Comic Cons Big & Small in NYC

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Parent Category: Film and the Arts

Category: Previews

Published on Wednesday, 23 July 2014 21:44

Written by Renzo Adler

NY Comic Con 2013

One of the most important aspects of comics is the sense of community. Whether it’s your local comic shop, that one person you like to talk to about what happened in the latest X-Men, following your favorite artist on tumblr,  or that most coveted gathering; the comic convention, comics fandom hinges itself on community to sustain itself. In the mid 90’s the cons I went to were usually in church basements or hotel ballrooms. Movie trailers were shown on small projection screens like you’d see in a classroom, and bootleg VHS’s of Do You Remember Love gave you a glimpse of that anime thing everyone was talking about.

Over the years, with the growth of comics having a presence in movies and tv (but how come no one ever talks about how Blue Is the Warmest Color was adapted from a comic?), and the rapid commercialization and commodification of “nerd culture,” we have seen the comic convention grow ever larger. The San Diego Comic Con (July 24 - 27)has gone from its meager beginnings to a colossal mega-event. Movie companies now have free reign of the space, and there have been grumblings that the comic industry is being steadily pushed out.

New York Comic Con (October 9 - 12 at the Javits Center) was started amongst a drought of large conventions in New York City. In past years the Javits Center was considered a logistical nightmare and conventions operated out of it usually went nowhere. But that was before “geekiness” was something being sold in malls and bookstores, on t-shirts and home appliances, and extending beyond small niche groups. “Bang, pow! Comics aren’t for kids anymore!” (I never liked that headline). Reed Pop, organizers of NYCC, must have sense that the time was right, and since it’s premiere in 2006 NYCC has been wildly successful to the point where tickets for this year’s con sold out in roughly an hour.

Similar to SDCC, NYCC attracts many exhibitors that operate outside of comics, and has a strong media presence, but there’s also range of exhibitors from small publishers, to niche vinyl toys, to media juggernauts like Adult Swim. It still feels like companies that are not media conglomerates still have a presence. But for those interested in comics and comics alone, it can lead to something I like to call “con fatigue.” Despite its wear on me, NYCC is still an event I always make a point of attending since there is nothing quite like it in the NYC area.

In June, ReedPop held Special Edition NYC, an offshoot of NYCC that took away anything not related directly to comics. No video games, no movies, no TV, not even publishing houses or non-comics vendors. It’s size as a convention was miniscule compared to NYCC, but it preserved a sense of intimacy that is hard to maintain with an event the size of NYCC. Guests included big names like Mike Allred (Madman, FF), Gail Simone (Batgirl, Secret Six), and Howard Chaykin (Satellite Sam, American Flagg) along with a small but dedicated indie presence. When I pulled up the the Javits, I was astounded to see a comic event there that didn’t have throngs of people spilling out onto the sidewalks (though that isn’t to say it wasn’t well attended).  SENYC cultivated a sense of intimacy and simplicity that made it a real joy to attend. But for those looking for an even more intimate comics experience there’s Frank Santoro and Santoro-Con.

Frank Santoro exudes earnestness.  Author of the highly acclaimed comic Pompeii, Santoro is wiry and has a mane of hair that would be at home at a Quiet Riot concert. Selling comics in Pittsburgh, he also offers a correspondence course on how to make your own comics and in the summer he comes to NYC. In a slightly run down artist’s studio along the West Side Highway he organizes his own Santoro-Con, a one day event where the only advertising is done word of mouth through social media. Spread out on a fold-up table are several long boxes filled with everything from books from Marvel’s Epic imprint, to Hernandez Bros comics, to hand-stapled zines. Local artists will show up with their own prints, zines, or mini-comics. There is no pretense, no huge companies, no movie or TV star guests. It’s almost like an ascetic comic con. There is only a pure enthusiasm for the art form of comics. It reminded me of the Museum of Comic & Cartoon Art Festival (MoCCA), but placed into a crucible. The purity of Santoro-Con balances out the presence of the larger mega-cons.

It’s very easy to get cynical and say that larger cons are pushing out the smaller ones, but comics fandom has a way of surviving. Some cons give into the allure of Hollywood and mainstream media attention, some cons balance that out with genuine attention also paid to the craft, and some cons just keep things simple. Which type of con that ends up thriving depends on you attending them.

To learn more, go to: http://franksantoro.tumblr.com/  http://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/

New York Comic Con
October 9 - 12, 2014

655 W 34th St
New York, NY 10001