New York

Well, I'm still recovering from my trip to New York! I landed at JFK on Thursday 22nd Feb, and stayed at the Econolodge hotel, just round the corner from Times Square. On my first night, I took a walk around the lit up tourist area, and stopped for drinks at an Irish pub close to the hotel. It might have been excitement, or an overdose of chocolate-covered Coffee Beans, but despite the long hours traveling, I was wideawake in the city that doesn't sleep, and loving it.

Friday began brightly with a hotel breakfast, followed by a walking tour of the city. I marched across and downtown, stopping for some lunch at Grand Central Station. Managed to find the 'Restaurant Accessory District', which was surreal - every shop for blocks sold drinks freezers, new and used sinks, and those big plastic chefs you see in food places. Ended up in Chinatown, then got the subway back uptown. Checked out a few Comic Shops on the way. Picked up Zenith Book 2 for a dollar from a second-hand bookshop. Bargain!


After a quick shower (wouldn't want to perpetuate the sweaty nerd stereotype!) I headed for the Jacob Javits center for the first day of the Comic Con, at about 4pm. Absolutely mind-blowing. Apart from the size (and the height), it was great to see the comic-book legends doing their stuff. Wandering around, you'd see Carmine Infantino! Jose Luis Garcia Lopez! Jim Steranko! Rob Liefeld! and so many more. I didn't embarrass myself by gushing at them though. Maybe next time. The costumes are something you don't really get at the UK cons that I've been to, either. Amazonian women dressed as Power Girl or Wonder Woman, plus Supermen of all ages, and the occasional shiny Flash or Blue Beetle. Wolverines of all nationalities. Spider-Woman rubbing shoulders with Skeletor, Optimus Prime, X23, and all manner of obscure fan-favourites. And Jedis! Hundreds of them. All with proper lightsabers, since Lucasfilm merchandising finally caught on to what the collectors market REALLY wants. Surely Speeder-bikes can't be too far behind.

Managed to rest my weary legs at a couple of panels, then exhausted, made my way back to the hotel, and sleep.

Saturday was pretty much more of the same! I got to the Con at about 9:45am, to a queue that stretched for blocks. After about an hours worth of shuffling, I eventually entered the building, and prepared for another day of concentrated comics. Went to the Slate Plus party, where I got a free USB drive for turning up. Spoke to a few nice people, and a few crazy ones too. The drink had gone to my head by this point, so I picked up a Sub on the way home, and crashed out.

Sunday! Same again, pretty much. Arrived a little earlier, so had less of a queue. Bought a few more things today. As the con wound down, I headed homewards, then went out for a great Mexican meal on 9th Avenue, and watched some of the Oscars. The staff were stoked to see Pans Labyrinth pick up the first few awards. It started to snow, so by the time I left there were cars buried all along the sidewalks. I slept until...

Monday. My last full day in the city. I visited a few comic shops, taking advantage of some of the flyer discounts I'd been handed that weekend, then got the Subway to the southern tip of Manhattan. Had a look at the Statue of Liberty, and wandered up through Wall Street, and up to the World Trade Center site. Got the Subway north again, poking my head around the Guggenheim. Unfortunately the museum of Art was closed, so I crossed Central Park in the snow. Spotted a gorgeous singing red bird, which was sat on top of the weather station. Went into the Natural History Museum, and wandered around for a little while. Subwayed south again, and took lots of photos in the Toys R Us store on Times Square, which is a fun way to spend a half hour. Got changed, and went out for an Italian meal, then on to a small comedy club on 53rd street. The nine-strong audience were outnumbered by the performers I think, as a selection of comedians tried out their material on us. As we were One Englishman, a menage a trois of Germans, two Canadians, and three Jersey Girls, some of the local jokes went over the majority's heads, but there were still a few good laughs to be had, if a fair bit of bemusement.


An early start Tuesday began in a Yellow cab back to JFK airport, followed by the usual hours of sitting around, and a pleasant flight home to Heathrow. A leisurely series of train rides later, I was at my front door, at 11:30pm GMT, beginning to wake up.