Stories by TRINNA LEONG

alltherage@thestar.com.my

Every year, geeks from the East Coast of the United States make a pilgrimage to the New York Comic Con fan convention. It is somewhat a rite of passage that all fan boys and fan girls try to make at least once in their lifetime.

This year, the annual New York Comic Con was held Oct 13-16 in Manhattan, and R.AGE was there to check out the event.

Sisters Gigi Tung, 27 (left) and Mei Tung, 30, at the New York Comic Con 2011.

Apart from the thousands of fans, the convention was also attended by some of the comic world’s biggest names like Stan Lee, Frank Miller, Garth Ennis and Tim Sale. Of course, there were also numerous celebrities who came to the event to promote their upcoming movies including Chris Evans, Eliza Dushku, Mark Ruffalo, Maggie Q and Shane West.

“Every year the Comic Con gets bigger,” said Lee, who is always a favourite in any comic, science fiction or movie convention.

However, despite all the celebrities and authors making their presence felt at the Comic Con, the people who stood out the most were the fans themselves, all decked out in their comic world best.

Among the highlights of the New York Comic Con was a discussion panel for The Avengers, which featured some of the movies cast members. The theatre for that panel was filled to its capacity an hour before it was due to begin!

Other discussion panels that drew massive attention were zombie drama The Walking Dead, Nikita and Stan Lee’s The Seekers.

Undoubtedly, one would always run into a myriad of characters while at a comic convention. Professor Snape was seen choking a Gryffindor student, while a few Nightsisters posed with their lightsabers for curious onlookers.

Brendan Murphy, 25, and Dani Kane, 24, were both seen walking around with a half-eaten heart and blood all over their body.

“It’s the Game Of Thrones! We figured that this was recognisable,” said Kane, referring to hers and Murphy’s costumes (they dressed as Eddard Stark and Daenerys Targaryen).

A group of friends who dressed up as characters from Game Of Thrones at the New York Comic Con 2011.

Asked if the costumes were bought or self-made, Kane said, “We made this ourselves. It took several hours a day.”

Murphy added: “We took up to a few weeks to get the whole costume done.”

Of course, not everyone is dressed for the event.

“We were in the area so we came. It’s a little vacation for us,” said college student Shawn Matthews, 21. “We are not dressed up because I’m really not into all this.”

Shawn’s friend, Zach Walters, 21, was hoping for a bit of celebrity-spotting. “I’m here to meet Tom Morello, but I can’t find him!” he said.

Crowded chaos would be the best phrase to describe the scenario at New York Comic Con. Long queues were only to be expected when entering the main auditorium for special events.

It’s not just the panel sessions with the big names that get the crowd, though, as even the cosplay contest known as “Masquerade” got quite a lot of attention.

Fans decked out in their finest costumes at the New York Comic Con 2011 recently.

All that waiting and queuing seemed worth it to the comic lovers who turned up at the convention. Fans got to meet their idols, receive signed autographs, spoke to the artists, and dressed up as their favourite character without getting any awkward stares. Who says geeks are boring?

*** Trinna Leong is a student at the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism in New York by day and an aspiring ninja crime-fighter by night. Find out how she survives the Big Apple on Twitter at @trinnaleong.

An Oatmeal A Day

MATTHEW Inman is the creator of The Oatmeal, a comic site with inspiration drawn from everyday life’s mundane activities.

Inman, 27, hails from Seattle, Washington, and started learning about computer programming at the age of 13. He created an online dating site called Mingle2 after high school before starting The Oatmeal in 2009. Currently, The Oatmeal has over four million readers a month.

Inman’s book, 5 Very Good Reasons To Punch A Dolphin In The Mouth (And Other Useful Guides) was released in March.

Matthew Inman, creator of The Oatmeal website.

At last month’s New York Comic Con, Inman took some time off drawing cats for fans to share with R.AGE some anecdotes about life as a comic artist.

You have gained a big following for your comics in the past three years. How do you keep going?

I get my creative outlet and I just draw. I’m like a comedian who draws. This what I love doing. Also, all things have a season.

The Far Side (by Gary Larson) stopped after 10 years, so you never know.

What’s your favourite comic in The Oatmeal and/or those drawn by others?

I like Punchline Aliens and I’ve been checking out Saturday Morning Breakfast Cereals (by Zach Weiner).

How often do you post a comic on your site?

I try to do one each week. Each comic is about 20 panels so it’s not easy.

Your comics have a lot to do with cats. What’s up with that?

My mum loves cats! There can be between nine and 14 cats in my house at a time. I used to clean up cat litter a lot. Not for too long though … only for about 17 years or so!

Which comic do fans love most?

Ten Words You Need To Stop Misspelling. I heard that some classes in school actually used this.