By Ed Giza
Over 150,000 fans swarmed the Javits Center last weekend for the ninth annual New York Comic Con. As comics continue their steady takeover of the film, television, and video game worlds, NYCC has grown into a sprawling event showcasing some of the most exciting happenings in the entertainment industry.
The main entryway to the showroom floor was stocked with sculptures and weapon replicas of every variety. Weta Workshop’s booth greeted visitors with massive recreations of Smaug and Azog from the Hobbit trilogy, as well as some nifty rayguns from their Dr. Grordbort’s line of steampunk-y goodness. TriForce also had plenty of large pieces on display, from Gears of War weaponry to Batman and Deadshot cowls. They even featured large Tetris blocks to decorate your living room (so long as someone else doesn’t beat you to purchasing all of the line blocks!).
Marvel screened a number of teasers at their members-only Marvel Unlimited Plus event, including the first peek at next year’s Ant-Man flick. They also granted a second look at the Avengers: Age of Ultron footage shown earlier this year at San Diego Comic Con. The rest of us will be able to see the Avengers trailer next month alongside Christopher Nolan’s Interstellar.
On the comics side of things, Marvel will be kicking off a year-long “Secret Wars” event in 2015 on the heels of “Time Runs Out.” Details are currently slim, but writer Jonathan Hickman has supposedly been waiting to pounce with his take on the 1980s classic.
Although DC did not have a booth on the showroom floor, they had a number of panels to show off their newest television endeavors. With Arrow firmly established, Gotham and Flash in their infancy, and Constantine launching this week, DC is clearly taking their jump to television seriously.
DC’s Digital: Download This! panel showcased a handful of upcoming digital series. In the vein of Batman ’66, Wonder Woman ’77 will be based on the TV series starring Linda Carter. Mortal Kombat X will jump to the future to fill in bits of story about the next game between fatalities. A digital Fables series based on Telltale Games’ Fables: The Wolf Among Us was another nifty surprise, especially as the main series winds through its final issues.
Capcom’s booth was bursting with enthusiasm over Monster Hunter 4 Ultimate, due for release in early 2015 for the Nintendo 3DS. Seasoned veterans of the franchise were lining up for a chance to take down monsters old and new. The hardcore hunt will feature true online multiplayer, as opposed to previous editions that required hunters to rely on local wireless. Resident Evil Revelations 2 was also demo-ready, and will be released for Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Playstation 4, and Xbox One in early 2015.
Comic dealer booths were bustling with fans wheeling and dealing to fill gaps in their collections. Key Guardians of the Galaxy issues were in particular demand, hot on the heels of their film debut. It’s funny how much of an impact a little thing like a summer blockbuster can have on a franchise’s popularity. There were likely more fans in Starlord garb this year than at every previous New York Comic Con combined!
New York Comic Con surpassed San Diego Comic Con in attendance this year, becoming the biggest comic convention in America. This will hopefully lead to more splashy reveals, bigger demos, and a grander presence from some companies. It is already near-impossible to see everything in a single day, but the thought of heaping more onto the plate makes the adventure sound that much grander.
