I’ve been going to Comic Con’s for awhile now. I can remember my first one, Big Apple Comic Con, and going in as a wide eyed novice just basking in the glory of all the nerdiness. It was here that I shared the coolest head nod of my life with Billy Dee Williams. It was here where I met the actor who played Chewbacca (he was taller then me sitting down) and got him to sigh a head shot of Chewing. It was here that I got to meet to side characters from the movie Aliens and had a LOST conversation with them. From that moment on I was hooked. I had finally found a place that not only celebrated all the things I loved and was passionate about, but also brought me into a community that told me “hey, you’re not alone”. It’s one of the things I look forward to every year as well as one of my favorite places in the world. I have to say that this year’s New York City Comic Con was probably one of my favorite Comic Con experiences…ever. It just encompassed everything that I’ve come to love about the festival and I got to experience it with one of my favorite humans, my sister, Jen.

This year started off with a train ride where we met a guy who was cos-playing as BoJack Horseman (which pained me to leave off of this list) as he described the hours he spent painting his horse mask to the exact specifications of BoJack while also adding his disdain for Lucy Lawless during a Q&A panel (I think my man was reading too deeply into certain responses if you ask me). From there we headed towards the Javiits Center and a line that literally wrapped around the entire building and seemed to be going no where thus putting Kevin into a bit of a contained panic. We had gotten there early, not early enough apparently, and the line was barely moving. I suspected at the rate it was going we weren’t getting in to the event until 12:30-1 which sucked since we arrived at 9:45ish (give or take). Yes the line was really that bad. Luckily the gods smiled upon us and there was a rear entrance that was opened (at the last possible second. Picture Luke firing into the Death Star) and pretty much got in at the very start of things. It felt like we were being punked but it turned out not to be a hoax. We were actually getting in on time.

From there Jen and I went on to have the best day ever. From taking a picture with imprisoned Rick from Rick and Morty to talking to cos-players (there was a storm trooper dressed as Lemmy while blasting Motorhead from his suit) from going to booth to booth trying not to buy everything. The whole day just felt special and tremendously fun. This was Jennifer’s second Comic Con experience (ever) and man, was she game for anything the convention threw at us. I would say that her first year, Jen had a lot of fun but got a little overwhelmed as the day went on, and I get it. Comic Con is a lot to take in. This year though she had taken that experience and applied it with a gusto and passion that made this older brother’s geeky heart proud. Honestly, there’s no one else I’d rather be there with.

We capped off the day going to Artist Alley (which is where the majority of my money goes) and waiting in line, for what seemed like forever, to meet Millie Bobby Brown and David Harbour from Stranger Things which was such a cool experience despite the fact that they wouldn’t let us use our Eggo box as a prop. I very rarely do the photo ops at Comic Con and minus the whole line debacle, I would definitely do it again. Granted, the whole experience lasts 30 seconds to a minute but it’s just a really cool moment to have, plus I have a picture with two actors from a show I absolutely love. That’s worth the price of admission alone. It’s all about stories my friends.

Seriously, Comic Con is something I look forward to every year, and after this years I think the bar has been raised pretty high. I don’t know what’s more exciting the fact that I get to share something like this with my sister or the fact that she’s already planning for next year. She wants to get a weekend pass so we can make sure to do everything. There’s just not enough time in one day, especially if you want to see panels (we missed out on a Stranger Things one because of the line to get in). What better place to be once a year then with a bunch of people who just want to celebrate what they’re passionate about? There’s no judging just a bunch of joy and geekiness. It’s like a home away from home.