A NYCC 2013 Moment # 4. “Aisle” Be Right With You (…in an hour or so… maybe)

We’ll try to do one of these each day for the week – and keep the spirit of New York Comic Con going, long after the actual fun has ended.

Comic Con goers have always had trouble negotiating the crowded aisles, particularly on the peak days of Saturday (especially) and Sunday…

Welcome to NYCC!

…But, in more recent years, the problem has become more pronounced at NYCC, and heaven only knows what San Diego must be like by now! 

I’ve come to realize that there might be two main reasons for this, one born of natural growth and evolution, and the other a product of modern technology. 

First, would be that there are MANY MORE fans, fannish-types, and “geeks” (a word I use in the proudest sense) these days.  I wouldn’t be surprised if there weren’t more of us geeks present at a modern-day NYCC or certainly Comic Con International San Diego than existed in the entire world of 1968-1970 – back when those of us who attempted to lead an “un-closeted” existence communicated with one another via the mails and mimeographed sheets. 

Where WERE you guys and gals, back in the day when we needed you?!

I think that’s GREAT, and if only we had – or demonstrated – those numbers back then, the first age of “Fantastic Television”, that reached its apex in 1966, would not have come to such an abrupt, extinction-level end, setting up well over a decade of little-more than sit-coms and detectives of every size and shape on the home tube. 

And, with that fannish growth came an explosion of costuming. 

Did someday say... "Explosion"?

And, with that explosion of costuming came hordes of folks who wanted to take their picture.

I wanna picture... I wanna picture!

Now, that was manageable when the photographers were limited to those who carried around their own cameras…

Clog up the aisles... and say "Bat-Cheese"!

But, now that EVERYONE’S PHONE functions as a camera, there is not a MOMENT that forward progress is not stopped by fans photographing other costumed fans, making it near impossible to keep that appointment with friends and colleagues, or just moving from one dealer to the next.

Ah, but that’s a small price to pay for the wonderful experience that is New York Comic Con 2013.     

Oh, and I can't tell you how many variations of THIS were walking around... being photographed.