Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos
Photos by Alice Cloos

With virtually all COVID-19 restrictions now lifted in New York City and the entire tri-state area, and spring underway, it’s time to begin the convention season. What better way than with Big Apple Comic Con, promoted by New York convention institution, Mike Carbonaro. For over 25 years his comic conventions have been a centerpiece of the comic and pop culture convention scene in New York City. Originally founded in 1995 he began the 26th year of the show with his aptly titled “Back to Spring” edition on March 26, 2022, at the New Yorker Hotel in the heart of Manhattan.

The dealer line up was strong. They came from all over the east coast and many of the Big Apple’s regular sellers were in attendance along with some first timers. They included Dave & Adam’s Card World, Metropolis Comics, Gary Dolgoff Comics, Superworld Comics, Alex Needleman, Gary Platt, Harley Yee’s Rare Comics, Kryptonite Comics, Animation Comics & Entertainment LLC, Nerds In A Bar, Geek Inc, The Amazing Gonaman, and many others.

Original comic art dealers Anthony’s Comic Book Art and Nostalgic Investments provided, frankly, amazing displays of vintage comic art for sale. CGC Signature Verification and Facilitator Albert Fuzail was set up to provide his services for collectors in attendance.

There were a lot of media guests in attendance including Michael Uslan, Shantel VanSanten, Cerina Vincent, Michelle Harrison, Maiara Walsh, Brett Azar, Jessie Simon, Katie Barberi, and others.

There was a strong turnout of creators in the artists alley room including Brooklyn Retro Art, JW Storytelling, Tony Franco, Vandel M, Gianni Boy Vee, Reilly Brown, Esad T. Ribic, Arthur Suydam, Jamal Igle, Khoi Pham, Mark Bode, Erica Schultz, Jim Salicrup, Russ Braun, and others.

There were a lot of comics for sale at this show from the ‘40s to new releases with a lot of keys on dealer walls. As has become the norm, Silver and Bronze books dominated with Marvel titles in the majority, but DC is catching up some. Modern Age key titles also made an appearance. Most dealers were very happy with their sales, and I am not exaggerating when I say I saw attendees buying stacks of comics at one time. It was an amazing sight. Allie and I managed to find a few things and we were very happy with what we found. Beyond the comics there were toys, action figures, independent publishers, and even a psychic reader was available to read your fortune. Big Apple had it all.

Cosplayers were welcomed to Big Apple and they were back in force. In fact, Kawaii Kiwi a New York based cosplayer and professional figure skater was a guest at the show. She has a huge social media following on TikTok, Instagram, and YouTube because of both her overall creativity and especially her cosplay work. Captain Zorikh provided the sign up for the kids and adult cosplay contests. The Captain is a rather amazing guy who is working on a large research project based on the Fawcett version of Captain Marvel and I spent a half hour talking to him about his work.

The show offered some really cool panels and the highlight of them was Michael Uslan, executive producer of The Batman film franchise and author of The Boy Who Loved Batman, telling stories about his lifetime with Batman. It was a real kick meeting him after his presentation was over.

Allie was impressed with his passion and love of comics. Allie attended Role Re-Modeling: Gender, Race, Sexuality, and Masculinity in Comics. Alitha Martinez, Erica Schultz, and Jamal Igle, three award winning artists on the growing edge, discussed the way traditional hyper-masculine, hypersexualized characters and roles in comics are being reimagined and remodeled through a more inclusive vision of humanity and social relations. Allie was thrilled to hear Martinez talk about how she fought getting female students into her class. She was impressed with the Museum of Interesting Things 3D VHS Movie Festival charity efforts and Sigma Comics fight against animal abuse through the use of comic books as I was.

Another interesting panel at the con was conducted by Roy Schwartz, the author of Is Superman Circumcised?: The Complete Jewish History of the World's Greatest Hero. Schwartz along with Jesse Simon, historian and grandson of Joe Simon, discussed the myths and secrets of the Man of Steel.

As we came out of the elevator the first thing we encountered was the Origins of Play: Free Video Gaming booth which offered a playable history of video game genres from classic arcade to the newest titles and virtual reality. Different game types from original Mario all the way to Fortnite were available and gamers could play all day if they wished. 

The best way to describe Big Apple is to call it a big time show in a small setting, located in one of the biggest cities in the world. As such, you never know what you are going to encounter for sale there. After signing in the first booth we came upon was Serious Dirt Botanics. They describe themselves as a fully integrated hemp cannabis company and as a seed to shelf company. They grow their product in Vermont and then process and package in Brooklyn, NY and they are private growers of organically grown hemp.

The fan turnout was large, and the aisles were packed. I ran into numerous friends, such as art dealer Bechara Maalouf, Susan Natoli (who showed the Sensation Comics she just bought), comic collector Kenneth DeTora, Frank Giella (the son of artist Joe Giella), and others. One interesting encounter I had with an old school collector who still used a card check list set from the early 1970s. It was numbered with a box on the top of each card where the names of comic titles would be written. They were the size of a deck of cards and could be carried in one’s pocket. They were very cool and in many ways easier to use over methods used at shows today.

Finally fans never go hungry at The Big Apple show. From street carts to fast food to world class (and I really mean world class) dining, there was a truly vast number of places to have a meal. The New Yorker hosts three restaurants, including Tick Tock diner, a New York institution that serves breakfast all day and famous sandwiches; Trattoria Bianca, an amazing Italian trattoria; and Butcher & Banker, a world class steak house. One of the things that makes Butcher & Banker so cool is that it is located in the basement that was previously the Manufacturers Trust Company bank vault. Its opening in November 2017 marked the first time the vault had been open to the public in over 37 years. Yes, the steaks were outstanding. The convenience of eating in the hotel during the show simply cannot be overstated.

With all the things to do in New York City, you might consider making a vacation out of going to the show and checking out some of what the city offers. There are a wide variety of ways to get around from buses to subways to its famed yellow taxi cabs, so it’s not hard to get to where you want to go.

The show offered a VIP early admission from at 9 AM and the regular general admission opening at 10 AM. The fall Big Apple show will be a two-day affair held in September 2022, back at the New Yorker Hotel. Fans can check the Big Apple website or its Facebook page for the latest information on the show dates.