By Diana Lee LaBrecque
There is only one event that can bring Stephen King and the Karate Kid together. There is only one way that Chewbacca, Gary Coleman and Hayden Panetierre can all be considered A-list stars. There is only one reason why overpriced food and a too-close-for-comfort crowd is ever okay.
What is this fantastic realm? What other-wordly dimension can possibly hold such a plethora of possibility? All of this and more existed at the 2nd Annual New York Comic Con February 23-25th at the famous Jacob Javits Center. The three-day convention brought in thousands more than the expected 10,000 attendees. With storm troopers as mock security guards and a different Darth Vader at every corner, this event had something special for every comic book, anime, sci-fi fan in the tri-state area.
The convention included a day-long Dungeons & Dragons tournament, autograph signings, an overwhelmingly large comic book artists alley, an Anime Awards ceremony and a tradeshow collectors hall. Not to mention that unique panels and workshops were running almost every half hour. Popular panels included Kevin Smith’s Q & A, Battlestar Galactica with Number Six and Baltar, Stephen King’s talk of Dark Towers, and Buffy the Vampire Slayer with Drusilla and Kendra.
Prepaid passes were necessary to get in each day but the $45.00 weekend pass was also an option. Immediately greeted by a staged Jedi fight and the thousands upon thousands of other comic lovers, it was difficult at times to comfortably maneuver around the center. Though the convention’s organization and crowd control was a little weak (even with the strict Troopers) one thing that the convention did well was make money. There were grunts from the fans but they still coughed up the forty dollars per autograph and eight bucks for personal pizza.
Though most Comic Coners opted to dress as civilians there were a large number that were suited as their alter egos. The most popular costumes included Harlequin, Poisen Ivy, Joker, Jenga-Fett, Obi-Wan, Wonder Woman and Wolverine. There were no self-conscious training Jedis at this Con. Everyone was at ease and in their element as they took advantage to meet their film and comic heroes. The most recognizable names included: Stephen King, Kevin Smith, Wes Craven, Stephen Colbert, Stan Lee and Frank Miller.
One surprise of the weekend was the announcement of Richard Branson (founder of the international Virgin enterprise)merging his creative talents with the Sci-Fi network to start the highly anticipated Virgin Comics. His latest project will create and distribute comic books and graphic novels and get in line to compete with Marvel and DC Comics. Followers of this new line may be hesitant at first so as not to be marked as a comic ‘Virgin’ but Branson is guaranteeing exciting new characters and a new popular franchise.
The artists and celebrities were eager to give their followers sound advice about entering the comic book and film business. Kevin Smith, in his especially candid panel, told his packed room “If you wanna be a good filmmaker go to film school. But if you wanna be me-f*ck it.”
All-in-all the event was “crackin’ sweet” and a real success where slayers, Jedis and Trekkies came together and openly spoke Klingon and Buffyspeak without any judgment. Visit www.nycomiccon.com for a more in depth look at this year’s convention.