Caturday!

Thanksgiving Caturday

Bob my cat is prepared for the holiday season.

All the best to you and yours.

-L

Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog: www.mediumatlarge.net
203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!

A Very Special NYCC Vlog

Words cannot describe the latest NYCC Vlog, this one is from our sales guru Mark "The Chainsaw" Fitch. Consider this a special Thanksgiving greeting from all of New York Comic Con to all of you......

Gobble.

-L

The Official NYCC 2009 Poster!!!!!

Here it is, the official 2009 New York Comic Con show poster! This year we worked with Neal Adams for this original piece of artwork. When we started talking about this idea, we asked Neal to draw Hal Jordan for us, but in the end, he blew us away by including a total of 6 Green Lanterns! Amazing......

Neal is awesome to work with and obviously a one of a kind talent. We'll have lots More news on Neal's plans for NYCC in the next week or so, but for now you can take a gander at this years exclusive poster.

If you want one, they are included in our VIP Access packages, which you can buy by clicking here. They will also be on display at all participating retail partners (which you can find a full list of here) and we'll be doing some special giveaways of the poster here in the blog, so stay tuned......

Thanks Neal (and Thanks To Ed Catto for all of his help in making sure green is green, amongst other things!)

-L

VIP Tickets! Going Fast!

Dear Internets,

While I'm sure your mind is on Thanksgiving and the Holidays, I wanted to let you know we've got less than 10 IGN Edition VIP Passes left. If you want one, grab yours fast! By the time we hit Turkey Day, we're not going to have any left.

You Can't Stop The Vlogging! - Get Sneak Peek At Who Will be at NYCC

In our second installment of the NYCC Vlog, Chief Sales Dude, Larry "Ice Pick" Settembrini" gives you a behind the scenes look at the con's floor plan and the inside scoop on some of the companies who'll be there. Take a look and remember, no matter how much you try, you can't stop the vlogging.....

Oh, also, based on this vlog, I've had a restraining order issued against Ice Pick. I fear for my safety after viewing this and finding him routing through my trash in the same week.

If my office starts to stink and my coffee cup hasen't moved for a few days, it was probably Ice Pick.

Vlog On!

-L

Good Technological Fun

Out at PAX this summer I noted that the new Rock Band game includes The Replacements tune, Alex Chilton. Who cares you may ask? Then you are not aware that The Replacements are easily the greatest band of our (ok mine, anyway) generation.

Still don't care? Well then get your own blog!

Brett Milano of the Rock Band Zine has a great interview with Paul Westerbeg formerly of The Replacements where Paul works hard to hide his indifference towards the game, but talks about the song Alex Chilton and other Westerberg/Mats stuff. "Good Technological Fun" is what he refers to Rock Band as......

Listen here.

-L

JJ Sedelmaier is coming to NYCC!

Do you know the name JJ Sedelmaier? You should. JJ's the brains behind the first season of MTV's Beavis and Butt-Head, SNL's The Ambiguously Gay Duo and The X-Presidents, the pilot for Cartoon Network's Harvey Birdman Attorney at Law, the Tek Jansen series for The Colbert Report, and over 400 TV commercials. He's one of the most respected names in animation on the East Coast, and he's coming to New York Comic Con! Joy!

NYCC Tickets Now Available at Retailers!

Now, you really have no excuse not to get your tickets to New York Comic Con as they are now available at 24 retailers in 4 states. So what are you waiting for? Go buy your tickets!

We confirmed more guests this week that we'll announce both before and after Turkey Day, so know that everyone here at NYCC World Headquarters is working like dogs to build the best con yet, so do you part and go buy a ticket!

Full list of retailers can be found right here.

-L

Saturday is Caturday!

Thanks to Kristen for this gem! To think - we make guest announcements, stirring industry opinions, solicit feedback and what gets our readers excited?

Yup, cute cat pics.

Our calendar is surely coming soon.....

-L

Caturday

New Guest of Honor

Dear Internets,

This is Peter, writing to you from the train. Did you read Lance's vlog post? Four stars! Did you watch his vlog post? Three and a half. Anyway, just wanted you to know we've confirmed three new Guests of Honor this week. Can I tell you who they are? Not yet, silly. To make it up to you, we've got another vlog coming soon.

PS: Anyone going to see Twilight this weekend?l
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Playing Adult Tonight

Here's a fuzzy pic of Eric Bogosian, emcee at the National Book Awards tonight. Yes, once in a while, I dust of the tux and get all fancied up and rub elbows with the literati.....

I'll maybe mog the winners as they are announced.

Hope your having as much fun in a bow tie tonight......

L

Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog: www.mediumatlarge.net
203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!

Introducing NYCC Vlogging!

A new era has begun here at New York Comic Con World Headquarters. An era of words and pictures! An era of campy jokes and the occasional spit take. An era of new information and assistance for you to get the most out of your con experience. An era of moving pictures. Welcome ladies and germs to the premiere of New York Comic Cons Vlog (vid blogging).

Each week a different member of the New York comic Con team will post a vlog on a specific subject about the con to help you better understand how it works and how to get the most out of it. If we do our jobs right, and we usually don’t, these should give you some new insights into the con, helpful tips and tricks, and some ounce of entertainment.

So first up is yours truly explaining to you how to buy a VIP Access Pass and answering a few common questions about them…..

You can view all of the collected vlogs as we release them on the NYCC homepage right here.

-L

Holy Crap, There's Been a Guest Explosion

I leave for a 4 day business trip and we announce 3 new guests, amazing! I'm glad I instructed Larry to put meth in Peter's coffee this week......

I'm personally really, really stoked about Chip Kidd. I'm a huge fan of his design and his fiction.

Yes, I too am nothing more than a fan boy.

Dropped some bucks at Graham Crackers here in Chicago this afternoon. You gotta support the good local shops. This a good reminder, really, if you value your local store this holiday season, patronize them! They are going to need you this Christmas more than ever. Book, comic, wine, bike, whatever it is, if you value it in your community, do some shopping with them......

Signing off from the Second City

-L

Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog: www.mediumatlarge.net
203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!

Ben Templesmith at NYCC

Wrapping up today's hat trick of guest revelations, Ben Templesmith's coming! Ben's most notable works have been 30 Days of Night, Fell, Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse, Welcome to Hoxford, and Singularity7. He's also got some amazing Doctor Who fan art at templesmith.com.

Chip Kidd Comes to NYCC

Chip Kidd is speaking about Bat-manga tonight at 6 PM at Kinokuniya Bookstore (1073 Ave of Americas) in New York City. What's next for the groundbreaking author, editor, and designer? New York Comic Con. Chip Kidd is coming to NYCC, too!

Michael Uslan at NYCC

As a boy, Michael Uslan lined up for the first New York City comic book convention ever held. Later, he wrote for early fanzines and spent time with the Comics Code Authority. Uslan then created and taught the world's first college-accredited course on comic books. He would go on to write, direct, and produce books, cartoons, documentaries, and feature films. Uslan has served as Executive Producer of every Batman feature film since 1989's Batman -- films including The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Batman: Gotham Knight, and Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker. He is currently producing the upcoming films The Spirit, Shazam, and The Shadow. On February 6, 7, and 8, he'll be attending New York Comic Con as a Guest of Honor!

Leaving an Imprint – Why I Told A Bunch of High School Students to Drop Out

I spent all day Friday afternoon speaking to English students at Apple Valley High School in Minnesota, where I attended high school more than a few years ago. When in school there was one teacher that became an extremely good friend; Scott and I stayed in touch over the years and grab coffee when I’m home, and exchange reading lists and juvenile humor via email. Scott invited me to come speak to his classes in Minnesota. My reaction was why? What do I have to say to these kids? I did everything wrong! And I mean everything. The more I thought about it, the more appealing it was for reasons that are hard to explain. At the core, I feel like I owe Scott – he invested in me at a time when there was not a lot to invest in, he put books in my hand that opened up a world of literature to me that I never knew existed. In short, it was my turn to pay that back.


So what to talk about? I was as nervous preparing for these talks as I was the night before the SAT. In both cases I knew I was woefully unprepared and the audience would be unforgiving.

At the end of the day I gave seven 40 minute talks to about 400 or so kids and I think I did better on Friday than I did on my SAT’s – but that bar was set pretty low.

When introducing me to the students, Scott said I took a “different” path than most, I corrected him and said that I was off the path in the woods doing illegal things. In fact, I never even made it to the end of the path as I quit school early in my senior year. So again, what the hell did I have to tell these kids? Drop out, drift around, and land a cushy corporate job a dozen years later doing what you love? Yeah, I felt woefully unprepared, but knew I had something to say – or hoped I did anyway.

I turned to an expert – Daniel Pink, author of A Whole New Mind and The Adventures of Johnny Bunko. Bunko was perfect for this audience, so I borrowed heavily from it and put my own twisted twist on it.

• There is no plan – You can’t screw it up too much, I tried!
• Think strengths not weaknesses
• It’s not about you – Don’t be a dick and help others
• Persistence and hard work trumps talent – with a GPA like mine, it’s all I had!
• Make excellent mistakes – I’m really good at this one
• Leave an imprint - I’m here today talking to you aren’t I?
  

My overarching point to these kids? Screwing up won’t damn you to permanent failure if you find your passions, find your talents, stretch your mind, care about other people’s success and work at it. Books, and more importantly content, can play a role in that, content can help to define you, it can stretch your mind when perhaps school doesn’t, content is a source for defining and honing your own creativity. Thanks to my friends Ali, Carl, Craig, Bill and Marilyn at Del Ray, Harper, Algonquin, Diamond and Penguin respectively, every student walked out with a book, many with a few books. And those books were all amazing examples that books aren’t just words on a page, they can be so much more, they are about content, and the medium can vary.

The students seemed to be a little shocked at exactly how poor of a student I really was and the fact that I never felt that my lack of education hindered me. More than that, they were intrigued by the concepts Pink created and I had melded - the idea that books are more than print on a page was a sort of statement of freedom, that they could look at blogs and podcasts as content just as valuable as reading. Content is king.....

I don’t know if I made a difference - I don’t know if any kid who is a horrible student and finds no value in reading or books peeled open his mind a little bit or now sees a sliver more of possibility. Maybe a few kids realized that failing in school does not equate with failing in life. Maybe. But I tried. I did it and put myself personally out there. I tried to make an imprint on these kids the same way Scott did with me dozen years ago. I think that makes my time at AVHS some of the best I’ve spent in my adult career and I’m immensely grateful for the opportunity……

-L

PS – The lecture hall I was in all day is where they held detention in my years. I think I spent more time in that room than any other in that god forsaken school! The setting made it all the more poetic.

Caturday!

NYCC Takes Over NYC - A Sneek Peek At Some Ad Art

These are print ad mock up's that will run in trade magazines and some "mainstream" publications. That's why they look a little more tame than some of the other art we put out there. But there is something that I like about them, I think they are "smart" looking.....

What do you think?

-L

Road Trip!

Dear Internets,

Lance and I are both heading out of town starting tonight. I'm going to a wedding in New York's Fingerlakes and Lance is heading out to the Minnesota to teach kids the value of reading. Or that's what he claims. I think he may be on a top secret mission for the Franken campaign. Anyway, while we'll be way physically, I'm pretty sure they have the internet in the Fingerlakes and Minnesota, so you can expect a steady stream of updates from us both.

And... and... and... we've both already uploaded some Caturday surprises. (BigTog, we couldn't have you got a week without kitties, now could we?) So, be sure you check back at the very least for the new pictures, videos, or broken links.

Changing Climate, Changing Business, Changing BEA……

I’ve been kind of quiet on the BookExpo front and posting often on New York Comic Con, but things have been as busy or busier with BEA. The entire team has spent the last 5 months spending countless hours meeting with our customers, both here and abroad, to gather feedback and gain a greater understanding of business needs so that we might intelligently chart a future course for BEA. We know there is an anxious need for change on BEA and I’m ready to deliver it.

We have deployed surveys, we have formed a Conference Advisory Board of top industry professionals to assist us with the education component of the show, and we are currently creating an executive steering committee to advise us on the most top level issues.

After all of the conversations about where the show is going, it seems that the issues to be addressed and the steps we are already taking seem to fall into one of 7 categories:

• BEA’s story and position in the market
• Venue
• Quality vs. quantity
• Connectivity
• For the industry, by the industry
• Cost sensitivity
• Buzz (books must be launched, media must be engaged)

I won’t go into detail on each point, but suffice it to say that these are big issues. Issues that we as a team have looked at for some time, and is often the case, the current climate has accelerated our action and our customers desire for action.

BEA is at a cross roads, this point is not lost on me or the BEA team, but at the crossroads I see opportunity and I believe we are aggressively working through a process to evolve the show and serve our customers and our industry ever better….

More, lots more on this subject in the coming weeks….

Lance

The Steady Flow of NYCC Guest Announcements Continue Unabated – Geoff Johns and Jim Lee

Geoff Johns and Jim Lee are the latest Guests of Honor at New York Comic Con!

Cool eh? I think so, that’s why we invited them. As I’m sure you know, Geoff did some great writing for Superman, The Flash and Green Lantern. It’s really cool having the Green Lantern tie in and you’ll know why when we reveal this year’s exclusive show poster (tease!).

Jim Lee is always awesome to have at NYCC (we hosted him way back in 2006 when NYCC was but a pup). This year he’ll be at the con not just to remind everyone what a comic stud he is but also help launch the new Massively Multiplayer Online Role-playing game, DC Universe Online (DCUO), produced by Sony Online Entertainment for PLAYSTATION 3 in collaboration with DC Comics and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. This is cool because gaming is going to be huge at NYCC this year so it’s a perfect place top launch the new game. We’ve doubled the number of video game companies at the show – I’ll write more on that subject later.

Enjoy basking ion the glow of our ever growing guest list and get your tickets now so you can meet up with Jim Lee and Geoff Johns.

-L

George Perez!

Ahoy. I'm currently stuck on a stalled train between Queensborough and 45 th Ave. While this doesn't thrill me, what does is an email that just popped into my inbox. Fanboys and fangirls, I'm pleased to welcome George Perez to New York Comic Con!

George is a multi-award winning, highly respected comics artist who has drawn many landmark comics, including THE NEW TEEN TITANS, CRISIS ON INFINITE EARTHS, HISTORY OF THE DC UNIVERSE, JLA, FANTASTIC FOUR, WONDER WOMAN, THE AVENGERS, JLA/AVENGERS, SACHS & VIOLENS, HULK: FUTURE IMPERFECT, and the current hit FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF 3 WORLDS.

2009 marks George's 35th year in the comics industry, and New York Comic Con is his first comic convention appearance since April 2007.

George is a chairman of the Hero Initiative, a comics industry charity which is sponsoring his appearance and to whom George is donating proceeds from his appearance.
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This is a test

This is a test of Peter's new BlackBerry. If you can see this, it means a great new future of Johnny-on-the-spot blogging about topics tangentially related to New York Comic Con. Like Gears of War. Gears 2 is coming out really soon. I loved the first game and can't wait for the next one. NYCC really should bring out someone involved with it.
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Ted Turner - BEA Street Date Podcast

As many of you book inclined readers know, we have an amazingly robust podcast program for BookExpo America over at BooKExpo Cast. I think over the last 2 plus years we've captured 300 or so author and industry inside events that you can download, listen to from your desktop or just pick up through telepathy. It did occur to us though that many of the author events pertain to books that are months from being released, so, in a stroke of obviousness, we've created the BEA Street Date Podcast (I just made that title up). We'll be re-releasing author talks as the books hit the shelves in bookstores all over the country....

First up - Ted Turner.

Click here for the Ted Turner BEA Street Date Podcast

-L

Guests, Guests, and More Guests

Don’t know how keenly you check the New York Comic Con website, but we’ve gone live with a cornucopia of new guests…

COLLEEN DORAN: Colleen’s current projects include the upcoming Stealth Tribes graphic novel with Warren Eillis for DC/Vertigo, and Gone to Amerikay with Derek McCulloch, also for Vertigo. She has illustrated projects for Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and The Lord of the Rings. Recent awards and honors include Artist in Residence at the Smithsonian Institute and exhibits at Gallery Nucleus and The Krannert Art Museum, University of Chicago. Her previous credits include J. Michael Straczynski's The Book of Lost Souls, Amazing Spider-Man, Sandman, Captain America, Wonder Woman, A Distant Soil, The Legion of Superheroes, The Teen Titans, Walt Disney's Beauty and the Beast, Orbiter, Friendly Neighborhood Spider-Man, Anne Rice's The Master of Rampling Gate, Clive Barker's Hellraiser, Tori Amos: Comic Book Tattoo, Girl to Grrrl Manga, The Silver Surfer, and Lucifer. Colleen will be appearing in Artist Alley.

BOB LAYTON: With writing partner David Michelinie, Bob re-imagined Marvel's Invincible Iron Man, transforming it from a low-end book into one of Marvel's all-time best sellers. Second only to his tenure on Iron Man, Bob is also known for his innovative contributions to the Valiant Comics line as Editor-in-Chief and Senior Vice President. Bob has also been involved in many creative aspects of film and television throughout his career, working with such Hollywood luminaries as Howard Stern, Tracy Torme, Scott Winant, Jon Zinman, and George Romero.

DAVID PETERSEN: Born in 1977, a steady diet of cartoons, comics, and tree climbing fed David’s imagination and is what still inspires his work today. David was the 2007 Russ Manning Award recipient for Most Promising Newcomer, and in 2008 his Mouse Guard won Eisner Awards for Best Publication for Kids and Best Graphic Album – Reprint. He received his BFA in Printmaking from Eastern Michigan University where he met his wife Julia. They reside in Michigan with their dog Autumn. For more info about David, visit mousegard.net.

IVAN REIS: Born 1976 in São Paulo, Reis is a Brazilian comic book artist. For three years, he worked for Mauricio de Sousa in Brazil. He began his international career for Dark Horse working on titles such as Ghost, starting with issue 17 and acting as regular artist until that title finished at issue 36. There, he also worked on The Mask, Time Cop and Xena. Later, he worked for Lightning Comics. At Vertigo, he pencilled an issue of Grant Morrison's The Invisibles. He became better known for Lady Death. Reis also worked on Thing & She-Hulk: The Long Night, Avengers Icons: Vision, Captain Marvel, Iron Man, Defenders and Avengers for Marvel Comics. Since 2004, he's an exclusively DC Comics artist and has worked on Action Comics, Teen Titans, Rann-Thanagar War, Superman, and Infinite Crisis. He's currently pencilling Green Lantern Vol. 4, Sinestro Wars and Secret Origins. Ivan will be appearing in Artist Alley.

JOE SINNOTT: Joe begins his 59th year working for Marvel Comics in 2009 and has also worked for Treasure Chest, Dell, Charlton, ACG and Archie Comics. Joe is best known as Jack Kirby's inker on The Fantastic Four. His other work includes Thor (including Thor's first appearance in Journey Into Mystery #83), Captain America, Avengers, Defenders, Hulk, Silver Surfer, and Nick Fury. Since 1991, Joe has been inking the Sunday Spider-Man strip for King Features. See joesinnott.com for more on Joe.

HERB TRIMPE: Comics Legend Herb Trimpe worked for Marvel Comics during a 30-year-period drawing many characters from the Marvel Universe. Herb worked on dozens of titles and is widely remembered by fans for his work on Captain Britain, GI Joe, Defenders, Godzilla, and Shogun Warriors, but for many fans and collectors, Herb is best known as the definitive Hulk artist, having started working on the character in Tales To Astonish, and then continuing to pencil the Hulk for most of the first 100 issues in his own series. This of course includes the 1st appearance of one of the most popular characters of all time, Wolverine in Incredible Hulk #181 (after a last panel cameo in #180). You can find more information about Herb at comicbook-art.com. Herb will be appearing in Artist Alley.

LEINIL YU: Yu’s interest in comics was sparked by a copy of How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way when he was 11. It was later reinforced by positive responses from talent scouts from Wildstorm/Homage and Dark Horse, published fan art in Wizard Magazine, and his first professional work on Entity’s Aster. Leinil’s major break was Whilce Portacio’s tutelage where the training landed him his first mainstream gig: Wolverine. After a successful run, he later took on The Uncanny X-Men, X-Men, Highroads, Superman: Birthright, Silent Dragon, Ultimate Hulk, Ultimate Wolverine, New Avengers, Marvel’s 2008 Epic – Secret Invasion – and various and film and game concept art. Leinil is appearing in Artist Alley. Leinil will be appearing in Artist Alley.

They're just the start, too! Other guests at NYCC include...

* Eddy Barrows * Mark Brooks * Bob Budiansky * Cliff Chiang * Abby Denson * Tom DeFalco * Tommy Lee Edwards * Michael Golden * Sanford Greene * Larry Hama * JayJay Jackson * Kris Justice * Jay Leisten * John Paul Leon * David Mack * Frank McLaughlin * Ariel Olivetti * Joe Prado * Eduardo Risso * Alex Robinson * Dave Roman * Christian Slade * Jeo Staton * Christina Strain * Mark Texeira * Ron Wilson * Renee Witterstaetter *

Chip Kidd and Bat-Manga Come to Kinokuniya

In 1966, the manga magazine Shonen King published an original series of Batman and Robin stories. This Batman manga series has never been collected in Japan and never translated into English. Until now. Pantheon Books and Chip Kidd are proud to present Bat-Manga! Bat-Manga showcases the Dynamic Duo as they've never been seen before -- battling dinosaurs, aliens, and other oddities spawned by atomic age Japan -- and contains vintage photos of a Japan swept away by a Batman craze.

And author and designer Chip Kidd will be coming to Kinokuniya Bookstore (1073 Ave of Americas) in New York City at 6 PM on November 17 to speak and conduct a booksigning.

You're coming, right?

That's The Ticket - NYCC Ticket Art from Del Ray!

For the last few years we've gotten some pretty cool artwork for our tickets from Del Ray and this year is no different. Here at Medium at Large we promise you the inside scoop, so I've got about 3 posts in the next few days with some inside looks at the art the will help make up the face of the con for this year.....

Enjoy!

-L

Caturday!

Polling The Electorate - The NYCC Watering Hole Project

I have few passions, but NYCC and beer are two of them, so I riddled myself thusly; how can I combine my passions? The Official NYCC Bar, that's how!

So we've been talking with a bunch of bars near the Javits Center asking them if they would create a special menu, special drinks and offer anyone with a badge a discount during The Con and lo and behold we have 3 bars interested in being the official NYCC Watering Hole! Niiiiiice!

So now how do we need to know if you guys really want a place to hang out after the con closes? Instead of trying to read your minds (which is hard from such a distance) I built a little poll on the right side of the blog. Cast your vote and help me, help you. Would you hang at the bar and would you want a specific party there or just meet other fans over a libation? That's the basic question....

Once we know what you want, we'll give you a choice of official bar options. Man, who knew this would become such a democracy, I guess things really have changed since Tuesday....

Vote often!

-L

Wanna Star In An MTV Show? Seriously

So we think we put on a pretty cool con and we’ve been working hard all year to build the best New York comic Con yet. However, for some reason we feel like there is more we can do for you the fans. We tossed around a few ideas here at NYCC World Headquarters like maybe we could staff omelet stations each morning of the con. Or perhaps with your ticket purchase you get a free shoe shone from a NYCC staffer. However nothing seemed to be just right until we teamed up with some friends at MTV and decided the coolest thing we could do for a fan is to make him or her the star of a documentary on MTV. Yeah, I mean it, no kidding.

We are working with MTV to cast a very special fan boy or fan girl for MTV'S TRUE LIFE: I'M A FAN BOY.

If you think you’ve got the right stuff to be a the star of your very own MTV documentary, click here to fill out an application and tell us and MTV why.

Are you obsessed with comic books, anime, fantasy, or manga? Do you like to dress up as your favorite character and attend conventions with other fans? Have you ever waited in line overnight for a book, movie, or videogame release? Do you have tattoos depicting your favorite brand or characters? Have you ever missed work, school, or other important events to engage in role-playing or cosplay? Are you misunderstood by your family or significant other because of it? Have you ever been told to "grow up" by someone important to you? If you're an obsessed fanboy (or girl), we want to hear from you.

Fill out the application now and soon you could be starring on MTV!

NYCC VIP Tickets On Sale Now!

New York Comic Con's VIP Access Tickets are on sale now! Just click on over to NewYorkComicCon.com. Yes, I know the image to the left is kinda lame. Scratch that, it's entirely lame. I thought it would be funny, but it's not. At all. Despite that, the actual VIP Access Tickets are very sweet. Like honey. Get it? Yeah, that was stupid, too. You know what else is made of honey? Mead. I had a glass of it last week. I'll be writing about that on my other blog later in the week. It's like Medium At Large, but with more cussing. The post is all typed up, too, but I just haven't had time to upload it because I'm kinda busy with this whole New York Comic Con thing. "Busy", of course, means making pictures of bees. I'm going to stop talking now and go bug Lance. Bug Lance, get it?

NY Comic Con VIP Access Ticket – A Sneak Peek

Beloved reader o the blog, don’t tell anyone else, but you are my favorite fans. Is it fair to pick and choose and favor you over all others? Well yes, I think it is! So scroll down for a sneak peek at this years VIP Access Ticket that will go on sale on the web site in the next 48 hours. But first I want to explain to you the thinking and planning that went into this ticket because you are sure to have questions and yes, plenty of opinions.

The biggest question first: There are no tickets to signings in these packages. Why? We don’t know who is going to be signing yet and it would be unruly to manage it this way and you might not get what you want soooo, instead we will offer limited guaranteed tickets to signings for sale as guests are announced and there schedule at the con is set.

We did numerous focus groups (Con Fabs) this year and this is what we learned:

You want choices. You want affordable ticket packages of just want you want, not a bunch of stuff you don’t want with a big price tag to get the one thing you really do want. So our plan is pretty simple towards VIP, signing tickets and merch:

- Early access to the show is good
- No waiting in lines is good
- Keep the price as low as we can
- Get a place to hang out and store your stuff
- Sell merch separately so you can pick just the things you want
- Sell guaranteed tickets to signings as one off’s and not part of a package

So the VIP Access tickets below are about keeping it as affordable as we can, listening to the feedback you gave us, keeping it simple and giving you choice.

New NYCC merch and limited edition variant merch will all be going on sale on the site in the coming weeks and as soon as it is available. Guaranteed signing tickets will be posted for sale as soon as we confirm a guest and schedule. You’ll be the first to know if you read the blog.

OK, so here are the ticket packages:

New York Comic Con VIP Access Ticket - $150

Includes: Weekend Access with Priority ShippingYour VIP Access Pass gets you in all three days of NYCC and will be delivered to your door by FedEx! You can waltz right into the con.

Includes: Exclusive Neal Adams Badge and PosterFamed artist Neal Adams is creating exclusive art for NYCC that will grace your VIP Access Ticket and a limited edition 17x22 poster that will be delivered to your door, too.

Includes: Separate Entrance to The Show FloorDon't bother waiting in line to enter New York Comic Con's Exhibition Hall as VIPs will have their very own entrance! Skip ahead of all other attendees and walk into the show through our VIP entrance.

Includes: Early Access to The Show FloorWe're opening the Exhibition Hall to fans at 1 PM on Friday and 10 AM on Saturday and Sunday, but we're giving VIPs a head start. With your VIP Access Ticket, you'll be able to walk onto the floor at 12:30 on Friday and jump ahead of everyone on Saturday and Sunday with a 15 minute head start!

Includes: Access to The VIP LoungeWant a place to unwind? Want a place to rest your feet? Want a place to store your swag? You want to come to New York Comic Con's VIP Lounge. Open only to VIPs and always-staffed by a NYCC team member, the VIP Lounge is a place where you can go to get a break from the show floor, keep your swag safe, or just hang your coat. (Remember, we're in February.)

Includes: A NYCC Store DiscountNew York Comic Con's Show Store will have limited edition shirts and collectables, and with a VIP Access Ticket, you'll be able to receive 10% off all apparel and merchandise purchases!

Includes: New York Comic Con 2009 ShirtTake home the official NYCC 2009 T-Shirt. These have sold out each year of the show, and by buying a VIP Access Ticket, you'll be guaranteeing yours.

Only 300 VIP Passes will be made! Grab yours before they're gone!

New York Comic Con IGN Edition VIP Access Ticket - $200

Includes: Everything In The VIP Access Ticket Plus Reserved Seating in The IGN TheaterWith the IGN Edition VIP Access Ticket, you'll get everything in the VIP Access Ticket -- the exclusive art, the separate entrance, and more -- along with a guaranteed seat in New York Comic Con's IGN Theater. Last year, the IGN Theater saw star-studded panels and premieres including Hellboy, Battlestar, Narnia, The Dark Knight, and Harold and Kumar. What will this year bring? Only the biggest panels New York Comic Con has ever seen. With your IGN Edition VIP Access Ticket, you'll be able to bypass the line and take a seat in our reserved section dedicated to IGN Edition VIP Access Ticket holders.

Only 100 IGN Edition VIP Passes will be created! Consider it the ultimate badge of honor!

Obligatory Remember To Vote Post

Saturday is Caturday - Special Monday Edition

This little gem is named after a Coen Brothers movie. Care to guess which one?

-L

Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog: www.mediumatlarge.net
203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!

Volunteer at New York Comic Con!

Hey, kids, think that Uncle Lance and Peter are cool? Think you'd like to work for us? Or, think that you could do a better job? Well, now's the time to do something about it as New York Comic Con's 2009 Volunteer Application is online! Just head over to nycomiccon.com to fill it out. We'll be bringing on an elite team of 300 volunteers, and we'd love to have you help bring NYCC to life.

Art Spiegelman at the ICv2 Conference at NYCC!

New York Comic Con is honored to welcome Art Spiegelman to our 2009 event! Spiegelman will speak at the ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference, a professional symposium taking place Feb 5 -- a day before the public start of the show. If you'd like to attend the ICv2 Conference with Mr. Spiegelman, you can learn more at NewYorkComicCon.com. Just click the Programming button.