This past weekend was the New York Comic Con/ Anime Fest. The 4 day convention was held October 13-16 at the Jacob Javits Center in New York City. This was the 2^nd year in that both conventions were combined and for the first time the event lasted 4 days.

Thursday was the opening day of the convention. For those who were lucky enough to buy a 4 day pass or was a VIP Member had first crack at entering the con to see what it had to offer. Since the con was opened 1 day earlier, some of the booths were not fully set up such as the Bandai Booth. Other than that the convention experience was the same.

Friday through Sunday saw the most foot traffic with each day sold out. The convention was packed and it was full comic and anime goodness. There were many good panels and events this year. The con boasted the Quiddich World Cup and Bayblade Championships as well as Famous members in the comic and anime world. Stan Lee, Mark Hammil, Todd Haberkorn, and Collene Clinkenbeard were at the con amongst many more.

The overall experience of the con was good. Everything appeared to go off without any hitches. The Convention Hall and panels were packed to capacity and there was something for everyone.

Exhibiters such as UBISOFT, BANDAI, FUNIMATION, MICROSOFT, HASBRO, MARVEL, DC and ASPEN COMICS all had large booths. The UBISOFT booth was demoing its Lets Dance 3 Featuring the Black Eyed Peas. Bandai and Funimation sold their dvd’s as well as gave away posters and had autograph signings. Microsoft had booths where people could play Halo, Darkness 2, Transformers, and Assassins Creed Revelations.  Marvel, Dc and Aspen had their booths selling their comics and offering signings.

There were many booths dedicated to Comics including mainstream and Indi Comics. Throughout the exhibition hall the anime booths were scattered. The cult yard was packed with goodies from venders selling steam punk items and the artwork of the Cosplay Deviants.

The panels of this year convention also covered many aspects of the world of comics and anime. Panels included Arkham City Panel, Resident Evil Panel, Venture Brothers Panel, Fairy Tale Anime Panel, Dragon Age Panel and many more.

This year also included special events such as the Anime Speed Dating event, Opening Concert featuring Z-Trip and Tom Morello, Maid Café and more.

There were a few downsides to the convention but they were minor. The first downside was the small amount of anime booths and events at the con this year. The Convention was listed as the New York Comic con featuring the Anime fest. I would have liked to have seen more anime booths and exhibits separated from the Comic Con area. That way people who had wanted to go the anime fest only would have had an easier time finding their booths of interests.

The second downside was the queuing system in which fans were waiting on line for whatever panels or sessions they were waiting for.  Other conventions that we have seen used the ropes or the belt dividers to keep the lines organized so that it could stop people from jumping the line and prevent people thinking one line is for one panel when it was for another.  The queuing system would have eliminated much of the confusing that was started because of the lack of lines.

The final downside was the volunteers. Most of the volunteers didn’t know what was going on and there seemed to be a small amount of miscommunication.  In some instances we asked a couple of volunteer’s questions and receive 2 to 3 different responses that led to some confusion. I think that the volunteers needed a better system to keep each other informed to help the con run smoothly.

Other than those 3 issues the convention was fun and very informative. We were able to experience the industry with great exhibits, panels and interactions with various leaders in the industry.

In summation the New York Comic Con featuring the Anime fest was rated 8 out of 10. It was enjoyable and informative. Since this was the second year of the two conventions combined it is to be expected that there are kinks to be worked out and we are excited to see what will happen next year.