Will you be there for me at the end,
When the shadows devour the sun,
When there’s no one to hold my hand,
When the many become the one?
When old rivalries fade away,
When we move past the hope and grief,
When there’s nothing more left to say,
Will you be there, or will you…
This is just a short note before I completely pass out after such a long and eventful day… My first-ever day at the New York Comic Con (NYCC).
I’m spending this whole week in New York, crashing on a good friend’s couch over in the Jamaica neighbourhood. The occasion is the annual Brooklyn SciFi Film Festival, but I will write more on that in a few days.
Today (Friday) was the only festival day without any live screenings (only a virtual one), so I went to NYCC, having bought the rare Friday pass much earlier in the week. (My overnight bus from Montreal had arrived much earlier than expected, so I spent an hour or so at an all-night diner, buying event tickets and planning my week, eh.)
I have neither the time nor the space to describe my NYCC experience in full detail. Suffice to say, it was quite amazing. There were some logistical issues that were a clear oversight on the organizers’ part, but pobody is nerfect.
My biggest event was the Pitchapalooza: 20 authors get picked to give a 1-minute pitch, followed by gentle critique. At the end, one author gets picked, and wins an introduction to an agent in their genre. I was surprised to see that pavilion was almost empty: in my imagination, hundreds of writers would have lined up for this opportunity – but nope, there were only about 20 of us altogether. Remarkable.
I delivered my best pitch and didn’t win, but I got some great feedback – and learned that I’m capable of delivering rapid-fire pitches in front of VIPs, with a microphone and a small crowd. (There were quite a few observers.) That was good to learn about myself.
Afterwards, much roaming, and admiring people’s beautiful and creative cosplay. As an introvert, I was hesitant about attending the NYCC networking event, but I’m glad I went. I had a chat with someone from a talent agency, and got his card, and will message him soon… He was in the market for voiceover talent (not my forte), but he did say his agency represents authors, too. This should be interesting.
Speaking of voiceovers: Jeff Hays, the most talented voiceover artist in the United States, said he’s okay with doing a small commission for one of my short films! This is so mindblowing that I still can’t quite process it. I need someone to read a short script in the voice of a famous historical figure, and no one alive would do a better job. This will be so, so, soooo much fun…
The “What we do in the shadows” presentation featured two episodes of their upcoming (and final) season, followed by the hilarious Q&A with the writers and most of the cast.
The Tor event afterwards was about the upcoming book releases and not about the publishing business – but hey, they gave out free advance copies of their novels, so that’s a win!
I also whispered a secret password to a certain artist, which resulted in me joining his henchman army – and getting a snazzy T-shirt!
I wasn’t cool enough to learn about special secret after-parties, but I found a tweet about one of them… And that’s how I ended the day by infiltrating thd meet-up of New York’s comic book creators – writers as well as artists. They were in the reserved section of a nearby spors bar: fun crowd. Made some new friends, got some interesting advice, had some beer… And managed not to fall asleep during the long subway ride back to Jamaica, huzzah!
I’m not sure I could’ve accomplished more today: this was about as efficient as a single day can get. I will absolutely make sure to come back again next year, if it falls on the same week as the Brooklyn film festival – but that’s a story for another time, eh.
Good night, y’all.
Saved a toddler’s life today.
There’s a daycare a block away from my apartment building. I was walking by there, early this morning, face buried in my phone (hey, we all have our vices), when suddenly… A woman’s scream. A running kid. The road.
I didn’t even think – or look behind me to see if the road was empty. I jumped in front of the kid, legs spread, arms wide, to stop the traffic from hitting him. We did not get hit.
His mother ran up a few seconds later, scooped him up, dragged him back to her SUV. Less than 10 seconds, from start to finish.
I often wonder what I’d do, how I’d react if I suddenly ended up in a life-or-death emergency. That’s not something you can test for, not something an online quiz can predict for you, not something you can simulate in a safe and cozy environment. Fight, flight, or freeze.
I’m still a bit shaken, even three hours later, and I’ve self-medicated with a few croissants (this being Quebec, after all) and an extra-early glass of wine. I’m glad I was there to jump in front of the kid, and I’m equally glad to learn how my body would react when something like this happens. (Specifically the body, not the mind: none of this is rational or carefully contemplated.)
One of my biggest heroes is Adam Attalla. It was 2022. He was 18. There was a house fire. Two kids were stuck on the roof, the third one trapped inside the burning house. People stared and pointed and did a whole lot of nothing. He ran into the house next door, then upstairs, through a window, onto the roof, jumped to the burning house’s roof, and saved all three of them. There were no casualties that day, no serious injuries. He had no training: just an average teen, but he did something heroic when everyone (especially the next-door neighbors, who were very much aware of the fire) stood still.
I’m not particularly eager to head into the next incarnation ahead of time (things are finally going great in this one!), but doing so while saving others is probably the most impactful, the most noble way to go. And now I know that I’m the kind of person who jumps into the middle of the road without a second thought to save a child… And that’s a damn nice thing to know about oneself.
Grigory Lukin.com 