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How An Eleven Year NYCC Veteran Still Messed Up His Day

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By Adam Wolfe…

As the title suggests this will be my eleventh New York Comic Con. For those of you wondering, yes that means I have been to every single one. Back from the days where it didn't even take up the entire Javits Center, and the press lounge was an anime convention running at the same time, to now where tickets sell out in .002 nanoseconds, I've been here. Yet today, on my eleventh Saturday running, I found myself making an all too common mistake.

I had arrived at the convention center a mere 30 minutes late. Naturally however, this meant that I had a 0% chance of getting a wristband for the D.C. signing. A bummer, yes, but I felt determined that I would not let the day go to waste. After all, this is New York 'Frickin' Comic Con, there is always something to do, always something to see. This convention has a pulse like no other, and every inch of that gigantic glass building has a story waiting to happen. (Ok enough gushing, but I do really have a lot of fun here.)

So, I had a list of four different things I wanted to go do, and a couple different things I wanted to see. I get to my first destination and am met with a line snaking around the entire booth. Still, with a fleeting feeling of optimism, I asked the line keeper how long he thought the wait would be. "Three hours" he regrettably informed me. Instantly I was put off and said "screw it, I'll come back later."

Now take this process, and rinse and repeat it four or five times. Bouncing from one line, back to the other, to another again, because at no point did I want to fully commit to a two, or three hour wait. "It just doesn't make sense" I assured myself, "It's going to waste way too much time waiting for that thing, I have so many other things to do. This is NYCC for god's sakes!"

So I found myself walking through the bottom floor, back up through the show floor, all the way to artist alley….then back again…..then back one more time. Occasionally I'd stop for an impromptu cosplay shoot, maybe pop a squat to eat some of that ridiculously amazing smelling butter popcorn they've been selling, and continue on. My eyes were glazed over, mindlessly scanning booth after booth but not even processing any information. I had no intention of buying anything, I knew all the booths since Thursday, but I couldn't shake the paranoid feeling "this is what you should be doing, this is what you're missing."

Finally, I looked at my phone and, say, it was 6:30. The show floor was winding down, and all four of the things I wanted to do, capped their final lines. I was so worried about "wasting time" on one thing, that I didn't get to do anything. This isn't a knock against the show floor by any means. As always the exhibitors have provided and amazing selection of just about anything you could imagine. This is a PSA. Do the thing. I don't care how long the line seems. Just do it. I know some of you have only one day to absorb all of NYCC, but trust me, one experience can make a con day unforgettable. It's better to commit and get something done, then realize you did nothing and cry that there is one day left.

Take it from a vet who knows, good things come to those who wait.


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Patrick DaneAbout Patrick Dane

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