» Blog Archive The Wizard World/Big Apple Comic con Experience -
Todd C Matthy Comic Book News, Movies, News

This past weekend, Wizard sponsored the 2009 Big Apple Comic Con at Pier 94 in New York City. The show had many highs and many lows, but like most conventions, is only as good as you make it.

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This convention, unlike the New York Comic Con at the Javits Center, is clearly a dealer based one. There weren’t many panels here, so if you were looking for big announcements this is not the place to be. However, if you’re looking to find bargains this is the place for you. I came out of there with some really great hauls. Some of the stuff I got was a copy of Uncanny X-Men 28, the first appearance of Banshee, for FIVE BUCKS from Forbidden Planet. The book was very damaged in the back but I didn’t care. The show is also a great place to discover classics that are out of print. I was able to obtain two long out of print large format graphic novels from Marvel, The Shadow by Denny O’Neill, Michael W. Kaluta and Raven Banner: A Tale of Asgard by Alan Zelentz and the legendary Charles Vess. I haven’t had the chance to read them yet but I’m looking forward to it.

The celebrities in attendance were really nice. Adrienne Curry really got into the spirit by dressing up as a different character for each day. (Slave Leia on Friday, Sally Jupiter on Saturday, Wonder Woman on Sunday) Miracle Laurie (Dollhouse) was extremely nice, as were Linda Hamilton, Helen Slater, Adam West, WWE Divas Lillian Garcia, Candice Michelle, and Molly Holly, Ernie Hudson, UFC Ring Girl Rachel Leigh, Former Tag Team Champions Demolition, and Nature Boy Ric Flair. Other celebrities in attendance, but I didn’t meet, were Pete Rose, ‘Smokin’ Joe Frasier, Bruno Sanmartino, Pete Rose, and Billy Dee Williams.

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The convention was also a great place to meet great people. Metal Machine had a couple of booths and I got to meet some great people. One was next to the NY’s Jedi chapter, who let people challenge them to lightsaber duels. And on Saturday a couple of pole dancers dressed as Robin and Batgirl, drove around and put on a show for everyone.

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However, the positive there were several negatives. The biggest negative was the location. The show was held at the Riverside piers, so there was no direct route there. I had to take the shuttle and walk to Port Authority to catch a C or E train then walk toward Pier 94 on a weekend where the weather was less then ideal. To make matters worse, the E train wasn’t running due to construction. I also had a problem with the set up. If you wanted to attend panels you had to leave the building and go over to Pier 92. They should have picked a location where everything could be held in one building. Finally, there was the food prices. $12.00 for a hamburger was just plain absurd. Wizard should look toward having the show at a more central location next year, especially if they’re planning on competing with New York Comic Con.

Despite these set backs, I still had a good time. If you have the opportunity to attend a Wizard World in your area you definitely should.

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