The only thing in that panel I found that had any potential were the Manga books. If they develop a true âManga-Verseâ that has a potential to rival the Absolute Universe as something fresh and new. Written by Japanese creators. Hopefully CB doesnât f it up.
I said this about the Star Wars Visionsll. But Disney canât get out of their own way with Star Wars at the momentâŠwhich reminds me I need to check out the series recently released on Disney+.
Alright, itâs the moment youâve all been waiting for. The big reveal. What did the Dirty D get from NYCC.
Iâll have a full write-up later on the convention itself, but that wonât get too much into my actual purchases. There were definitely some ups and downs. Successes and failures. And one big frustration that kind of deserves its own separate post, which I will get into towards the end as it was a big purchase (relatively).
But lets get into the swag.
The DC shop was giving out these, which are basically Mad #1 facsimile with a variant thick paper stock cover. Free, but they scanned your badge so I assume you were limited to one per day (did not ask).
PSA was giving out a variant cover of its October issue of PSA Magazine if you submitted an order for grading. I submitted a 1989 Topps Batman Deluxe (1966 Re-issue) card, Card #1 actually, signed by Adam West back in 1989.
Sandstorm was one of the sponsors of Artist Alley. Theyâre a comic book and graphic novel studio based out of United Arab Emirates. Theyâve sponsored the last few years, and have given out free comics/graphic novelsâŠI have a few larger graphic novels (magazine size) from a couple years ago as well that I need to list.
Couple giveaways from Marvel panels. Skottie Young variant was the Bullpen Bulletin panel. The lame bag of legos from the House of Ideas. I had a choice of this Spider-Man set or a similar bag with a Tie FighterâŠnot an exclusive, btw, as they are available at Targets, Walmarts, Amazons, etcâŠ
These were given away at the CGC booth. I dropped off some magazines one day, and my Spawn 357 Momoko variant (signed by McFarlane in 2024, and Momoko this convention). The Dexter Soy variant seems to be doing the better of the two in the aftermarket, but they are both pretty sweet in person.
All were given away at Walmart booth except for Krypto (DC Booth). They grouped you into teams of three, the âdealerâ rolled three dice and the three of us each rolled a dice and had to âtieâ the dealer to win the grand prize (signed comic). âLosersâ still got to pick 2 comics, and then given a Walmart bag with another comicâŠsometimes. One day they gave it to me, the other they didnât. Not sure why the inconsistency.
The only giveaways in this picture are the Magic Cards and the CGC pin. For the Star Trek cards, the had several varieties of the welcome decks. You filled out some survey which determined your personality and matched you with one of the decks. It also came with the Borg Queen promo card. The marvel jump/start cards were just available.
The Exquisite Corpses cards are event cards that are specific to each convention Tiny Onion offers them. They are $5/card. The King of New York Hazbin Hotel Lucifer card were $10 each at the PSA booth while supplied last (limit 2). Theyâre going for $50+ on ebay.
And of course the Veefriends stickers they hand out to everyone on the floor, or if you go up to the booth.
Brett Bean ($10/ea)
Jason Howard ($10/ea)
Dan Mora ($15/ea). A little high I thoughtâŠbut I guess heâs making a name for himself. I actually grabbed two of the Abs Batman 24 variant, but only had him sign my copy. Love the pink contrast. I had him sign the Batgirl in pink as well, but it would have looked so much better in the upper leftâŠso I may sell this copy to fund another and try again next year. I see a few of the Beefcake NW140âs signed onlineâŠbut none are signed on the surfboard which Dan suggested. And I think looks so cool.
Met Flops who many like here. Very nice guy. Was his first time in NYC and at NYCC so he was a bit overwhelmed. He was bouncing back and forth between boom and other publishers doing signings. I bought this Ashcan ($20) as well as the Batman & Robin variant. He didnât charge for signature. The Canto book I brought myself. He asked me if I was sure if I wanted to sign in turquoisâŠbut I like the contrast with the light browns. He also said that book was what put him on the map.
Little story here. I thought her 10am slot at her table (Artist Alley) was open, but apparently they had sent out QR codes to VIPs (?)âŠbut the âbouncerâ told me to come back at noon and they could likely squeeze me in. Did that and he helped me out, which was cool. Iâve been trying to get her signature for 5 yearsâŠwhenver her first NYCC wasâŠand been denied in the most bizarre ways (fights closing lines, the line getting capped immediately in front of me, etc). So this was personal!
First 3 signatures were free. After that $10. I had 4 books and decided to get all 4 signed. One was the Spawn 357 signed by McFarlane which I then dropped off at CGC for a double signature verification.
It seems like every year there are less and less comic vendors with massive bins of back issues of all titles. I think Victory Comics and Zapp! Comics are pretty much it now. Everyone else just brings âkeysâ and they mark them up like itâs 2021, expecting you to haggle. Most just have a few short or long boxes, and focus on wall books. This convention is really about pop culture, Manga and exclusives now. Iâve seen the shift even in just the 5 years Iâve been going. Iâll speak more to this in my con recap write-up. I spent very little time looking in bins as a result, and hereâs all I found. At $3 they can provide a small flip, or maybe worth holding on to for a little while until they bounce back (Come on Disney, get Aphra out there!).
Dungeon Crawler Carl variants. They were everywhere. The Crocodile 0.5 looks to be a reprint of last yearâs release that is DCCâs first appearance and goes for $1000+ now. Also Comics the Magazine Daniel Warren Johnson variant.
My extra copy of Absolute Batman 24 (Mora) as well as the Red Hood and the Outlaws #1 (Dexter Soy). I wanted the Black variant of Red Hood, but it was sold out by Thursday afternoon (despite both covers being the same print run, and commanding the same value on ebay. They still had the red foil going into Sunday. Regardless, these Red Foil Dexter Soy covers (e.g. Abs Batman 24) are still really nice books. Both were $40.
I had no Idea this cover was Quintana until yesterday. Iâve been searching for the regular for a while as itâs an homage to my favorite Transformers cover. One booth was selling an embossed exclusive so I had to pick that up. Only to find the regular cover (a 2023 Whatnot exclusive) in a back issue bin for $3 later that day! Itâs also signed by the writer, which I also didnât know until yesterday when I took it out for pictures. I need to have Quintana sign these some day.
The darling of the convention. At least the comic everyone wanted. Online you can still get it for $30 (limit 8), but at the Whatnot booth it was $5 with a limit of 5 on Thursday, limit of 3 on Friday, and sold out I believe before Saturday opening (at the boothâŠstill available online). I hit the booth on Friday first thing to get my three copies. Holding them all for now.
Speaking of WhatnotâŠon Friday it announced sets (color & B/W) of this Spawn 379 McFarlane variant cover (collaborated with a few other artists), signed by McFarlane. The set was offered for $200 and limited to 850 copies. When I saw this Iâm thinking of the Momoko signed books from two years ago that were offered at $60 each, and limited to 1000, and sold for $300 immediately after. This is when comics were dying a slow deathâŠand it was a Momoko cover, not McFarlane. This was McFarlane signing McFarlane. So obviously this is going to be a big hit rightâŠ? RightâŠ?!
WellâŠthereâs a story behind this Iâm going to tell in a separate post. Itâs a bit crazy and frustrating. I feel a bit duped on this one. And not because I took a chance, but what was âadvertisedâ that I assumed I was paying for, and the product I was given. So stay tuned for that next.
Forgot to mention the travel logistics. I donât stay in NY. I commute in every day. Itâs a 45 minute car ride to the Metro, a 2 hour train ride into grand central, and 20 minute ride on the 7 train. Basically a little over 3 hours one wayâŠ6.5 hours round trip. But 4 of those hours Iâm just riding a train, prepping for my day (going in) or having a bit to eat/drink and catching up on things (heading out). It goes very quick.
Cost is not bad. $8 parking for the day. $42 round trip metro. $6 round trip subway (unless I walk, which I do sometimes if itâs nice, or I head to Midtown Comics and grab a bite to eat on the way back to GC). About 100 miles in the car is about $19 in gas. So really commuting is $75 for each day. If I stayed over Iâd only be saving a days commuteâŠand spending $300-$400 for a hotel room. Driving to and parking in the city (vice the metro/subway) would also be more than commuting costs.
Coming back home I can also re-strategize for the next day and adjust what Iâm brining. So thereâs that too.
Well, that was the haul and some travel details. Feel free to share your experiences, or comment on mine.
Well done and thank you D-Rog! Sounds like you had a fun but very exhausting time
I need Miles Morales as a manga character! Iâd be all in on that.
I bought a lot of the Deadpool: Samurai Japanese editions which introduced Sakura Spider. I then spent way too much on the ASM #3 1:100 Uesagi variant thinking that Marvel would put her somewhere in the Spider-Universe - which of course they didnât/havenât. Idiots. Them and me 
