Big Crowds, Some Glitches at NYCC 2007
This story originally appeared in PW Comics Week on February 27, 2007 Sign up now!
by Calvin Reid and Heidi MacDonald, PW Comics Week -- Publishers Weekly, 2/27/2007
Avoiding the sophomore jinx, the second New York Comic-con roared through the Jacob Javits Center over the weekend, allowing an estimated 40,000 attendees to rub elbows with everyone from Stephen King to Jeff Smith and the ubiquitous Star Wars storm troopers. But it’s clear the show is doing something right—show organizer Greg Topalian confirmed that Javits Center management will expand the size of the exhibition floor significantly for the 2008 show.
The big story of the con was whether last year's crowd control nightmares would be repeated, but a great deal of advance planning and caution on the part of organizer Reed Exhibitions, a sister company to Publishers Weekly, and security helped avoid major problems. Topalian estimated that Saturday's attendance alone was over 20,000, and the line to get in—for advance ticket holders only, since Saturday advance tickets had been sold out for weeks—stretched all the way down 11th Avenue and took a little more than two hours to file in to the show.
Once inside, fans were greeted by a panorama of all that "comic-con" has come to stand for, with signings, giveaways and panels galore. Comics publishers DC, Marvel, Top Cow, Oni and Slave Labor all had major talent and signings, while the book publishing world was on hand with Del Rey, HarperCollins, Roaring Brook/First Second, Warner Books and Houghton Mifflin among others. From U.K. boutique manga house Fanfare/Ponent Mon to studio/publisher hybrid Fox Atomic, there was something for everyone.
Although Topalian cautioned that he only had preliminary figures, he estimated attendance at “well over 40,000. We’re very pleased with the crowds.” He acknowledged some problems in coordinating the programming, “but the overall quality of the programming was excellent.” He noted that while he had originally expected problems getting people to Artists’ Alley, he ended up with just the reverse—a mob of fans either looking for indie artists or streaming through the space toward the gaming area nearby.
But the biggest kudo over the weekend was news that the show (which will be held in April next year) will add a giant hall adjoining the current space on the main floor, essentially doubling the size of the exhibition floor for the second year. Topalian said this will allow next year’s exhibition to have three entrances, “and that will allow us to get people into the hall even more quickly.” He also said that Artists’ Alley will be relocated. But it also means pressure for still more growth. “We’ll need to grow attendance in a serious way to fill those halls,” said Topalian. “We’ll have to be aggressive in promotion. But the show is attracting people from beyond the tristate area. People are coming from all over the East Coast.”
Despite the show’s successes, there were still snafus. Artists’ Alley reproduced last year's convention, with narrow, very crowded aisles that took minutes to get through—lines into the area were held up by security several times. As the alley was located in the upstairs Galleria area off the main floor, some had feared there would be little traffic, but since everyone had to pass the artists’ tables to get to the gaming and autograph areas, there was not only a huge flow of traffic for these activities but artists including Keith Giffen (52, Countdown) and David Mack (Kabuki) drew giant crowds on their own.
Panels and registration were also a problem at times, with complaints that many listed speakers had not been informed about their panels—several were canceled due to no-shows by the panelists. There were also some reported confusions with registration, with "comics professionals" having to stand in line to get in along with fans.
Being overly cautious about crowding actually left some panels underattended: no one could get into the Stephen King “Dark Tower” panel without a ticket, but there were many empty seats inside.
Despite these problems, publishers had no trouble getting out their news announcements. DC announced its weekly Countdown series; Marvel talked about its big event, World War Hulk by Greg Pak and John Romita Jr., in which an angry Hulk returns to Earth after being exiled in space. New publishing deals for graphic novels were also all over the floor, including the initial offerings from Yen Press..
