New York Comic Con 2022: Twilight of the Covid Con Era?
Rich L.: Nightwing Cosplay
Another New York Comic Con has passed, and I would've attended the whole weekend, but sadly, conflicts got in the way. Despite this situation, I was still able enjoy my time and do everything that I intended to do. This year NYCC fell on October 6th to the 9th, and it was, shockingly, very easy for me to obtain a four day pass this year (although I was limited to what days I could attend). I did, however, have a great experience at this years’ pop culture event.
With the general convention itself, it was still in a period of acknowledging the pandemic but also becoming more relaxed with it. Vaccine cards were not required, nor were masks, but they were encouraged, with some panels requiring them. I mostly wore my mask through a good chunk of the day, then took it off later as the convention population loosened up. All of the panels that I went to, however, weren’t enforcing masks, though I did hear one staff member tell people to wear them.
Another big factor were the reservations for paid autographs, photo ops, and the general panels. This was pretty frustrating as the online reservations were limited, following a first come, first serve setup. I only reserved the Bleach panel and was concerned that I wouldn’t be able to enter any other panels if I didn’t reserve a spot for them. That thought diminished when I attended the Bleach panel and two others. For the Bleach panel, I showed my QR code to the staff to get in and they didn’t know what to do with it. Because of this issue, I almost missed out on a seat for the event. When I went with my friends to the other panels that I didn’t reserve, they just let me in and didn’t ask me or him for anything. On one hand, I’m glad they didn’t ask for my reservation, on the other, this scenario made me question what was the point of it at all? Why make me stress out in the first place, and why set up panel reservations if it was easy to get into them without it? I also had no trouble getting an autograph for a guest that I didn't reserve a seat for either. If I had to guess, this was more than just to make yourself a priority, maybe this was their field test for something greater for future conventions.
As for the panels, on Saturday I went to the Bleach panel where they’d be premiering the first episode of the new anime arc: The Thousand Year Blood War. Technically it’s not a brand new arc for the series, but it’s the first time it received an anime adaptation since the arc debuted in 2012. Bleach was always considered one of “The Big Three” of anime alongside Naruto and One Piece. With Bleach, however, for some reason, it started to lose respect and possibly fandom in its last few storylines. Honestly, I will admit, it wasn’t as good as the shorter arcs before this one, so this anime adaptation is a huge deal, especially for hardcore Bleach fans like myself. The panel started with a Bleach cosplay competition, which was fun, as all the outfits were great. The person that won was dressed as Uryu Ishida from the series and it was nice to see so much anime love take place at NYCC.
Before the episode started, the Japanese voice actor of Ichigo (Bleach’s protagonist), Masakazu Morita, had a special message saying how excited he was to be voicing the iconic Ichigo again. He also helped us do the countdown for the premiere. The first episode was fantastic, and the animation and art style were stunning. At one point in the episode, a minor new character appeared, was slain, and as their partner was about to meet the same fate, Ichigo and the other main heroes arrived to saved them. Colorful, yet dark and foreboding, the animation resembled the art style of the manga’s author, Tite Kubo, more than anything else. With the new version of “Number One” (Ichigo’s theme) playing in the background, tears started streaming from my eyes. I can’t recall when that has ever happened to me with an anime, but watching this episode provided a “reuniting with a close friend that you haven’t seen in years” feeling. One possible flaw I saw in the first episode was that it was a bit fast paced. Granted, they did cut out some content, but at the same time, they also said they’re fleshing out this arc beyond the chapters in the manga series. My other gripes with the experience was that I wish we’d gotten a message from Johnny Young Bosch (English voice for Ichigo who I believe was a the con) about his role as Ichigo for the English voiced version, and, some more news about Bleach in general.
The Windchesters: Drake Roger and Meg Donnelly
The next panel I went to was for the pilot, The Winchesters; a prequel to CW's, Supernatural. It follows the younger versions of Mary Campbell and John Winchester, who were the parents of Dean and Sam Winchester (the two main characters of Supernatural). Described by the panelists as “How I met Your Mother” of Supernatural, I was excited for this spin-off. The pilot, while not as exciting as the new Bleach episode, was still pretty enjoyable, and eased some concerns I had for the show. It still had that same gritty, comedic charm the original show had, and even showcased a returning monster from the Supernatural series with a more improved, threatening design. After the preview, they brought out Meg Donnelly and Drake Roger (the actors playing young Mary and John); Jensen Ackles (Dean Winchester) and his wife Danneel Ackles (who helped with this show); followed by the show runner, Robbie Thompson. I had no idea that Jensen Ackles would be at the panel, so this was a very pleasant surprise.
The cast talked about what inspired the show, with Jensen and Daneel stating that they came up with the idea during the pandemic. Robb also stated (multiple times), that they weren’t trying to rewrite the story of Supernatural, just offer new insights into its beginnings. Another nice surprise was that they introduced the actor who'd be playing the younger version of Samuel Winchester (Mary's dad in the original series), Tom Welling (Clark Kent in the Smallville series). This was a pleasant surprise, and it was funny to see Jensen and Tom crack jokes about their Smallville days since Jensen played a reoccurring character in season 4 of Smallville. They also announced that they intend on bringing back “other” returning characters, especially if the show does well.
The final panel I went to, was a two for one deal. The first half was about Doom Patrol’s upcoming season, with TITANS’ fourth season, being the second half. Doom Patrol had Brendan Fraiser (Robotman), April Bowlby (Rita Farr), Michelle Gomez (Madame Rouge), and Joivan Wade (Cyborg) appear on stage. In my opinion, Brendan Fraiser was probably the most recognizable, and like Jensen Ackles at The Winchesters panel, I was star struck. Funnily enough, while most of the stars had an elaborate answer to what their favorite part of being on the show was, Brendan simply laughed and responded with what we were all thinking with him in the role: “I'm just happy I have a job!”. They discussed what the team dynamic will be like in Season 4, especially with Madame Rouge officially being a part of the main cast. They answered other questions like what they had in common with their characters, and what they thought of the fact that butt monsters have become the unofficial mascot of the show. The new season debuts December 8th on HBO Max, and I highly recommend it. It's a great show.
Brendan Fraiser
Lex Luthor played by Titus Welliver
As the TITANS’ cast entered the stage: Brenton Thwaites (Dick Greyson/Nightwing), Joshua Orpin (Connor Kent/Superboy), Ryan Potter (Beastboy), and show runner Greg Walker, they showed a nice teaser for season four, showcasing the main characters traveling around, having fun, and then getting an interruption via a broadcast from Lex Luthor. This season, Lex (played by Titus Welliver) will be introduced with fellow antagonist, Brother Blood and the Hive. Brother Blood was never a DC villain that interested me based on past adaptions, but him rising from a literal pool of blood from the trailer seems much more appealing and threatening.
During the panel, Beast Boy and Raven's relationship was addressed. Since the former teaser showed Beast Boy with his arm around Raven; when the moderator pointed this out, Ryan and some of the other cast members gave the audience an interesting look. Will there be more between the two this season? The crowd also cheered as they hinted that Starfire and Nightwing would get back together. Brenton also suggested that Nightwing would be a bit more funnier and wisecracking in the series. During the final clip, the panel revealed the Titans battling a new villain, Mother Mayhem, which was portrayed by Franka Potente). It was a bit strange how all of the heroes attacked her one by one instead of using any team formations, still, it was a cool scene with a lot of action as each member tried to fight her.
Mother Mayhem from TITANS played by Franka Potente (From HBO MAX)
Overall, NYCC 2022 was an enjoyable experience. One aspect of the con that I sorely missed were the video game panels and free game demos to play. There were little to no video game panels for any upcoming games, and demos were limited. The only developer that seemed to have any demos available were Bandai Namco’s Dragon Ball: The Breakers. It's a shame because some of my fondest memories of Comic Con was when I played Soul Calibur 6, and My Hero Academia: Ones Justice. I’ll never forget how NYCC had a panel and party event for Devil May Cry 5. If I had to speculate the reason for the lack of gaming panels and new demos, it's probably due to them not wanting to constantly have to disinfect controllers (thanks COVID!), the fact that a lot of developers released their info on YouTube, or, just maybe, they’re planning something major for E3 2023.
I did, however, get an autograph from the voice actor, Ray Chase. He’s known for voicing countless characters from video games and anime and has really developed his craft since 2016. The wait wasn't the longest as I had him sign my case for my deluxe edition of Final Fantasy XV. Since he voices one of my favorite Final Fantasy protagonists, Noctis Lucis Caleum, I was able to talk to him about Noctis, as well as what we liked and disliked about the character. Ray also lit up (no pun intended) when I recognized him as Cinder and Arbiter in the Xbox One’s Killer Instinct game, as those were apparently some of his first voice acting roles.
As a fan of NYCC, and with COVID becoming less of a factor, this year’s event definitely showed that they’re starting to go back to their former glory. I’m looking forward to 2023, and I can’t wait to attend with no mask at all. Soon, I won’t have to worry about the days of the pandemic as NYCC is looking forward to a better and brighter future.
