Nerds Assemble at Comic Con
By Andrew DiLorenzo
Christmas came early this year for as the sixth annual New York Comic Con took over the Javits Convention Center this past weekend. Over 100,000 people of all ages attended the four day event, which consisted of panel discussions, special events for children, artist signings and the first showing of video games that will not be seen in stores for a while.
The convention center was set up with over 2,000 aisles featuring booths that mostly sold merchandise consisting of apparel, toys and video games.
“I bought about 200 dollars’ worth of stuff. Optimus [Prime], GIJoe, and Spawn, just to name a few,” said Matthew Campanella, a first time Comic Con attendee.
While the name of the event has the word “comic” in it, the convention itself is starting to draw away from it. Around the convention center were banks of monitors connected to different video game platforms; and inside those platforms were demo versions of new titles that will be ready for sale in early 2012. Some of those titles includedPrototype 2, Resident Evil: Operation Raccoon City, and the much ballyhooed The Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword, which is a Nintendo Wii exclusive.
“I waited almost an hour and a half to play [The Legend of Zelda] Skyward Sword and it was worth it, visually and aesthetically,” said Nicholas Burger, a fan who played the game.
In regards to film and television, there were two panel discussions on Saturday night that featured the biggest titles within the fandom community: AMC’s The Walking Dead and Marvel Studios’ The Avengers. With seats filling up quickly, many fans that waited on a line that stretched over 100 feet were saddened when they heard they could not get into both events. “I was determined to get in, and not believe what they [the staff at Comic Con] were telling me. You’re waiting for nothing was what they kept shouting, but I didn’t care. I waited for two hours, but still, I didn’t get in,” said Lucia Rossi, a fan of both works. The panels, both hosted by G4TV’s Chris Hardwick, featured a discussion with the cast and crew of both projects, followed by never-before-seen footage and ending with fan questions.
Fans also got the chance to finally be able to meet some of their favorite comic book artists. They met them in a room separate from the show floor, aptly named “Artists’ Alley.” Some notable artists included Tony Moore, Jim Lee, and Michael Watkins. “This is my fourth time at [New York] Comic Con, and it’s great. You see a lot of people and a lot of costumes,” Watkins said.
The biggest draw at Comic Con was the different costumes that most fans wore. Whether it was the Ghostbusters, Superman, Chewbacca or a Zombie girl, they were definitely noticed by the other attendees. “It’s my third time here, but my first time dressed up. It’s an interesting costume, so it is cool to be stopped every five seconds to have my picture taken,” said Larry Viezel, who was dressed as the “Sex Robot” from the fourth season of the Whitest Kids You Know. “It’s a win for me.”
Now that the New York Comic Con has come and gone, those who indulged can take with them many memories of their favorite moments from the weekend. For artist Watkins, his memory was very interesting. “New York Comic Con is the only place where you can see a woman dressed as a naked Lady Gaga yelling at people outside the convention center.”
