New York Comic-Con impressions
When I first heard about the Comic-Con in New York, I knew I wanted to check it out. I’m not half the comic fan these days that my esteemed colleague Matt is, I knew the opportunity was too good to pass up. The big names in comics that would be there, in addition to the non-comic entities like the movie studios meant whole event had a few great things going for it, but the biggest draw for me was the fact that the Con was basically a big unknown.
As far as I know, they’ve never done anything like this at the Javits Center before, so I went in realizing that this was more or less the Comic-Con beta release. As with any computer beta, you get the excitement of trying something out before the general population, but with the knowledge that it might make your computer explode and burn down your house, so use as your own risk.
The Comic-Con was certainly exciting, and as far as I know, nobody was severely injured, so in that sense, it was a success. In true beta fashion, however, there were plenty of bugs, and some of them were pretty major. As Matt has already mentioned, and has been reported elsewhere, the show didn’t go down without a healthy dose of chaos.
I arrived at the Javits Center around 10:45 on Saturday morning. I was expecting long lines, but I was also expecting to know where they started and ended. The crowds outside were already very long, but having had the foresight to pre-register for the show, I went right inside the hall and started looking for the entrance to the show floor. With a giant convention like this you might think it would be easy to find the way in, but you’d be wrong. Very, very wrong. I talked to several Javits Center, Reed Exhibitions and hired security staff members, none of whom seemed to know where I should go to get my printed pre-registration form scanned, or even how to get in. I walked from each end of the Javits Center more than once before I found an information booth were a very helpful woman immediatedly scanned my form and told me exactly where I need to go. After that, getting in was surprisingly quick, ostensibly because most of the people crowded into the common areas of the hall were still waiting in line for tickets.
Once Matt and I got on the show floor, things went smoothly for the rest of the event. The crowds were very heavy, but the same decision to close admission to the floor that frustrated so many would-be attendees was the one thing keeping it tolerable for those of us who managed to get in relatively early.
The Con was as much an educational experience for me as it was for entertainment. I’ve been mostly straddling the fringe of comic culture for several years now, with neither the money nor the time to get back to serious collecting, so this was a great opportunity to see what I’ve been missing.
I got to see some big names like Evan Dorkin around the show, which was really cool. I only made one purchase at the show, a copy of Aliens vs. Predator No. 1 from 1989, which I’ve wanted to get my hands on for years, but I’ve become obsessed with a beautiful Clone Wars sericel featuring Obi-Wan and the clone troopers on Muunilist. 
I managed to resist since $175 is no small chunk of change for something to hang on the wall in a dumpy apartment, but that doesn’t mean that the urge to buy has been sated.
There were lots of other great items for sale at the Con, but from what I understand, not nearly enough space was devoted to retailers. The crowds pushing through the narrow aisles made it difficult to dig through boxes of back issues, and I have to assume that I’m not the only one to come out of this show with the thought that comic sellers need some kind of Dewey Decimal System. It would certainly make it a lot easier to find what you’re looking for if every shop didn’t organize their comics differently.
It’s common knowledge that you can’t get geeks together in a room without at least 10 percent of them dressing up as their favorite characters. My favorites were Boba Fett, slave Leia and the scout trooper from the 501st Legion, but there were plenty of great ones, not all of which I recognized.
There’s already a Con planned for next year, and I’m hopeful that things will go over a little more smoothly. With all the chaos at this show, there’s virtually no way that Reed can’t learn from the problems. A bigger portion of the show floor and even something as simple as better signage will go a long way toward makig sure next year’s Con is a more enjoyable experience. Of course, this is all based on the assumption that the fans who experienced the worst of this show don’t decided to boycott it.
I’m willing to bet that your average comic book fan has gotten his fair share of abuse in his day, so the demand for events like this on the east coast probably outweighs any ill will the fans may hold for Reed Exhibitions and the Javits Center. Here’s hoping that version 1.0 improves upon the beta.
February 28th, 2006 at 10:02 am
I am unaware of whether there has been a Comic-Con at Javits before… but large scale comic conventions are nothing new, so I would have to say that calling it a beta version may be a bit off. Perhaps this one was larger than any ever before in the NYC area, so maybe.
Nonetheless, I wish I had been there, I hope to hit up Wizard World down here in Philly next time around.