Words and photos by Brian Maffitt

I have a well-cultivated reputation as a Prince among Nerds, yet in my half-century on this planet I had never attended a Comic Con, the annual pilgrimage to Nerd-vana. My only excuse has been that by the time I noticed it was coming up, it was always sold out, so when this year I was offered a Saturday ticket to NY Comic Con 2014 at the last minute, I jumped at the chance. 

Well, it was a great day, and needless to say it was a photographer’s paradise, mingling with the masses, meeting some old heroes, and having my senses dazzled. The slideshow below consists of photos I took at the show (with two obvious exceptions), with a focus on amazing or amusing cosplay. I recommend that you look at them in order and read the captions; I tried to craft an unfolding narrative to help capture my day at the show.

Hint: If the text gets in the way of a photo detail, you can always click the “x” to turn off the description, then click the little “i” to get it back and continue.

If you liked the photos, watch this space for a follow-up article with tips for shooting big events like this, as well as recipes for post-processing the photos with Lightroom and Photoshop CC 2014.