New York Comic Con – An Overview

Another NYCC has come and gone, and I’m left with mixed feelings. This is the 17th NYCC I’ve attended, so that means I’ve been going since the first one in 2006. Every year I go I’m hoping they will improve things, and this year, again they haven’t.

Due to circumstances, I could only attend 2 days of the 4-day con. On Saturday I went by myself because I had some press rooms to attend. Those are always nice and organized. That is all that is organized here.

I get to the Javitz Center and planning on hanging out at the press room until the con officially opens. I walked in and was told I had to wait in line with everyone else. And it was crowded. Now I don’t expect special treatment, but I should be able to go to the press room. So that ticked me off to start with.

I hit the floor and the front is packed with all types of anime and manga. I’m not knocking those things, as I’m a fan as well, but a couple of years ago, these were video game companies. Meanwhile, there are few comic book publishers. Marvel had their usual booth, but the other publishers were either not there or had a small, and I mean small, booth.

I then walked around the floor to the vendors, and the number of comic vendors was getting smaller and smaller as well. It’s kind of depressing. The source of a lot of this pop culture is just going away.

But my faith was restored when I went downstairs to the Artist Alley. It was packed! Not just by the creative talent there, but by fans. This is what makes it a comic convention.

One thing that NYCC couldn’t help was the lack of actors in the press rooms for the media. Unfornatually there the actor’s strike is still going on because of the corporate greed of the studios.

On a positive, I got to see some friends I haven’t seen in a long time. It’s always nice to catch up. But it makes me appreciate a con like the Baltimore Comic Con, where the main focus is still the comic books, with little to no media presence.

More and more I go, I truly wonder if it’s just me acting like a grumpy old man. Or maybe I’m just getting tired of working the con. I’m sure a lot of con-goers are reading this and don’t agree with me. I can only go by my own experience.

New York Comic Con will return in 2024, on October 17-20th.