NY Comic Con & Anime Festival 2011: General Impressions

The writing has been on the wall for a while now. Since New York Comic Con started in 2006 it was clear they wanted to be the East coast version of the San Diego Comic Convention. New York Comic Con went straight to being a big con even in their first year with a cavalcade of big name guests and over 30,000 attendees. But this year with an estimated attendance of over 100,000 it is clear that while it has still not caught up to San Diego Comic Convention it seems that NYCC has finally gone from being a big con to a megacon. This is for the better and the worse. I know that I heard more grumbling than ever before from people I knew on twitter. For some people this year the convention crossed a line and has become simply unpleasant. But for others it was finally reaching its true potential and they reaped the rewards of that growth.

As someone who attends two or three anime conventions already every year, I wanted New York Comic Con to be a crazy, huge bonanza like the Las Vegas of conventions and this year really felt like that was coming to fruition. It was a place where I spent a lot of money, ran on adrenaline, and sometimes forgot what day it was all the while surrounded with great friends, a-list talent, similarly minded strangers, and a few out of control jerks you hope to never see again. New York Comic Con like any great event is unforgettable but hard to describe and capture for those who did not experience it. Still I’ll try my best to relay the overwhelming weekend experience.

Continue reading

Batman, Spider-Man, Luke Skywalker, and Naruto All Under One Roof

It is once again time for one of the biggest conventions on the East coast for any and all geeks, nerds, gamers, and otaku. The 2011 New York Comic Con and New York Anime Festival is at the Jacob Javits Convention Center and it is bigger than ever. This year it is going to be 4 days and take up the entire convention center. Comic companies of all sizes are going to be bringing their A-game along with plenty of TV, movie, book, and video game materials as well. The New York Anime Festival is just a small portion of the larger convention but we are still getting Makoto Shinkai, Hiro Mashima, and Junko Takeuchi as well as several premieres and industry panels. That is more than most conventions outside of the Top 10 Anime Cons would ever dream of having. So like last year we did a little mini-podcast detailing our plans. So if you see us at any events feel free to say hello before we run off to our next event.

As a helpful tip: they don’t seem to be updating the website as often as necessary, especially for Japanese guest info. For autograph sessions check here.

Pre-NYCC Podcast

RSS Feed     –     iTunes Feed

Friday:

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Meet Me At The Arcade
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: Aniplex of America Panel
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm: DC ALL ACCESS: Batman
2:00 pm – 3:00 pm: Mythbusters: Anime Edition
3:30 pm – 4:30 pm: The State of Mecha
4:15 pm – 5:00 pm: The Venture Bros.
5:15 pm – 6:15 pm: ComiXology Open Discussion: Everything Digital!
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Hiro Mashima and Kodansha Comics
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: Mark Hamill Spotlight
8:45 pm – 9:45 pm: Vertical, Inc. Industry Panel

Saturday:

11:00 am – 12:00 pm: Fate/Zero Screening (by Aniplex of America)
12:00 pm – 1:00 pm: DC ALL ACCESS: Justice League
1:15 pm – 2:15 pm: DC ALL ACCESS: Superman
2:45 pm – 3:45 pm: Makoto Shinkai in Conversation with Roland Kelts
3:45 pm – 4:45 pm: MARVEL Television Presents
5:00 pm – 6:00 pm: Womanthology
6:30 pm – 7:30 pm: Winter Is Here: Epic Fantasy Takes The Throne
7:30 pm – 8:30 pm: CBLDF: Defending Manga
8:15 pm – 9:00 pm: Black Dynamite
9:00 pm – 10:00 pm: Tell Your Friends! The Live Show!

Sunday:

10:15 am – 11:00 am: SPIDER-MAN Turn Off The Dark
11:00 am – 1:00 pm: Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below
1:30 pm – 2:30 pm: MARVEL: The Incredible Hulk
2:30 pm – 3:30 pm: Anime News Network
3:45 pm – 4:45 pm: DC ALL ACCESS: Young Justice