New York Comic Con is a place where people of all interests come together in one place to celebrate everything about comics, movies, T.V. shows, and more. Celebrities come to “The Con” to say hi to fans, take photos, and sign autographs. Panels for upcoming movies and T.V. shows that can be really exciting and hyped up or even informational take place to appeal to different fandoms. People dress up as their favorite characters. It’s a great place to be and a great experience.

My experience at NYCC was amazing this year. I went all four days that it was open. I spent Thursday in panels and in Artist Alley. The Panel is about how to break into the comic industry. It gave me good advice about how to approach the industry as  a beginner and gave me an elaborate description about what not to do. The people presenting were very kind, funny, and experienced in the industry. They had this saying: “Don’t go hunting, go fishing.” It means that you should spread your portfolio and applications out to more sources instead of constantly targeting someone in the industry to look at you and to get attention by force. If you cast your lures out to the general public, someone will contact you eventually. For someone that is interested in the field like myself, this was a great panel to attend. Also this was followed by going to Artist Alley, where artists from the comic book industry sell their art and commission art for the people. It inspires me,  and to see more experienced (and better) artists than me is a very humbling experience.

Friday started off badly, but it ended up being my favorite day of the bunch. We had to wait in this 2-3 hour line because of the disorganization of the staff and the dumb decision to not utilize the several sets of doors that weren’t being occupied. But after we got in, we waited on lines that I wanted to wait in: The Stan Lee photograph and the autograph lines. In case you live under a rock and don’t know who Stan Lee is, he is the founder of Marvel comics and creator of most of the classic characters that we all love, such as Spider-Man, Hulk, Captain America, Iron Man, Thor, X-Men, and more. That was his last NYCC ever, and I was not going to waste my last chance to get an autograph and a photo with him. I spent about 3-5 hours of the day on lines for Stan Lee, and it was worth every second. It sounds cliche, but Stan Lee is my hero. He is an inspiration to myself and generations of creators. At night, we went to an event where he was talking with other comic book creators that have worked for Marvel when it was getting started about their experiences working with Marvel. At the event, they announced October 7th in New York as Stan Lee day. Stan Lee for his legacy in New York City finally gets acknowledged for his hard work. They were talking as authors and not as men that write for comics. They make it feel more like an art form than the general public views them as. It was fascinating to experience, and to hear Stan “The Man” talk about his life will be a memory to cherish for a long time.

Saturday was a long day full of walking around. We were walking around the show floor most of the day and eventually stopped to sit down because our feet got tired or to because we wanted something to eat. Not much happened that day other than the Marvel’s Iron Fist panel at night. And for only one thing to happen that day, it was worth it. The panel was about the cast of Iron Fist and a couple of clips (that were amazing by the way). But after that they showed the trailer and we got a first glimpse into Danny Rand’s powers. It was pretty exciting, but nothing compared to what happened immediately after that. “Lemme” set the mood:

Everyone is screaming from the trailer they dropped, the lights turn back on and immediately cut out again and you hear the Punisher say “One shot, one kill,” and Jon Bernthal, the person that’s playing the Punisher in Daredevil (Season Two) and his new solo series, comes out on stage and the audience (including me) lost their minds.

The Punisher is arguably the best part of season two of Daredevil, and Jon Bernthal already had a following because of The Walking Dead. Everyone was ecstatic when he came on stage. After that, they confirmed the shooting of Punisher and they brought out the cast for Marvel’s The Defenders, and I could have sworn someone fainted in the crowd. I got light headed because my friends and I were yelling out of excitement. They ended the panel on the cliff hanger as to whom the villain for the Defenders is, but we do know who is playing the villain. The villain of the defenders is played by Sigourney Weaver (aka Ripley from Alien)! The panel was exciting and a great way to end the biggest day of NYCC.

Sunday was a day for walking around and buying stuff. I spent all of my money on Sunday and now I’m broke. Not a lot happened that day except for that, but it was fun regardless. I got a Hulk statue, a Joker statue, a Hulkbuster pop funko, a Superman pop funko, an arcade stick, and the entirety of World War Hulk collection. In case you couldn’t tell by now, my favorite Marvel character is the Hulk. And about $200-300 was spent on Hulk related merchandise. It was a relaxing end to my NYCC experience this year, and I can not wait until next year and its surprises.