Adults Need LEGO's Too: Give us Stark Tower!

LEGO DC Minifigure Collection for 2013
Robin and Aquaman

Lego's are the addicting source of conflict for most parents.  
Said parents have a child, have an excuse to buy and build with Lego's till heart is filled with joy.  Then the inevitable happens.  
The child grows up and wants a phone. 
Lego's are no longer a source of fun.  
The child will not realize that this was true entertainment for unfortunately another 10+ years.

The dilemma that is left is either, "How can I get away with squandering my time on Lego's without the child?" or "Where the heck do I store 2 five gallon bins of Lego's?" 

Okay, so maybe this is a little bit of a case in point scenario, meaning my case in point.  When my son decided Lego's were not cool anymore, I thought he was insane.  Seriously. 

We had put together the Lego Full NBA Basketball Court together and had some rockin games; and we conquered the Lego Full Soccer Stadium and continued to add to it. Then there was HOGWARTS....oh boy, that was crazy. We plowed through helicopters, airplanes, spaceships, trains, towns, and even the jungle - dinosaurs included.  Finally, there was of course, Star Wars everything. 

Star Wars and Lego's seem to go together like peanut butter and jelly.  They just fit. When in doubt - buy Star Wars Legos. 

"Have you put any Lego's together lately?" 
"Pshhhh, yep just finished the 3,808 piece Death Star. Started it last night."

Last October, I went to New York Comic Con and was thrilled to see the Lego booth, I had a small surge of excitement when I saw this however:

New York Comic Con - October 2012 LEGO booth

I stood and stared. The concept of LEGO piecing together bricks of Legos was so boggling to my feeble mind.  
It was like INCEPTION!  
Yet, glorious! It was at this moment I realized - Lego needs to just straight up make Lego's for adults.  
Market them to adults, geeks, nerds, or 'parents who have no more excuses.'  

Give us STARK Tower!  Give us Justice League Headquarters orbiting satellite! Give us Castle Grayskull! And for the fun of it - throw in Voltron! 

I for one, wouldn't mind stepping on Lego's again. 
Some pain, is a reminder of creativity!

Reflections on NYCC 2012: The Fix YOU Need!

New York Comic Con 2012 - Is absolutely more than an event, it is an affair.  It is a time where everyone that everyone buys their tickets (and in advance I might add since it sold out this year months before) and puts on their best straight jackets for one heckuva crazy and wild time!

It just does not get better than this! 

While scanning the net for stats and numbers of the final count of attendees it looks as if NYCC is going to explode out at estimations around 115,000 in attendance.  And let me just say with a few times of having to travel and wait in line for broken escalators it felt that way.  However, I do live in denial, a happy place full of sunshine and rainbows so I decided that it was all good! 

When looking back - NYCC started in 2006 and boasted of an attendance of 33,000 the numbers this year choose to stand out at best.  In 2011, NYCC completed a successful year with 105,000 and many pats on the back.  This year as the booths were closing and fans were exiting there were rumors that NYCC might, just might, begin to rival its west coast foe SDCC! A style statement of the comic book world if there ever was one! 

The layout of the show was phenomenal in my opinion. However, I am a bit OCD and I like organization to a "T". Hence my intense love of reading within the gutter! (sorry taking a moment to laugh at my own jokes.) 
First and foremost, I want to address the placement of "Artist Alley".  The alley was a few 1000 square feet shy of an alley at best and was at the opposite end of the first floor of the of the convention center.  Professionally speaking, I believe this was a great decision. There was some hesitation in the air at first, however after the first full day (Friday) when the show floor was so packed that FLASH himself would just give up on speed, the separation was welcomed. 

Artist Alley was a breathe of fresh air - literally! The crowds still thronged however, and when they did, it was with purpose. It was nice to also have all artists and creators in one area. Because lets face it, less is better in what universe?

The show floor...The wonder of wonders. The area where crazy and "can it get any better than this" fall into the same category!  Booths from new literature, showcases for new games from Nintendo, Wii U, Saga, Playstation, Zombie U, New Super Mario Bros., and many more were available. Tomb Raider provided an amazing demo as well as Hitman and Sony provided demos for God of War.  Great comic book icons represented such as Marvel, DC, Vertigo, Image, Dark Horse, IDW and several up and coming.

Cosplay, professional and homemade were all welcome and enjoyed. This is a place were everyone celebrates and enjoys that everyone is insane and we love it!  From Sci-Fi, to gaming, to superheroes, to noir, to horror, to the LEGO's fanatics, to collectors, to action figures galore, there is just something for everyone and we celebrate our love of it.

Unfortunately, I did not get to as many panels as I wanted to, however the panels I did get to go to were fantastic well organized very informative.

All in all, I walked away knowing that cultivating and keeping my inner child alive for so many years has been a good thing.  Comic Cons are good for that.  There are too many serious topics that need immediate addressing on a day to day basis.  It is easy to forget that once in a while to set in the motion the FIX you NEED. To feed your inner child.

Up next...Marketing Tips in the Comic Book Industry - its multidimensional!