Big Apple Comic Con was a New York City convention that was founded by Michael “Mike Carbo” Carbonaro back in 1995. This year, it took place at the Penn Plaza Pavilion on March 9 and March 10. One thing I love about this con is I don’t need to request any time off from work: it’s a two-day con on Saturday and Sunday. The location is super convenient too: it’s right across the street from Penn Station.
On Day One of BACC, I wore my first Marvel cosplay: Silk! There were tons of Marvel and DC cosplays I saw that day, but my favorite cosplay was definitely the epic Carnage cosplayer who I saw right outside the con. He was so tall and even had smoke or dry ice (something that resembled smoke) coming out from his mask. There were so many details that I found myself staring for a while to take everything in. My favorite detail was definitely the head of Spiderman he was holding as a prop (beheaded Spiderman…).
At the actual con, my favorite booth was the Pet Sematary booth. As a huge horror fan, and a fan of Pet Sematary, I am so excited for the reboot of the film this year. I didn’t realize there would be a Pet Sematary booth at the con, and they had an awesome Photo Booth where you could be part of the movie poster. They were also handing out free flashlights for any of your horror survival needs!
On Saturday evening, I attended the cosplay contest, and somehow got roped into participating too. At 5:30, there was a Captain Marvel Cosplay Contest in honor of the new Captain Marvel movie. This contest was exclusively for Captain Marvel cosplays! At 6pm, the regular cosplay contest started: Captain Zorikh’s Costume Contest. This contest is always a good time, and includes everyone in a safe space. You can cosplay anything you want, whether it’s from an actual piece of media, or an original character you invented. There was a Table of Wonder with tons of prizes, so at the end of the competition, there were tons of winners. Honestly, everyone is a winner! There were also quite a few adorable children who were cosplaying, and of course, the audience was super supportive! I love the positivity and inclusiveness of this cosplay contest, and would recommend it to anyone attending BACC. Don’t be shy and sign up because it’s a fun time!
On Sunday, I spent most of my time in the Exhibitors and Artist Alley. Of course, I was at the Pet Sematary booth multiple times.
Another booth I checked out and loved was the Prince Peacock booth. Prince Peacock is inspired by kawaii culture, the Edwardian era, and Pop Art. They make a variety of different jewelry pieces, and my favorites at their booth were the ones that used vintage dead stock. They even had a series of necklaces using vintage chandelier crystals! I also really liked their kawaii plastic jewelry: perfect for decora, fairy kei, or sweet lolita. I only bought earrings from them, and they were nice enough to switch out all the hooks for surgical steel ones since I have sensitive ears. My friend Simone doesn’t have their ears pierced, and Prince Peacock was able to switch the earrings they wanted to clip-ons so they can enjoy the earrings too. With the price of $5 per pair of earrings, this was a great deal!
At the end of the con, I went back to the Pet Sematary booth one last time and saw they had tossed most of the props into the trash. They let me take some silly photos by the trashcan full of Pet Sematary paraphernalia.
When I left the con, I had one more Big Apple Comic Con moment. I got to meet Mike Carbo! He was outside the con by the street, and stopped me and my friend to compliment our outfits. We explained that we were wearing Lolita fashion, and he was super nice and said he hoped we had a great time at the show. We even saw him get into a cab and waved good-bye to him. Mike was really down-to-earth, and I can tell that the convention he runs follows suit. It’s such a fun con filled with friendly people, whether you’re chatting with exhibitors or meeting special guests or hanging out with other attendees. I even made a new friend at this con. If you’re in NYC or want to visit NYC, definitely add Big Apple Comic Con to your list!
Written by Pearl Peony
IG: @pearlpeony
Tumblr: @xiaorawr
Twitter: @treizemacarons