#NYCC2019 - Sunday Edition: Frustration and Disappointment
Before this year, New York Comic Con was an event – something I looked forward to every October. It’s the closest thing I could get to attending the true height of pop and nerd culture, San Diego Comic Con. Yet this year, I left the convention wondering if it would even be worth returning to. I was immediately put on the back foot this year when tickets for almost every single day sold out in under thirty minutes, effectively relegating me to only attend for one day, Sunday, with my good friend Alex.
We got inside and toured the Dealer’s Hall, where I saw two items I’d purchased on sale for sixty dollars collectively now going for fifty five dollars each. Now, I’m no stranger to convention prices, having sprung for so much convention merchandise in the past, but seeing such a stark difference in price so soon after a purchase broke something in me. It made me come to realize that I’d spent money both for my ticket and train ride in, simply to spend more money on things I could be buying cheaper elsewhere. Not only that, but the convention exclusive items were either underwhelming or sold out by the time I got to them. I had a checklist of things I wanted to do while at the convention, and one by one Alex and I went through them.
Johnny Yong Bosch
Firstly, I wanted to get Jonny Yong Bosch’s autograph. Now, you readers may remember I got his autograph at Emerald City Comic Con, but I wanted him to autograph the series he was in that meant the most to me, Trigun. Yet, when we found Mr. Bosch’s booth, Alex and I discovered a sizeable line that ended in a sixty dollar charge for his autograph. Now, having already met him and paid for his autograph once, I didn’t feel like doing it again, and Alex, after looking beyond the line to see the voice actor had this to say: “I saw him! That’s good enough for me. You know why? BECAUSE IT’S FREE.”
Gamespot’s exclusive look at My Hero's One Justice 2.
My Earned MHA 2 T-Shirt
Secondly, I wanted to get my hands on the first playable demo for the newly announced My Hero One’s Justice 2, sequel to the similarly named My Hero One’s Justice, which I actually wrote a review for here. I got to play it a total of three times and from what I played it’s just as enjoyable as the original, although it definitely plays differently. Namely, dashing is tied to a stamina meter now so you can’t constantly pressure your opponent, the game’s gravity has increased so characters float less in the air than they used to, and assist characters can now use their Plus Ultra Attacks in addition to Assist moves. The game as a whole now feels much faster and by extension has more tension in each match. Though due to the game’s increased speed, it felt like I barely got a chance to play, especially with new playable character addition Mirio Togata. However, even with my limited playtime I was still able to win against one of Bandai Namco’s Pro Players to earn an official My Hero One’s Justice 2 T-Shirt! Of course in a cruel twist of irony, the shirt is two sizes too small for me to actually wear. Still, I am very excited for the game, and I can’t wait to play it when it hits store shelves next year!
Dan Slott
Third on my list was getting two autographs from the Artist Alley, one from Gabriel Picolo, the lead artist for the recently released Teen Titans: Raven graphic novel, and Dan Slott, author of many beloved comic books, including one very near and dear to me, Arkham Asylum Living Hell. Getting Gabriel Picolo’s autograph ended up being a bust, as for some bizarre reason Greg Cipes, voice of Beast Boy in Teen Titans and Teen Titans GO! was signing autographs at Mr. Picolo’s booth, and neither I nor Alex had the patience to wait in the extensive line he created. So, finally, I arrived at Dan Slott’s booth. I got to meet him for the very first time and tell him how much his book meant to me. For those who don’t know, Arkham Asylum Living Hell is one of my favorite Batman stories, and one of my favorite comic books, period. I love the comic so much, I once tried to get a group of friends in high school together to turn it into a film, or a live action miniseries. It never materialized, but clips of it can still be found online. Not only that, but the production spurred me on to continue my own personal creative efforts, leading me to write and direct three original short films, Invisible, Fiasco, and just recently Pennsylvania Devil. Thanks to that failed production, I continued to work at my craft until I created something. For starting my first push into filmmaking, Dan Slott is truly one of my heroes, and I’m grateful to have been able to meet him, and tell him just how much his work meant to me. That truly was the highlight of my time at the convention, and it’s a shame that was the only moment like that to be found at this year’s New York Comic Con.
So then why exactly am I so dissatisfied with my experience if I was able to meet one of my heroes? Well, ultimately I think it boils down to three things: a difference in attitude from the staff, physical discomfort and genuine stress.
Booth Staff
This year, the staff at the various booths felt a little less knowledgeable than before, at least for those of which I wanted to ask questions of. I was curious to know more about My Hero One’s Justice 2, and I had heard that there was a Q and A panel for it on Saturday. So I asked one of the people manning the game’s booth what questions were answered at the panel since as far as I could tell no one transcribed or reported on said panel online. The employee’s response? “I don’t know, I wasn’t at the panel.” No follow up, no suggestion as to who else I should ask. I asked a VIZ Media employee about VIZ Originals, having been announced back at Emerald City Comic Con with portfolio reviews occurring at NYCC, yet the most I could get from them regarding any future information on the program is that an online portfolio submission portal would be opening “soon”, and that if they were to come to AnimeNYC (as they say they will on the official webpage) that submissions for portfolio reviews would open “two weeks before the convention. Maybe.” The lack of concrete information given out when I had questions was really frustrating.
Physical Discomfort
Secondly, and perhaps most unfortunately was the physical discomfort present at this convention. I’m no stranger to waiting in lines, but maybe I’m just getting too old for the dense nature of New York Comic Con. There were dozens of incidents where Alex and I would just be stopped dead in the middle of an aisle, packed between hundreds of strangers. Standing in one crowded spot for five to ten minutes at a time was enough to drive me mad. Not to mention many people noticeably smelled FOUL at this convention. I always make it a point to bathe and brush my teeth, especially before a con, as many internet skits have joked about how awful people can stink at a convention. Not to mention my own bad experience at last year’s New York Comic Con where I ended up breathing in my own bad breath under my All For One mask. Yet this was the first time ever where I’ve not only noticed others’ smell at a con, but been actively repulsed by it. It’s not something I want to ever experience again. People, if you are going to a convention, USE SOAP AND DEODERANT. PLEASE!
Stress
These two individual issues combined into a prevalent overall issue that plagued my convention experience – actual, genuine stress. There have been times in the past where I’ve been stressed at a convention: when I’m afraid I’ll miss a panel, waiting on line for a famous person’s autograph or looking for an elusive item to purchase, but this time, this was entirely self-inflicted stress. What I mean by that is that I was having such a poor, underwhelming experience at NYCC that I was actively thinking that I was doing something wrong. That I was missing something, or that there would be something I could do to make my experience better. As a result, I kept looking for something fun to do, something that would make my experience worth it, and when I saw that Alex was having about as much fun as I was, I thought it was my fault. So I kept asking him “Are you all right?” as if waiting for him to tell me what I was doing wrong or what we could be doing to make the convention more fun for the two of us, but he was simply tired and just as unimpressed with the con as I was. I ended up asking Alex if he was all right so many times that he had to shout at me to stop, which was more than a little embarrassing, but necessary to get the point across I suppose.
Ultimately, these conventions are supposed to be fun, they’re supposed to be a holiday for me and my friends to celebrate everything we love about pop culture, yet for the most part, 2019’s New York Comic Con was an absolute nightmare. Honestly, it makes me question whether or not it’s worth returning next year. There were still definitely fun and great moments to be had, but the negatives actually outweighed the positives this time, and that’s very, very sad. Here’s hoping 2020 brings things back to their former glory.
