This was only the second time Rob and I have gone to NYCC, but it\u2019s already looking to be an annual thing.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve already developed some habits while there\u2014but more on that in a bit (more posts to come, as well as pictures).<\/p>\n
First-something of an overview.<\/p>\n
We had three day passes, though we\u2019ve since decided that next year we\u2019ll definitely be wanting the four day passes.\u00a0 That was something of a moot point when we bought the tickets, though, because neither of us expected to be able to take Friday off.\u00a0 By some fluke miracle, we both managed that and got into the city early Friday morning.\u00a0 And by early, I mean we woke up when Rob normally does at 5:15am\u2014I had to have blood drawn, and we were on the train by 7am.<\/p>\n
Once we were in the city, we got to our hotel\u2014Yotel<\/a>\u2014and dropped off our luggage before heading to the Javits Center to wait in line (more about that in another post).\u00a0 Inside, it was too late to get to the first panel we wanted to go to, and we started finding the booths we\u2019d end up gravitating to over the course of the weekend\u2014book publishers, Book Country<\/a>, Her Universe<\/a>, and Monarch Comics<\/a>.<\/p>\n See, we go to ComicCon for the authors more than anything else.\u00a0 We didn\u2019t even have to go previous years to know that the TV\/movie panels would be packed to overflowing, or that the gaming booths would be a trial to anyone who desired personal space.\u00a0 Not to mention standing in line for one or the other to the exclusion of doing anything else.\u00a0 We wanted to enjoy the con without spending all our time in long lines.\u00a0 So, while I know from announcements that there were Avengers panels, and panels for Arkham City and The Old Republic and so forth, I didn\u2019t even consider trying to get to those.<\/p>\n I don\u2019t think this was a bad thing.<\/p>\n Instead, I got to talk with debut authors, New York Times bestsellers, editors, and others in the publishing industry.\u00a0 This better fits me, anyway, since I\u2019m working toward that kinda thing.\u00a0 And, free books.<\/p>\n Rob and I have what could be considered a routine with how we approach the show floor.\u00a0 And it started happening last year almost by accident.\u00a0 One of my coworkers at Penny Press has a booth-Monarch Comics.\u00a0 Last year, he was across an aisle from the Penguin booth, and there somehow managed to be breathing room on the edge of the booth.\u00a0 So we\u2019d stop by there and rest a bit before moving back into the crowd.\u00a0 This year we did the same, although the Monarch booth was nowhere near the publishers.\u00a0 It was near Book Country, though.\u00a0 So we\u2019d start a circuit at Book Country and move toward Monarch, eventually we\u2019d get to the publishers and circle them a few times before making our way over to Her Universe.\u00a0 There was a decent sized open space, with air conditioning, beside Her Universe because of the Chevrolet cars on display.\u00a0 We did this kinda thing several times each day.<\/p>\n Friday night, we had wanted to go to a panel with several authors, but instead we ended up going with a couple friends to dinner at a little hole-in-the-wall Mexican place\u2014Tulcingo Del Valle.\u00a0 Quite good, too, not overly spicy like I tend to expect.\u00a0 It was pretty slow, and we saw a picture of the line for the panel, so we didn\u2019t think we\u2019d have any chance of making it to Javits and into the room in time.\u00a0 But that wasn\u2019t too big a deal; Anton Strout<\/a> recorded the audio and put it up on his Once and Future Podcast<\/a>, so I was at least able to listen to it after the fact.<\/p>\n We spent the day Saturday walking around some more, though this time Rob and a friend were dressed as the Blues Brothers, so they got stopped quite often for pictures.\u00a0 Also, more free books.\u00a0 We managed to get to the Saturday panel we wanted to go to\u2014Military sci-fi\u2014and the signing the authors did afterward.\u00a0 After that, we went back to Yotel to rest a bit before going to the Irish Rogue to meet Jim Butcher fans for a get-together that had been planned.<\/p>\n Sunday\u2014more spending time with friends, and even more free books.\u00a0 A couple free audio books, too.<\/p>\n Overall, the weekend was great, and I\u2019m pretty sure the number of free books paid for the cost of both tickets.\u00a0 Don\u2019t know that I\u2019d go so far as to say they paid for the hotel, though.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" This was only the second time Rob and I have gone to NYCC, but it\u2019s already looking to be an annual thing.\u00a0 And we\u2019ve already developed some habits while there\u2014but more on that in a bit (more posts to come, … Continue reading