I arrived at the Javits Center at 9:40am, excited for the first day at this year’s NY Comic Con. Once I got in, I got on line for the Ash vs. Evil Dead cabin set 
outside. I got to tour the inside and take pics, as well as get a free “Ash 4 President” button. After going inside the Javits Center, I went to the Main Stage line to get my badge tapped for the 5:30pm Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders screening and panel. Afterward, I went to the Star Trek Beyond area to get my picture taken in the captain’s chair (I also got a Star Trek insignia pin and a foam hand doing the Vulcan salute). I then went to the autographing area to meet Tami Stronach (who played the Childlike Empress in The NeverEnding Story). I got an autograph from her as well as a picture with her.
I finally went onto the show floor, where I only managed to cover half of it for the day. I did check out a number of booths, including the ones for the IFC Center (I 
bought blu-rays of Road Games and Wyrmwood: Road of the Dead), Funimation (where I got my picture taken with Godzilla and got a Shin Godzilla mini-poster), the Fantastic Beasts exhibit (which showcased a few costumes from the upcoming film), and the Wonder Woman exhibit (which showcased a variety of Wonder Woman 
artwork as well as some props from next year’s Wonder Woman, and I managed to snag a Wonder Woman mini-poster from the upcoming film). I also got my picture taken with cosplayer Jessica Nigri (I bought an autographed Harley Quinn cosplay print; it was a different one from the one I bought from her last year), Crystal Graziano (I bought an autographed Furiosa print that she drew), cosplayer Yaya Han (I bought autographed Slave Leia, Star Trek, and Jessica Rabbit cosplay prints from her), and former WWE Diva Ashley Massaro (I got an autograph from her too).
After taking some cosplay pics, I headed to Room 1A06 for the Batman and Bill panel. The first half hour of the upcoming Hulu documentary was screened, followed by a panel discussion with directors Don Argott and Sheena 
Joyce, Marc Tyler Nobleman (author and star of the film), Athena Finger (granddaughter of Bill Finger, the true creator of Batman), Alethia Mariotta (the lawyer for the Finger estate), and Michael Uslan (executive producer of all Batman films). Some nice stories were shared, including Uslan’s recollection of the very first comic book convention in New York City in the early 1960s and how he first met Bill Finger). After the panel, I headed over to Artist Alley. I went to find Chris Claremont’s table, where (after a long wait) I finally got him to sign my graphic 
novels for X-Men: The Dark Phoenix Saga, X-Men: Days of Future Past, and Wolverine (the Japan-set saga that inspired 2013’s The Wolverine). After that, I started to make my way out of Artist Alley. I stopped at the Hot Flips table before leaving to see cosplayer Ireland Reid. We talked for a little bit (including about her new cosplay unveil on Saturday). She gave me an autographed print (one she had forgotten to send out with the other Patreon print she did send to me).
I headed over to the Main Stage line for the Batman: Return of the Caped Crusaders screening and panel. Once I got in, I managed to get a good seat (one where I could take good pictures of the panelists as well as see the movie without 
any issues). The movie was a blast, and the panel followed with Adam West, co-writer/producer James Tucker, co-writer Michael Jelenic, and director Rick Morales. The entertaining panel concluded with the announcement of a sequel, the main villain of the sequel (Two-Face), and a video message from the actor who is voicing Two-Face (William Shatner!). After the panel, I took some more cosplay pics and then headed home. It was a wonderful first day at the 2016 NY Comic Con.
THE CINEMATIC FRONTIER 