The 2ndAnnual Special Edition: NYC Comic Convention took place over the weekend at Pier 94 and for the most part, year two was a success. The premise behind this 2-Day event is to bring it back to its original roots of strictly celebrating our love of comics. No celebrity actors or long lines for photo ops etc. No, this is all about the comics. It’s all about the real reasons why such events like San Diego International and New York Comic Con even exist. Occurring in June is a nice way to kick off summer and serve as a buffer for the big event that takes place in October.
Like any event there are always pros and cons. The biggest change was the venue. Last year this event took place at the Jacob Javits Center, which is home for NYCC. This year it moved slightly north to Pier 94. The pro about this move was a more spacious setting for the vendors and artists alike. The con was the feeling that it wasn’t as clean or bright in appearance as the Javits Center. But that’s simply a matter of taste. The biggest drawback was their make shift panel rooms or theaters which was divided by dark black curtains. Not being soundproof, you could hear what’s going on next door and that hindered the panel experience for many. If ReedPop (the event organizers) wish to continue at Pier 94, may I suggest that they setup one theater on one side of the floor plan and the other on the opposite end. Pier 94 is big but not so big that patrons can’t maneuver with ease.
 |
| Writers Unite panel with Bennett, Pak, Soule and Zub |
As for those panels, the ones I attended ranged from okay to very good. The okay panel was Batman: Are You Ready for Dynamic Action?The professional’s involved were great but if you’re going to use Batman as your hook to bring people into the panel, Batman needs to be discussed. Instead, we got learn more about Catwoman, Gotham Academy and Batgirl with a sprinkle of Black Canary and Constantine, which are not Batman-centric characters. The two best panels had more to do with the business & creative aspects of comics than the characters we read on a weekly and monthly basis. The very best of them was the Writers Unite panel. This panel was hosted by Jim Zub (Conan-Red Sonja) and featured the creative writers of Marguerite Bennett (A-Force), Greg Pak (Batman/Superman) and Charles Soule (Death of Wolverine). They were all engaging and personable, providing the audience with wonderful and inspiring nuggets of information for would be writers.
 |
| Artwork by Alex Maleev |
Some of the things I would like to see added or improved for next year, the aforementioned theater issue by either separating them completely or find better sound proof walls. I think the latter would be easier. I wouldn’t regulate the official artwork for the show to VIP’s only. A signed copy by the artist by all means they should be made available for those who paid for VIP status. But for everyone else, make them available. I talked to a couple of ReedPop employees at the ReedPop store and information booth and they both confirmed that they had to turn away many people (myself included) who wanted to purchase the poster. These are wonderfully inexpensive souvenirs for the fans to get their hands on and display at home. Speaking of such items, it would be nice for SE: NYC to have their own convention exclusives for fans to collect.
In the end, I like so many had a great time and met some great people on both sides of the business. As well as just meeting fans that have a passion for the characters they dress up as with pride. I’m already looking forward to next June but until then, I’ll see you all in October and NYCC.
May the Dork be with you,
JPB
The Dork Knight
