More information and fancy banners to be added over time. Antiquated information to be removed as needed.
Links of Interest:
NYCC Official Twitter
New York Comic Con Home Page
NYCC Fan FAQs (read this before asking any questions in this thread)
New York Super Week Website
9/10 NYCC-GAF members agree that Go! Go! Curry! is the best place to get good, cheap, filling food during NYCC. Expect to wait 90 mins!
NYC GAF thread for questions pertaining to things to see/do for out of town GAF members new to the city.
Introduction
A year has passed since the last New York Comic Con. The Walking Dead graces passes yet again for the 4th year in a row and New York Super Week events continue to grow. NYC is constantly in a state of change. Can you say the most wonderful time of the year is almost upon us? Wrist bands for Main Stage are back in full force so heads up.
The Javits Center area is massively expanding and is poised to become the Park Avenue of the West Side. With San Diego Comic Con capped at 130,000 due to convention capacity limits until it finds a bigger venue, last year's NYCC saw 151,000 people descend down to the Jacob Javits Center effectively overtaking San Diego Comic Con as the largest comic convention in the US. The Javits Center shows no sign of stopping expansions. Unfortunately, people had to take the long pilgrimage-like road to/from 8th avenue to get to or further out east to get to the Javits Center.
Fortunately, this year provides some much needed relief to cosplayers armed to the teeth with elaborate costumes packed in all kinds of cases and people coming from all over the place: NYC's newly opened 469th subway station, the 7 train to 34th St. Hudson Yards which is a completely modern subway station. Unfortunately, it's probably going to be crowded as sin but expect some fantastic pictures/videos to come out of it as New York Comic Con becomes the first convention to put the deepest subway station in the city to the test. Tourists plus cosplayers? What a can a worms that's going to become as cosplayers are bound to take over the High Line for photo shoots.
What's New This Year?
[ To be Updated]
- Due to its massive popularity, this year's The Walking Dead panel is going to be hosted at Madison Square Garden as its own separate event dubbed The Walking Dead Fan Premiere.
- After a couple of years of being pushed into smaller panel rooms, this year's big Main Stage panel on Saturday night is going the NYCC Eastern Cosplay Championships which puts the cosplay contest front and center once again. DTJAAAAM and others might want to arrive early to snag a wristband or wait around afterwards.
- Tickets this year are not being sold by third party retailers making tickets harder than ever to snag if you missed your chance to buy them when they initially went on sale online or at Special Edition. Instead, Midtown Comics is going to be selling them only one day at one location some time this month which they'll announce eventually. This is presumably being done so as to prevent the chaos that happened at last year's locations and to keep scalpers from planning to queue up/organize in mass.
- It's probably a safe bet that Hudson Yards Park will become a hangout/landmark place to meet up at from this year going forward.
- The Hammerstein Ballroom will host several panels this year if you show your NYCC pass at the door. FYI for those who don't know where it is, it's right across the street from the AMC Theatre near the A train on 34th street between 8th and 9th ave.
A Newbie's guide to surviving New York Comic Con:
Mandatory videos to watch
Show Tips
Artist Alley Tips
Newbie FAQs as answered by a con Veteran:
Events/Panels/Attractions of Interest to check out:What time does each area close at? I want to see an exhibitor before it closes.
Hint: Check the back of your badge since it has all the times listed without resorting to getting a cumbersome program book.You're welcome.
I'm confused about certain autographing sessions not being in the Autographing Hall and others saying booth 20XX. Help!
This a common question that happens a lot. If it says single/double digit tables e.g. Tables 10-11 for say Nathan Fillion, it's going to be at the Autographing Hall (close to the 1B area) next to Queue Hall. If it's a four digit table looking for say Jessica Nigri, it's going to be at the Show Floor.
I have absolutely no idea what to see or how to plan my day since I've never heard of many of the companies that are going to be there. What should I see?
I can't answer that question for you since it ultimately depends on what you're into and what you want to see. Ask yourself what are you going for? Are you a Whovian? A massive video game fan? Love comics or maybe you're an artist looking to network? Maybe you want to watch certain panels or just buy a bunch of stuff you wouldn't be able to get under normal circumstances. Maybe you want to get a bunch of autographs from a couple of people you admire that are going to be there. By all means, check out the website and plan out what you want to do in advance.
What is Queue Hall? How long can we expect to wait on lines? Does everything have a line? Can we lie down while waiting on lines or bring chairs?
Queue Hall (1C section) is where people go to line up for Main Theatre panels. Massive lines ahoy! If you want wrist bands to a main stage panel, get there bright and early before the Show Floor opens and get on the line that goes to Queue Hall then show up about an 1 hour/1.5 hours before the start of that panel and you're golden. No wrist band, no panel and they go fast!
Expect to see a friend of mines with a Minion hat and a huge megaphone holding down that area. Average wait times for a line range anywhere from 30 mins to about 1.5 hours. Everything and anything has a line; free autographs, paid autographs, photo ops with celebrities, panels, trying out a game in say Capcom's booth, food, even the bathroom. Lines are EVERYWHERE!Except for maybe at Artist Alley if it's not a big writer/artist duo.
Generally there's a capacity for things that people line up for e.g. R.L. Stine's line last year had a certain capacity of people that his manager would allow before we capped it. You're welcome to bring mini chairs and sit but if Crew/Staff tell you to move at moment's notice, be prepared to do so so don't get too comfortable. Stay hydrated, bring snacks, and keep calm. ABSOLUTELY NO LYING DOWN in the middle of a line. Why? Because it poses a fire safety hazard. Staff/Crew's job is to keep foot traffic moving smoothly and have the show be a pleasant experience, not cause unwanted accidents. You also can't sit on the show floor while waiting in line for something because of the aforementioned reason.
I'm new to the U.S and don't know how the food prices. Should I buy food at the convention center? How much money should I budget for food?
STAY FAR, FAR AWAY FROM CON FOOD! Seriously don't buy any food there. It's ridiculously overpriced. $10 for a beer?! You can easily get a beer here in NYC anywhere from $3-7 in a nearby bar. As for budgeting? Again, it depends. I personally will buy a huge bag of trail mix (assuming you're not allergic to nuts) from Kmart for 7-8 dollars and a 3 pack of gum as well as beef jerky to have on hand during my shift/walking around off-shift in addition to good old H2O or a Starbucks Refresher powder. This is excluding money for going to restaurants and what not. If I had to give you a guesstimate, it depends on how many days you're going to go for. I'd say $40-50 per day is good for food; anywhere from $250-$500 in cash for other things. It depends on how much disposable cash you're willing to spend.
There are lots of cheap eats in the area but I don't want to list them all here so I would advise you go to Yelp, ask in this thread, or visit the NYC GAF thread especially if you're new to town and want sights to see.
What is swag? I keep seeing that word get tossed around often during talk of conventions.
Swag is basically a term for free stuff that you get at conventions. It could be anything e.g. headbands, shirts, balls, pens, toys, bags, portable chargers, comics, books that you can get for pre-ordering a game at booth (which you can then cancel), etc.
I got a Thursday pass for $35. Is that a good deal? Should I be wary of dealing with scalpers if I want a 3 or a 4 Day pass? Is craigslist a viable option to buy passes?
I think the Thursday pass is a good deal at $35. Thursday is the most relaxed day out of the bunch to check out the Show Floor without worrying about navigating through a massive wall of people as well as other areas of the Javits Center as well as on Sunday.
Some of them might be willing to sell it at face value (3 Day: $65; 4 Day: $85) if you can haggle them well. Most of the passes you see on craigslist and on eBay are being sold for 75%-90% times the face value. Ridiculous, I know. I would say to avoid craigslist if you can; it's a bit shady or least have a friend come with you to the deal so nothing seedy goes down since you always want to be careful with that stuff. Try to negotiate for a cheaper price if you can but most people want to make a massive profit so be warned.
I need Wi-Fi badly for my line of work/to chronicle stuff on Twitter. Is the Wi-Fi at the Javits Center worth paying $8 a day for it?
Absolutely not. DO NOT PAY for the $8 a day Wi-Fi. That's completely bullshit to be honest. Everything is out to get your money in conventions. This is one of those things that I don't think is worth spending money on. From what I heard, the Wi-Fi at the Javits Center can be spotty at times depending on where you're at. You're definitely better off going to a McDonalds or a Starbucks to mooch off the free Wi-Fi. Be warned that the McDonalds near the Javits Center gets RIDICULOUSLY crowded during NYCC so always have back up places to go to. There's two Starbucks within the vicinity of Penn Station and one further north on 37th and 8th but it might be crowded during NYCC.
I'm concerned that my phone/laptop/tablet/portable gaming device is going to die out during the middle of my day. Are there any outlets where I can charge my phone at in the Javits Center?
There are tons of outlets around the Javits center but chances are that there will be people already mooching off of chargers all day, every day. However, some exhibitors will have charging stations but don't count on it.Additionally, if you're lucky, exhibitors give away free portable chargers which can really save you in a pinch. I would advise looking into ordering a portable charger off Amazon or get a spare battery and have it charged/kept warm. It'll save you a headache in the long run. That, or you can always go to a Starbucks to charge your stuff there.
I want to go to NYCC but I don't want to pay/don't have a Press/Pro credentials. Is there any way I can get in?
Absolutely yes! There's TONS of ways of getting in for free besides buying tickets or getting in as a professional/press or as Crew. Several exhibitors including Midtown Comics, Loot Crate, and Tokyo Pop as well as smaller exhibitors are always looking for people to help work their booths in exchange for a free Exhibitor's badge. Additionally, artists at Artist Alley will put out a call for assistants so follow the respective social media pages for announcements or email them. Some pay, most do not since you're volunteering in exchange to enjoy the show and get additional some perks.
How real is the notorious con flu?
Very real that it's usually contracted from coming in close contact with people. Symptoms include runny/stuffy nose, chest congestion with a cough that makes Storm blush, headaches, and soreness. Bring hand sanitizer, wash your hands thoroughly after using the bathroom, drink multivitamins/vitamin C as well as tea, eat soups, get a flu shot; anything to bolster up your immune system because when it hits, it hits hard and fast usually after it's all said and done but it also tends to hit early as well.
Hopefully that covers more less or everything. If you have any other questions, please don't feel ashamed to ask them in the thread since no question is stupid. There's a ton of con Veterans here so have at it.
- The Villains event at Sleep No More is still available to RSVP for if you haven't done so already. Check it out and RSVP ASAP.
- The annual NYCC Charity Auction is always worth checking out if nothing else than to see what type of art work catches the prettiest penny.
- ]The Street Fighter V panel is probably gonna be a ton of fun and worth checking out to see a new character get unveiled. Capcom also has a booth this year.
- The Deus Ex: Mankind Divided panel is also going to be really interesting to see. Alexis Toufexis AKA Adam Jensen will be there so bring your copy of Deus Ex: Human Revolution to hopefully get it signed.
- Firefly/Halo fans rejoice! Nathan Fillion is going to be in the Autographing Hall on Friday and Saturday
- Kevin Conroy is also going to be at the Autographing Hall so bring your copy of Batman: Arkham Knight ready to sign.
- Speed Dating at NYCC (Room 1E04) is back for the single and looking folks. It's $20 per session. I've been meaning to do a session each for fun and giggles so I definitely need to commit free time to do a session this year .
GAF Meet Up at NYCC:
To put it bluntly, it's hard to find time to do a GAF meet up during NYCC since everyone has a different agenda/schedules whether it's working, chasing down cosplayers to photograph, or attending panels, or being an exhibitor. That being said, anything is possible so watch this space leading up to it. Social media is usually the best place to coordinate. I'll be at the Villains event for sure so a GAF meet up can be had there.
GAF members going this year
As always, expect several GAF members to be in attendance whether as Crew, an artist/exhibitor on the show floor, or doing some kick ass cosplaying as an attendee. This list will be updated regularly.
