New York Comic Con 2017 - Sunday, October 8
Sunday, October 8
My sister decided to splurge for Mark Hamill's autograph. (The price went up since he was last at NYCC in 2011). So in the morning she queued for his signing. Mark had the photo ops first, but the queues get really long real fast.
I left her briefly to go to Rob Reid's signing at Random House's booth.
After On I purchased book, but it was on sale (and I got an ARC for Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins with the purchase). Rob's first book, Year Zero, was a giveaway. He signed both copies.
I was wearing my new Jurassic Park shirt:
and Rob was wearing a shirt with the Jurassic Park logo, only his said "Golden Gate Park".
Rob remembered me from the Deleted Scenes panel on Friday. (I was sitting in the front row.) I said the David Hasselhoff scene was hysterical and that really sold the book for me, and too bad it wasn't in the book (After On). But he said that the character who writes the reviews is in there and all the reviews are online.
I pointed out our sort-of matching shirts and asked for a photo.
Then he said that he hopes I like After On. I read the first page while waiting on the queue. It's funny.
Then I went back to wait on Mark's queue. It was a long wait. First he had his photo ops. Then he had a break and I assume had some lunch (it's only fair). So of course the autograph session stared like more than an hour late. The first people on the queue were cosplaying as Beauty and the (human) Beast. They were spectacular. Wish I had asked for a photo. Hundreds of others were asking.
Finally we get up to talk to Mark. Since my sister was the one actually getting her photo with him signed I just observed.
Mark saw their photo and said, "Look how cute you are." I think my sister was too nervous and I had to tell her afterward that he said this. She was concentrating on the whole speech she prepared.
She told him that we were at his conversation last night. Mark had said how when he got the script for "The Last Jedi" he was surprised/disappointed about how Luke had lost his optimism.
My sister said she agreed with that and added that Luke also lost his Original Trilogy persistence to save Ben/Kylo.
Mark responded that he "has to be careful" of what he says, but it's not a long wait. It will be answered before we know it.
We said we'd be there opening weekend and thanked him.
Then we had to haul ass to this panel. I was nervous we would miss it.
A Wizard, a Dragon, and a Zombie Traverse into a Story
October 08, 2017, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Authors discuss embracing, mutating, and morphing established character types in their tales. Erik Forrest Jackson (Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera) takes the topic beyond the beginning of an undead shaggy cyborg gryphon joke with Cressida Cowell (The Wizards of Once), Josh Malerman (Unbury Carol), Pierce Brown (Red Rising), Peter Clines (Paradox Unbound), Rachel Hartman (Tess of the Road), and Paul Vigna (GUTS: The Anatomy of the Walking Dead).
This was a fun panel. My favorite part about it was when the authors were saying that you can write your own rules of myths but when you've established the rules in your story - stick with it. Obey them. If you write yourself into a corner you must figure out how to get out and not break your rules.
TV often breaks their rules and tries to go back, which is B.S. (I think Pierce said this and all I could think of was The Vampire Diaries, The Originals and Once Upon A Time.)
I think it was Rachel Hartman who said that her friend wrote a thesis about how sic-fi readers have higher tolerance for having their expectations shattered. I agree. Sometimes I find stories too predictable.
Cressida Cowell showed her sketchbook of inspiration boards and research, which was really cool. I never knew that David Tennant reads her audiobooks and did so even before he was on Doctor Who. He's so busy now but is still loyal and still narrates them.
Pierce spoke about the two different kinds of research an author does. There's the glamorous research where you go down the rabbit hole on the internet. Then there is the weird research, like when he went into a sensory deprivation tank for 3 hours.
Other highlights of the panel:
Tropes that never seem to die: the dragon trope and zombie trope.
The dragon trope has two directions. The evil creature that burns cities and hoards gold or the all wise, magical creature that represents a taming of the wilderness.
Zombies have morphed over the centuries. The living dead, voodoo, now an apocalyptic virus. The all purpose metaphor is that death will come to us all.
After the panel my sister and I were starving. To save money we brought tuna sandwiches from home and didn't want to eat them while waiting on the queues as a courtesy to others. So we went to a table to eat and then went to A Wizard, a Dragon, and a Zombie Traverse into a Story Autographing. It was only going until 4:45 PM.
There was no line by the end of the session. We caught Pierce as he was about to leave. We had our Iron Gold character posters. I thought it best to get them signed now because I think the signing in January will be too crazy.
He asked if we enjoyed the panel. He saw my sister's head peaking out (we were sitting in front of Mike Braff, his former editor). Pierce said he winked at her but she didn't see. His winking weirded out the man in the front row. HAHA!
I said I read the Iron Gold sampler again and wanted to know if a certain asteroid scene was an homage to The Empire Strikes Back. He said yes and that he knows I'll be picking up on all the Easter Eggs. (Squee!)
Then he had to leave with his girlfriend and catch a plane. He said he hoped to see us at Comic Con next year (yay!). I said it would be in January at Barnes and Noble for the IG tour.
Sunday's books:
Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
After On by Rob Reid
Year Zero by Rob Reid
All the books from NYCC 2017:
Age of Myth The Legends of the First Empire 1 by Michael J. Sullivan
Star Wars - From a Certain Point of View, by 40 various authors.
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn (Review contains major spoilers.)
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
Year Zero by Rob Reid
After On by Rob Reid
My sister decided to splurge for Mark Hamill's autograph. (The price went up since he was last at NYCC in 2011). So in the morning she queued for his signing. Mark had the photo ops first, but the queues get really long real fast.
I left her briefly to go to Rob Reid's signing at Random House's booth.
After On I purchased book, but it was on sale (and I got an ARC for Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins with the purchase). Rob's first book, Year Zero, was a giveaway. He signed both copies.
I was wearing my new Jurassic Park shirt:
and Rob was wearing a shirt with the Jurassic Park logo, only his said "Golden Gate Park".
Rob remembered me from the Deleted Scenes panel on Friday. (I was sitting in the front row.) I said the David Hasselhoff scene was hysterical and that really sold the book for me, and too bad it wasn't in the book (After On). But he said that the character who writes the reviews is in there and all the reviews are online.
I pointed out our sort-of matching shirts and asked for a photo.
Then he said that he hopes I like After On. I read the first page while waiting on the queue. It's funny.
Then I went back to wait on Mark's queue. It was a long wait. First he had his photo ops. Then he had a break and I assume had some lunch (it's only fair). So of course the autograph session stared like more than an hour late. The first people on the queue were cosplaying as Beauty and the (human) Beast. They were spectacular. Wish I had asked for a photo. Hundreds of others were asking.
Finally we get up to talk to Mark. Since my sister was the one actually getting her photo with him signed I just observed.
Mark saw their photo and said, "Look how cute you are." I think my sister was too nervous and I had to tell her afterward that he said this. She was concentrating on the whole speech she prepared.
She told him that we were at his conversation last night. Mark had said how when he got the script for "The Last Jedi" he was surprised/disappointed about how Luke had lost his optimism.
My sister said she agreed with that and added that Luke also lost his Original Trilogy persistence to save Ben/Kylo.
Mark responded that he "has to be careful" of what he says, but it's not a long wait. It will be answered before we know it.
We said we'd be there opening weekend and thanked him.
Then we had to haul ass to this panel. I was nervous we would miss it.
A Wizard, a Dragon, and a Zombie Traverse into a Story
October 08, 2017, 2:30 PM - 3:30 PM
Authors discuss embracing, mutating, and morphing established character types in their tales. Erik Forrest Jackson (Muppets Meet the Classics: The Phantom of the Opera) takes the topic beyond the beginning of an undead shaggy cyborg gryphon joke with Cressida Cowell (The Wizards of Once), Josh Malerman (Unbury Carol), Pierce Brown (Red Rising), Peter Clines (Paradox Unbound), Rachel Hartman (Tess of the Road), and Paul Vigna (GUTS: The Anatomy of the Walking Dead).
This was a fun panel. My favorite part about it was when the authors were saying that you can write your own rules of myths but when you've established the rules in your story - stick with it. Obey them. If you write yourself into a corner you must figure out how to get out and not break your rules.
TV often breaks their rules and tries to go back, which is B.S. (I think Pierce said this and all I could think of was The Vampire Diaries, The Originals and Once Upon A Time.)
I think it was Rachel Hartman who said that her friend wrote a thesis about how sic-fi readers have higher tolerance for having their expectations shattered. I agree. Sometimes I find stories too predictable.
Cressida Cowell showed her sketchbook of inspiration boards and research, which was really cool. I never knew that David Tennant reads her audiobooks and did so even before he was on Doctor Who. He's so busy now but is still loyal and still narrates them.
Pierce spoke about the two different kinds of research an author does. There's the glamorous research where you go down the rabbit hole on the internet. Then there is the weird research, like when he went into a sensory deprivation tank for 3 hours.
Other highlights of the panel:
Tropes that never seem to die: the dragon trope and zombie trope.
The dragon trope has two directions. The evil creature that burns cities and hoards gold or the all wise, magical creature that represents a taming of the wilderness.
Zombies have morphed over the centuries. The living dead, voodoo, now an apocalyptic virus. The all purpose metaphor is that death will come to us all.
After the panel my sister and I were starving. To save money we brought tuna sandwiches from home and didn't want to eat them while waiting on the queues as a courtesy to others. So we went to a table to eat and then went to A Wizard, a Dragon, and a Zombie Traverse into a Story Autographing. It was only going until 4:45 PM.
There was no line by the end of the session. We caught Pierce as he was about to leave. We had our Iron Gold character posters. I thought it best to get them signed now because I think the signing in January will be too crazy.
He asked if we enjoyed the panel. He saw my sister's head peaking out (we were sitting in front of Mike Braff, his former editor). Pierce said he winked at her but she didn't see. His winking weirded out the man in the front row. HAHA!
I said I read the Iron Gold sampler again and wanted to know if a certain asteroid scene was an homage to The Empire Strikes Back. He said yes and that he knows I'll be picking up on all the Easter Eggs. (Squee!)
Then he had to leave with his girlfriend and catch a plane. He said he hoped to see us at Comic Con next year (yay!). I said it would be in January at Barnes and Noble for the IG tour.
Sunday's books:
Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
After On by Rob Reid
Year Zero by Rob Reid
All the books from NYCC 2017:
Age of Myth The Legends of the First Empire 1 by Michael J. Sullivan
Star Wars - From a Certain Point of View, by 40 various authors.
Sleeping Giants by Sylvain Neuvel
Within These Walls by Ania Ahlborn (Review contains major spoilers.)
The Bear and the Nightingale by Katherine Arden
The Girl in the Tower by Katherine Arden
Daughters of the Storm by Kim Wilkins
Year Zero by Rob Reid
After On by Rob Reid