New York Comic Con - Jacob Javits Center,
New York City: April 18-20, 2008
Why is it that overweight men who attend pop culture conventions (such as the NYCC) insist on wearing safari-style vests? You know, the ones with abundant pockets and the “Hey look at me, I’m Allan atermain!” sassy style. Not that I have a problem with these vest as they can be quite handy, particularly when hauling away the free swag gathered at the various booths and tables. I also have no problem with men of questionable skinniness seeing as I am well on my way to joining their ranks. Maybe it’s an issue of practicality; pants pockets are just not as accessible when a man is girthy so the next best thing would be to have your pockets within half an arms reach. Sorry, I had to get this off my chest as it was one of the first things I noticed when entering the exhibitor’s hall. First impressions can be a real pain to ignore. Ok, on with the article.
New York Comic Con (now in its third year) is the second largest popular culture convention in America (next to the San Diego Comic Con) and the only one of sizeable influence that takes place in New York City. The exhibitor’s hall at the NYCC plays host to the latest in comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. The show also boasts endless panels and autograph sessions to give fans a chance to interact with their favorite creators and actors.
This year, the NYCC and IGN.com (considered to be one of the industry's top entertainment and videogame news portals) teamed up to unveil a new feature for the ’08 convention. The Special Events Hall at the Jacob Javits Center was christened the IGN.com Theater. The new venue seats about 3,000 fans and has a stage at the front flanked by two large movie screens. These screens, although not megaplex theatre sized, were impressive in their own right and could easily be seen by all in attendance. The sound was equally impressive and having front row seats for the presentations (thanks to the all powerful press pass), the speakers made my clothes ruffle under the thunderous bass. So much was going on in this theatre (over the three day convention) that to cover it all, you would need a small army of reporters and photographers. I hope The Fedora Chronicles can have a dedicated presence just for this next year as the inside information and juicy Hollywood tidbits are too good to pass up! Here is a brief list of this years presentations: X-Files: I Want To Believe, Doctor Who, Battlestar Galactica, Disney’s Prince Caspian and WALL•E, Lucasfilm’s Star Wars and Indiana Jones, Wanted, Hellboy 2, The Incredible Hulk, Speed Racer, Will Eisner's The Spirit, and Journey to the Center of the Earth 3D. Also, the IGN.com Theatre hosted T.M.Revolution's first concert in the United States since 2004. T.M.Revolution is known around the world for "Invoke," the theme song to the anime series Gundam Seed, "Ignited", the theme to Gundam Seed Destiny, and "Heart of Sword", the ending theme to the anime Rurouni Kenshin.
The presentation I was most looking forward to was the one by Lucasfilm. With all of the new Star Wars stuff coming out (games, television projects, and a new animated feature film) coupled with the pending release of Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull, this should have been a slam dunk in terms of “Wow Factor”…but it wasn’t. The production went something like this: Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars, Indiana Jones, Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars, Star Wars. It almost felt like they forgot about the new Indy movie and had to shoe-horn it in at the last minute. The moderator talked about the release of The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles on DVD and briefly mentioned tidbits regarding some new ‘Crystal Skull’ and ‘Making Of’ books coming out. No mention of the long awaited video game and only scant mention of the new film. In fact, the most we got was a showing of the previously released trailer, no new footage at all. The Star Wars portion, although lengthy, was all fluff and no filler. The only points worth mentioning were when they showed in-game footage of The Force Unleashed (wicked sweet looking game!) and the surprise appearance of Seth Green and Matthew Senreich (creators of television series Robot Chicken). Their tie to Lucasfilm is the Robot Chcken episode dedicated to Star Wars, aptly titled Robot Chicken: Star Wars. Both guys were funny and engaging, regaling the audience with stories on how they got involved with George Lucas and eventually obtained permission to do their Star Wars special. Outside of that, the presentation was quite the let-down.
Disney upstaged Lucasfilm in their showcase of two upcoming feature films; The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian and WALL•E. Both had new exclusive footage just for the NYCC (more so with WALL•E) and there were even some of the ‘Caspian’ cast members on hand to greet the crowd. Ben Barnes (Prince Caspian), William Moseley (Peter Pevensie), and Peter Dinklage (Trumpkin) all talked about the film, their respective roles, and fielded questions from the audience. WALL•E, the latest and greatest animated film from Disney/Pixar, is sure to please. The robotic characters are going to be instant cinematic favorites, rivaling R2 D2 and C3PO in popularity amongst the Jr. movie goers. I could go on about this movie but don’t want to give too much away. Disney was kind enough to give us several extended scenes to watch, all of which I look forward to seeing again. I want you all to experience this film with the same freshness and wonder as displayed by the main character WALL•E, and you’ll be glad I didn’t write more.
Exhibitors Hall
This year, the exhibitor’s hall (as estimated by officials for the show) occupied 270,000 square feet and accommodated 450 exhibitors along with an estimated 60,000 attendees. When the convention first opened in February, 2006 it occupied 80,000 square feet, included 192 exhibitors, and had a total attendance of 33,000. I was at the first show and according to my perception, the show’s organizers had no idea what to expect. Lines were out of control, the exhibitor’s hall was shut down due to overcrowding, and the general outlook was bleak for this fledgling convention. I skipped the 2007 show in fear of a repeat from 2006. Thankfully, the show pulled through and came back, far better than I expected. Lines, although long, were orderly and moved rather quickly. There was a good deal of security and other staff on hand to ensure the fluid movement of fans to and from the exhibitor’s hall, IGN.com Theatre, and the various panel discussions and meeting rooms. The isles in the exhibitor’s hall were wide and well laid out. People tended to congregate at the ends of rows or in the middle of major intersections, causing some delays in the people flow. The vendors were well spaced (not too many of the same thing in one area) and the Artist’s Alley was populated with fantastically creative and original small press publishers and artists.
The content of the show itself was something I didn’t expect though. From the toys, cartoons, comics, and other pop-culture media, the Japanese influence was obvious. I must admit, I don’t get the manga or anime style. Not that it’s bad, I just don’t like it much. I prefer my characters to have the traditional western look and follow the formulas I am used to. Maybe I need more exposure to this style to better appreciate the attraction. That is something I will have to work on for the next show.
Also, there were very few Trekkies at the show. I can only recall one small group of costumers, smartly dressed like the original Enterprise crew and only two or three Klingons. Traditionally, these fans were the staple of any sci-fi or comic book convention. Nowadays, the fans seem more subdued in their outer geekness, opting instead to embrace their actual age and move on to other things. Costuming as a whole seemed down at this show. There was of course the requisite Batman, Spider-Man, and Captain America along with a small population of Star Wars Storm Troopers and Jedi Knights. Fantasy/gothic inspired costumes were also worn but only by a few. I always enjoy the costumes people construct; some elaborate and well thought out while others seem to almost be a joke, hastily thrown together and ridiculous in appearance. I hope the lack of participation in costuming was only this year as it is regularly a highlight for me and my digital camera.
I am looking forward to the next show, February 6-8, 2009, as The Fedora Chronicles staff plans on renting space (along with a few yet-to-be-named FC vendors) and presenting ourselves as official NYCC exhibitors! We want to showcase our site, Café Press items, and our talented group of vendors. We will keep you all posted on the show details as they become available. Until then, keep your chins up and your fedoras on!
Coverage by Doug Palumbo - "Webhead73" and Eric "Renderking" Fisk
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