This past weekend was the New York Comic Con. With 151, 000 people in attendance, NYCC 2014 officially surpassed the San Diego Comic Con to become the largest comic book convention in the country. Members of Pop-Break.com, including yours truly, were among that record breaking number. People from all across the country came together to dress up in elaborate costumes, buy crazy swag, and hopefully meet some major stars either at signings or in panels. There was obviously no shortage of things to do or see. Multiple panels covering a wide array of topics occurred several times an hour across the Javits Center for four days straight. The showroom was packed to gills with booths selling merchandise or promoting a major event. It honestly didn’t matter where you were from, what your entertainment interests were, or even your age. There really was something for everybody.
Of course, regardless of how many companies come to Comic Con for whatever reason, it’s still a comic book convention at its core. Artist alley is always a huge deal and diehard fans bring in their packet protected comic books for possible autographing. Yet with all the different entertainment sources present, Comic Con really is more of a Mass Media Extravaganza. Though it doesn’t get the same amount of attention as movies, television shows, and print media, video games are very much a part of this. The upcoming Lego Batman 3 even had a Main Stage panel on Saturday, the biggest day of the Con. Companies like Square Enix, Namco Bandai, and Capcom had their own panels as well (thought not on the Main Stage) and immensely popular booths. Square Enix even used this Con to show off some really awesome figures of famous DC and Marvel comic superheroes and super villains. So in honor of last weekend’s record breaking convention, and Pop-Break’s still continuing coverage, this week I’m looking back at one of North America’s biggest events.
Since NYCC and SDCC are both major entertainment conventions that frequently feature similar guests, it’s only natural to draw comparisons between the two. Such is a thing actually happens all the time at a convention. The truth is though, once you go down beyond the surface, the two are quite different. For starters, NYCC is a much younger Con. The first NYCC was in 2006, which is basically a child compared to the now 44 year old SDCC. Clearly it has come a long way in an incredibly short amount of time. NYCC is also entirely for-profit, owned by well-known events organizer Reed Exhibitions and operated by its division ReedPOP. SDCC, meanwhile, is entirely non-profit, and owned by Comic-Con International. So while their purposes couldn’t be anymore similar, their financial backing and history couldn’t be more different.
Now that that’s out of the way, let’s actually dive into the very first NYCC. It was first held was February 24th-26th at the Jacob K. Javits Center, where it is still held today. Only about 33,000 people went and Kevin Smith, Frank Miller, and George R. R. Martin were the big guests. For reference, A Feast For Crows had come out only one year prior, Clerks II was to come out in a few months, and Frank Miller, who’s always been a legend, was even bigger became Sin City came to theaters in 2005 and 300 was on its way. Feels like a lifetime ago, doesn’t it? With these major names, notoriety was obviously through the roof. However, Reed Exhibitions had never done a comic convention before and didn’t know what to expect. They overestimated how much space they had and underestimated how many people would actually want to go. Yeah, like the east coast equivalent of SDCC was ever going to be a light affair. The end result was a dangerously packed center that both required fire department presence and a mass turning away of people who spent hours waiting in line. Not exactly the best start!
Fortunately for Reed Exhibitions (and everyone on the eastern seaboard), NYCC 2006 was enough of a success to justify a return in 2007. To better prepare for the crowds, more space was rented out of the Javits center. Yet with 19,000 more attendees than the previous year, the available space was still crowded and people waited hours to get in. This ended up becoming a trend for NYCC with each recurring year. A ton of people would come, meaning more space had to be allocated the next year, which then caused even more people to show up, further requiring bigger spaces. NYCC was also expanded to a four day endeavor in 2011, likely to both accommodate the growing attention and further regulate how many people will come and when. This is also the same year various e-sports competitions were held using games like Star Craft II and Counter-Strike. Now, NYCC takes up nearly every corner of the Javits center to accommodate this globally recognized event.
I have always viewed Comic Cons (or any entertainment convention) with a sense of wonder. I’ve consumed a lot of entertainment in my life, so to see all of the major stars and companies convene in one area is such an amazing concept to me. Whenever a friend told me they went, even if it was just for a day, I’d always feel really jealous. That’s why when I went for the first time this year as a member of the press, I was absolutely ecstatic just to be there. Was it oppressively crowded and the food too expensive? Oh you bet, but it was absolutely worth it. I attended panels for some of my favorite shows, interviewed well known television actors, and got an insane amount of autographs. Plus, I dressed up as Jimmy Pesto Jr. while my fiancé’s cosplay was Tina Belcher from Bob’s Burgers, and people loved it. It was a first experience I will definitely never forget.
The truth is, video games will never become one of the major focuses of Comic Con. We have E3 and Gamescom to fill that need. Yet for as long as Comic Con exists, they will always have a welcomed place among comics, movies, and television shows. Heck, a significant amount of people choose video game characters to cosplay as. This year’s Comic Con organizers even encouraged people to bring their Nintendo 3DS’s to connect with each other and send Miis through street pass. Clearly people took them up on their offer, myself included. But when you consider how this is now the biggest comic convention in North America, it’s a mystery how much more the Javits center will allow. 151,000 people already filled up that space pretty handily. Whatever happens though, there’s one deniable truth: If you hold a Comic Con with the latest movies, shows, comics, and games, people WILL come in droves. Most likely in costume.
Related Articles
Remembering the Classics: E3 (Luke Kalamar)
New York Comic Con: The Cosplay Show (Logan J. Fowler)
Pop-Preview: 10 Reasons Why We Are Excited for New York Comic Con (Staff)
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Luke Kalamar is Pop-Break.com’s television and every Saturday afternoon you can read his retro video game column, Remembering the Classics. He covers Game of Thrones, Saturday Night Live and The Walking Dead (amongst others) every week. As for as his career and literary standing goes — take the best parts of Spider-man, Captain America and Luke Skywalker and you will fully understand his origin story.
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