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

For over 26 years, Mike Carbonaro’s comic conventions have been a center piece of the comic and popular culture convention scene in New York City. Originally founded in 1995 he ended his 26th year of the show with his aptly titled “Christmas” edition on December 17, 2022, at the New Yorker Hotel in Manhattan. It was built in 1929, is famous for its art Deco décor, and has hosted the likes of Nikola Tesla, John F. Kennedy, Muhammad Ali, and Jennifer Hudson.

The show had a strong dealer line up of returning and new dealers who came from all over the east coast. The dealer list included Gary Dolgoff Comics, Alex Needleman, Harley Yee’s Rare Comics, Kryptonite Comics, Animation Comics, Epic Nation Collectibles, Fanboy Collectibles and Comics, Toy Tokyo, Captured Collectibles, and many others.

Original art was covered by comic art dealers Anthony’s Comic Book Art and Nostalgic Investments both of whom provided amazing displays of vintage comic art. Travis Landry, the Director of Pop Culture and an auctioneer for Bruneaus & Company auctioneers, showed off books from the comic and comic art collection of Andy Yanchu who was a staff colorist for Marvel Comics from 1975 to 1992. Yanchu’s collection will be auctioned off on New Year’s Day, January 1, 2023. The books were all very high grade, including Gold Key Green Hornet #1 CGC 9.8, one of only two to achieve 9.8 and the first copy to sell in market history.

There were a lot of media guests in attendance including Michael Uslan, Jesse Simon, David Lee Madison, Tyran Richard, Ted Diblase, Ryan Andes, Cerina Vincent, and others.

Big Apple always has a great creators turnout and this show was no different. Jim Steranko, Esad T. Ribic, Khoi Pham, Mark Bode, Jim Salicrup, Keith Williams, Sy Barry, and others populated the artist alley. Clay McLeod Chapman, and Anthony Snyder and Mike Carbonaro hosted panels, and Joe Mauceri of Fears magazine hosted a panel that presented movie trailers.

There were a lot of comics for sale, which ran from the 1940s to today’s newest releases with a lot of keys. 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 but not as much as at prior shows. Since the summer comic sale prices have leveled off, it seemed that most dealers were very happy with their sales for the day. Beyond the comics, there were toys, action figures, clothing, independent publishers, and more. Yes, there were Funko Pops for sale too. Artist Alley was especially crowded with fans looking for sketches and commissions from their favorite artists. Spine Works, a company that offered cleaning and pressing services for comics and were authorized dealers for CGC and CBCS were also there.

Many cosplayers were in attendance from pro cosplayer and guest Levi James to our granddaughter Dayana who was dressed as Wednesday Adams. Once again Captain Zorikh handled the sign up for the kids and adult cosplay contests. The Captain is a rather amazing guy who has been working on a large research project based on the Fawcett version of Captain Marvel. He was joined by Peace & the Gatta Negrra and prizes were provided by the Captain and Ultimate Wireless.

Because this was the Christmas edition of Big Apple, Peace & the Gatta Negrra also hosted the first Big Apple Ugly Sweater Contest with prizes also donated by Ultimate Wireless. Santa Claus made his arrival, and he gave out presents and circled around the entire show over the course of the day. In addition there was a drawing for prizes and a raffle provided by Big Apple, Ultimate Wireless, and the Mark Gruenwald foundation.

The Origins of Play: Free Video Gaming booth offered a playable history of video game genres from classic arcades 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.   

As I have said before, the best way to describe Big Apple is to say it is a big time show in a small setting. As such you never know what you are going to encounter for sale there. From Terragon Terrain who offered modular magnetic gaming tiles to Bam Comixs who were selling a wide range of mini prints, mugs, and a wide variety of other items. There was plenty to see and buy.

We had barely entered the show when Susan Natoli, Allie’s longtime friend and a major Wonder Woman collector, showed off the slabbed copy of Sensation Comics #1 that she had bought a week earlier. I met up with longtime dealer and Mego collector Mark Huckabone who shared a booth with Lev Levarek who runs Toy Tokyo. I am happy to say that I got to do something that was special to me: I met Hall of Fame wrestler Ted Dibblase who I had watched on TV many times as a kid. We talked for a while and I got his autograph. It was a real treat.

In the main dealer room, I connected with many dealers and friends like art dealer Bechara Maalouf. At Gary Dolgoff’s table, he talked about his first convention, the 1968 Phil Seuling Comic Art Con. We discovered that we were both at the 1974 and ’75 editions of the show and he remembered meeting me back then when I was a kid. The fan turnout was large, the aisles were really packed in the main dealer’s room and over the course of the day I encountered other friends such as collector Ankur Jetley and collector dealer Frank Giella, the son of artist Joe Giella, who is an accomplished artist in his own right.

Fans never go hungry at The Big Apple show, from street carts to fast food to world class restaurants. The New Yorker has three restaurants, including the Tick Tock which is a New York institution, serving an all day breakfast menu and famous sandwiches, the Butcher & Banker world class steak house, and the Trattoria Bianca, an amazing Italian trattoria. The convenience of eating in the hotel during the show simply cannot be overstated.

With all the things to do in New York City along with coming to the Big Apple con you might consider making a vacation out of going to the show and check out some of what the city offers. There are a wide variety of ways to get around from mass transit to its famed yellow taxi cabs.

The show offered a VIP early admission from 9 AM and the regular general admission opened at 10 AM. Kids 9 years-old and younger got in for free and kids 10-14 years-old paid half price. Big Apple will return for its spring edition with a two-day show on Saturday and Sunday, March 25-26, 2023, at the New Yorker Hotel located at 401 8th Avenue in Manhattan.

To see more photos from Big Apple Christmas Con jump to our In the Limelight section.