest people you'll ever meet.

"Awakening"-- Amazing story and cool ass artwork.

I know Evan T. has already made a post about comic con etiquette, however, I feel that I need to reiterate a few of these rules, and introduce you to a couple of con vocabulary words/phrases that you may not know.

I just want to touch on one subject that Evan T. did not know about because he is a boy. I am a girl. I am a nerdy girl. That being said, please do not be an asshole while I am looking through comic boxes. Just because I have my cell phone out, that does not mean that I am finished going though the box. All that means is that I'm looking at my comic book "needs" list PDF on my cell. So take you're ghetto assed notebook filled with chicken scratch and walk away. Do not attempt to rifle through my box while I am still in it, because I am a derby girl, and I will hip check you across the room.

And I'll booty block ya too.

 In addition, PLEASE I am begging you on behalf of the human race, PLEASE for the love of god, WEAR DEODORANT.  A shower once a day, or at very least, once every other day, would also help. I am not joking when I tell you that at one point, a kid next to me had B.O. so bad, that I literally had to walk away and throw up in my mouth a little. I referred to this kid as a B.O. bomb. Unless your B.O. is your defense to my hip check, PLEASE be current on your personal hygiene. Especially if you ever want to get to second base with a girl.

Chickity check yourself.

 My last tip is please, please, PLEASE don't eat super disgusting food before you visit the con. And if you do, pretty, pretty please stop and take a GasX before you get there. Flatulence seems to be an issue at all cons, big or small. I coined the phrase "fart circle" when we were at the NYCC. A fart circle is basically when there is a group of people (usually teenage girls) standing in a group together giggling and releasing SBD's (Silent But Deadly). If you are unfortunate enough to have to walk by, or god forbid, walk THROUGH a fart circle, I feel so sorry for you. You will immediately gag and put your nose into the collar of your shirt. One lone member of a fart circle is a crop duster.

The Google tag on this photo was "business-communications-icebreaker". I call it "corporate fart circle"

I hope you have learned a thing or two today. Please, for the love of god, heed my advice.

Comic Con Hints and Tips by Evan T.

Hello All! I just thought I might drop a little article about New York Comic Con. I hope it's good but I will try to make it not quite as good as C-bomb's articles. I don't want to upstage the Chief. What I'm going to be exploring is more of a few helpful hints for people who have never been to a con, especially one of this size (NYCC had 95,000 in attendance this year, up from 77,000 last year)

Comic Con Helpful Hints and Tips

1) Be ready to have your personal space invaded-If you you are going to a comic book convention then you probably know what your brethren nerds and geeks are at their core; a socially awkward, unwashed horde. These people are going to get real close. Real real close. Uncomfortably close. You will be touched, nudged, bumped and out and out pushed. So be prepared. Although confrontation is an immediate reaction, suppress that urge. Getting kicked out of a place you paid good money to get in is silly. Unless you have purchased everything you wanted already. Then knock a mother out.

Chances are, one of these people will accidentally touch your balls.

2) If you see something neat in a booth, Walk Into That Booth-You are going to see a lot of booths that have things you have never seen before. Things you didn't even know existed. Naturally, you will want to stop to observe these nerd nuggets. And as soon as you stop, I have walked right into you. And the guy behind me into me. And so on. All because you couldn't step off two feet. Are you happy? Are you?

There are no stops in Booth City. Move it, or lose it.

3) Bring water-You wouldn't believe how warm you will get stuffed into a building with a few thousand of your friends. You will be dehydrated. The only water there will cost you four dollars. For a bottle of water. Regular water, not some sort of magic water. So why not bring your own and save yourself four bucks?

$4?! You're joking, right?

4) You might be peeing next to Dr. Who and an Imperial Officer (expect the unexpected)-A lot of weird things are going to happen. You will see people dressed as almost everything. You will see people who should never, ever, be in spandex. This will happen. Until they invent brain bleach, you will need to learn to have a short memory to be able to move about normally.

I always have fun at every con I go to. I hope anyone who is reading this will check out NYCC or any local con's they have going on. It really is worth a little bit of your time.