What is Comic Con? New York Comic Con is the largest fan convention in NYC and one of (if not the largest) fan conventions on the east coast. The title says "comic," but the real focus is fandom. People from TV shows, films, video games, books, art, science, and even international media will be putting on panels, screenings, and booths for fans. There are even two big uniquely Harry Potter events: wand dueling demos and muggle quidditch open play.

Even more intriguing is the fan culture that surrounds a convention like this. There's cosplay galore. Saturday night even has an event called Masquerade which is, in essence, a cosplay performing arts competition.* There are booths that were even trying to hire cosplayers to demonstrate fan merchandise opportunities, like green screen photo shoots. I'll be covering that stuff live during the weekend on the Facebook page.

And how am I going?

Can you believe they gave me a press pass for this? Me. Robert Gannon. Writer of Sketchy Details, which gets between 5000-8000 hits a month. I applied early, sent them links to my coverage of that small NJ horror convention I went to a few months ago, and got my confirmation on the first day of registration.

What that means is that I get to go to events that regular and VIP ticket holders do not get to go to. For example, only press and 4-Day pass holders can get in the door today. I also scheduled a few interviews, press panels, screenings, and demos over the past few weeks as smaller media creators contacted me.

What will the site be like during the convention?

I'm aiming for three posts today and three posts tomorrow. If you follow the Facebook, you'll get cosplay coverage. If you follow the Twitter, you'll get random sight gags, pithy commentary, and strange hash tags. If you follow here, you get 400+ word posts on different events and the general vibe of the convention. You are not required in any way to join any other site. The meatiest coverage will, as always, be right here**.

In twenty minutes, I run another rehearsal for the play I'm arranging the music for. Then I'm hoping on the bus to NYC and getting ready to delve into the twisted world of fan conventions. Today I get my con-legs and figure out the best strategies not to panic when it turns into a sea of people tomorrow. Maybe I'll harass people I know. Who knows? The possibilities are endless right now.

*I actually scheduled an interview and press panel during that time before realizing Masquerade was Saturday night, not Friday night. My bad.

**Except for the stuff I'm ghostwriting for other sites. No takers on featured articles, but plenty of people asking for photos and notes on Adult Swim panels.