Last week (and weekend) was a super fun opportunity for all of those comic fans on the east coast. That’s right. NYCC 2018. The beginning of October every year has fans from all over the world meeting up and walking into the Javitts Center for New York Comic Con. Here are my takeaways from another great year at the convention:
Bendis is STILL Coming
Brian Michael Bendis won New York Comic Con this year. His announcements for DC were many and wonderful. Wonder Comics, his new in-continuity imprint, will feature four new young readers soon-to-be favorites, including: Young Justice, Naomi, Dial H for Hero, and Wonder Twins. Fan-favorite all-star casts, new characters, and some heavy hitting creative teams will help Bendis make comics awesome for teens again. Of Bendis’ four great Jinxworld titles, Pearl has been upgraded from six-issue miniseries to ongoing title. His runs on Action Comics and Superman also have some great new surprises still in store for all of us loyal and excited readers. 2019 is going to be great.
Artist Alley Upgrade
A vast improvement over last year, Artist Alley was much roomier and significantly better air conditioned this year. I met with many, shook hands with a few, and even set up a few interviews with some. Highlights include meeting and scoring swag and signatures from Steve Orlando, Chris Claremont, Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, David Mack, Peter J. Tomasi, and Marv Wolfman. I came home with some fun stories, personalized and autographed Daredevil and Crisis on Infinite Earths prints, and some cool creator-owned books with special messages written on the title pages. Artist Alley is always my favorite part of the convention. Quite a few interviews are being set up right now. Stay tuned to Comic Booked for those behind-the-scenes Q & A sessions in the very, very near future.
Show Room Shenanigans
M. Night Shyamalan’s Glass had a cool exhibit where you could browse a built-to-scale Mr. Glass’s comic book shop, view the trailer for the upcoming film, look at a giant mural painted by comics legend Alex Ross, and even go through a series of questions and answers with trained psychiatrists to find out if you are a villain or a hero. Marvel had a bunch of stuff that was loud, distracting, and poorly attended. And then there were the hundreds of indy creators doing what they do best: talking comics. Expect some more coverage in my next installment of Independent Comic Spotlight.
DC Booth FTW Two Years in a Row
James Gunn is officially writing and directing Suicide Squad 2. Titans premiered on DC Universe and was dark, gritty, and though very, very different, pretty fun. DC gave out about 25 different comics for free, a whole bunch of posters for free, a ton of cool buttons and pins and props for free, and even a limited edition Mr. Freeze action figure. For free. They also had tons of interviews, panels, screenings, and wonderful opportunities to connect with their ever-present and always kind A-list creators. DC pulls out all of the stops, renting out not only a booth or two in the Show Room, but an entire wing of the Javits Center. They also had a giant life-size Lego Aquaman, a bunch of costumes from the movie, a Lego DC Super-Villains demo experience, a ton of cool exclusive Graffiti Designs shirts and comics only available at the con, and tons of other awesomeness I’m forgetting about. Zachary Levi did a signing, a panel, and even walked around the booth screaming “SAY MY NAME!” while taking hundreds of photos with super-pumped fans. He even told a kid wearing a Shazam costume that he looked “dope.” There was a DC cosplayers photo shoot. Jim Lee and Dan DiDio were walking around with Frank Miller and Scott Snyder. There was a five-minute Aquaman trailer. And every single thing DC did this year proved they truly are the best in the biz.
The SyFy Fan Lounge
The Press Lounge was also much more spacious this year and offered a fun look into the competitions’ other behind-the-scenes workings. Freebies included a NYCC exclusive notepad from Moleskin, some SyFy colored pencils and coloring postcards, and a cool t-shirt. The food was great. The drinks were cold and aplenty. And SyFy really does know how to treat its fans. A great reprieve and source of calm right next to all of the great chaos of a comic con.
In Closing…
So there you have it. Tons of great cosplay. Tons of great comics. And so, so much swag. Were you there? Were you not? We’d love to hear from you about your favorite parts of NYCC, whether you were there in reality, there in costume, or there in spirit. See you next year at New York Comic Con 2019!
