NYCC 2010: Odds ‘n’ Sods

The obligatory “not so good” list, only speaking from my experience at NYCC 2010:

Crowd control, or lack thereof. This indeed was a problem and needs to be addressed better at future conventions. The “security” staff did little to manage crowds, or even keep the escalators from overpacking. The construction created two chokepoints between the two major areas of the exhibition hall, which could have been remedied by making each passageway “one way only” and actually enforcing it.

Aritsts Alley finding guide. While Artists Alley was nicely spaced out (even more so than the exhibition floor) the one poster listing all the artists’ names in table order was useless.

Not announcing earlier there would be after 7pm panels. Enough said already.

Disruptive photo taking practices. But would setting up “designated photo areas” really work?

Lack of panel information. The panel information listed on the NYCC site and in the official program was terrible. The web interface required you to click on the name of each panel to display information, and the program only listed titles of the programs. Heidi MacDonald of The Beat blog was kind enough to assemble all of the information in one long, detailed list on her site.

Did anime get shortchanged? After all, this was the “New York Comic Con / New York Anime Fest”. There are reports that the anime kids felt shortchanged by the event, with their panels, exhibitors, and artists remanded to second-class areas. I really can’t address this, but it wasn’t until I was coming home on Saturday that I flipped through the program and found an entirely different NYAF Artists Alley, hidden down in the lower level of the Javits Center. Also, Tokyopop and Viz Media didn’t even have booths on the exhibition floor, and Vertical Inc. was hidden in the small press area.

Finally people, please STOP complaining that the Javits Convention Center isn’t “near anything interesting”. Hell’s Kitchen is the western ass-end of NYC, with heavy traffic coming in from the Lincoln Tunnel, leftover warehousing, and more residences than restaurants. (It’s about the only area in NYC where there isn’t food available every 10 feet.) But it’s the only place in Manhattan that has the facilities to hold NYCC. If you don’t like it, don’t show up. Also, concerning food, CB Cebulski provided great tips on his Eataku blog for places a 10 to 15 minute walk from the Javits Center.

Overall, I had a good (not extraordinary, but certainly far from disastrous) experience at NYCC 2010, but in some ways, I wasn’t the typical attendee. I attended as press, avoiding lines for entry. I wasn’t interested in gathering swag, so I didn’t fight my way to some booths. The panels I wanted to attend were in smaller-sized rooms, and were perhaps less popular. I also wasn’t willing to stand in lines. If I couldn’t get into a panel, I didn’t get upset. I was a “casual” NYCC attendee, unlike the “dedicated” or “volunteer” attendee I am at small press cons like MoCCA, SPX, and (hopefully someday) APE and Stumptown. My purchases at NYCC totaled a mere $20 for one small press book (from Vertical Inc.) , and a subscription to an indie magazine (Bust).

In all, I found NYCC a closer, cheaper alternative than SDCC, a show I love attending but requires time, money, and travel commitments to get to from the east coast. If they expand NYCC to Thursday next year (as rumored), I would willingly attend NYCC for at least the weekdays of the con.