For the second year in a row my son and I visited Long Island’s Eternal Con held at the Nassau Coliseum. The show landed in Nassau County on Father’s Day weekend for two long days on June 16th and 17th 2018. The show was hosted in the exhibition center of the newly renovated Nassau Coliseum. The Nassau Coliseum is the premier destination for concerts and special events on Long Island. However, public transportation at the Coliseum requires having to take a combination of trains and buses. Most people simply drive to the Nassau Coliseum. Getting in and out of the Nassau Coliseum is very easy by car. Much easier than other New York arenas such as Citifield, Yankee Stadium or the nightmare of Met Life Stadium.
Eternal Con is like the little brother or sister of New York’s Comic Con. It is everything a New York style Comic Con is, but just on a much smaller basis. New York’s Comic Con is held at the Jacob Javits Center. The Jacob Javits Center is one of the largest exhibition centers in the world. The crowds at New York’s Comic Con are enormous. Long Island’s Eternal Con attracts large crowds, but nothing compared to New York’s Comic Con.
Attendees at Comic Cons go for different reasons. Some fans attend Comic Cons for rare and collectible merchandise. Many fans go to meet comic book artists both new and legendary. A large portion of fans travel to Comic Cons to meet actors and actresses from television and the movies. Of course, there are many of us that go for all of it.
Eternal Con does not disappoint in any of the above mentioned categories. However, from my experiences of attending both Eternal Cons and New York Comic Cons, Eternal Con trumps New York Comic Con in one very special category – the cars! One of the greatest attractions at Eternal Con is the display of legendary cars and vehicles from the movies and television. Eternal Con 2018 featured the original DeLorean from the movie series Back To The Future. There are three of these cars that were used in the film series. The one at Eternal Con was fully equipped with the legendary flux capacitor. Great Scott, it gets even better. For only twenty dollars, the two men running the exhibit will let you sit in the car and take your picture which they will then present to you printed on a colorful 8 by10 photograph. They will even take extra pictures of you with your own camera. For only twenty dollars, that is a very good deal.
The car exhibit at Eternal Con also featured the original 1966 Batmobile from the television series along with the cool Batcycle. The rolling car-like vehicle from the Flinstones movie was also on display. Last year, the 1966 Batmobile seemed to be the most sought-after experience. However, this year, the Back To The Future DeLorean proved at least from what we witnessed to be the most popular vehicle with the fans.
For many fans, the chance to meet movie and television stars looms as the highlight of their Eternal Con experience. Eternal Con 2018 featured a two-day guest appearance by possibly the most famous science fiction television star of all time – Captain Kirk, Mr. William Shatner. Scoring an appearance by William Shatner was a major coup for Eternal Con 2018.
Eternal Con 2018 also featured Brandon Routh who played Superman in Superman Returns. Routh also was well known to fans of the Chuck television series along with The Flash and Legends of Tomorrow. My son and I took selfies with Brandon Routh and he was very genuine, friendly and answered all my son’s questions. Appearing in the booth next to Brandon Routh was the Walking Dead’s, Michael Cudlitz. The adjoining booth featured the legendary William Shatner and next to Shatner was the original Incredible Hulk Lou Ferrigno from the 1970’s television show.
The main theme of Eternal Con 2018 was the celebration of the 1970’s Superman films. Actor Jeff East who had played the younger Superman to Christopher Reeve’s character was there to sign autographs along with selfies. Also included were two of General Zod’s accomplices, Sarah Douglas and Jack O’Halloran. The original Jimmy Olson played by Mark McClure was also present. When I purchased my tickets back in February, I was very excited to get the opportunity to meet the 1970’s motion picture Louis Lane played by Margot Kidder. Unfortunately, Margot Kidder passed away just recently. The show presented a tribute to her during Saturday’s Superman The Movie 40th Anniversary panel. For anyone, who was a fan of the two 1970’s Superman films, Superman The Movie and Superman II (my favorite) Eternal Con 2018 presented them with a true walk down cinema lane, and a great celebration of those amazing films.
Powe Rangers are always a welcome attraction at Eternal Cons. In 2018, Eternal Con featured Red Ranger Steve Cardenas who appeared in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers Zeo. Catherine Sutherland who played the Pink Ranger in Mighty Morphin Power Rangers and Power Rangers Zeo was also signing autographs taking selfies and appearing in the Power Ranger panel.
No Eternal Con would be complete without appearances from WWE stars. Appearing at Eternal Con 2018 were WWE stars Kevin Nash, Christian, Enzo Amore, and Mick Foley. And last but not least, appearing at Eternal Con 2018 was Taimak who fans know from The Last Dragon and The Master.
Eternal Con 2018 hosted a series of events on the Main Stage and the Panel Room. On the Main Stage, Michael Cudlitz held a Q&A on Saturday at noon. Michael Cudlitz was followed by a 1.00 pm Q&A with Brandon Routh. Jim Shooter and Larry Ham presented at 2:00 pm. They were followed by the legendary William Shatner’s Q&A at 3:00 pm. Superman The Movie: 40th Anniversary panel took the stage at 4:00 pm. At 6:00 pm there was a great Eternal Con Costume Contest which is always a highlight of any comic con. Sunday’s Main Stage events featured Q&As with The Power Rangers and Lou Ferrigno.
The Panel Room discussion presented fans with topics such as 50 Years of Star Trek, The Return of Mego Corp, Origins of Jack Kirby’s Black Panther, The Future Of Doctor Who, D2 Comic Culture and many more various topics.
Artist Alley is another great section of Eternal Con to explore during the exhibit. It was exhilarating to meet the brilliant artist Ken Kelly whose wonderful artwork is highlight by his famous Kiss Destroyer album cover. Kelly’s artwork is inspiring in so many ways. One of the booths that my son and I really enjoyed was a booth selling original artwork that depicted various comic and movie universes interacting with each other. We are not sure how many copywrites were being broken, but seeing pictures of Marvel heroes battling DC heroes was quite interesting. My favorite was an artistic drawing of Star Wars Stormtroopers battling the Aliens from the Aliens movie and comic book series. Now that’s a movie I would love to see.
There is so much to see and do at Comic Cons. Long Island’s Eternal Con is a great show that defines all that is great about the Comic Con Experience. For Long Islanders, it’s fabulous to have a show that mimics the New York Comic Con experience to a point without having to travel into the city. The tickets for Eternal Con are also much cheaper than New York Comic Con. We hope this review and the pictures help entice you to visit Eternal Con in 2019. You will not be disappointed.
Great article and photos! I’m looking forward to reading more of your “big city reviews!”