NYCC - Day 3 in Photos

Day 3 for me was mostly wandering the center and checking out the cool costumes people were wearing. I did go to one panel though, for AMC's "The Walking Dead".

Autograph Alley. This was the line to get James Marsters' autograph.

Dungeons & Dragons. There were several campaigns being played throughout the weekend, plus a few tables dedicated to teaching beginners the basics of the game.

Team Rocket

The X-Men. Nice Gambit.

Tomb Raider

Phoenix was what first caught my attention here, but I liked all of their costumes.

Batman & Robin. I thought it was cute that the kid was Batman, even though Robin was the kid in the comics.

Walking Dead panel

First we got some background information from the producer, director, and writer.

Then the cast joined us for insight on their characters.

New York Comic Con - Day 3

Well, here we are folks - the end of the road. My last day at Comic Con was relatively low-key, but there were enough exciting moments to make it just as good as the rest of the weekend.

8:00am - Wake up for Day 3 of Comic Con! I am excited about the adventures that await, but also somewhat glad it is the last day. To be perfectly honest, I have worn myself out with all this fun I've been having. I might be getting too old for this...

Nah! That's crazy talk!

9:01 - The journey begins with a train platform full of people dressed to the nines for NYCC. We all sit in the same part of the train. It occurs to me that all 3 days this weekend I have met cool people because of this convention.
10:21 - Back inside NYC, but have to get the monies before making my way. This convention is cleaning me out.
10:45  After meeting a friend en route to con, I arrive at Javits Center. We are made to go downstairs just to go back up again. I think this is silly but whatever.
11:09 - Haven't been here that long and already spent a ton of money. Got my copy of "Days Missing" signed and talked to the guys about the panel last night. They threw in a free poster, also signed. Dudes were super nice and gave me a great start to my morning. I also got my screwdriver for the Doctor Who costume I'm working on and discussed the series for a bit with the people running that table. I vow to not spend any more money this weekend, as I am close to being The Broke.
12:40pm - Found some cool prints and decided to break my "no spending" rule. Talked to the artist (Tim Smith) for a bit as well. He was really cool and nice. You could tell he loves his craft and doesn't really care about the money.
1:36 - I feel like half my time here has been spent on lines. Standing in one now, this time for the Walking Dead panel. While waiting, a friend and I come up with new nicknames for each other - basic and expansion. This because her holding onto my shoulder so we wouldn't get separated made me think of an expansion game. We are such nerds! But I love everything about it.
2:34 - After much craziness, and a near riot, we finally get seats for the Walking Dead panel. First we got a 6&1/2  minute clip of footage from the 2nd episode. I'm not gonna lie, Gracie, the series looks pretty bad-ass. I'm looking forward to the premiere on Halloween.

Next, we got introduced to the people behind the show (writer, director, producer). The moderator went through a series of questions about some of the decisions involved (making it a TV show instead of a movie, the choice of doing it on AMC & how the network responded to it, and how it feels to see the thing finally come to fruition. Apparently AMC has been very supportive of this project. They also said they plan on taking this "on every spastic direction we can". It sounds like there will be plenty of surprises while still keeping fans of the book happy. I think it will help that it's on a cable network, because it means they can push the boundary on how far they take it and what they can do without getting hounded by the network.

After we got through a round of questions, we got another clip from the show. More questions followed, this time focusing on casting as opposed to story and production. We then got introduced to the cast, as the actors were added to the panel. Each actor got a chance to talk about their character for a bit and their familiarity with the comic the series is based off of. The panel gave us a good look at the series and its characters without giving away too many details. They eventually opened it up to questions from the audience, then concluded by playing the trailer and telling everyone one final time to watch the show. Their success depends greatly on us, so don't let them down! (That last part is all me, but I'm sure the panel would have agreed).
4:12 - Panel concludes. We wander a bit before another friend sends out the bat signal and I meet them for dinner. Overall I would call this weekend a huge success. I will do a wrap-up and photo blog ASAP (hopefully tomorrow). Until next time, fellow nerds!

The Walking Dead on AMC! It ain't just about zombies!

WHAT IF...

One morning, you wake up in a hospital and wonder how long you have been there. You call for a nurse; you push the help button repeatedly and realize that no one is coming to your assistance. With sheer determination, you pull yourself up and slide your legs off of the bed. Your mind tells you that getting out of bed is the most logical thing to do. Your legs, however, disagree and you collapse to the floor with the feeling of pins and needles shooting through your entire nervous system.

Something inside you trembles. There should be someone that had heard the crash that can come to your aid. You realize that all of the monitoring machines are off and the power is out, the only light you are given is pouring through the dirty Venetian blinds.

You manage to lift yourself to your feet and make it into the hallway. What you witness is nothing short of surreal. The hallway is empty and one of the sets of double doors has been chained shut with "DON'T OPEN DEAD INSIDE". You stumble outside and see piles upon piles of rotting corpses. Holding back from vomiting with an empty stomach, you avert your eyes and shuffle forward. Out of your peripheral vision, something moves. You glance over in the hopes that it is someone who can tell you what is going on. Your jaw drops as one of the decaying bodies ambles towards you.

Crazy, right?

Well thank your lucky stars you're not Rick Grimes (Andrew Lincoln - Love Actually). Rick stirs from a coma only to find that Georgia has become a horrifying canvas of crawling carcasses. He begins a journey to find his family, praying every moment that they are still alive.

Robert Kirkman's graphic novel series, the Walking Dead, is much more than "just another zombie story". It's a study of the human condition. What happens when everything we have come to rely upon ceases to function?

Instead of spending your evening sitting in front of the computer reading a blog or watching streaming video, you are sitting on top of an RV, keeping an eye out for Walkers with a shotgun at the ready. Your children grow up with a daily lesson in efficient ways to kill. "Family time" consists of hacking zombie face and burning the pieces.



The only common denominator is the ever pressing desire to survive. When Rick comes across a caravan of survivors, they band together to keep each other safe. There is just as much safety in numbers of the living as there is destruction in a mass zombie attack.



I am very much a fan of the graphic novels and cannot wait to see them come to life in The Walking Dead on AMC. My favorite character in the graphic novels is hands down Carl Grimes, Rick's son. I cannot wait to see how eleven year old Chandler Riggs (The Wronged Man, Get Low) does.



I do find it encouraging that executive producer Frank Darabont (The Shawshank Redemption) added a few new characters into the mix. Hopefully that means there will be 10 seasons revealing all of the characters back stories. Merle Dixon (Michael Rooker - Jumper, Slither) and Daryl Dixon (Norman Reedus - Meskada, Boondock Saints) have been referred to as a redneck ex-con and his equally dangerous brother. For more information on Rooker and Reedus in The Walking Dead, check out Eric Goldman's post about speaking with Frank Darabont at Comic-Con back in July.

The Walking Dead will premiere on October 31st at 10/9c on AMC. To peep the four minute trailer aired at Comic-Con, visit the AMC Walking Dead page.

AND if you are ever caught in a zombie apocalypse, save bullets for mass attacks!

Originally posted on my website