I read that not enough "regular" people were writing about this year's NYCC. I'm gonna dash off some thoughts, because I don't work for a news outlet
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I was happy to meet you, though - but yeah, you're right about the bathrooms. I think a big part of it was the awful way foot traffic was managed (which is to say, not at all), but ... maybe there should be a ban on costume changes in there?
I've been to other cons that had green rooms for cosplayers. I think that works a lot better than people in the bathroom; I noticed the same thing, and this year with NYAF there at the same time, it was much worse.
Here's the thing... for people like us, who have been to San Diego and other comic cons, we have a high standard, and we know what a good convention looks like. So our opinion of the NY one is going to take a dive (I think the show itself is fine... but 100% agree on the craphole that is the Javitz).
However... to most NYC-based geeks and/or their families and friends-- who have never been to a real Comic Con (usually the best we get is those crappy Big Apple shows set up in danky hotels), who can't afford to go to San Diego, etc-- this is HEAVEN. They love this show, it means everything to them
( ... )
Yeah, I'm with you on this! I know it's just one of those it-is-what-it-is situations. And I know that 90% of attendees love it.
But people like me will stay away, and I'm sure I speak for others here, too. Dave and I both agreed that we would NOT recommend this convention to casual observers, especially those with children. Maybe that's not fair, but it just felt like a recipe for stress, and a potential turn-off for those new to comics.
The biggest aspect of this Con-- and even San Diego and others-- that would turn off new comic readers is how little of the convention revolves around comic books. But if you like costumes, huge videogames booth, etc... it's the bomb.
On the plus side, the dealers section for comics on the far end had some great deals on trades and back issues. A smart comic shopper could have really cleaned up!
I have fun explaining this to my friends. We're mainly anime geeks, so we see a convention labeled 'Anime Convention' we can be damn sure that it will be chock full of anime. The first time I took them all to NYCC (last year) they were dismayed by the lack of comic stuff and the seemingly endless stream of video games and media.
One turned to me and said "But I thought you said this was a Comic Convention. Why are there video games everywhere?" (they are not video gamers, sadly). It was a disappointing experience for them (and something I continually warn them will happen at SDCC, but they brush me off saying 'Its so BIG of course it will!' >.>)
I found out on Sunday that there WAS a bathroom on the other side of the convention hall! I wish I had known that all weekend...
I too got by bringing healthy snacks to get me through the day without spending any money on or having to eat overpriced crap, and I was definitely thankful for my refillable water bottle when I saw how much they were charging!
Every convention has a different vibe and it took me till Sunday to figure out how to sell my wares to people at NYCC, but eventually I did figure it out and it ended up being profitable for me. However, if it hadn't been, I don't think I would even be halfway considering coming back next year. ESPECIALLY after finding out they charge for tables and chairs! WTF is up with that?
When Zane was able to come cover me on Sunday so I could "enjoy" the con, I had such an impossible time finding out anything about the programming I ended up never leaving the table anyway.
I was pretty underwhelmed this year, moreso than other years. I had mixed feelings about the fact that they put Artists' Alley in a different room. They didn't hand out programs when you got your badge, an they didn't have them out anywhere for people to grab-- you had to specifically ask for one, or at least I did when I got there on Thursday. Even though I was chiefly LOOKING for AA when I got there, I couldn't find it because it was in another room and not very well-labeled. I did two whole rounds of the main floor before I saw the sign pointing to "more!" Many people I know who aren't familiar with comic conventions never got in there because they didn't know it existed at all. The same was true for the Anime dealers' tables-- I didn't even find out they existed until late on Saturday. I felt like things weren't really organized in an easily-findable way, except for the book publishers being all together, and Artists' Alley had so much space between the tables as to appear unfriendly, while the main floor had not enough
( ... )
I had quite a few panels I wished to attend, but getting into them wasn't happening. Since I had interviews in the morning I wasn't able to grab a seat first thing the convention opened like everyone else. >.> At one point I tried to attend a panel for a person I just finished interviewing--I was there 2 hours ahead of time and couldn't even get a spot on the 'waiting list' line! That annoyed and frustrated me more than anything else.
I found it kind of irritating that there was two 'artist alleys'. The 'professional' one--with those who are published artist/indy creators and the 'non-professional' one--for the fan artists/creators. Both labeled Artist Alley and both jack crazy to get to.
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I don't know where else costume changes could really occur. A panel room, set up as a sort of dressing room, maybe?
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However... to most NYC-based geeks and/or their families and friends-- who have never been to a real Comic Con (usually the best we get is those crappy Big Apple shows set up in danky hotels), who can't afford to go to San Diego, etc-- this is HEAVEN. They love this show, it means everything to them ( ... )
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But people like me will stay away, and I'm sure I speak for others here, too. Dave and I both agreed that we would NOT recommend this convention to casual observers, especially those with children. Maybe that's not fair, but it just felt like a recipe for stress, and a potential turn-off for those new to comics.
Reply
The biggest aspect of this Con-- and even San Diego and others-- that would turn off new comic readers is how little of the convention revolves around comic books. But if you like costumes, huge videogames booth, etc... it's the bomb.
On the plus side, the dealers section for comics on the far end had some great deals on trades and back issues. A smart comic shopper could have really cleaned up!
Reply
One turned to me and said "But I thought you said this was a Comic Convention. Why are there video games everywhere?" (they are not video gamers, sadly). It was a disappointing experience for them (and something I continually warn them will happen at SDCC, but they brush me off saying 'Its so BIG of course it will!' >.>)
Reply
I too got by bringing healthy snacks to get me through the day without spending any money on or having to eat overpriced crap, and I was definitely thankful for my refillable water bottle when I saw how much they were charging!
Every convention has a different vibe and it took me till Sunday to figure out how to sell my wares to people at NYCC, but eventually I did figure it out and it ended up being profitable for me. However, if it hadn't been, I don't think I would even be halfway considering coming back next year. ESPECIALLY after finding out they charge for tables and chairs! WTF is up with that?
When Zane was able to come cover me on Sunday so I could "enjoy" the con, I had such an impossible time finding out anything about the programming I ended up never leaving the table anyway.
Reply
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I found it kind of irritating that there was two 'artist alleys'. The 'professional' one--with those who are published artist/indy creators and the 'non-professional' one--for the fan artists/creators. Both labeled Artist Alley and both jack crazy to get to.
Reply
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