Back in 1973, my buddy Jim Crea and I decided to hitch-hike out to
New York City for the annual Phil Seuling New York Comic Art Con.
It was the first comic convention I'd ever attended.

I was 18, so this was pretty much the nature of the sleeping accommodations that my budget could stand--dozing in a chair in the lobby of the old Commodore Hotel, just a couple of doors down 42nd Street from Grand Central Station. (I took along 60 bucks to finance the whole trip, and we were on the road for a total of three weeks.)
COSTUME CONTEST One of the most impressive events at the con was the costume contest. (Why is it that cons don't seem to have those anymore?) Here's a kind of fuzzy view of some of the best ones. Identifiable in the photo above are Mr. Mind, Spider-Man, a dark-haired Flash Gordon, Captain Marvel Jr., Ming the Merciless, the Joker, Two-Face, the Golden Age Green Lantern, Mr. Spock, the Demon, Big Barda, Elric, Dr. Fate, and two Vampirellas--Heidi Saha (over on the far right, with a bat prop perched on her hand, who was reputed to have been one of the original models for the Vampirella character) and another (front and center) who was said to be an exotic dancer over on Times Square someplace. HEIDI SAHA AS VAMPIRELLA
This pic was taken while waiting for an elevator up to the mezzanine level. You have to credit the girl's courage, walking around a convention full of comic fans in such a minute costume, and especially boarding an elevator with a handful of them!
THE WINNERS: Above are the winners of the costume contest: Ming the Merciless, Heidi Saha as Vampirella, Darkseid and DeSaad. There was also a guy there who was a dead ringer for J. Jonah Jameson, who I think should have won some kind of award, but for some reason I never got his picture. SOME OTHER COSTUMES, including a mustachioed Captain Marvel, Jr., a dark-haired Flash Gordon, a bland-looking Joker, and a young, but authentic-looking Two Face. Enlarged when I scanned it, this is the most detail I've ever seen on this pic!
BILL GAINES I caught up with the MAD MAGAZINE (and EC Comics) publisher in the dealers' room. Love those trousers! This guy had to be the most approachable and unpretentious publisher I ever met. IN THE LOBBY That's Roy Thomas, with his "corn-silk hair" on the far left, a couple of unidentified women in front, and between them Barry (pre-Windsor) Smith. You can't fully appreciate that suit Smith is wearing in black and white--it was a white linen, with emerald green trim. I got the impression that he might have enjoyed being a rock star, because he sure acted like one. A moment later I got the classic hand-in-the-lens to keep me from taking any more photos of him.
AUTOGRAPHS This shows some of the autographs (and mini-sketches) I was able to get at the con. The rest of the program book is sprinkled with them as well, as are a number of comics (like the issue of DAREDEVIL, seen below) that I bought there.
MY "ROMITA RUINED" DD #14 This is one of my favorite souvenirs of the convention. John Romita was sitting in Marvel's "suite" off the mezzanine, signing comics, looking at portfolios and doing little sketches.

He was apparently operating on auto-pilot when I handed him this issue of DAREDEVIL to sign, and was mortified when he realized that he'd inadvertently sketched a Spidey face by his signature, instead of Daredevil as I'd asked.

He thought he'd ruined my book, and was going to go into the dealers room with me to buy me another! I told him that wasn't necessary--that if he'd just put a little Daredevil head in there as well, I'd be more than happy. Heck, I wish I had more comics that were "ruined" this way!

As I dig through my stuff, I'll try to add more photos and scans from the convention...