Going to NYC--What should we see?

[Andy]

My son and I are going. Any suggestions on sites to see? Is there a really good comic book store there? (That was my son's question.)

[Stan Sakai]

Is there a really good comic book store there? (That was my son's question.)

I have heard really good things about Jim Hanley's Universe.

http://jsuniverse.com/

[Andy]

Thanks, and I understand it's across from the Empire State Building, so if we see that we'll be in the neighborhood.

Has anyone ever been to the Mocca? (Museum of Cartoon and Comic Art)? What kind of things do they have in their permanent collection, I wonder.

[Leonardo-san]

If you like dinosaurs, or want to see lots of great information on Native American and Pacific Island cultures, or like dioramas of animals, great mineral collection...the Natural History Museum is awesome!
I loved the dinosaur collection in particular.

If you love art, the Met is a fantastic museum!

Both of those museums are easy places to lose most of a day, and still not see everything on display!

Central Park is fun to see, at least parts of it--because it's big enough I haven't strolled through all of it. The castle by Turtle Pond is a fun thing. The obelisk by the Met is from Egypt.

I've been to the Empire State Building, and that is a fine place to visit and go up for the view.
Saint Patrick's Cathedral is near that, and it's a neat gothic style cathedral. If you're into that sort of architecture.

While it's a bit out of the way, I've heard the Cloisters is phenomal if you enjoy medieval art and architecture.

There's always famous sites like Times Square. Grand Central Station. If you are in the zone, they don't take long to view and snap a few pictures.
And if you get a chance, you have to ride the subway at least to something and back again.

I've been down by City Hall where you can walk onto the pedestrian walkway of the Brooklyn Bridge. Very fun if you enjoy that sort of thing. The walk, even to just the first part of the bridge will take a few minutes to do.

I have not visited the site of the former World Trade Center, but for those that do they say it is a very emotional experience.

There's also various good shopping areas if you like to do that. But I've never had enough time in my short visits to the City to do much of that. So I don't know much about the comic shops, or that museum on comics.

Have a great time!!
I've enjoyed my two short visits to NYC.

[Andy]

Thanks for the suggestions, Leonardo-san. I was not aware of the Natural History Museum, I bet my son would like that. We will see either the MOMA or the Met, I'm not sure which yet.

Thanks for the tips, guys. It's great to have such worldly-wise friends. I'm a farm-boy from the sticks here and I will be out of my element! We're busy printing up Yahoo maps from our hotel to sites so we'll be ready.

[Ma-Ku]

Going to the top of the Empire State Building was pretty cool.

Wish I could have found Giants Stadium in NY, I like the Metrostars (cant believe they lost in the MLS Open Cup...)

[Stan Sakai]

Going to the top of the Empire State Building was pretty cool.

I agree. That was one of the highlights of my first trip to the Big Apple (why do they call NY that?). I went to the Statue of Liberty on my second visit. That was pretty neat as well. Also Ellis Island.

[Stormhaven]

If you're a big sushi fan, Chef Nobu Matsuhisa has a place in SoHo - if you plan on going, make reservations! Also along the lines of food, the Food Network is homed in Chelsea Market. I'm not sure what their taping schedule is for live audiences, but might be worth checking out. Chelsea Market is neat by itself too.

I think I still owe Stan a sushi get together in NYC when he comes by to pay him back for sushi in Texas :)

[Colin Solan]

Hanley's is a great store, especially for indie comics. But if you're looking for older comics I highly recommend Time Machine on W. 14th St. Very cool, old school comic shop and always give me great deals whenever I'm in town.

[Tim]

my two favorite comic shops in nyc are cosmic comics (10 east 23rd st) and st. mark's comics (11 st. mark's place). you can use newyork.citysearch.com to find maps and phone numbers for these places.

cosmic comics gives you $20 store credit for every $100 you spend. i'm a nyc resident, so it's pretty convenient for me. for just being a tourist, though, i'd suggest st. mark's comics. st. mark's place is a really fun street, with lots of book stores, tatoo parlors, cafes, karaoke bars, etc. and check out the deep fried hot dogs at crif dogs (113 st. mark's place).

you can also find some great indie films and documentaries playing at the sunshine theater (143 east houston).

you could spend all day wandering around in the east village...enjoy!

[Tim]

also, as far as i am aware, nyc is referred to as "the big apple" because of the number of houses of ill repute it harbored during the 19th century. the word "apple" had certain...connotations. i found this bit of info on-line...

The Gentleman's Directory of New York City, a privately published (1870) guide to the town's "houses of assignation," confidently asserted that "in freshness, sweetness, beauty, and firmness to the touch, New York's apples are superior to any in the New World or indeed the Old."

so when men travelled to new york city in search of certain favors, they would refer to it as "the apple tree" or "the big apple."

however, the new york historical society has a few different, more family-friendly answers...

http://www.ny.com/museums/new.york.hist ... ciety.html

[Andy]

Wow, if only we were going to be there a week! Thanks everybody! We're leaving early Wed. am. to the Big Apple, but we won't be discussing the history of the term.

You hear that term so often, I bet most people have noooo idea! LOL

[Andy]

Just got back! whew! We saw the Metropolitan Museum of Art and the MOMA. There was an awesome Cezanne & Pissarro exhibit there. These two artists were friends and would often stand side by side at the same scene and paint. They hung the paintings that way. It was so neat to see the different stylistic approaches to the same scene.

We also went to the MOCCA (the Museum of Comic and Cartoon Art). It was quite a small museum. I was expecting something bigger. However, the entire exhibit at this time was an Eisner retrospective, so I was glad I went. The man was truly a master. It was neat to see Spirit originals. The covers and interiors to many of his graphic novels were also on display.

We went to Jim Hanley's and Midtown comics. They both had their qualities, but I think I liked Midtown better. It was more spacious and I think the prices were a little better on some things. Hanley's had tons of stuff, but it was kind of cramped. It was neat to see in both stores many more independent comics than we get in our local stores.

We also went to the Museum of Natural History, which was awesome.

I almost forgot! We met a celebrity! If you ever watch "Late Show with David Letterman" you know he sometimes sends cameras next door to "Rupert's Hello Deli". He will sometimes ask Rupert to do crazy things on camera or ask customers to play "Beat the Clock" or "Will it Float?". Well, we met Rupert! We also had our picture taken with him.

We tried to get tickets to Late Show, but they don't sell them to "under 18". This made a nice substitute for us.

[Colin Solan]

MoCCA is a great organization. Their ArtFest in June is one of my favorite comic shows. I keep nagging my friends there to invite Stan.

[Andy]

Yes, they've got to do a Stan show some day. That would be awesome!