CCD Presents: Geoff Cain of Black Action Tees Live From the Floor of the 2013 NY Comic Con

One of the coolest things that I purchased the whole time I was at the 2013 NY Comic Con had to be the T-Shirts I picked up over at the Black Action Tees booth. Owner Geoff Cain makes some killer t shirts, and they tend to feature the forgotten and lesser known heroes that happen to be minorities. No Superman or Batman shirts here... there are plenty of booths selling those. Black Action Tees focuses on heroes like Black Lightning, Dragonfly Jones, and Black Dynamite... and I am happy that they do! I grabbed up three shirts, the Mike Tyson, Black Lightning, and Sam Jackson Bad Mofo shirts myself. I also chatted with owner Jeff and discussed just what makes his company stand out among the others in the crowd. Geoff explains his character choices, why he caters to bigger sizes (his shirts go up to 5XL!), and much more. Click here to head on over to their website and order something now! Check out some designs after the jump as well as the full interview....

DC Comics '75 Years of Superman' Suit Display at the 2013 NY Comic Con

DC Comics marquee character over the last century has been Superman. I love Batman as much as the next guy, but Supes is the main dude over at DC. So in order to honor 75 years of Superman at this years NY Comic Con, DC set up an awesome display of all the costumes that he has worn throughout the history of the beloved character. Now I don't even really like Superman all that much (like I said, I'm a Batman guy..) but this display was very cool to admire. Check out all the detailed pics that Joe Fletch took after the jump. Here is to another 75 more years!!!!

CCD Presents: Ray Arcadio Live From Artists Alley at the 2013 NY Comic Con

On the first day of set up for our booth we were quite early. Joe Fletch, Tommy and I arrived at the Javits and began setting up our booth. There were not that many artists setting up in Artists Alley, but there was one a few rows away that instantly caught our attention. Ray Arcadio had canvas art for sale, and his style jumped out at me because it reminded me of one of my favorite artists, Sam Keith. His faces were not exactly like Keith's drawings, but the mouths reminded me of The Maxx. That was enough to get me over to the table. Once I did, I started chatting up Ray and he was a really cool dude. His work was really fantastic, and once we began talking on camera it became apparent that I was speaking to one of the most down to earth artists at the con. You can check out more of his work by jumping on his website, and you can see the interview we conducted after the jump...

CCD Presents: Sire's Crown Eyewear Live From The 2013 NY Comic Con Floor

As I stroll the 2013 NY Comic Con floor I am always looking for unique things to highlight here on CCD. There are plenty of traditional vendors selling their wares at cons (comics, toys, prints, t shirts, etc), so I am looking for that booth that has something different. I found that at the Sire's Crown booth. The guys from SC were hawking glasses at their booth. But these glasses had some special characteristics. First off, teh frames were carved out of wood. Yup... pretty unique. Not something I have never seen before, but rare nonetheless. Yet it was the other unique characteristic about the frames that made them Comic Con friendly. The frames were overlayed with chopped up prints of 30s,40s and 50s era comic book covers! What a great idea for the comic lover who is forced to wear eyeglasses! I came over to the booth, chatted with one of the owners CJ Thomason, and we conducted a video interview detailing the project and all the other stuff that makes Sire's Crown such a great company. A very cool product and a cool group of dudes. Check out their website, and contact them for more information on eye wear for sale. You can check out the video afetr the jump...

New York Comic Con 2013 - Great Pictures from the Show Floor

The show floor at the 2013 NY Comic Con was epic... all the construction on the Javits Convention Center is done, and the flow of the floor was at an all time high. The new badge system and spreading of the Comic Con event throughout the WHOLE building made the floor much more manageable to navigate. Once again, the displays didn't disappoint and there was a lot to see. All of us amateur photogs affiliated with CCD decided to share our floor pics with you guys that couldn't be there to see what was hot. what we enjoyed and what you missed out on. Hope you enjoy the pics...

The CCD Crew at the 2013 New York Comic Con - A Retrospective In Pics

We here at CCD are definitely leading a charmed life. We started this little blog about 4 years ago (closer to 5 I think... maybe) with one thing in mind: share cool stuff with our friends (and anybody else who may want to check it out!). Who would have thought that the articles we put up and various projects we became a part of would lead to us getting press passes 4 years running at NY Comic Con, and us meeting and interviewing tons of of our favorite people (World War Z author Max Brooks, V for Vendetta artist David Lloyd, Comic greats Chris Claremont and Neal Adams, the cast of The Human Centipede, physical actor extraordinaire Doug Jones, actor Dan Fogler... just to name a few). But this year we really went all out and good friend and contributor Tommy Lombardozzi and I procured a booth in Artists Alley. We sold Tommy's and Sean Hartter's prints, and had another great year of fun. But this year our photographer genius (and overall genius) Joe Fletch grabbed some very candid shots of us behind the scenes, having a great time. These are all funny in their own way, and so I decided to post them up to show you guys just how much fun we really have. This site takes up a ton of my time, but I do get to reap the benefits. This is proof. Enjoy the pics...

New York Comic Con 2013 - Mega Bloks

In years past one of the coolest booths on the floor has always been the Lego booth. It is usually huge, and features about 5-10 life size statues compiled of the miniature blocks that often are impossible to comprehend. There are usually themes, like the 8 ft Incredible Hulk that was in the booth last year or the insane Darth Maul... great stuff. They also offer a shit ton of show exclusives, which CCDers Jeff Bond and Joe Fletch often. It is usually the first booth we earmark on our map. But this year, Lego was conspicuously absent from the floor plan. Yup... no booth. WTF??? (check out this article on The Brick Fan that breaks down the "why"...) While the guys and gals over at the Brick Fan may be on to something as to why Lego DID NOT appear this year, it is obvious that the guys who book booth for the NY Comic Con knew that they would be missing a cool booth from the floor and decided to reach out to a company who makes similar products to Lego. Enter Mega Blok, the baby brother to Lego in the snap together toy business. Mega Blok has been around forever, but recently they have acquired some high quality tie-in toy licenses to make sets that will get peoples attention. Halo, Hot Wheelz, Skylanders... yup, those are some big names. So they gave them a booth right in front one of the escalator entrances, and Mega Bloks didn't disappoint! They spent FRi, Sat and Sun dedicating one day to each toy partner (Fri- Hot Wheelz, Sat - Halo, and Sun - Skylanders) and loaded up their booth with huge models of a character from each franchise. These statues were great, and teamed with the constant stream of giveaways and playable toy stations the booth was a hit. Definitely helped lessen the blow of losing Lego. Check out the Mega Blok official blog for a day by day break down of the booth at NY Comic Con, and check out the pics we took (and some we grabbed from the Internet... lol) after the jump.

New York Comic Con 2013 - Cool Ass Statues

One of the coolest things that any con has to offer are the ridiculous and highly detailed collectibles that are offered for sale. Nothing in this category is more impressive than the huge statues that more and more companies are producing. Whether they are busts, 1/2 bodies, or full figures... these statues are often enough to stop you in you tracks and make you do a double take at just how awesome they really are. Here are a few pics of the ones we saw at the 2013 NY Comic Con, hope you enjoy...

CCD Interviews: Artist Sean Hamilton At His Booth In Artist Alley at the 2013 NY Comic Con

My man Sean Hamilton and I go way back... last year at the NY Comic Con to be exact! We met Sean last year in Artist Alley and have seen him at a few other cons, and considering we have so much in common we always chop it up a bit when we see each other. See, Sean is a comic & pop culture nerd... but he is also a sneaker head. These are two of my favorite things as well, and so we have similar sensibilities in terms of the things we personally like. This tends to skew me towards the work he does, which pairs a popular pop culture character (Superman, Spidey, Michonne, etc) with a fresh pair of kicks. Some are obvious, like Catwoman paired with the Tiffany Dunks, or Hulk paired with the Hulk Dunks. Some are based on color ways, like Superman in the Fire Red 4s or Batman in the Thunder 4s. And some are just conceptual, such as Teen Wolf dunking a basketball in the Nike Air Mags (aka Marty McFly's from Back to the Future fame). Truly great and creative stuff... and I love seeing what he comes up with next. The best part is that Sean usually does very limited runs of each print... and once he sells out, they are gone forever! I copped his Batman piece and he threw in the Superman for free (thanks brother!). Make sure you check out Sean's cool ass website by clicking here, and check out some of the pics I took of his booth and the interview we conducted after the jump. Also, make sure you follow him on Instagram (CreateInkStudios)... his timeline is poppin! Enjoy the goodies after the jump...

New York Comic Con 2013 - Rears of Cosplay

To quote the immortal Sir Mix-A-Lot: "We like big butts and we can not lie.... no others brothers can deny... when a chick walks in with an itty bitty waist, and costume make-up on her face... we get sprung!!!!" Yeah buddy... Comic Con has a bevy of hotties that get dressed up in sexy costumes that are quite revealing, especially in the buttocks region. Amiss our endless quest to capture the coolest costumes from the comic book floor we are bound to get some booty shots... so why not share them with you! These are pretty great rears. Enjoy after the jump....

CCD Presents: Dave Ryan of Manticore Stencil Art Live From The Floor of the 2013 NY Comic Con

One of the creepiest and trippiest booths I passed on my laps around the floor had to be the Manticore Stencil Art booth. I am no stranger to mash-ups, no matter how strange and weird they may be. I am also no stranger to weird mediums of art. And artist Dave Ryan has surprised me both of those categories with some of the most unusual stuff I have ever seen. Yoda hanging in a strip club, getting a killer view from down low? Michael Jackson and E.T. chillin by a river? Luke getting a ticket in his speeder from a motorcycle cop? Chewy catching a haircut from Edward Scissorhands? Mario coming out of a warp pipe in a real river? Yup, all of these are subject of pieces that Dave has created. And the art itself, not just the ideas, are very unique. He takes old records and stencils his creations on those. He makes over-sized, oil painted canvases and 3 x 2 inch magnets. He offers prints for a very low denomination. And he does it all with a huge smile on his face! Dave was real cool, and honestly he gave us a great interview. I picked up a bunch of magnets and a print, and I wanted to buy so much more! You can see some of the pieces I liked the best after the jump, as well as the full embedded video. You can also head over to their site by clicking here and buy some stuff... and tell him Mike D from CCD sent ya!!!!  

An Insane Zelda: The Windwalker Sandcastle- Live From the 2013 NY Comic Con

While we were wandering around the exterior of the Javits Center Joe Fletch and I stumbled across something pretty awesome going down. Nintendo had a big presence at this years con, releasing a ton of new games for Wii U and 3DS. Zelda has two titles in that release mix, The Windwalker HD for Wii U and A Link Between Worlds for the 3DS. In part of the celebration, Nintendo hired two sandcastle creators to sculpt an amazing replica of Windfall Island from The Windwalker in the parking lot of the Javits. The masterpiece took three days to complete (wed, thur and fri) and was on display for Sat and Sun in all its glory. I passed bye there on Friday, and it was almost done... but I never had a shot to get back on Sat or Sun. The pics I took show you just how awesome this was, even though it wasn't even finished yet! This is the kind of project that I love to see, and it supports the fact that Nintendo will always honor its past successes in cool ways to promote the future releases of the company. Check out the pics after the jump...

CCD Presents: Artist Ali Solomon Live From Artists Alley at the 2013 NY Comic Con

There were over 300 artists who displayed and sold their work in Artists Alley at the 2013 NY Comic Con. They are all very talented and unique in their own way. But when I walked down the aisle that Ali Solomon's booth was occupying, I was stopped in my tracks. The work that he had displayed was absolutely awesome... it looked as if I was looking at a HDTV set tuned to the Cartoon Network. The colors are so vibrant and jump off the page. It was a style that is so unique, that there was nobody displaying art like that for sale. Ali was a really cool dude and was willing to chat with us live from his booth about his process and what goes into his art. He was very forthcoming and provide excellent insight into his whole artistic process. Check out more of his work over at Wheelz In Motion, and you can see his Deviant Art page by clicking here. You can also email Ali (kudoze@msn.com) and request print prices... and all of you should do so, cause his work is just fantastic. I personally picked up his Flash/Road Runner piece, and I can't wait to get it framed! After the jump you can see a few of his pieces that are my favorite as well as the full video interview.

New York Comic Con 2013 - Day 4 Cosplay

And then there was one... one final day of cosplay at the 2013 NY Comic Con! Day 4 (Sun) was no joke, as the kiddies are free and we saw some incredible family style team cosplaying! There were some great costumes, and people who dress up all four days usually save their best for the last day. A fully functioning steampunk R2 D2? Yup. Epic Hawk Man and Hawk Girl team up? Definitely. A very sexy, thickness and muscularly accurate She Hulk? For sure! A family of movie style Avengers? Wow, I love this show... what a great day. Check out all the final days awesome costumes after the jump....

Rocky Balboa Statues by Walt Wizard Designs - Live From The Floor of The 2013 NY Comic Con

When I was walking the floor of the 2013 NY Comic Con I came across some really cool shit. There was tons of booth that had very interesting stuff on display. But one of the coolest booths that I encountered had to be the Walt Wizard Design booth. Walt Wizard is a company that makes statues and busts and is based out of Los Angeles & Las Vegas. They construct amazing lifelike sculptures that are the same size as the actors they are replicating, and the pieces have all the details and features of the subjects. They seem to have a penchant for Sylvester Stallone, as he is the most popular subject that they have used as a model so far. Their NY Comic Con display consisted of two Rocky statues, both of them capturing the Italian Stallion in all his fighting glory. The statues were amazing, so lifelike and detailed that I couldn't even tell that they were not real. I tried to capture the statues from every angle, but I can't possibly do them any justice. They were quite the site to see The life size statues start around $2,000 bucks and can go up in price, which may seem steep but really is nothing considering the articulation and details that Walt puts into his pieces. The more detailed and the more accessories they sport, the more the statues can be.  Walt also actively accepts commissions, and he is currently working on a few (Bruce Lee, Han Solo, Godzilla... just to name a few). Just drop him an email (contact@waltwizard.com) and he will provide you with a price quote. You can check out Walt Wizard's website by clicking here,  where you can check out many of the cool projects that they have worked on in the past. YOOOOO ADRIANNNNNNN!!!!

New York Comic Con 2013 - Day 3 Cosplay

Day 3... often times the day that I consider the best at NY Comic Con. 2013 was no exception... the people really brought it when it came to costumes and cosplay. We saw some pop stars (the first pic... a great one),  some 80's TV stars, villains galore (I never remember seeing this many bad guys) and especially the sexy ladies... wow, we even got a Santa from a galaxy Far, Far Away! All in all, another great day of cosplay. Check out the pics for Day 3 after the jump... 

New York Comic Con 2013 - Day 2 Cosplay

So here are the pics from Day 2 (Friday) of the 2013 NY Comic Con. Friday is when the costume cosplay usually ramps up a bit and we see some great stuff. I seen a few costumes I have never seen before (Puck? The cloud flying turtle tosser from Mario Brothers? Evil Lyn?) and some old faithfuls done much better (great Shredder and Slave Leia). All in all, a good batch. Enjoy them after the jump...

Mike D's 2013 NY Comic Con Purchases - Comics Edition

So this years 2013 NY Comic Con is in the books and once again I got some killer deals on books that I have been dying to add to my collection. The vendors were full of killer deals, and I definitely have a problem saying no. After all the stuff I did buy, there is one thing that did evade my grasp. A mint condition copy of Hulk #271 (the first full length appearance of Rocket Raccoon) was on sale at Joe Koch's table for a mere 40 bucks (last year they were fetching 125-200 bucks after the Guardians of the Galaxy movie was announced)... and I passed up on it. I went back the next day and someone had snatched it up... Damn!!!! I did get some really great snags, both old and new... check out my haul after the jump...

New York Comic Con 2013 - Day 1 Cosplay

Hey gang... it's about that time of the year again! The 2013 NY Comic Con has come and gone, and we are here to share all of the cool shit that we saw from the four days on the show room floor... especially the crazy COSPLAY!!!!! People went all out this year, even on Thursday (which is press day & 4 day pass only day). People are less likely to dress up on Thursday... but this year there were still many excellent costumes to start the show off right. These pics are a mix of Joe Fletch, Mike D, and others images... so thanks to all those who helped cover the con for CCD. Enjoy Thursdays pics after the jump... and check back tomorrow for Day 2!!!