NYCC Wraps Up

The second annual New York Comic-Con is over and out. Overall, the con made some big leaps and bounds in terms of execution over last year’s inaugural show. Crowds were for the most part well managed. Saturday saw a long line of fans and pros (but not press) queue up outside to enter. The line moved along fairly quickly and soon was followed by no delays at all, though it took some as long as an hour to get into the exhibit hall.
The con floor was much larger than last year, especially with Artist Ally moved to a separate hall on the level above the main hall. The number of exhibitors didn’t seem to be much greater that last year, though the aisles were much wider and the crowd was more manageable even at its peak.
There were a few notable absences, namely indie powerhouses Fantagraphics and Drawn & Quarterly. Unlike San Diego, the con remains has a large number of b2b business occurring, with more businesses trolling the floor and looking for partners and services as they would in a trade show. Programming was solid, with plenty of choices, though many panels seemed underattended. While it's possible they were underattended because they're on a different floor from the exhibit hall, the same is true of every other big show, including San Diego. Making fans more aware of the panels should be a goal for the con.
The Hollywood presence was limited compared to San Diego, but the publishing field had a huge presence at the show as mainstream publishers go deeper into the graphic novel field.
Stephen King’s appearance Saturday was a major highlight of the show, with King speaking on the panel and doing media interviews for the Dark Tower comic published by Marvel.
Saturday night was party night, with events unfolding at bars and pubs across the city. The hangover was evident on the faces of more than a few pros and fans Sunday.
The show has a bright future, though more changes are in store as the show will move to April next year. That should help bring in more Hollywood studios eager to promote their summer releases. It will change the nature of the show of the publishing end, with comics publishers having to switch from announcing their summer projects to emphasizing the lineup for fall, which is a big season for book sales.