In October I would attend New York Comic Con. But my trek would start a couple of days before the actual event.
Day 1
My first day's main theme was a rather ambitious goal. Try to upgrade my Jennifer Lopez photo op. Start my day at a spot and it's off to a bad start as I miss actor Mason Thames. PUNCH. But I do get actor Lukas Gage. J Lo comes in with shades and did a little bit but I fail to get anything. Leaving she uses the garage. Tried another spot for J Lo and she garaged in.
Since she garaged in the assumption is she would garage out. At this point I focus elsewhere. I got to the hotel for the tv show The Last Frontier. The spot for the premiere was packed. The hotel was less than 5 people. I liked this better. I got producer Jon Bokenkamp, actress Simone Kessell (Yellow Jackets), my main want from this spot actor Jason Clarke (John Conner in Terminator Genisys), and actress Haley Bennett. Dominic Cooper was there but didn't need another photo op. And I missed actor Dallas Goldtooth.
Later I found out that J Lo actually WALKED OUT of the previous spot and there was almost no one waiting. PUNCH. But I guess can't be in 2 places and not like I wasn't successful in my choice. Tried J Lo at another spot where she drove out. Tried pleading for a roll down at a light to no avail.
After being defeated by J Lo (a recurring theme for 15 years now), I shift to the "easy" show spots. First one is Kathleen Chalfant (Law and Order) and Ellen McLaughlin. Have Ellen need Kathleen. They came out and were nice as can be. Next one is for actor Chris Bauer and actress Dylan Gelula. Sadly, Dylan isn't performing. PUNCH. But I get Chris Bauer, singer Nellie McKay, and Mary McCann. This ended my evening.
Day 2
Next day would be a horrific day. It stars with a spot for Ryan Reynold and Jared Leto. Never got Ryan and could use a Jared auto. Both use the garage. Went to another spot for singer Jewel and she too garages.
Next up I try a very low-key spot for Jodi Fister. I bailed on a spot for Ricki Lake for that. When she came it was just me and Radio Man. She declined photo ops and used the excuse she was late. When she went inside the elevator was not there I tried to go in and plead more but got shot down again. I then botched the exit as I never saw her, but I heard she did sign (the theme for her as of late is signing and no photo op). And in doing so I missed Ricki Lake doing photo ops. Double PUNCH.
After this horrific day went to another event where lots was happening. I got a fresh photo op with actress Bridget Everett (Trainwreck) and another photo op with Julia Fox. Saw Mick Jagger and pleaded for the photo op but of course he denied.
Went to a hotel to see what could be had but there was nothing. As the saying goes in NYC, if all else fails, go to the "easy" show spots. So, I went again for Madeline Brewer and yet again she was not performing. So, I bailed and quickly went to another show for actor Sam Robards (AI, American Beauty). He was super nice and got I others in the show.
Went off to the next show got singer Kurt Elling and Brazilian singer Paulo Szot. Some other actors were there but they didn't come out. Then to the final show for the evening. Some of my main goals are actresses Erin Darke and Kate Burton. But there's 2 shows exiting and lots of people to get. Sadly, I'm the only pro grapher there and everyone else is regular audience so I would suffer a lot trying to get people. Because if the celeb didn't stop on the railing the idiots on the railing didn't call them over.
Luckily there was one African guy who actually knew his stuff, and I was able to get help from him to point out people. So I would show him photos of my main targets, and he was able to tell me if they walked out or hadn't walked out yet. And when I showed him Erin Drake he pointed her out to me she was just in the middle of the room chatting with someone and no one was even asking her! Same for Kate Burton. She was about to leave but thanks to this guy pointing her out I quickly went up to her and got the photo op.
Despite the struggle, the spot was a sweeping success. Besides Erin and Kate I also got Dariush Kashani (Ghost Whisperer), Stephen Kunken (The Handmaid's Tale), Natalie Gold (Birdman) and several others. This ended my evening.
Full list of Day 2 photo ops Part 1
Full list of Day 2 photo ops Part 2
Day 3
This is the first official day of comic con. But it starts away from comic con for actress Emilia Jones. Wait for her and she is nice as can be. Even removed the shades. Waited at another spot then headed to the Javits Center. I didn't go to a morning spot for the NCIS cast (Michael Weatherly who I have and Cote de Pablo who I need) and that would be a fatal error. More on that in a bit.
First NYCC get is illustrator Tom Richmond from Mad and Cracked magazine. Then I get vendor guest Chris Casamassa who played Scorpion in the 1995 Mortal Kombat movie and a free photo op with vendor guest Carla Perez from Power Rangers fame.
Next I go to the Cote de Pablo and Michael Weatherly NCIS panel. Sadly they closed the lights as they exited. I went up to Cote and her handlers were trying to stop me but she was nice. I got the op while it was pitch black and it came out blurry. I did try to fix it a little but damn I should have gone to the morning spot where they walked and did ops.
I did a free signing for the Jujutsu Kaisen cast and got a poster signed by Adam McArthur (Yuji Itadori), Robbie Daymond (Megumi Fushiguro), Anne Yatco (Nobara Kugisaki), Kaiji Tang (Satoru Gojo), and Kayleigh McKee (Yuta Okkotsu). They were strict on no photo ops.
Went to the next spot for actress Betsy Aidem and she was nice. Got her and some barely valids in her show.
Day 4
The starting point is some author panels at NYCC. First is Veronica Roth from Divergent fame. Got her and author Marie Lu but she declined autographs. Next up is Ann M Martin (The Baby-Sitter's Club). She was cool signed with her own pen, and I managed to squeeze in a photo op.
Then I did a free signing for Bonnie Gordon, Dan Hageman and Kevin Hageman, Brett Gray of Star Trek Prodigy fame. Easy going and they were all nice got multiple ops. Screenwriters/producers The Hageman brothers also did Hotel Transylvania and Lego Movie.
Went for author Jim Butcher (The Dresden Files) who was super nice. Then got horror actress Ruby Modine and director Mike P Nelson. Then I saw some AEW stars. Got Swerve Strickland update and an upgrade with Tony Khan. Couldn't get Dean Ambrose but that's ok I have him.
Stumbled upon people giving out free Muppet sketches. Got combos and art in the hopes that there would be a diamond in the rough but no such luck. Now here is where I botch NYCC. First botched Invincible panel cause by the time I got there it was only the moderator.
Then I decided to bail on the Blumfest panel at the end for the "easy" show spots. No names had been announced for it but turns out Mason Thames was there. Marking my second botch on him for the week. Jason Blum, Ethan Hawke, Madeleine McGraw, Demián Bichir and Miguel Mora were all there as well. But I have all these minus Miguel Mora.
For the show spots I go for actress Helen Shen and unlike the last time she was actually performing. She was super nice. Also got another photo op with Andrew Barth Feldman.
The car moves to the back and wait there. Bradley Cooper exits and I manage to score a total on THREE autographs. One on my magazine and two on my Hangover 8x10s, completing them (aside from the baby). Laura Dern did nothing but thankfully I had no need for her. I got a much needed upgrade with Andra Day. Needed actress Christine Ebersole but never saw her. Overall not a bad day aside from a couple of NYCC botches.
Day 5
This day starts at a hotel for the cast of the IT TV show before they head over to the Javits. Got actors Jovan Adepo, Taylour Paige, and Kimberly Guerrero plus screenwriter Jason Fuchs. A good head start as I head to the Javits.
Get to the Javits and start with a signing for artist duo Akira Himekawa (A Honda and S Nagano). They did photos and got a signed print. Went to the IT panel and was successful. Got actor Stephen Ride (Also in Daredevil), the creator of the show Andy Muschietti (who also did a sketch) and his wife Barbara Muschietti. After the panel I scored actor Isaiah Mustafa.
After the IT cast I got 15-year-old actor Yonas Kibreab, an upgrade with Wayne Brady (no shades), and I got a better shot with Stephen Rider than in the IT panel. Now came the most mind-blowing thing. Brendan Fraser, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Annie Murphy, and Elizabeth Hurley all came through. None were announced for NYCC. WTF?
At first, I asked Brendan because he was the only one I instantly spotted but he declined. The one I never got in this bunch is Elizabeth Hurley. So when they left, I immediately called for Hurley and she was nice! What a fantastic and unexpected score that was! Thankfully I had the other three so no loss in not getting them.
I go to another panel and get actor Connor Ratliff (2024 Mean Girls), and I also get another photo op with Krysten Ritter while she was walking about. I had asked her earlier she said on the way back then as I was sitting down, she saw me and called me over for the photo op. What a nice lady. Not often celebs keep their promises much less go out of their way to do so.
Then hit up the Star Trek panel. Sadly, with all the people there I had to focus on what I wanted the most. That is actor Paul Giamatti. I run to him and get him to pose for me! I'm the only one that got that. I also got actor George Hawkins but wasn't able to get much else. Even botched an actress as she agreed to pose but moved away quickly.
After this I got actor Jack Haven (Bill and Ted Face the Music) then would try one last panel for Jurassic World: Chaos Theory but they shut the lights as they exited and wasn't able to get them or find them. FAIL! This ended my time at the Javits as I quickly went to the hotel for the Mortal Kombat II movie cast.
At the hotel a few of us are waiting and it is looking hopeless. But eventually a van comes. I chose to leave Karl Urban to those who needed him while I focused on people I needed. I got photo ops with Adeline Rudolph (Kitana) and Martyn Ford (Shao Khan). And I decided to not ask Ed Boon (co creator of Mortal Kombat) for photo ops and instead focus on autographs as I got him to sign blanks (I got the op years ago at NYCC). Told him how I was a fan since the early 90s and he thanked me.
The final late-night spot for the evening had Amy Poehler and Role Model. And randoms also show up. Both Amy Poehler and Role Model were not accommodating but thankfully I have them both. From this spot I got Mary Beth Barone and Benito Skinner. Then came actresses Annie Murphy and Kathryn Newton which are good names to get if I didn't already have them. My final op for the evening would be young actor Kam Patterson. Based on who was inside there was nothing worth me waiting for. So, I decided to call it a night and sleep.
Full list of Day 5 photo ops Part 1
Full list of Day 5 photo ops Part 2
Day 6
The final day of NYCC. And this day would be relatively laid back. My first and only panel would be Little Shop of Horrors where I hope to finally break my Madeleine Brewer curse (for those keeping track, I failed three times. Twice she wasn't performing and once she declined photo ops). In the panel were other actors from the show who I already had and composer Alan Menken (original versions of The Little Mermaid, Beauty and the Beast, Aladdin).
After the panel I finally break the damn Madeleine Brewer as she agrees to photo ops. And I get another Alan photo op as well as autographs on blanks. My final photo op at NYCC would be actress Bryce Dallas Howard (Jurassic World, Spiderman 3, 2016 Pete's Dragon, Rocketman) in the paid area. Overall, my time at NYCC 2025 was full bumps and bruises but I'm glad I went.
Despite the rain I decided to try for a couple of "easy" show spots to round off the evening. First, I go up to Nathan Darrow (Billions, Mr Freeze in Gotham). He was very nice. Next show I decide to go back and try for actress Dylan Gelula and this time she was performing. Get that photo op as well. This would be my final NYC photo op of 2025.
Now to showcase autographs obtained:
