All by myself in one of the biggest crowds I’ve ever seen: repping TN at New York Comic Con on Thursday was strangely an amazing time. With just a couple of press requirements for the day, I was free to see the panels I wanted to see the most, enjoy the con floor and stand in the blessedly short Thursday lines for the most fun booths.
I got there right as the con was opening the floor doors and headed straight to what most of you are here for anyway … Fraser’s Ridge. That’s right, my first stop was with our good friends from Starz. We are all used to Starz sparing no expense to make their Comic-Con booths a great experience for the fans. There is no printed scrims or fake walls for them. Everything is built out with real set pieces, real walls, a real experience. It’s been that was since season 1 of Outlander when we got a look at Castle Leoch, through season 3’s print shop and now … at Fraser’s Ridge and the American Motel for American Gods.
The set up is spacious – an immense amount of room for fan photo ops and exploring. This is one advantage that NYCC has over San Diego. You can see the deed to the property on Fraser’s Ridge, a hand drawn map of the land. You can sit at Claire’s desk and see all her witchy accoutrements and stoke Jamie’s wood-wood-burning fire.
And swag? This might by my favorite by far. The ubiquitous tote bag is sporting the fantastic key art from season 4. Then you get a truly great leather luggage tag with the Outlander Starz logo, and there is an engraver from leather company, Royce, who will put your initials on it for you in gold foil. GUYS, it might be my favorite Outlander item of all time. It’s so nice. Next to that are the scents from Casswell Massey – the oldest apothecary in America. The CEO was on hand to talk all about their scents, their history and their updated archives where you can see original templates and recipes for scents worn by the likes of George Washington. In fact, if you pick up a Number Six, you can smell like that particular founding father all day if you want.
What’s up at the @Outlander_STARZ booth at #nycc18? Tons of good swag pic.twitter.com/keyJ6I2zxk
— That’s Normal (@Thats_Normal) October 4, 2018
The American Gods Motel is a quirky bite of Americana, complete with NYC dinner kitsch, jukebox playing Kokomo and the iconic American Gods neon sign. Get a gif of yourself as an old god or new to send to your friends to remind them to vote. OH! And there is a T-shirt and buttons. It’s fun. GO.
I also went to the Women in [Everything]: Intersectional Feminism Across Genres panel with Sam Magges, Wendy Xy, Jill Pantozzi, Christina “Steenz” Stewart, Charlie Jane Anders and Susana Polo. It was heady to listen to this funny and engaging and smart panel of diverse and accomplished women discuss the media they love to consume, the stories they love to create and the best ways to keep women in the forefront the cultural landscape. Go check all of them out.
After that was the What’s So Great About YA? Fierce Reads panel with some of my favorite authors, including Tomi Adeyemi, Alex London, Marissa Meyer, April G. Tuchokle and Ngozi Ukazu. It was my first time seeing most of them in person, and the force of personality as enough to get me to try books from Alex (who I hadn’t been exposed to before), and to remind me how much I love Tomi and Ngozi.
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Fierce Reads Panel!!! #nycc2018 @ngoziu #toniadeyemi @marissameyerauthor
If you love Check, Please as much as I do, you know that Bitty and Shitty and Jack and Chowder and the rest of the gang are sweet, precious, huge personalities that you simultaneously want to snuggle and slam beers with. You know who is just like? NGOZI UKAZU. Protect her precious self at all costs, friends. This panel was a whirlwind of publishing advice, bird facts and authorial inspiration. In other words, THE BEST.
After that, I spent the day exploring the floor, finding great gifts for my super dorky daughters. I made a fool of myself at the Netflix booth. Guys, please know that I was born to play horrible thorne-grubbing villains. It is my calling.
RockLove’s Disney booth is gorgeous and has some of the best original merchandise you can find. More on her tomorrow.
Also NBC’s The Good Place photo op is a giant FORK, but you get a portal medallion if you stand in line for it. For me? WORTH IT.
That’s mostly it for Thursday. It was a great time on the floor – so much room to move around and see great cosplay and truly great displays.
