It's time for you to go to New York Comic Con

12 JUNE 2019

1:01 p.m.

So it looks like everyone in the queue got something - and even people who Fan Verified today were able to slip in and hoover up the leftovers. I realize some people are disappointed because they didn't get Saturday or the perfect badge configuration, but on the whole NYCC is a much more attainable experience than SDCC - and the badge sale not nearly as stressful. Just my opinion.

And of course, badges will go up for sale through Lyte when they're turned in (including mine, maybe) so not all hope is lost. Stay vigilant and you'll probably be able to score something.

I'll return to NYCC later this summer. For now, I'm turning all my attention to San Diego Comic-Con, just 5 weeks away. I hope you too have something to fill your summer with nerd magic.


10:20 a.m.

So oddly, minutes after Saturday sold out, some people saw them available again and got them. Just badge sale weirdness, I guess.

9:49 a.m.

Saturday tickets are low...


9:32 a.m.

Sounds like people are still getting Saturday tickets (among other days.) Hang in there.

9:26 a.m.

Well, that was nice and smooth. Got the full show, even though I didn't get in immediately. Now I am extra motivated to make this work.

How did you do? The main issue I'm hearing so far is non-working links.


9:12 a.m.

People are getting tickets - even if you feel like time has stopped for you personally.

9:03 a.m.

Virtual queue.....


8:56 a.m.

We're just minutes away from the New York Comic Con general badge sale. By now you should have your link, your credit card, and a beverage at the ready - as well as your steely resolve to prevail. Badges are limited and you may not get everything you want. But you'll probably get something.

Last weekend, while in New York, I found out I probably can't go to NYCC. But there's still a possibility so I'll be in the mix with you today. I'll post updates but I don't expect anything too radical or unexpected to happen.

Good luck!

Don't forget - the NYCC badge sale is Weds, 12 June

10 JUNE 2019

If you have your eye on New York Comic Con this October, you hopefully have done 2 things by now:

1. Created a Fan Verification account
2. Received an email with your link for Wednesday's sale

If you didn't do those things, however, not all is lost. This isn't like SDCC, where you absolutely must have a Member ID assigned to your name and information to get a badge. You just need to find someone who is eligible for the sale - and they can buy you a badge.

It works like this:

• The person with the Fan Verification account and link gets into the sale, Fortune smiles on them, and they snatch up some tickets.
• They assign one of those tickets to you with your correct and current email address.
• You then should - but don't have to - create your own Fan Verification account with that email address. You could skip this step but you shouldn't, especially if you want to be eligible for the 2020 presale.

If you've never done a NYCC sale before, know they are not as hopeless as an SDCC sale - but still pretty tough. Remember that many of the badges are already sold and you're competing for a limited number of remaining badges. That said, yes, you should definitely go even if you don't get the full show. There are many, many surrounding events and you will be more than busy.

Good luck Wednesday. I'll live blog the sale but it should be uneventful.

Are you eligible for the New York Comic Con sale?

15 MAY 2019

We're entering that time of year when it starts to feel like all Comic-Con, all the time. Maybe you're girding yourself for a Memorial Weekend Con like Phoenix Fan Fest, maybe you're saving money for SDCC, or maybe you're deciding between Boston and Dragon Con. We're swimming in options at this time of year, right? So much so that New York Comic Con can seem like an elderly autumn cousin while we're in the flush of spring.

But in fact, you need to plan now for NYCC - not just for this year, but next year.

Here's the deal. I know many of you keep the ghost of NYCC in your brain as an alternative to the San Diego Comic-Con madness. At least this is true for the people I know; they have a vague idea that badges are easier to get and more hotel rooms are available and the Con is bigger than SDCC - and they translate all that into an image of a convention center waiting with open arms. But that's not completely, exactly, entirely true.

If you'd like to attend NYCC, here's what you need to know:

• Much like SDCC, there is a presale for returning attendees and a general sale for everyone else. They already had the presale this year - and you either knew about it or weren't eligible for it.

• The general sale is on 12 June at noon EST.

• To participate, you must complete a Fan Verification account - or what NYCC annoyingly calls "Fan Ver" - by the end of 2 June. Yes, this is a lot like CCI's Member ID accounts. But unlike the SDCC sale, you can buy badges for people who don't have Fan Verification accounts. You'll include their email address to "assign" them their badge and then they can create an account later. This is true only for the upcoming general sale.

• Because the lion's share of the spoils go to returning attendees in the presale, you may need to start out with a partial badge the first year and hopefully graduate to a full badge the following year in the presale. Though neither of those is guaranteed.

Overall, my point is that you do need to put thought and preparation toward a future at NYCC and can't treat it like some small city Con. I'd still classify it as a far more attainable experience than SDCC, but what isn't at this point.

Other selling points: it's easier to book a hotel, it's not hard to find good airfare deals to New York, and ReedPop offers a smorgasbord of events before, during and after the Con. If you're sick of fake SDCC parties that are basically cosplay contests with mediocre bar food and a terrible DJ, you'll be pleasantly surprised by the variety of NYCC offerings.

Okay, I'm done selling New York Comic Con to you. If you're die hard West Coast/Best Coast, you probably aren't interested anyhow. But keep that NYCC ghost in your brain fed - because one day you may find yourself locked out of SDCC and looking for another place to land.

Let's talk about New York Comic Con

11 JULY 2018

In four days, the general ticket sale for New York Comic Con will go live. You may know this if you're one of many restless SDCC attendees who've decided to seek more Con action in other cities. I've been hearing NYCC mentioned a lot the last few weeks - but often in a vague, not-terribly-well-informed way. So here are a few facts and opinions on buying NYCC tickets.

Is NYCC worth going to?

Yes. But it is different from San Diego, so don't view it as its East Coast twin. I know a lot of people love that feeling of immersion as they walk around the Gaslamp and hit various activations or take pictures of cosplayers. You won't have that exact experience in New York - the Con doesn't engulf the city in the same way. And you're less likely to see celebrities out and about.

However, there are more events to go to - game nights, concerts, comedy shows, benefits, poetry readings, live art shows, you name it. "Super Week" can actually offer too much of a good thing. There's also a more sophisticated bent to some events than you'd see in San Diego. Some are more hipster, others more mainstream. Basically, you'll have your choice of nightlife - whether they're official Con activities or not.

And the programming at NYCC has really improved over the years. On a Hollywood level, this Con is willing to expand the boundaries of who and what it showcases - you'll see movies and TV shows that you won't at SDCC. I find San Diego panels to still be more satisfying but that's me; most people will find something they like.

On a comics level, I'd say NYCC has the edge.


Is NYCC bigger than SDCC?

These Cons have gotten out their rulers time and again to argue about who has what attendance numbers and how those numbers are calculated. I think right now it's accepted that NYCC has more attendees but that's only because they can accommodate more - if SDCC could sell badges to everyone who wanted one, I believe they'd be biggest. All that matters is yes, they're both apex Cons.


Is it hard to get a ticket?

Not as hard as SDCC but getting there. You do need to be prepared, but your preparation outweighs luck. You'll get in if you work for it.


Is it hard to get a hotel room?

No. It's New York. And prices are reasonable.


How do I get a ticket for this year?

You won't, most likely. Just as SDCC has "Member IDs," NYCC has "Fan Verification." If you didn't already complete your profile, you can't take part in the upcoming sale. Fan Verification will open back up and you can then buy any remaining tickets. But I wouldn't count on getting a full ride.


So should I skip SDCC next year and just do NYCC?

No, I'm not saying that. San Diego has a charm all its own. Plus next year it turns 50! There should be some special celebrations afoot.

I am saying that if you really want a big Con experience, consider NYCC - especially if you're in that half of that country. I know a lot of you are done with the SDCC badge sale stress, the hotel room situation and what this year feels like a lackluster studio presence. This week's ConanCon results have also upset a number of attendees. If San Diego is no longer working for you, NYCC is a good place to sow the seeds of your future attendance. Because like SDCC, it's something to plan in advance.

Are you going to Comic Con in 2018?

1 JANUARY 2018

Happy New Year! I hope your holidays involved lots of parties, presents and Christmas cookies - and if you were freezing in the Northeast like I was, a fireplace. I also hope your New Year's resolutions include some kind of Comic Con plan, especially if you didn't get an SDCC badge last month.

If you traditionally go to SDCC or some other spring/summer Con, the season may seem far away. But now's the time to think about where you really want to go and when you need to make it happen.

If you're still new to Comic Con life and all of its reservations, badge sales and budgeting, you might think of going to a Con as some kind of fun activity that either "works out" or it doesn't. But that's just not true. While luck does play into it (sometimes mercilessly), there is a fair amount of planning involved that ultimately determines whether or not you walk through the doors of a major Con.

Here's what you need to think about.

Which Comic Con do you want to go to? 

You already know if you're going to SDCC. But if you're not and you wish you were, you can set yourself up to go in 2019 by signing up for a Member ID, reading blogs and forums like Friends of Comic-Con, and getting a realistic idea of what is involved. San Diego can be nirvana but it can also fall devastatingly short of a first-timer's expectations. Get a grip on what's required now.

The key here is understanding what you want from your Comic Con experience. Don't think that the biggest Cons are necessarily the ticket to making your dreams come true. Let's say you want to meet celebrities. They are often more accessible at smaller Cons than the biggest ones. Or maybe you want to collect really obscure back issues. You'll definitely want a more comics-focused Con like Emerald City as opposed to Cons which have "Comic" in their name but focus mostly on Hollywood.

Maybe you'd like to host a panel of your own. Figure this out before you invest in a giant Con like NYCC or SDCC that's probably too competitive for you. Ditto if you want to network or promote your work - just because certain influencers are afoot at those Cons doesn't mean you'll have access to them. Cons like Salt Lake, Denver, Emerald City, WonderCon or C2E2 are rapidly become a more appealing choice for many people for this reason.

A word on New York Comic Con. You may hear people say that getting a ticket is now "as bad as San Diego." It's not. While the badge sales are pretty competitive, you're far more likely to get a NYCC badge. Ditto hotel room - it's New York. So don't write off NYCC as the East Coast San Diego Comic-Con just because it's big. This is a top choice if you got shut out of last month's SDCC badge sale.

On a related note, don't assume your local small-time Comic Con is a smaller version of the more famous ones. A lot of Cons boast high attendance numbers these days without boasting anything close to SDCC or NYCC guests, events, vendors and panels. I've been to several Cons with 100K+ attendees that were basically an indoors swap meet. If you want the magic of a major Comic Con, you'll probably have to travel unless you're lucky enough to live in Seattle, New York, Atlanta, San Diego/LA, Chicago, etc.

Which Con works with your budget and schedule? 

Size isn't the only thing that matters. Some of the newer or smaller Cons like Boston and Silicon Valley already have great reputations. SVCC is described as "where science fiction blends with science fact" and features new tech along with comics and fandom offerings.

You'll also need to figure out how many Cons you can realistically consume before the law of diminishing returns kicks in. Emerald City is in early March, which gives you breathing room before the summer season: Phoenix Comicon happens around Memorial Day weekend, Denver Comic Con shortly thereafter, SDCC in late July, Gen Con and Boston in August, Dragon Con on Labor Day weekend and Salt Lake Comic Con in September. Then NYCC is in October. That doesn't even include the 100+ Cons sprinkled all over the world.

In terms of money, you'll want to start your Con cash stash right now. After you account for plane fare, badge, meals and hotel, you'll still be tempted to spend on a number of things - original art, action figures, comic books, party tickets and more. Maybe you've ascended to a higher plane of consciousness where such things don't tempt you, but if you're like most attendees you'll covet at least a few Exhibit Hall finds. Start squirreling away money now so you can indulge your nerd hungers when the opportunity presents itself.

You'll also want to talk money with your Con companions now. If you've been going to Comic Con for a while, you've probably had friends beg to go with you, then fade away when it came time to book a plane ticket or go through the various badge sale hassles. You rejoice over scoring a room at the Hilton Bayfront - then months later your friend suddenly has a wedding to attend and you're paying the entire tab alone. It might seem like a tall order to get people to commit to Con costs now but it's a good way to suss out who's serious and who's not before you buy tickets and put down hotel room deposits. It's also smart to vocalize this in your social circles; you might know several people who would love to come but just don't know how to get started.

What logistics do you need to take care of?

This is what separates the attendees from the people who watch Comic Con updates from home. Some Cons are still walk-in status but the best ones usually sell out tickets and hotels. You'll need to figure out when these go on sale, how to register to even be eligible to get the email announcing the badge sale - you get the idea. It can be tricky to navigate.

And because the actual Con website is going to be full of marketing hype and cute graphics, you'll want to get active in digital communities for inside tips and advice from Con veterans. The community is generous about helping newcomers, from joining a buying group to knowing which hotels to avoid.

Another thing to check - what your badge or ticket actually gets you. I'll probably write a post on this, but right now know that more and more Cons are charging additional fees for top signings and panels. I find this beyond irritating but it's the way things are going at some Cons. Ace Comic Con, for instance, is charging more than $900 for a Chris Evans/Tom Holland "Dual VIP" experience for what boils down to autographs and photo ops and good panel seats. Phoenix Comicon is charging for a Meet and Greet with Greg Capullo and Scott Snyder that's actually a signing and photo op; you can also buy a "one-on-one moment" with Tim Curry from $200-300.

In other words, dig into whatever Con you're targeting and make sure you'll be able to see, meet and experience who and what you want. If shelling out $100 is a big deal for you, but you think it's worth it to meet your favorite artist - and then you find out that'll cost you another $150, which you don't have - you're not going to be too happy.




If all of this sounds like too much effort - and there's an excellent argument to be made that it is -  then stick to smaller Cons. Life is too short to exhaust yourself training to become a Comic Con ninja unless you really enjoy it. This is survival of the fittest and the Comic Con experience is not for everyone. But if you think it is for you, get ready now - and you'll reap the rewards a few months down the road with incredible Comic Con memories.

Good luck. Here's to an exciting and beautifully nerdy 2018 for all of us.

NYCC is eliminating 3 and 4 day tickets - but they are holding a small pre-sale

17 MARCH 2017



Happy St. Patrick's Day! Are you still sulking over your SDCC badge sale loss last weekend? Then there's no better time to think about New York Comic Con - you know, the Con that's constantly breaking out a ruler to measure up against SDCC - and that means getting yourself ready.


No, tickets aren't going on sale yet. But you do need to create a Fan Verification profile to be eligible for that future sale. Did you create one last year? Then you're good. In fact, you're better than good - you're eligible for a small and limited pre-sale. You should get an email asking you to confirm your profile details in the next few days. If you don't get it by 21 March, email inquiry@nycomiccon.com and ask about it.

Now here's the part you won't like. The Javits Center will be under construction - and that means the Con is dealing with "space limitations." I know that is a horrible phrase to hear in association with a Comic Con but it is what it is. At least ReedPOP came out and said it. As a result, there won't be any 3-day or 4-day tickets on sale - just single day tickets to allow the most people to experience the Con.

They're also finally moving the ticket sale to a weekend. Otherwise it'll look the same. If you have feelings about these changes, you might want to attend their live Facebook Q&A this Monday, 20 March, at 3:30 pm Eastern time.

And yes, I really think you should consider NYCC. Maybe you'll get lucky next month for SDCC and maybe you won't. But it doesn't hurt to put yourself in the running for NYCC by creating your Fan Verification profile and watching for the sale.

You can still do your NYCC Fan Verification today

11 JULY 2016



"New processes are hard." That's what New York Comic Con says about the failure of many people to properly complete a Fan Verification profile to participate in the NYCC ticket sale.

So they've reopened Fan Verification today and some of tomorrow. You have until noon EST Tuesday, 12 July to complete your profile - and if you do, you can attach that profile to an existing ticket order. You'll do that between Weds, 13 July at noon EST and midnight Thursday, 14 July. Dear ReedPOP: just make it an all-day thing and stop with the varying noon and midnight deadlines. Keep it simple.

Complete your profile after tomorrow's deadline and you can try for the ticket resale. But that's it.

Good luck. I know this year's NYCC sale was quite the headache, so hopefully this will help some of you out.

Be ready for changes in NYCC ticket sale

17 MAY 2016



Are you planning on going to New York Comic Con this fall? It's a great Con on its own, and especially so if you missed out on getting an SDCC badge. (Also recommended: DragonCon.) But much like San Diego, the NYCC ticket sale has gotten very competitive - and this year it's changing quite a bit.

You won't just jump into the fray and hope your place in line is good enough. This year you'll need to create a profile called Fan Verification. If you think this sounds a lot like CCI's Member ID system, you're not wrong. Here are the rules.

• You'll need to complete your profile between this Friday, 20 May at noon EST/9 am PST and Monday, 13 June at 11:59 pm EST. This is mandatory for anyone 13 and up who wants to attend NYCC - even if someone else is buying their badge for them. But creating a profile doesn't mean you'll automatically get a badge.

• You will, however, be notified by email 48 hours before the ticket sale. Which will be first come, first serve like usual.

• That online sale is your only opportunity to get a NYCC ticket - no more special retailer or event sales. I know that's going to aggravate some of you.

• Also gone: VIP tickets.

So there you have it. None of this sounds particularly onerous, and it could lead to a smoother ticket sale. No doubt some prospective attendees will miss the boat entirely - there are always a few who remain oblivious to changes - and be furious when they realize they're not going to NYCC (without resorting to StubHub, that is.) But overall it's worth remembering that while last year's NYCC sale was choppy, most people did come away with decent badges. So don't view this new Fan Verification step as an ominous sign; if you stay alert and follow the process, you'll probably count yourself among NYCC attendees this year.


ETA: If this changes anything for you, NYCC 2016 is being billed as Stan Lee's "final NYCC appearance." 

ReedPOP predicts more brand-specific Cons

2 FEBRUARY 2016






As ReedPOP continues to spawn Comic Cons all over the globe like some kind of many-tentacled octopus, observant nerds have noticed they've also been creating more focused events. The massive fan experience organization has created several brand- or fandom-specific events like Star Wars Celebration or Star Trek: Mission New York; and in an interview with Newsarama, global senior VP Lance Fensterman says he thinks "more and more brands themselves are going to start building out their own sort of events to connect with their communities."

Why? "Because brands crave that meaningful face-to-face, physical celebration of fandom." Wait, what? I'd say the fans crave that experience and the brands recognize in it an opportunity for deeper engagement, merchandising revenue, increased audience, etc. But whatever. Tomato, tomahto.

Fensterman also offered up some thoughts on competing with CCI: namely, that ReedPOP isn't interested. "We're not in the business of competing with big shows. That's not interesting to us. And also, if fans are being served and they're getting what they really want and crave, there's no reason to build an event there.... San Diego's an amazing event. It just doesn't seem logical to build a show where there's already an amazing show."

What he didn't say: "And after all, we have events in Paris, Chicago, Seattle, Indonesia, Vienna, Australia, China and pretty soon the moon, so why would we bother with Southern California?"

For those of you who just rolled your eyes at the idea of New York Comic Con NOT competing with San Diego Comic-Con, Fensterman did say that the Con is experiencing the same growth challenges as SDCC: "It has physically, within the confines of the Javits Center, it has maxed out. We can't get any bigger." He then talks about spilling it around the city "so it can be inter-meshed, if that's a word, in the city of New York itself." So if you were anticipating another smug "NYCC has 874,263 attendees!" press release next fall, we probably won't see one.

All of this keeps nudging us along in the same direction; stop putting all our eggs in the SDCC basket and start looking at other Cons, whether they're built around a specific fandom or simply in another region. I do think demand will equal out eventually (not perfectly, but somewhat balanced) and fans will stop seeing SDCC as the be all and end all of their nerd world. Which is probably not just a healthier approach to our Comic Con lives, but ultimately a more gratifying one as well.

NYCC had 167K attendees. They say.

15 OCTOBER 2015

In what is perhaps the ultimate measuring contest for Comic Con kings and the subjects they lay claim to, New York Comic Con has crowned itself the biggest of them all. 167,000 fanboys and fangirls rolled through its doors this past weekend; that's counting "unique attendees per day" and not total badges sold.* Still, you get the idea.

Because it's impossible to have an article about any Con anywhere without a comparison to San Diego coming up, Forbes reminds us that SDCC only claims 130,000 attendees. But then they thrill us all by including a perfect response from CCI's David Glanzer:

"The reality is we have well over 130,000 attendees to our show (our badges have names on them) so a four day badge holder is counted as one unique attendee. This was considered a benefit to exhibitors because it would let them know how many people they could encounter over the course of the event. If we counted unique attendees per day, our number would be way in excess of 300,000 attendees."

So there, NYCC! San Diego is bigger and our badges have names on them.

Salt Lake Comic Con claimed 127,000 for their event a few weeks ago; Cons in China and India are approaching 6 figure levels "and growing at a blistering rate." And Comiket in Tokyo had 550,000 attendees over 3 days in August, which gives one pause when imagining a double SDCC.

Still, I think the general point holds - that New York Comic Con is a big roaring beast of a Con and can hold its own with San Diego. That said, I want to emphasize that it's not as in demand as San Diego; thorny as its badge sale got this year, there were still Thursday tickets to be had at the end of it, where San Diego sold out of everything as fast as its servers could process us. SDCC could immediately sell out badges for the last 10 minutes of Sunday if it chose to sell them.

And I think ReedPOP and every other Con is aware of this. They can pack in all the attendees they want, but right now they're still in the shadow of San Diego Comic-Con's glittering world-famous brand. And they probably will be for a few more years.

*ETA: Forbes changed their article (quite a bit actually so you may want to read it again) at the behest of ReedPOP: "ReedPop counts badges sold, whether they are 3-day, 4-day or single day tickets." I'd also advise reading the SDCC Unofficial Blog's much more detailed post about this.

Is NYCC "equal" to SDCC?

13 OCTOBER 2015

New York Comic Con has come and gone. If your ear is at all tuned to the Comic Con world, you probably know the basics of this Con whether you've been to it or not; it's owned by ReedPOP, they've made a point of trumpeting its attendance numbers in relation to SDCC, and this year it had a painfully strangled badge sale that reminded many of old SDCC badge sales in its incessant tech glitches. In fact, this year was notable for the fact that the SDCC Open Registration sale went more smoothly (though more futilely) than the NYCC sale.

I've always made a point of telling people that New York Comic Con is not the SDCC of the East Coast. But I'm rethinking that after this weekend. Granted, I had to skip NYCC so all of my observations are filtered through media and other attendees. But I do perceive a subtle shift in NYCC's general standing.

Partly this is because the media knows any Con news is high traffic news, so of course they're crawling all over every announcement. But given that media coverage is exactly why many studios and companies have a Con presence to begin with, that alone ensures NYCC will feature big names in the future.

As for the events, several friends said they fostered more of the community feeling that's traditionally weak at NYCC (and that happens so naturally at SDCC.) It's not just Super Week (which is great in catering to a variety of interests) but the caliber of the events themselves. Obviously the Walking Dead premiere in Madison Square Garden was just epic. And New York's ability to stage grand scale events dwarfs San Diego's.

The panels themselves got a mixed review from my friends. This held true whether or not they were SDCC attendees. (Once you go to San Diego, you just naturally compare everything to their offerings; it's inevitable.) Some thought the selection was really good, others said there were more choices in San Diego but it didn't matter because you can still only attend so many panels, and others said the panel options were "so-so." But the actual quality of the panels mostly got high marks. As someone semi-obsessed with Pretty Little Liars (don't judge), I tracked reactions to this panel closely and 2 SDCC attendees said it felt more "personal" than a typical SDCC panel. I heard similar things about other panels. And let's just say it: the X-Files episode was everything a Comic Con experience should be.

The cosplay seemed to be killer but honestly where isn't it these days?

As for announcements, NYCC fed into what appears to be the Ouroboros of Comic Con life, where an announcement or hint dropped at one Con is then expounded on at the next big Con, leading to a casting announcement at the next Con and a trailer at the next, and so on. The Justice League premiere at SDCC electrified everyone with the news that The Killing Joke would be an animated feature; now at NYCC we found out it could have an R rating, which of course sparked a tidal wave of discussion on whether Barbara Gordon would be - gasp - naked. (Though of course, the real question is how the movie will handle the ending.)

Smart creators know how to keep the fan fires burning from Con to Con and NYCC demonstrated that in spades. Lots of announcements hit that sweet spot of precise fan interest like the news that Paul Reubens (Pee Wee Herman) is playing the Penguin's father on Gotham or that Marceline from Adventure Time is getting a spin-off or that Captain Marvel is getting her own YA novel. Jessica Jones and Ash vs Evil Dead both got a huge boost in fan interest.

All in all, I think anyone who misses out on SDCC should consider New York Comic Con - not as a sub-par backup but as a Con that can deliver just as gratifying an experience. I know San Diego zealots will claim nothing can replicate the magic of SDCC which of course is a valid opinion. But I think NYCC proves that it's not just San Diego Comic Con sitting alone at the top of the food chain anymore. Other Cons are catching up not only in size but in appeal. And we know NYCC is going to keep growing, given the organizers said they will pursue a campus approach and host more events at other venues as they did with the Hammerstein Ballroom this year.


What did you think of New York Comic Con? Remember, I wasn't there, so I'm eager to hear your thoughts. And if you also weren't there, but want to see some of the panels, you can catch up via Twitch.

ETA: Catrina Dennis did a nice comparison of SDCC and NYCC that's worth reading.

You can still go to New York Comic Con if you want

20 SEPTEMBER 2015

New York Comic Con: it's only a few weeks away. Anyone who watched the ticket sale go down knows that 4-day tickets sold out pretty fast, but that's not a permanent situation like it is with San Diego Comic-Con. StubHub has plenty of tickets available. So if you're burning with the desire to walk into the Javits Center in October, know it's not a lost cause.

(One warning: NYCC badges use RFID technology, so any counterfeit badges will be sniffed out immediately. Caveat emptor.)

A few reasons people are very hyped for NYCC this year:

• The Walking Dead Fan Premiere in Madison Square Garden
• The X-Files reboot premiere on Saturday
• The release of the Brooklyn Defender, the official NYCC craft beer
• Heroes & Villains fan meet-ups
• Nerd Nite Speed Dating
• The 7th Annual HP Lovecraft Festival
• Cosplay Championships
• GeekFest Film Fest
• The Thrilling Adventure Hour Improv

And those are only a few of the events going on. That said, I would check out the programming before plunging in if you've never been to NYCC before. I've noticed a general belief that NYCC is SDCC's East Coast twin and is therefore its equal in any way that matters. That's actually not true. NYCC may have impressive attendance and I won't deny it has a lot to offer. But it's not going to roll out the same experience you'd get in San Diego.

One difference: the pop culture aspect of NYCC is a bit more broadly defined, which some attendees like. It's hard to imagine the Pretty Little Liars panel showing up at SDCC, for instance. Super Week also offers an assorted array of events around the city. But mostly NYCC offers a different feeling than that magical nerd bubble that prevails at SDCC. It's just not as engulfing, possibly because when everyone walks out they're pulled in so many different directions.

None of which is to dissuade you from going. New York Comic Con is a great option if you're still morose over missing SDCC or just hungering for another big Con before the year ends. And it's in New York, which means that even you hate it (kind of impossible if you're a Comic Con person) you can still find something fascinating to do. Autumn in New York is a beautiful visit on its own. So if you think the programming is a fit, investigate your options and give it a shot. There's a reason this Con has become so popular so fast, and I think you might love it.

X-Files reboot will premiere at NYCC

11 SEPTEMBER 2015

Those of you going to New York Comic Con are in for a historic event of major proportions: the premiere of the X-Files reboot. It will screen in a Saturday panel, with Chris Carter and David Duchovny doing a Q&A afterward.

As an intense X-Files fan with 2 NYCC tickets who just found out she can't go, this is killing me - but it's no doubt making many of you scream with joy, you lucky bastards. Enjoy.

Win a trip to New York Comic Con

5 SEPTEMBER 2015



If you missed out on the New York Comic Con badge sale, or just feel the hotel / plane / general spendiness is beyond your current reach, listen up: Collider is holding a good contest. The winner will receive:

• Airfare for two
• Hotel for two
• 2 Badges for the 8th-11th
• A $400 Amex credit card

Entering is pretty simple. Follow Collider on Twitter, like them on Facebook and/or subscribe to their YouTube channel. That's it - you don't have to make a huge effort here, which of course means you'll be competing with thousands of contestants. Still worth it, though.

And if you're in a New York Comic Con frame of mind, don't forget The Walking Dead Season 6 Fan Premiere Sweepstakes. Yep, it's still going. Enter every day to increase your chances of watching Season 6 kick off in style at Madison Square Garden.

Good luck.

Enter The Walking Dead season 6 sweepstakes

13 AUGUST 2015

Are you still on the fence about NYCC? Are you vacillating between "Maybe I should save the money" and "No, I definitely should go" and "I'll see what my schedule looks like" even as summer keeps passing and you need to make a decision? Maybe that's just me.

Well, this could sway you; The Walking Dead's season premiere will debut on 9 October, Friday night at Madison Square Garden as part of New York Comic Con Super Week. Exciting! Except of course that even the great capacious MSG can't contain the horde of fans desperately wishing to attend - so there's a sweepstakes.

Enter now; 10 winners are selected daily. Remember, this isn't being held in a movie theatre like an SDCC premiere but in Madison Square Garden. So your chances are kind of decent? It's hard to say, really. Radio stations and cable affiliates will also be giving away tickets, so if you really want to go, make this the new Comic-Con rabbit you're chasing.

Because this is what's nice about New York Comic Con and the creation of Super Week; even after badges/tickets sell out, there are so many events and activities on the docket that you can find some way to participate. Whether that's worth traveling for or not is your call.

Thoughts on NYCC vs SDCC

14 MAY 2015



If you were watching the New York Comic Con sale unfold online yesterday, you may have come away from it with the impression that NYCC is as impossible to get into as San Diego Comic-Con, and that it's pointless to even look in the direction of the Javits Center.

That's not true, but I think the bumps and difficulties of the sale created that idea. Yes, that was a tough sale yesterday. Its overall arc went like this:

• NYCC site crashed minutes before the sale went live.
• NYCC sent out an alternate link on Twitter and other social, which meant the ticket buyers saw and accessed it in waves.
• Many of us who did get into the queue suffered an incredible number of errors and delays. I battled my way through 408s and hangups straight through to the confirmation page. My first queue page tried to convert just a few minutes in, but continually struggled for 2 hours. My 2nd and 4th  queues converted at just under 2 hours.
• Tickets began appearing on StubHub minutes into the sale - providing dismal confirmation that in fact some people were indeed buying tickets.
• About two hours into the sale, the chokehold lightened and more people could get in. While VIP sold out quickly, then 3-days, 4-days were still available 1 hour and 45 minutes in, and by 2 hours, all 4 days were available as well.

Currently Thursday and Super Week passes are still available.

Conclusion: while not everyone got the badge they wanted, anyone who wanted some kind of badge could get one. Compare that to the roaring clamor for SDCC badges - in which only 1 out of 7 Member IDs that I tracked got any badge at all - and it's clear that San Diego still has to deal with a massive wave of demand compared to NYCC.

So allow me to be tediously repetitive and hold up NYCC as an alternate Con for those of you who get shut out from SDCC. It's in New York, so you're already guaranteed an array of incredible bars, shows, museums and activities. It's not as Hollywood-heavy as SDCC but many of the major players like The Walking Dead will be there. Hotel rooms are easier to get and reasonably priced. It's just an appetizing Con on multiple levels and it should be a top pick for anyone who got shut out of SDCC. Or, for that matter, anyone who just doesn't want to deal with SDCC's madness.

Obviously it's too late to go this year - but I'd still point out that Salt Lake and DragonCon are available, and that it's not too early to make your 2016 plans. Which in general should include alternatives to San Diego. Think about Emerald City if you're a cosplayer or comic book fan. Think very seriously about the new Silicon Valley Comic Con in March. Think about Denver. Just don't take an "SDCC or nothing" attitude, because you will probably in fact wind up with nothing.

To end on a more positive note - additional NYCC tickets will be sold at Special Edition and Midtown Comics.

Today is the NYCC ticket sale

13 MAY 2015

11:30 am PST

Right now Thursday, Friday and Sunday, plus Super Week, are available. Which means that as tangled as this ticket sale got, it was never as dire as I feared. Who wouldn't want a Saturday free in New York?

I have to point this out - for all that NYCC crowed about surpassing SDCC's numbers, it clearly doesn't have anything close to the demand for SDCC. Compare the huge rate of badge sale failures for SDCC hopefuls vs. the availability of tickets still on the NYCC site. It's not even close - the number of people who want to go to San Diego Comic-Con far exceed the number of people who want to go to New York Comic Con.



11:07 am PST

Please don't give up if you're still waiting. With fewer of us in the system, there's some breathing room and there seem to be fewer errors.

I understand your despair; I was right there 20 minutes ago, making plans to go to DragonCon instead. Then the Nerd Goddess smiled upon me and voila, I was in.



10:50 am PST


I bought 2 sets of all 4 days. At single day prices, mind you. When I got in, I clicked for three 4-days and progressed; error message ensued; I went back and the 4-days were gone. In the blink of an eye, I went from paying 105 for 4 days and a Super Week pass to over 200. Oh, the whims of our Comic Con fates.

Still. What matters is the timing. It took me almost 2 hours to get through - and I did not get through on the first queue I set up but the 2nd and 4th one (which converted within seconds of each other.) Several errors were encountered during check-out but nothing fatal.

Oh and ReedPOP, it's "first of its kind" - not "first of it's kind." Yes, I get pedantic and irritable after a 2 hour anxiety marathon.




10:10 am PST

Every single time a queue window starts to advance, I get hung up or get a 408.

The fact is, people ARE buying tickets and certain categories have already sold out - so in a sense the system is working. The bad/low servers act to hold most of the crowd at bay, turning it into a lottery.  But rather than subject us to crashes, delays and error messages, they should simply handle it as such. 

SDCC's sale was smoother and faster than this, though still riddled with disappointment. I'm beginning to think the best way to handle these sales is like Ace did with parking - everyone sends in an email with a name and address and later they find out if they got picked or not. Each person who is picked gets to bring 1 friend. It would be far less stressful than these online sales that just aren't functioning past a certain threshold.


10:00 am PST

3-Days are sold out.


9:46 am PST

Special Access is sold out.


9:38 am PST

Allegedly everything but VIP is still available. Have hope.


9:34 am PST

What a world we live in when NYCC tickets are already appearing on Stubhub even as most of us are stuck in the queue.



9:21 am PST

VIP is gone.


9:16 am PST

I have had:

1 queue start to convert and then hang up
Another queue that is stuck on Waiting for Showclix
3 other current queues still going.

People are getting through, though.


9:02 am PST

Use this link: bit.ly/1e1mb49


8:58 am PST

The site is down.

8:41 am PST

NYCC tickets are about go live. It's going to be rough; last year's sale was lightning-fast and it's a safe bet that we'll have more people trying to buy tickets - both because of Super Week and because they've been shut out of SDCC.

I'll post whatever I hear. Good luck, everyone.

NYCC tickets go on sale Weds, noon EST

11 MAY 2015

Back in the day, San Diego Comic-Con and New York Comic Con never seemed like rivals. It was assumed that West Coasters went one place and East Coasters another, and anyway, SDCC had Hollywood in their pocket.

Things have changed radically in the last 5 years. SDCC is extremely difficult to get into and NYCC has outgrown it in several ways - such as boasting 151,000 attendees last year to SDCC's 130,000. (Note: NYCC uses a different counting system than SDCC, so it's debatable as to how many unique attendees they actually had.) NYCC has Super Week as well, with multiple events around the city. Serious fans are now looking at NYCC as a viable replacement for San Diego - not because it replicates the SDCC experience (it can't) but because it offers a massive pop culture event that's enthralling in its own right.

Tickets for 2015 go on sale this Wednesday, at noon EST and 9 am PST.

Single day badges: $40 for Thursday, 50 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday

Three-day badges: $75 for Friday-Sunday

Four-day badges: $105 for the whole shebang, and that includes a New York Super Week card.

You can't beat those prices. For those of you who are feeling flush, there are more upper-tier packages granting special access, line-jumping, private lounges and other benefits:

VIP: $525

Special Access: $215


Word of warning - yes, tickets will go fast. If you're entertaining notions of a leisurely badge sale with plenty of tickets to go around, check out Bleeding Cool's story on last year's ticket sale as well as CBR's. Tech glitches, tickets on Ebay at 400% markup, and other disappointments abounded.

However, it's worth noting that some day badges did not sell out right away - so if you do participate in the sale and fail to get a 4-day or 3-day badge, well, you know what I'm going to say. Grab Thursday, Friday and Sunday and go anyhow. You'll be in New York; there's no end to the ways you can amuse yourself.

Why NYCC, DragonCon & SLCC matter

3 MAY 2015

We're almost midway through the year. By now you've either gone to a West Coast Con like ECCC, WonderCon or are preparing to go to one, like San Diego or Phoenix. Or maybe you've done none of that - in which case you might want to consider the second half of the year and a few options therein.

I was at a Cinco de Mayo party last night where I heard the typical nay-saying against any other Con; they're boring; no one important goes to them; there's nothing to do; San Diego is it. These arguments almost always come from people who've barely been to any Con at all and are just parroting the media's breathless coverage of San Diego Comic-Con. But streetsmart nerds and geeks know the truth - that there are Cons out there that offer just as good (if not better) an experience, and it's smarter to find a Con that reflects your interests than just rolling the dice on SDCC year after year.

Here are three upcoming major Cons that might appeal to different audiences. I'll be at least one, and I hope you  consider the same - especially if you got shut out of San Diego.


DragonCon

Attendance last year: 63,000

This is always a fun time for sci-fi, fantasy and comic book fans. It's more of a party than SDCC is, with more entertainment and more adult-only events, but some family fare as well. While it's numerically smaller than Cons like ECCC and Phoenix Comicon, the intense round-the-clock engagement of attendees means that it feels like a bigger Con.

Wrestling, live bands, puppet slams, burlesque shows, Rocky Horror and even a night at the local aquarium are just a few of the offerings; the panels and sessions are just as diverse, and focus on the paranormal, cosplay, sci fi, comics, alternate history, tech, gaming, books and more. In many ways, this is a truly nerdy Con in a way SDCC and NYCC shed a while ago - less mainstream pop culture and more of the weird and specific interests nerds tend to drill down into and get obsessed with. It's also more social; the bands and parties, and general friendliness of attendees, means you will always find a party to go to and people to party with. Yes, it's a popular Con for the poly/kinkster crew, but it's also easy just to make friends and find fellow fans and nerds to hang out with.

This year it happens 4-7 September in Atlanta, which means one important deadline looms on the horizon: 15 May is the final day to get the $110 Membership Rate. However you can still register through 15 August for the full $130 rate.



Salt Lake Comic Con

Attendance last year: 120,000

SDCC's nemesis is happening this year 24-26 September. Passes are on sale right now - with rates for all budgets. This Con has grown very rapidly and ranks up there with NYCC and SDCC in terms of size. I've never been, but it seems like a fairly generic pop culture and comic book convention, one that is a bit more wholesome than some other Cons. It's quite popular with parents who are looking to share their nerdy interests with their kids - something that was once guaranteed at SDCC, but these days is a bit harder to pull off, especially for a family of four or larger.

This is in Salt Lake City and tends to reflect the local culture; for instance, the Con runs Thursday-Saturday and does not have any events on Sunday. That can be a selling point for attendees looking for more of a family environment, while attendees looking for a more libertine experience might be happier elsewhere. Programming is still getting announced, but you can see some guests and news.




New York Comic Con

Attendance last year: 151,000

Last year NYCC dethroned SDCC as the biggest pop culture/comic convention. That only should tell you that this is a not a consolation prize for people who couldn't get into SDCC, but a massive and desirable event that offers many advantages San Diego does not.

The obvious: you're in New York. You're not going to struggle finding a hotel room, and if you've never been to NY, you can build in extra days to see the city or even drive into New England and see the autumn foliage. (Despite hailing from that region, I'm not a huge fan of New York - however, I do believe it is a city that everyone should experience at some point.) On the other hand, you won't find that city-wide sense of nerd community that San Diego offers so richly. It's very easy to walk away from NYCC and ten minutes later, feel completely alienated from the milieu you just left.

NYCC is run by ReedPOP, which means it differs from SDCC in other ways. While CCI does clearly want to improve our Comic-Con experience, ReedPOP has superior change management skills and a vastly greater appetite for change in general. From the cosplay red carpet to sexual harassment policies to recognizing and incorporating ECCC's excellent culture, they are willing to adapt to the ever-evolving Con community needs. They have to be that agile; they also run ECCC, Paris Comic Con, Shanghai Comic Con, Star Wars Celebration, C2E2, other Cons and are pretty much colonizing the planet.

There's also New York Super Week. NYCC happens 8-11 October; however, it's part of a larger event called New York Super Week that runs 5-11 October. This takes place out and about in the city and a few events have already been announced:

• Doctor Who Symphonic Spectacular (1st time in America)
• After Party with BBQ Films
• Workshops on Writing for TV and Film - led by top network & studio writers and producers
• A Shipwreck Fan Fiction Competition
• Karaoke with Broadway Stars

Many more events will be added over the spring and summer; cardholders also get discounts at various bars, attractions and restaurants. You can get the Super Week card if you buy a 4-day NYCC ticket for $105, while other ticket holders can buy it for an extra $10. Yes, it's really that cheap.

Tickets go on sale for both NYCC and Super Week go on sale 13 May; don't delay on this because they will go fast. You can buy online, at Special Edition NYC 6-7 June, or at a special Midtown Comics event this summer.




Other conventions are consistently presented as the community college to SDCC's Ivy League. This just isn't true anymore. If you were willing to shell out for San Diego and didn't get a badge, consider using that money for another Con. You are not settling for second best, even if it feels like it at first. You are being smart - and you're also getting ahead of the future attendees who will eventually turn NYCC and other Cons into the same traffic-jammed nightmare that SDCC is now. Be adventurous, try out these unique offerings of these Cons and enjoy them while you can. I don't think you'll regret it.

It's official: NYCC is bigger than SDCC

13 OCTOBER 2014

We don't know exactly how many people wandered through NYCC this weekend, but SVP Lance Fensterman tossed out a number in the 150K ballpark. Those are unique attendees - not vendors, not professionals, not people affiliated with New York Super Week.

Whether that makes NYCC the new King Con or not is your call. We all know San Diego's attendance is capped for the time being, but there's no denying SDCC still boasts the biggest Hollywood presence and greatest cultural mystique. Is NYCC is a major Con? Undoubtedly. But its numbers reflect the area population and accommodations as much as ReedPOP's deft organizational maneuvers.

Back when I was a young comic book fan, I was living in NY - and all I could think about was going to SDCC once I moved west. Frustrated as I get sometimes with its limitations, I do think it still offers a unique experience to attendees. One part of it: the complete 24/7 immersion in nerdiness and pop culture. Once you walk outside the Javits Center at NYCC, you lose that sense of being in a temporary world designed just for you. But NYCC is obviously popular for many legitimate reasons - and in the next few years, while San Diego fights its expansion battle, I predict we'll see other Cons surpass SDCC attendance.