New York Comic Con ‘09: Three days, $7 sandwiches and several thousand costumes

Am I so insecure that a chubby girl in an undersized Supergirl suit could make me think less of an art form I genuinely love?

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The Jacob Javits Center was the epicenter of the American comic book industry last weekend, as editors, creators, and business types from almost every major publisher congregated at the fourth annual New York Comic Convention. They were surrounded by an at times impenetrable wall of fans, as several thousands of comic book and pop culture obsessives clogged the convention center hallways. It was as if the economy wasn’t halfway through a Triple Lindy.

One thing overshadows all else at a comic convention, though, stealing the spotlight from the panels, the creator signings, the video game demos, the dealer tables, even the 50-minute previews of unreleased Pixar films. I’m talking about costumes, and the fully grown individuals that spend exorbitant amounts of time, money, and effort on them. They call it cosplay, and it was inescapable at the NYCC.