Out of the Inkwell

Part Two: Fatman and Dogboy go to New York Comicon


"Zombie hugs! Get your free zombie hugs!" This guy was handing out a free zombie comic book tie-in to a video game. We accepted his manly zombie hug and the free comic and for Steve B. I decided to get a photo of his gaping head wound.


I have no idea why someone decided that making this poor model stand around in this outrageous costume would be an effective effort in order to sell statues of some British space heroine. I love the highly illogical spikes on this space suit.



The show was loaded naturally with collectible toys. One company produced this cool Commando Cody doll – you have to be old and a serial fan to even know who the hell Commando Cody was – and along aside of it was...



A doll representing Buster Crabbe as Flash Gordon rendered in black and white because the serial was in black and white. Frankly I thought it made Buster look either like a zombie or frozen solid. My toy purchase of the trip was marked down set of "Mutts" figures.

There were a lot of bargains in the dealer's room, which certainly reflected the hard times we face in this recession.

Now I remember costume competitions from the old days, but I was a little shocked at the sheer number of fans who came dressed as their favorite character, but I was heartened by the obvious change of demographics in the audience.



Back in the day, the average convention was dominated by young white males. A woman on the convention floor could stop traffic. The idea you could find a female you could share your interest in comic book fandom was almost science fiction. Now as this photo attests, not only are there enthusiastic female fans, but there are Asian, Black and Latino fans as well. This is a welcomed change in my book.

I attribute part of this change to the tremendous popularity of anime and manga among young women, which probably has served as a portal to other kinds of graphic story-telling.

Part Three tomorrow!

© 2009 by Gordon Michael Dobbs