So we did the floor walk, we covered the toys and we posted a bunch of pictures of cosplayers - but what about the comic book presence at NYCC 2014? Shouldn't that be what it's all about? Well, it's easy sometimes for the 'heart' of the event to get overshadowed by celebrity appearances, video games, cosplayers and everything else that goes on at a show as big as this one (and for the record, NYCC eclipsed San Diego for the first time, officially making this the biggest con in the country) but yeah, comics are still going strong.
Living legend Neal Adams had a pretty huge booth set up in the main hall area, selling prints and books and commissioned sketches and photos…
…while the Kirby Museum was set up nearby, showing off a few original art pieces penciled for Marvel by the King himself during their Silver Age reign of terror.
Marvel was nearby and not surprisingly, they probably had the biggest presence, at least on the main floor, of any of the publishers in attendance. A lot of what was going on at their booth was related not just to comics but to upcoming TV and movie projects as well as video game projects but there was a steady stream of comics professionals on hand throughout the convention signing and doing sketches.
Boom Studios was nearby, and again, there were plenty of Boom related artists signing for fans. From there, around the corner was a pretty huge Image booth and an equally huge Dark Horse Comics booth promoting the recent Fire And Stone books as well as the Whedon properties they deal with and The Strain.
Also on hand were publishers Zenoscope Entertainment, Avatar Press (heavily promoting Crossed and their Garth Ennis titles), Archie Comics (who had an Afterlife With Archie/Sabrina signing), Valiant Comics, Dynamite Entertainment and Storm King Comics promoting John Carpenter's Asylum.
Of course, in addition to the publishers, there were plenty of dealers on hand. One of the reasons to hit a show like this is to check out all of the amazing original artwork that winds up being bought, sold, traded and displayed. Here we saw pieces from legends like Bernie Wrightson, Barry Windsor Smith, Bob Kane, Alex Ross and scores more.
But what about the comics themselves? Again, it's easy for vendors to get buried at the show, hidden behind a massive display or whatnot. This year it seemed like there were actually more comic book dealers on the floor than there were at the 2013 show, and that's a good thing for everyone who cares about the art form. While a lot of the bigger dealers were, understandably, focusing on older books, many of them slabbed in those CGC plastic guards, there were plenty of dealers offering up modern titles too. In this day where so many comics are bought and sold online, it's impressive to see so many important key back issues being offered in one place. Some shots of a bunch of people selling comics!
Of course, it wouldn't be much of a comic convention at all if there weren't artists and writers on hand signing books and talking to fans. Outside of booth signings and big displays like the one Neal Adams had, almost all of this happens in Artists Alley. It was pretty packed this year, seemingly more so than last, and that's also a very good thing. On hand to talk, sign and sketch were guys like Arthur Suydam, Howard Chaykin, Tim Vigil, Joe Maduira, Sean Chen, Brian Pulido, Peter David, Joe Staton, James O'Barr, Tony S. Daniel, Geoff Darrow, David Lloyd and hundreds more.
Unfortunately this didn't happen…
but this did!
And so did this!