New York Comic Con 2014 Reporter’s Notebook – Friday

The East Coast’s biggest comic book and nerd media convention, New York Comic Con, is going on this weekend, and below are some of my observations from my first day. If you weren’t able to make it to the con this year, I hope this will help you get a sense of what it was like.

The crowds seemed lighter this Friday than any Friday I have previously attended. That is in contrast to the reports I heard about Thursday — I was not able to attend myself — which overall called it typical of the crowds usually seen on a Saturday at NYCC. Those crowds may have mostly been on the showroom floor buying merchandise in advance of the usual three-day craziness. I heard reports from vendors stating they were crazy busy on Thursday and saw Facebook posts from friends noting how much cash they had dropped on merch that day.

Which isn’t to say that today wasn’t busy — as demonstrated by the fact that, with all the new shininess that is the Jacob K Javits Convention Center, there is still a serious shortage of bathroom space.

Speaking of the new Javits, it is so completely refreshed that I have to modify my long-held stance that it is the worst center in which to hold a convention anywhere. While the North Annex is still a pain to get to, the rest of the facility has been drastically improved as regards traffic flow and open space. I dare say at this point it is now one of my favorite places to do hall cosplay shots. The entire roof of the facility has been lifted and replaced with glass walls and ceilings. So any time there is sun outside, there is sun inside in almost every open space.

The press room is smaller than before, but the trade off is that it is in a better location, up on the fourth floor, with piles of seating space in the area reserved for staff, press and VIPs. And it is just one short escalator ride up from the beer vendor.

The outside of the Javits is also done with its renovations, which makes 35th Street much more convenient for cars and cabs than in the past few years. It also makes for more open space outside for photo shoots.

Stay tuned for the first set of cosplay shots and another Reporter’s Notebook tomorrow.