New York Comic Con is the convention that I look forward to attending every year. It's local, it's not overwhelmingly crowded and the panels are usually pretty interesting. That is, until this year. Don't get me wrong, I had a blast at NYCC, but there is no doubt that the Javits Center severely oversold the event this year. There was even a point on Saturday when they closed all of the doors and were not admitting any more attendees into the convention because they were over capacity. I had arrived late that day, but luckily because I had a press badge and Melissa had an exhibitor badge we were permitted to enter anyway. I had also heard people complaining about the lack of guests and interesting panels. I disagree with this point. Last year, the two big panels were The Walking Dead and The Avengers panels. The Walking Dead returned for a panel again this year, but it wouldn't have made sense for The Avengers to return when their next movie isn't scheduled to be released for a few years. Plus, Clark Gregg crashed the Marvel TV panel to be there when Joss Whedon and Kevin Fiege's video clips announced that the S.H.I.E.L.D. television series would feature Agent Coulson. That's pretty darn exciting if you ask me! Not to mention that Tom Felton, Adam West, Burt Ward, and Stephen Arnell (the new Arrow) were all in attendance. As for other guests, I was very pleased. Maybe it's because I love comics, but the main reason that I attend conventions is to see the authors and artists behind each of my favorite series. I don't get overly excited when I meet movie stars, but place me in front of an author like Neil Gaiman and I'm speechless. I love getting my books signed and just being able to have a few moments in the presence of someone talented enough to have created a series I respect.
