Fans flock to the city for annual New York Comic Convention
By: Nolan Cleary
Staff writer
Creators, cosplayers and fans from around the world united for the New York Comic Convention at the Jacob Javits Center from Thursday, Oct. 3 to Sunday, Oct. 6.
Ricky Ross, a first-time attendee, said he enjoyed the atmosphere.
“It’s a good experience so far,” said Ross. “It’s my first time being in New York too, so all the cosplayers and the vibes here are pretty nice.”
In addition to saying he enjoyed the atmosphere, Ross said he liked attending the 30th anniversary of the “Batman Beyond” TV series.
“It was talking about the history of Batman,” he said. “It all came together [and] I never knew all that [stuff about Batman,]”
A number of movies were promoted at the convention on Thursday, such as “Free Guy” from director Taika Waititi (“Thor: Ragnorok,” “What We Do In The Shadows”), hitting theaters in 2020. Ryan Reynolds made a surprise appearance to promote the film along with Jodie Comer (“Killing Eve”) and Joe Keery (“Stranger Things”).
The King’s Man, the upcoming prequel to 2015’s “Kingsman: The Secret Service” and 2017’s “Kingsman: The Golden Circle,” also made an appearance. Director Matthew Vaughn attended with cast members Djimon Hounsou (“Aquaman,” “Guardians of the Galaxy”), Ralph Fiennes and star Harris Dickinson (“Maleficent: Mistress of Evil,” “The Dark Crystal: Age of Resistance”).
Brain Joines, a comic book artist and creator whose comic, “Imagine Agents,” is being auctioned off for a movie with Michael Keaton attached. He said New York Comic Con is a great opportunity to meet other creators.
“My favorite part is connecting with other creators I haven’t seen for a while or meeting new ones and starting new friendships and meeting the fans who want to read my books and have read my books,” Joines said.
DC Comics had a large presence this year. They promoted multiple shows such as season 6 of “The Flash,” the final season of “Arrow,” the premiere of “Batwoman” and the premiere of the upcoming adult animated “Harley Quinn” TV series, starring Kaley Cuoco as the title character.
Darren Aldrich a frequent comic convention attendee, said this is his first one in New York City. Aldrich said he was impressed by much of the cosplay he viewed.
“I saw a pretty good Pikachu,” he said. “This [convention] seems a lot bigger in scale,” Aldrich continued. “There’s a lot more content, a lot more to do.”
The headlining event was the premiere of the “Watchmen” series, hitting HBO Oct. 20. Regina King, Tim Blake Nelson, Jeremy Irons and others took to the stage to promote the project.
On Saturday, Rosie Perez and Margot Robbie made surprise appearances to promote “Birds of Prey” (and the Fantabulous Emancipation of One Harley Quinn), which will feature the return of Robbie’s Harley Quinn following 2016’s “Suicide Squad”. The film comes out in Feb. 2020.
Marvel also made an appearance to debut season 3 of their Hulu series, “The Runaways”. Marvel revealed some information on “Marvel’s Avengers,” which they said may follow up the success of 2018’s “Spider-Man” on the PS4.
Marvel also premiered episode 1 of “Marvel’s Hero Project”. The series rewards children that do extraordinary things by giving them their own Marvel comic book that features them as the hero of the story. The series will debut publicly on the upcoming Disney+ streaming service.
Gerardo Sandoval, a Marvel comic book artist who’s worked on comics such as “Spider-Man,” “X-Men” and “Venom,” came from Mexico City to see the event.
“It’s really exciting [and] New York has a lot of people,” Sandoval said. “New York City is a really nice and crazy city, and the Con is the same,” he continued.