Toy Fair International 2013: Tokyo Pop / The Loyal Subjects / GANN Memorials, Inc.,

The 110th annual Toy Fair International is in full swing at New York City's Javits Center. The trade only show, which is not open to the public, brings together toy manufactures, licencors, distributors, and sales agents from around the world. Toys and entertainment take center stage at this event, but in the end, fun takes a back seat to business. This year, I had the pleasure to attend and cover the event for the first time. I received a first hand look at new and upcoming toys, while previewing some of the innovative ideas that hope to  become the next big toy coveted by boy and girl. This is the first of a series of blogs, and as you will read on, you'll notice that ToyFair brought the kid out in me as well.

Robots, Creativity, and Imagination: Brooklyn RobotWorks

It was 11:45am on a late Saturday morning in Manhattan. Outside of the famed Pennsylvania Hotel, where Wizard World New York was just underway, foot traffic came to a grinding halt in anticipation of an unusual sight. It was on that day that 7th Avenue was graced by an appearance from Bumblebee, one of the most popular Autobots on the Transformers' roster. The yellow and silver robot zipped around on foot as he greeted his fans and brought smiles to the faces of curious children. Everyone scrambled for their cameras to capture a shot of the most realistic Transformer Cosplay costumes ever seen to date.