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Yes, I'm back from New York City. Manhattan, to be exact. 'How was the trip?', you may wonder. Well...it's New York City. It's huge. I stayed at the Milford Plaza Hotel on 8th Ave. Funny story: I was under the impression that the hotel was on 45th Street, which lead to a lot of walking around, while carrying a suitcase and a backpack and wearing a raincoat when it had stopped raining. Asking for directions led me to my hotel. Very nice place, even if my room was wee. I think my bedroom is bigger than my room. Also, there were elevators where you had to press on a keypad the floor you wanted to go to. For some reason, I was always directed to ride elevator 'B'. Some creepy, 1408 shit right there.

I went up to 47th and 8th to wait for the shuttle bus to the main reason I took the trip: New York Comic-Con. There were a number of panels I wanted to see, but could not. For those who've been to San Diego, picture how impossible Hall H is to get into. You have nearly every experience I did trying to get into the panels I wanted to get into. (I won't deny that, at least twice, it was my own fault. The "Robot Chicken" panel I wanted to get into was being held at IGN Theater, where I was able to witness the DCAU panel, but, for some reason, I skipped out. Also, I sat through a panel on Todd McFarlane just to see a panel on John Landis and his book, "Monsters in the Movies". The latter panel was cancelled and the line for "The Avengers" panel was ridiculous. Okay, maybe I'm being a little gauche. It was more of a crowd than a line.) The speed dating (!) sessions I had hoped to partake in were also overcrowded with no-hopers. Compounding that was the fact that people were dropping flyers and trash everywhere, giving me a piteous feeling for the custodians I saw periodically.

"Did you have any fun at New York Comic-Con?!", you may, by now, be asking. Sure, I did. I managed to get into a handful of panels:

- The aforementioned DCAU panel. I got to see a preview of "Justice League: Doom" and a "Catwoman" short that played like "Batman: TAS" by way of "Law and Order: SVU".
- The aforementioned Todd McFarlane panel. Couldn't tell you what exactly happened, as I was asleep for most of it. Yet, I was able to redeem a voucher for figures from McFarlane Toys.
- A panel on the Adult Swim series, "China, IL". Looks cheap, but it plays surprisingly well.
- A panel on the impending Adult Swim series, "Black Dynamite". Doesn't hit the airwaves until next July (!), but it was a kick to see the many people lending their voices (even if what they actually said was mostly drowned out by the cheers).
(Prior to both these panels, there was a preview for some other animated series that had a panel: MTV's "Good Vibes". Long story short, it's a long way from "Daria", "Undergrads", "Downtown" and "Clone High".)
- A joint panel of "Adventure Time" and "Regular Show". I enjoy both shows, and it felt incredible to be among the various fans, whose eagerness and love of the shows was intoxicating. Weirdest aspect of the panel: the (possibly fake) East Coast-West Coast feud between the makers of both shows.
- A panel extolling a crossover between "Ben 10" and "Generator Rex". Not bad, but I was expecting a little more than a "Generator Rex" episode with Ben dropped into it.

And then, there's the cosplay. Wow. I managed to get some good shots, but among the ones I missed capturing on film were of Darkman, Blankman and Chester A. Bum (of "That Guy with the Glasses"); the latter may well be one of the greater disappointments of this trip. Seriously, I may not have gotten to do all I wanted to do at the Con, but the shot of the dude dressed up as Mr. T carrying a gold-plated bazooka is worth more than any missed panel.

The food was, as expected, super expensive, so I hit up the street vendors just outside for less pricey, but equally fulfilling fare. I partook of a sausage on a bun with mustard and sauerkraut. Needless to say, my socks were knocked off. On the subject of food, I also enjoyed a burger and fries from the Shake Shack, a frosted black and white cookie from Crumbs and a breakfast buffet.

My hopes of acquiring CDs that I can't seem to get here was limited to a trip to Academy Records (which I walked to from the Con; from West 37th Street to West 18th Street). Amongst the many bootlegs I found two potential gems: Mark Snow's "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" and John Scott's Lionheart. The latter turned out to be a CD-R, but it sounds just as clear and professional as the ridiculously expensive actual CD.

All in all, an exciting, frustrating, dizzying trip. I must do more of them.