Your Mini New York Comic-Con Guide

The following post relates to the second annual New York Comic-Con, which starts today at the Jacob K. Javits Center in New York City, and goes through Sunday. An ongoing collective memory of this show will be posted at the top of this blog for the next few days, and then moved into the archives.

While this guide is for those in the region who are thinking about going or those already committed to the event who are in the process of going, please note: it looks like the con will be extremely well-attended, and both Saturday and Sunday tickets are either off the table or highly unlikely. The comics news site Newsarama has the latest, and should be checked for further updates, particularly if you're not pre-registered. If you're a pro and planned on dropping in, remember that non-participating professionals are being charged, and the availability of tickets isn't guaranteed for them, either.

Here are some quick thoughts and broad suggestions.

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Five Questions to be Answered at the Show

1. Will everything function smoothly?
This has to be asked. One the one hand I don't know a single person who thinks there will be a repeat of last year's over-attendance fiasco from the administrative side. It is likely all efforts have been made to ensure this won't happen again. On the other, there will be a storm of people as indicated by warnings about no on-site tickets over the weekend (definitely Saturday, maybe Sunday). So those precautions will be tested.

2. Will DC announce a major on-line initiative?
This guy seems to think it's possible.

3. What does the next 15-month period in mainstream comics look like?
With one superhero mega-project just completed and another one just announced, the various big American company panels should provide clues as to the immediate shape and direction of the superhero-focused comic book Direct Market. As a major show poised to preview the summer comic book season, NYCC should benefit as a place for these companies to announce teasers and initiatives.

4. How long will Jhonen Vasquez's line be?
I've had a remarkable three people e-mail me wondering about this out loud. Vasquez has very passionate fans, and I can't recall him making an east coast con appearance before.

5. Will the amount of business done match the size of the crowds?
The show is guaranteed to be packed. That doesn't always mean that crowds are buying. If they are buying, I don't think last year's show gave us a solid clue as to what kinds of things sold better than others. So it should be interesting to see if the show begins to form an identity that way.

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Five Pros to Visit

1. Evan Dorkin
It's not a New York con unless you get to talk to Evan Dorkin. Track him down at the Slave Labor booth, and encourage him to do something with his great, recent monster drawings.

2. Miriam Katin
A really nice lady and formidable cartoonist making an appearance despite her publisher staying home, Ms. Katin will be making panel appearances and doing signings at the MoCCA booth.

3. Jim Shooter
Mr. Shooter is listed as appearing in Artist's Alley, and I'm sort of curious as to what the heck he's doing there.

4. Gary Panter
Also apparently in Artist's Alley is one of the greatest cartoonists in the world; buy anything he's selling.

5. David Mazzucchelli
He's a guest of the show, and I've always wanted to meet David Mazzucchelli.

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Five Comics Things to Do Outside the Show

1. Beasts! signing at GRNY
Every cool cartoonist/illustrator/painter in New York not found here...

2. PictureBox signing at Rocketship
... will likely be here. Many will do both.

3. PopCultureShock afterparty
Go to somebody's party -- after, before or during.

4. Support your local retailer
It is a great kindness to visit a comics shop during a comics convention, and if you're from out of town it may be easier to shop for some things at a couple of shops than at the show. Definitely call ahead to see if they're open.

5. Act out the climactic street battle in Civil War #7 with your friends
First one to cry loses.

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Five Panels to See

1. ICv2.com's conference
Well, it was yesterday, but it still would have been interesting to see what a paid-for seminar looks like at a comics show.

2. Comics Publishing Review & Outlook 2007
Lot of heavy hitters here; getting them to say something substantive will be the trick.

3. NYCC Editors Buzz Forum
Another interesting group; I'm suspicious that any such panel could be as hype free as described, but I like a lot of these folks as talkers.

4. Mothers & Daughters: Female Graphic Novelists and the FamilyGreat mix of cartoonists, both in terms of approach and generation-wise.

5. Living to tell the tale: Graphic Novel as Memoir
A really good moderator here.

If I were there, I would also probably attend the blogger panel (which I hope gets beyond asking the audience if they blog and telling the stories of how the panelists started blogging), the Jeff Smith spotlight (I know he's an advertiser here, but Smith has a pretty stellar record when it comes to making creative and business decisions), the one with all the funny people on it, and maybe whichever panels the mainstream companies are making their various publishing announcements. But certainly to each his own. A full list is here.

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Five Non-Comics Things to Do Outside the Show

1. Eat
You're in New York! If there's even only a tiny foodie buried deep within your soul you owe it to yourself to find someplace nice to eat for dinner. Listen to the locals, and try something you can't get back home.

2. Drink
New York has maybe the greatest bar scene in the world, so it's a perfect place to find somewhere to sit down with friends and bend elbows after a long day of conventioneering. Bars in New York can remain open until four AM, which is fine as long as you're not speaking at 9 AM the next day.

3. Go see a show
Support another no-longer-a-mass medium by seeing something live and in person.

4. Walk around
The area around the Javits Center is sort of the pits as I recall, and it may just be too darn cold out, and you may be tired, but if you find yourself in a position where none of these things apply you should walk a few blocks and enjoy the city and clear your head. No place like it in the world.

5. Kul-tcha
If you're in town an extra day or two and your host goes to work, get up off of that sofa!

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Five Predictions

1. A small snafu or hint of same that turns out to be temporary and not that big a deal.
2. A lot of talk about how various older icons look health-wise, as there seem to be a lot of them out this weekend.
3. Lots of people trading Stephen Colbert encounters like currency.
4. Solid to great attendance but wildly varying stories of success sales-wise.
5. A generally successful show, with some noting its huge mainstream tendencies.

Please note: I suck at predictions, even ones where I get to hedge.

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So that's it, have fun. .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) I expect a show with a lot of energy and buzz. It should also be slammed with attendees, which this morning makes me slightly more disappointed the movie angle is played up than I usually am about that kind of thing as I think NYCC could likely succeed as an all-comics show, but it's not my business to make such decisions for people.
 
posted 2:06 am PST | Permalink
 

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