L Train Productions Brings an Independent Comic Book Edge to Pins & Needles Comedy
At a time when many New York City comedy shows still rely on the same formula — a bar, a microphone, a lineup, and a flyer — Pins & Needles Comedy has been building something more visually specific. The show, hosted by Taylor Drew and Justin Hartmann, brings together live stand-up, tattoo culture, visual art, body-positive performance, and underground New York City nightlife into a format that feels intentionally designed rather than casually assembled.
For its upcoming show at Secret Pour on Thursday, May 28, that world will include L Train Productions, an independent art and apparel brand created by Adiel Kay. Appearing as a pop-up vendor at the event, L Train Productions will bring comic books, shirts, and stickers to the room, with items priced between $10 and $30.
The pairing makes sense. Pins & Needles Comedy is already a show built around visual identity. Its central premise — tattooed comedians stripping down for stand-up so their tattoos become part of the performance — gives the event a visual language most comedy shows never attempt. It is not simply a night of stand-up comedy in Brooklyn. It is a New York City comedy show where the performers, the art, the room, and the audience experience all become part of the same atmosphere.
That makes a vendor like L Train Productions feel less like an add-on and more like an extension of the show’s larger idea. Comic books, shirts, and stickers are physical objects that belong to the same cultural ecosystem as underground comedy, tattoo art, DIY publishing, and independent New York City creative scenes. They are accessible, collectible, and easy to take home — the kind of pieces that let an audience member leave with something more lasting than a drink receipt.
For Adiel Kay, L Train Productions brings storytelling and visual design into the room. Comic books suggest character, voice, and world-building. Shirts turn artwork into something wearable. Stickers keep the price point low and the distribution wide. Together, the table gives Pins & Needles audiences a compact introduction to an independent creative brand that fits naturally beside a comedy show built around bodies, ink, and performance.
That kind of curation matters. The best alternative comedy shows in New York City are no longer just competing with other comedy shows. They are competing with concerts, art openings, pop-up markets, tattoo events, nightlife parties, and the general resistance people feel toward leaving their apartment. A show has to offer more than “funny comics.” It has to offer a reason to be there in person.
Pins & Needles Comedy understands that. By including pop-up vendors like L Train Productions, the show creates a fuller live event: part stand-up comedy show, part tattoo culture gathering, part art-forward Brooklyn nightlife experience. It gives audiences something to browse before or after the show, something to talk about between sets, and something to buy from an independent artist rather than a faceless merch table.
For people searching for things to do in Brooklyn, New York City comedy shows, alternative comedy in NYC, Brooklyn pop-up vendors, comic book artists in New York, independent art markets, or tattoo culture events in New York City, this is the kind of event that crosses several scenes at once. It is comedy, but it is also visual. It is nightlife, but it is also art-driven. It is a ticketed show, but it has the texture of a local creative gathering.
On May 28 at Secret Pour, L Train Productions will be part of that atmosphere, bringing original comic books, shirts, and stickers into a room already shaped by tattoos, stand-up, and underground New York energy. For Pins & Needles Comedy, the vendor table strengthens the show’s identity as more than a lineup. For the audience, it adds another reason to arrive early, look around, and leave with something in hand.
Event Details
Event: Pins & Needles Comedy
Date: Thursday, May 28, 2026
Venue: Secret Pour
Pop-Up Vendor: L Train Productions
Creator: Adiel Kay
Items for Sale: Comic books, shirts, stickers
Price Range: $10–$30
Event Style: New York City stand-up comedy, tattoo culture, visual art, pop-up vendors, alternative Brooklyn nightlife
