I am back on the proper (for me) coast. The flight home via American Airlines was acceptable. It took off about fifteen minutes late because the incoming flight was fifteen minutes late, probably due to the fact that Richard Lewis was on it. I found myself walking next to him through the terminal for a minute or so and he was engaged in a loud, impossible-to-not-overhear cellphone conversation that sounded just like a Richard Lewis routine. Funny boy.
The New York Comic Con was great…and huge. Folks kept guesstimating its size relative to San Diego…about a fourth? A third? Whatever it was, it was plenty big and an amazing percentage of it was about comic books. There were the usual multimedia entries — gaming, TV, animation, etc. But there were an awful lot of comics, new and old in the Javits Center. Seemed like a pretty well-run convention, too, though one gets the feeling its management is continually surprised by and maybe a bit unprepared for how big it's getting. I hope to attend again, though I'm less excited about the prospect of being in that city February 6-8, which is when the 2009 show is. Those dates do not, happily, conflict with Passover but they may conflict with the tolerable weather.
As you may have figured out, I solved my Internet connectivity problem. It was out for a few days throughout the hotel but when it got fixed, it still didn't work in my room. As often happens, the guy on the phone was of little help. He's somewhere else (India, I suspect) and all he can do is talk me through certain software fixes. When they don't work, which was the case here, his immediate solution was to blame the hardware and tell me the hotel would have to fix things. So I have him, working for the outside company that provides 'net services to the hotel, telling me it's the hotel's problem…and I have the hotel blaming the outside company. I finally figured it out in spite of both sides…and boy, those wi-fi cards for one's laptop are starting to look pretty danged good to me.
Made the rounds of publishers. Signed copies of Kirby: King of Comics at the con, at Jim Hanley's comic book shop, in my publisher's office, at the DC Comics office…even in the line outside the Javits Center where I was waiting to get a hot dog from a street vendor. Must have signed 500 copies, including my first of the Second Printing, which is more or less out. I probably also answered about 500 questions about how Lydia the Cat is doing.
Oh! Outside the Javits Center, there was a whole line of pushcarts selling those Sabrett hot dogs that are ubiquitous. In Manhattan, you are rarely more than four steps from a Sabrett hot dog. Inside the convention center, there were stands and other pushcarts selling Hebrew National dogs. Obviously, a taste test was in order and I was surprised at the outcome: I usually like Hebrew Nationals but the Sabrett ones were clearly better. They were also half the price.
I'll probably think of other experiences worthy of mention here. Right now, I'm handily behind on all manner of projects so you may not see a lot of me on this page for the next few days.