Another New York Comic Con in the Books

I survived another NYCC! This one actually felt closer to one set in Manila, given that the early October weather clung to the mid 80s with tons of humidity in the air.

Javits Center cosplay; credit: Steve Bunche

Because of the Javits Center's undergoing multi-year construction project, the airy annex that once housed Artist Alley is gone, leaving creators to squish themselves tightly into the subterranean space the convention outgrew long ago. That, and sales practices preferring single day admission tickets meant that over 200,000 attendees were uncomfortably close at times, some wondering if they'd make the return in 2018 or seek out new and smaller, more specialized shows.

Still, it was great to see so many cosplayers, new action figures, inspiring art, and to speak with so many people in real life that I tend to only catch up with on social media these days.

A gallery of my photos can be found here, and my roundup of the 7 Coolest Booths at the Con can be found on the fabulous ComicsBeat.com. The full thing, as is my life is documented on Instagram.

I Wrote a Thing for Noisey on L7

L7, l to r: Suzi Gardner, Donita Sparks, Dee Plakas, Jennifer Finch

It's been a while since I delved into professional music journalism, but when one of my all-time favorite bands, L7, became the subject of the documentary, L7: Pretend We're Dead, I knew this was the interview and topic I had to explore.

Thanks so much to the patient and gracious Kim Kelly at Vice for letting me to have a ridiculously revealing and candid interview with L7 singer/guitarist Donita Sparks - and for letting me hold a personal record for longest pitch-to-published piece I hope either of us will ever deal with.

So without further ado, CLICK ON MY NOISEY L7 FEATURE and read the damn thing!  I worked long enough on it.

I recently described writing as "worthless torture and I don't understand why anyone does it." Which might just be the most Russian writer thing to say, ever. So... yeah, maybe I'll still pitch a thing or two.