March
1 NYCC wrap up, part 1

The inaugural New York Comic-Con is in the books, but we'll take some time to fill in some details and thoughts about how the show went from the safe distance of rainy Los Angeles.

The crowds on Saturday will dominate most of the discussion, especially for those who had trouble getting on the floor. There was a fair bit of grumbling as pros and press had to stand in the same line as fans. Exhibitors did a little better, but still had trouble. One exec at a top comics publishing company said he had to remind the show staff who he was and threaten to not pay the remainder of what the company owed for its exhibition space if he didn't get on the floor immediately. His request was granted, but again it shows the sort of problems that everyone was having.

A lot of this may come down to show organizer Reed Exhibitions, a sister company to the publisher of Variety, being more experienced with trade shows than consumer shows. By their nature, attendees at trade shows preregister as attending is essential to doing business and the often high-cost of attending is paid for by their employers or is a business expense. A fan show where tickets cost $25 and the decision to attend can be a spontaneous one is another matter. A lot of San Diego attendees have learned to preregister and plan ahead to avoid lines and delays, but that's harder to guage for a new show like this one. The staff at NY Comic Con are definitely working on getting more space for next year's show and given the size and experience of the Reed Exhibitions staff it's almost certain that these issues will be much better handled next year. Next year's show is already set for Feb. 23-25.