Every year, tens of thousands of fans fill the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center for the annual New York Comic Con (NYCC), an event that began only in 2006 but has rapidly gained a loyal following. A fan convention dedicated to all forms of entertainment, New York Comic Con is organized by ReedPOP and attracts people from all over the world, its attendance numbers jumping higher with every year. What started as a convention with 33,000 people grew over the years into a four-day convention that attracted 116,000 fans last year, with an ever-expanding space.
Every year, NYCC brings in a number of notable guests for the convention, including in the past Joss Whedon, Kevin Smith and Stan Lee, among many others. This year, notable names included James Cosmo and Jerome Flynn of Game of Thrones, Gillian Anderson from the X-Files, John Morton, R. L. Stine, David Duchovny, Kevin Bacon, Lev Grossman and more.
The center was divided into three levels: the Main Stage and panel rooms, the Artist Alley where artists displayed and sold their works, and the main Show Floor where most of the action took place.
Although it is easy to get carried away with excitement when considering one’s options for a full day at Comic Con, there is a significant drawback: despite paying a considerable sum for admission, more money must be shelled out at the event if one would like to get autographs from big-name guests. The vendors and exhibitors at Comic Con are also quite tempting, but unfortunately pricey.
There was an overabundance of free entertainment as well though, ranging from panels, screenings and autograph opportunities to wandering around the huge Javits Center and seeing all of the costumes that fans had come up with. Although Comic Con is mainly for adults, activities geared towards children included a panel with the creators of the popular series Arthur.
As an English major, I gravitated towards literary events, and one of the highlights of Sunday’s Comic Con schedule for me was a panel titled “The Magic of Storytelling,” led by M.D. Payne and featuring Lemony Snicket (Series of Unfortunate Events), David Lubar (Weenies series), Matthew Cody (Will in Scarlet), Shannon Hale (Austenland), George O’Connor (Olympians) and Scott Campell (If Dogs Run Free). The writers discussed their writing processes, brainstorming ideas, channeling their inner child for children’s fiction, and creating believable characters that come to life on the page.
Following the panel, the authors were available for a free meet and greet, which gave me the opportunity to chat with Shannon Hale–whose book (Austenland) was recently released as a movie–about her book’s perspective on the Jane Austen fandom.
Meeting Lemony Snicket (aka Daniel Handler), the most popular of the panelists, was, quite honestly, unforgettable. Remaining true to his mysterious reputation, every word he spoke had a degree of jest to it, and when he took photos with fans, it was with his face towards them with a half-frightened expression instead of smiling at the camera. This did give fans the ability to stare into his eyes though – until I realized that his hand was reaching out to play with the feathers and veil on my headband.
Perhaps the best part of Comic Con is the creativity of the fans, who turn up by the thousands in elaborate costumes and makeup. It is easy to get swept up in the crowd, feeding off each other’s enthusiasm and showing appreciation for others’ costumes and efforts. And when the day is over and Comic Con is closing, there is a feeling of solidarity in seeing other costumed people walking around the streets of New York. Even if they are complete strangers, you might smile at them as if to say, That was pretty awesome, wasn’t it?