February
26 Recovery and Rebound

The crowd situation calmed down late Saturday at New York Comic-Con, but lots of people ended up being turned away. Rough estimates placed the crowd for Saturday only at around 20,000, meaning final attendance figures for the entire show could edge into the 30,000 to 35,000 range. Organizers' public predictions were for 10,000 or so. Next year's show will certainly be looking to expand the floor space.

They 'll also have to look at better management of the space. While the exhibit floor was packed, empty seats were easy to find at most panels. Kevin Smith appeared in the gigantic special events hall, commenting when he came on stage that "Jersey Girl" must have driven away more of his fans than he thought. A later panel for actress Milla Jovovich also filled only a small fraction of the space. The smaller panel rooms were distant from the show floor and the room numbering system at the Javits makes it a little confusing to find them if you're unfamiliar with the facility. Figuring out where room 10C3 is in relattion to 10E3 is not as simple as it sounds.

There was a lot of excitement on the floor, with most fans being obviously most interested in comics. Lots of fans were standing in lines for autographs with big stacks of comics, or prowled Artists Alley looking for original art, sketchbooks and even more autographs. Even Gloria Steinem was here, signing and talking to fans and the press about a comicbook she worked on about caregiving. Most exhibitors said the show was successful for them, with strong sales.

New York's nightlife made for plenty of post-con celebrations ('bar con" for the experienced), with some pros enjoying themselves until deep into the morning hours, long after I was forced to take the train home to get some kind of sleep before coming back today.

There is still a good crowd and buzz on the floor Sunday. A not-unreasonable line of ticket buyers was gathered outside the Javits, though nothing like the crush of Saturday. The weather seemed to be cooperating as well, with sunny skies and reasonable temps for February in New York. The wind at the Javits on the west side of Manhattan is chilling. Programming is much lighter Sunday, with less of interest and few big announcements likely.

The con is a big success. And with dates set for 2007, it looks like it could easily develop into the East Coast answer to San Diego.