Why is Caturday so damn cute and so beloved? Well wonder no longer as the University of Chicago Press has published a book explaining exactly why cute is cute. See the blog post here.
And check the vid out here, the science of cute - which includes tons of cheesecake kitty cute shots you've come to love. Yes, today we’ve elevated Caturday to a much higher level!
Things are starting to take shape on BookExpo this year, and pretty rapidly at that. Here are a few highlights for you to start thinking about what the show is going to look like this year…….
Wow, there is more, a lot more happening and to be announced soon, but that gives you a little glimpse into what we’ve been working on here at Book Nerd HQ in Borwalk. I know this post was a bit cut and dry, but there is a lot of change happening in our business right now and BEA is going to reflect that in the very best and the most challenging ways, and I wanted to give you a heads up on some of the new, cool, different and well, simple logistical tricks we’ve got up our sleeves….
Stay tuned, ok? And as always, comment or email and let me know your perspective on things…..
L
OK, so it's not The Today Show, its the Today Show web site, but come on, what's the big dif? I knew they had producers at the con and apparently they took a lot of pictures. Check out The Today Show NYCC Slide Show by clicking right here. Maybe you'll spot yourself, or me or me in a Spirit costume.
-L
PS - Thanks Sara from our team for spotting this! Mark Twain would be proud.
Japan Society (333 East 47th Street) is an internationally acclaimed cultural institution that the New York Anime Festival had the honor and privilege of working with last year. Now, I'm excited to help spread the word about Japan Society's latest exhibition -- an exhibit every attendee of NYAF should take note of. Fanboys and fangirls, Japan Society will be exploring the phenomenon on Japanese pop culture in KRAZY! THE DELIRIOUS WORLD OF ANIME + MANGA + VIDEO GAMES from March 13 through June 14, 2009.
Pulling together 200 works of art, objects, and ephemera, KRAZY! illustrates the interconnected roots and themes of the three genres -- anime, manga, and video games -- and situates them within the context of Japanese art and life. Displayed in a series of enveloping spaces designed to evoke Tokyo’s clamorous cityscape by the Tokyo-based architectural firm Atelier Bow-Wow, KRAZY! includes the “Anime Garden” with simultaneous projections of six groundbreaking films accompanied by a special soundtrack room, the “Manga Pod” with close to one thousand books along with rare concept drawings and toys, and a video game space that allows visitors to play through key sections Toru Iwatani’s Pac-Man (1980) and Shigeru Miyamoto’s landmark Super Mario World (1990) and The Legend of Zelda: The Wind Waker (2002) in an environment as inventive as the games themselves.
Visit www.japansociety.org for further information, and keep on reading below for two highlights of KRAZY!
ANIME SCREENINGS
Several anime films featured in KRAZY! will be shown full-length in the recently upgraded -- with digital projectors and 5.1 surround sound -- auditorium at Japan Society, including Katsuhiro Otomo’s classic Akira (1988), Masaaki Yuasa's Mind Game (2004), Satoshi Kon’s Paprika (2006), Patlabor 2: The Movie by Mamoru Oshii (1993), The Place Promised in Our Early Days (2004) by Makoto Shinkai, and Super Dimension Fortress Macross: Episode 9 and 27 (1982-83) by Shoji Kawamori. Screenings begin Saturday, March 14 and continue until June 14, 2009. For a full schedule, visit www.japansociety.org.
KRAZY! COSPLAY PARTY
Saturday, March 28, 5:30-8:30 PM
In conjunction with the exhibition KRAZY! The Delirious World of Anime + Manga + Video, Japan Society holds its first-ever Cosplay Party, inviting local fans to create and showoff costumes of their favorite characters and share their enthusiasm for anime, manga, and video games. The Cosplay Party includes classic anime film screenings, a costume competition with prizes from Kinokuniya Bookstore and Manga Entertainment, and free admission to the KRAZY! Only costumed individuals are eligible for the competition. Tickets are $10 in advance or $15 at the door. See www.japansociety.org/cosplay for details.
Why was NYCC so awesome this year? Because god was on our side! Or as Elwood Blues would say, "We were on a mission from god."
Before the con I exchanged emails with a minister form Vermont who was also a comic fan. He assured me had being kicking a request for good weather and for any enemies of the con to be smited upstairs to the big man himself. I think He got the message as the weather was divine and there was nary an enemy of mine in site.
So check this op/ed on God and comics from the Bennington Banner scribed by God himself through the hands of my new pal the The Rev. Jerrod H. Hugenot, Minister The First Baptist Church of Bennington, VT.
Holy Reading, Batman
-L
New York Comic Con's wrapped and the next NYCC and first C2E2 aren't until 2010. Does that mean we're all laying low until next year? Not at all. It means it's anime season. The next New York Anime Festival is this September, and we're already hard at work on it.
Expect a lot of posts on the unique, interesting, and interactive events going on at NYAF, but today I wanted to write about a more serious matter.
I have been called a lot of things in my life but never have I been called the owner of, “one of the great quirky names of our time”. Who knew? On the blog The Antick Musings of G.B.H. Hornswoggler, Gent. He gave my name a shout out. I don’t know who this is, but he works for the publisher John Wiley and Sons. My sources there tell me he works in marketing on there line of financial books.
Read the post here – it’s bizarre, yes flattering, yes bizarre.
Well Andrew Wheeler, I salute you sir. I salute you for honoring my name instead of calling me Lance Underpants, Lance in Your Pants, Lancelot or any other variation on my name that would be less flattering. For this great honor, I plan to indirectly line your pockets by dashing to my neighborhood bookstore to buy a book on finance published by Wiley. Now please don’t every let me find you rooting through my trash, that would be too much.
Yours,
Lance Fensterman
Read carefully, this post could change or potentially ruin your life…..
I am looking for someone to join our team here in Borwalk, CT as a Marketing Director to oversee all of our marketing efforts on New York Comic Con, New York Anime Fest and the new C2E2 (Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo). This is not an entry level job, this is not a fan job this is not an easy job, but it is a lot of hard work and a lot of fun.
I’m looking for an individual who is creative, hard working, knows how to manage a budget, has a passion for and knowledge of comics and the pop culture space, but above all else, it a marketing pro that knows how to work in a team environment and a corporate environment with lots of moving pieces and processes.
The individual I am looking for should have at LEAST 5 years experience of managing a marketing campaign from beginning to end including experience managing a staff, creating a contact plan, managing a budget, the ability to work well within a large group and the ability to work in a corporate environment (lots of rules, forms, reports, procedures, etc).
I would love someone with knowledge of this space (or related spaces in pop culture) but above all else, this individual has to be able to manage the corporate maze that is Reed marketing to get things done. I will value results and ability to work within this system over market knowledge. Knowing Grant Morison’s entire body of work will not get an email deployed via the systems we use here on time.
The job is based in CT and you’d have to report to me, other than that it could be really cool!
Read the boiler plate job requirements below and do not send me a resume if you are not qualified. I am looking for a marketing pro that is a fan, not the other way around!
-Lance
College degree in Business Management, Advertising, Marketing or Communications preferred. MBA a plus. Five-plus years in business-to-business, corporate communications and internet marketing preferred. Experience in developing and implementing promotional/advertising support programs required. Must be highly organized and detail oriented, and must possess excellent oral and written communication and interpersonal skills. Must have strong writing and proofreading skills. Computer proficiency is required, including Microsoft Office, Access and Internet. Must be comfortable using the internet to do web-based research (i.e. competitive shows, potential areas for new growth on existing events, business development and opportunities for partnerships). Travel required.OK, NYC is kinda expensive, I can't deny that, I had to fill out a credit ap the other day when I wanted cream cheese with my bagel. However it's getting cheaper, BEA just negotiated hotel rate savings for anyone who stays in our hotel block for 2009. Most nightly rates dropped at least 10% and some hotels dropped as much as 25%.
Please feel free to use those savings to tip your friendly BEA Director dude....
View all the rates and make reservations on our travel page.
-L
This week we announced BEA’s plans to change it’s dates, days of the week and location beginning in 2010 for the next few years. Already PW is working on story with reactions, I’ve gotten emails and the various message boards are alive with bookseller and librarians chatter on the subject. I thought I’d try to add a few of my thoughts to the mix and add a little bit more depth to our decision (or as much depth as my NY Comic Con addled brain can muster anyway)
I kind of looked at the NYC decision as the bottom of Maslow’s pyramid of our re-imagination of BookExpo. It’s the shelter, housing, physical wellness. We need to know where the show is going to be and what location will best position the show to achieve our goals for the event (self actualization!) from here we can start to unveil the other thoughts and plans we have for the “new” BEA.
This fall we went through a process of recreating the event as if there never had been a BEA before. We asked ourselves if we were going to set out to build the preeminent North American trade book event what would it look like. The location seemed like an easy choice, you’d base it in the capital of the publishing world, just like the biggest gaming show is in Vegas and the auto show is in Detroit.
When we discussed when we would hold it, we looked at the history and the show was originally held on Memorial Day weekend as book shops were closed that weekend. Well, that is far from the case currently and in fact, my stores were always busiest on Saturday followed by Sunday. So why do we continue to ask booksellers to leave the store then? After booksellers, the majority of attendees are professionals and they are not typically working on a Saturday or a Sunday, hence why Friday is always the busiest day.
So it seemed clear that the major book business event should be based in NYC and held during the business week. This is not perfect for all and I know there are concerns, which I am not trying to dismiss, but it is the reasoning we put into the decision.
Another point however that cannot be overlooked is the ability to attract media of all kinds to the event. Publishers, booksellers and librarians alike, all need books to be sold and generating more media buzz out of BEA is crucial to the events vibrancy. Having a permanent home in the media capital of the U.S. will only aide us in generating consistent and meaningful buzz around books.
As I mentioned, this announcement is just the bottom of the pyramid we are climbing towards a very different looking BEA – a self actualized BEA, to continue my analogy.
Expect changes in booth strategy from our exhibitors that we plan to facilitate that will literally put authors on a stage front and center. Changes in the programming, the media coverage, the engagement of new media, the attendee mix and yes, I may even wear more bow ties.
The truth is our market is changing and I want to help lead that change and help all of our customers to do better business, not be an albatross that has outlived it’s time. In order to accomplish that, we need to make some bold changes, just as our market is experiencing bold changes. These changes will not always be the right decisions and the will not always be the popular decisions, but with your help and input our community will continue to have a vibrant marketplace where we gather to showcase the best of what we do and it will help raise the book in our culture at large thus help our business. No small task, right?
More in a few days on this subject……
-L
Check it! Thanks to my pal Bill at NBC for spreading the word around 30 Rock about NY Comic Con! Also, G4 is doing stories all this week on Attack of the Show on NYCC, Thursday night is the latest edition of Fresh Ink that looks pretty good with my pal (yes, she interviewed me this year again - sigh) Blair Butler.
Check out the Maddow clip, it's cute-tastic
Visit msnbc.com for Breaking News, World News, and News about the Economy
I was supposed to be resting these last two days but all I have done is work. Well, work and play with my cat dudes (and I did make time to play some Lego Star Wars on the X Box), but really, mostly work. That is so lame, but there has been so much coverage to read about the con, so many emails to respond to (good and bad) so many Facebook updates to check out, how can one just put up his feet and chill?
The Google news alerts about the con have been totally insane. There are hundreds of them a day and some of them are 12 items long, it’s crazy. You can clearly see that we had a record turn out of media at the con this year – over 1700 members of the press.
I am not going to be able to compile all of the links here, but I’ll hit some of the bigger ones but I don’t mean to omit anyone at all. If you have links to anything you know of, feel free to send them my way via email and I’ll compile them into a later post…..
Sliders In The Beard - This is a great post from Scott Kurtz at PVP about his first visit to NYCC. The highlight for me? Imagining Robert eating Castles. Buy em by the sack baby, it's the food of the gods!
IGN.COM - The Massive IGN.com NYCC Index is right here. I think these guys were writing while they were moderating some of the panels as the coverage came out so fast and furious. But if you think that is impressive you should hear them do a karaoke version of Every Rose Has It’s Thorn – I did.
Kids Get A Time Out - Time Out New York looks at Kids Day
NYCC Coverage-a-Rama - Newsarama freaking killed NYCC with coverage. If the con were a person, it would have been smothered under the tightly woven blanket of coverage Newsarama provided. They also broke our C2E2 launch story last week. See the entire index of coverage here.
CBR Me ASAP - CBR actually produced more content at the show than anyone else, if you can fathom that. And they stuck around almost as late as I did to talk to me on Sunday night after the con had wrapped. I came into there skybox to see them and the poor dude who interviewed me was asleep. You can find the interview I did with him while he slept here and there full coverage is blown out here, I dare you to try and read it all.
Yatta, Yatta – How about some Yatterman coverage from YouTube? There are already over 16,000 views of Sho’s appearance at NYCC.
Some of the Japanese news coverage of NYCC and Yatterman
Sakurai’s public appearance
Beat The Con – Our friends at The Beat have various links, observations and coverage you can find right here.
ICV2 is Always #1 – It’s now a tradition that for me, the con is not over until I return Milton Griepp’s call on Sunday night asking for numbers. He’s always the first to ask me. He wrote a piece about the con you can find right here including the stats.
Chip Kidd is My Hero - He tours the con floor in this great vid for Salon.com. He is so cool.....
Much more to come and send me your links!I'm tired and stuck in traffic on The Hutch trying to get home to see my resident cat dudes, Editor in Chief and read all the coverage about the con, but I gotta take a moment to say thanks for a kick ass con!!!!!!!
What a weekend and once again New York Comic Con grew by leaps and bounds and we had out first sell out. We are still waiting on a few numbers, but we know that nearly 77,000 people made there way through NYCC this year, up from 67,000 last year. We sold out of tickets on Saturday for the first time in the history of the con and several of our retailer partners sold out of every ticket they had.
All I can say is thanks to all of you. We are living in uncertain economic times and I firmly believed that if we built something cool for you that you would reward us by spending some of your hard earned dough at the con. And in deed you did and I thank you for it.....
I know not everything went perfectly (and I'm also certain that you'll post those instances right here!) But I feel like this con was cooler, more happening and more organized than the last and the last more than the con before that - we continue to grow and strive to give you a better expierecne and I promise we'll keep doing that. You gave me a lot of ideas for improvement this year and I hope you saw some of those ideas in action this weekend and we'll do the same going into next year.
So thank you, 77,000 times, I hope you had as much fun this weekend as we did planning the con and throwing it.
We've got a long time before we do this again (October 2010) but fret not, the fastest growing and second largest con in the U.S. Will not disappoint you when we move to the fall. In the mean time, who's up for some fun in downtown Chicago in a year? Yeah!!!!!
-L
Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog: www.mediumatlarge.net
203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!
Check out the young Jedi's in Training. Come on down, its a beautiful day and the con is jumping. I think we are as busy as yesterday, it is wild.
Kids under 12 get in free today, so bring the fam!
-L
Lance Fensterman
Vice President
BookExpo America
New York ComicCon
New York Anime Fest
Blog: www.mediumatlarge.net
203.840.5507 (o) 203.417.3607 (m)
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Sent from my BlackBerry Wireless Handheld - Please excuse any typos!
Teaching with Graphic Novels: Practical techniques for evaluating, reading and teaching with graphic novels - SATURDAY 6:30-7:30 ROOM 1A23 - has been cancelled due to a medical emergency with the moderator
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Saturday and Weekend Fan Passes are SOLD OUT! For the first time in NYCC history!
Friday, and Sunday passes still are available for purchase online and onsite.
On site pricing is now in effect. Current ticket pricing is:
Weekend Passes: SOLD OUT
Saturday Passes: SOLD OUT
Sunday Passes: $40
(Sunday is Kids Day, Kids under 12 are admitted free with an adult ticket holder.)
IMPORTANT NOTE: Some retailers still have Saturday passes, please visit our retailer page for a complete list of locations where you may still be able to obtain a weekend or Saturday pass. Click here for the list.
-L
Brian Thompson and Phillip Morris are signing on Saturday at autograph area table 2 at 12:00.
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Just wanted to give you all a reminder that our Comics and New Media panel begins at 3:30 in 1A22.
The panel was at 7 when our guide book went to print. All our online info is accurate, but if you're going by the book and not our website or addendum, you'll want to make note of this earlier time.
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We've got one tiny tweak to today's panels. 2009: Year of the Minimate's currently scheduled for 1-2 PM in 1A17. We'll be moving it into 1A07. The time's the same, but the room will now be bigger. We're working to get this change reflected on the online guide shortly, and there'll be signs on both 1A17 and 1A07 directing attendees to the new room.
I’ve been understandably neglecting my BookExpo blogging duties a bit lately, but I was out in Salt Lake last week for the ABA Winter Institute – OK, I came in for about 24 hours before NYCC dragged me home (this little Chicago development nudged me onto an earlier flight!) Being out there reminded me how much I loved being a bookseller and love booksellers. I had a great time with the boys from Green Apple Books in S.F. and Dave from Powell’s, etc. What an exceptional group of creative, intelligent folks. No wonder I didn’t last amongst there ranks!
However in the mean time, BookExpo Canada got cancelled and it prompted lots of calls and emails about BEA, and while I’m really bummed about BEC, it is not related to BEA at all. Things for BEA are going well, in spite of the economy and the hard times in the publishing biz in general, we are working hard towards a very different kind of BEA. We’ll be launching some announcements about that next week, but I’m pleased that all of the major publishers will be on the floor with booths of varying kinds. We are also working on a very different look, feel and strategy on how publishers exhibit at the show and I’m confident we’ll have a few of those big publishers in very different digs at BEA giving you a glimpse of what the show may look like in future years.
We are also lining up some awesome authors and events for the show. The author selection committee met last month (booksellers, librarians and media types that help us select authors for the big time events at the show) and we’ve really got some interesting selections to work with. From big time literary lions, to new voices to a little celebrity tossed in as well, I think you’ll be pleased. And in addition to the big time events, we are going to build some amazing stages on the show floor to feature even more authors that I hope will bring the focus squarely back onto the authors and the books and in a way that will be engaging for everyone. We are really trying hard this year to remove all of the “extras” that have popped up year after year at BEA and bring the emphasis back to publisher authors, booksellers, librarians, right professionals and most of all the books and the authors. Think Quality over quantity and I think it will make for a cleaner more focused show.
So all this is to say what I’ve maintained in the past, that this is a time of profound change in the publishing industry and BEA is going to be a reflection of that change, no doubt, but that does not necessarily mean for the worse. In fact this could be a terribly exciting time, scary, but exciting for all of us……
More on BEA when I get through the pop culture extravaganza that is New York Comic Con. I promise.
-L
New York Comic Con is only days (well, day) away, but there's still new news to gush about. Wanna talk gaming? I do. I wanted to put a little spotlight on two awesome bits of gaming that'll be at the show that I don't think I've spoken about yet.
So what is bigger news, that NYCC is moving to the fall or that we are bringing a massive con to downtown Chicago? Hmmmm, hard to say, but I wanted to give you some more thoughts, details and insights into this madness we are calling the Chicago Comic and Entertainment Expo – C2E2. First the name, how did we settle on that name anyway? Well, we tried a lot of different names and worked with lawyers to make sure it was fair for the taking and at first the Chicago and Comic and Entertainment Expo seemed like a mouth full, but C2E2, now that I kinda liked!
A lot of thought and discussion went into all of this, both here at NYCC World Headquarters, but also with our customers, all over the country. We were first approached about launching an event in Chicago last year around NYCC. It was something that honestly, we did not have designs on, but enough of our customers came to us either casually or formally and asked us that we pursue the idea. So here we are!
The April dates came about once we saw that NYCC was going to need to move to the fall. Originally, we had looked at Chicago for the fall, but the most important thing for us was to have the 3 major cons on the calendar spaced out appropriately, so April it is. We always wanted a con in April, but careful what you wish for, as we thought it would be NYCC!
I’m really pleased with the space we’ve got at McCormick for the show, it’s called Lakeview and it is awesome. We will have the entire building to ourselves and while it’s a little big for us in 2010 it gives us plenty of room to grow in the future. It has an amazing 6,000 seat state of the art theatre, it has tons of room for the queuing of lines beneath the halls (with escalators leading right up into the hall), it has amazing views of the lake, and it has tons and tons of parking. I really think it will be an exceptional venue for our fans and customers alike. Because the building will be all ours we’ll really own the place.
I’ve heard a few concerns out there about the costs at McCormick and the labor for exhibitors, and I’ll be honest, it will be more expensive than a hotel show or something outside the city itself, but so is NYC and we’ve found that when we help the exhibitors and we build a great con, it pays off. We’ll be providing free labor to people that want to cart in materials so they don’t have to break a sweat, just like we do at NYCC, we’ll have some free furnishings for exhibitors of a certain size and we’ll also have a cash back incentive for exhibitors that do both NYCC and C2E2. In the end, I’m certain exhibitors will find that we’ve created a program that will keep the costs of exhibiting extremely reasonable – it’s one of the advantages of being part of a larger organization like Reed, we have the ability to apply some economies of scale to the venue and the labor.
Our goals is to have a few guests to announce by summer, we were thinking of having like a “grand marshal” of C2E2 with some strong Chicago roots who will be our first guest (I can think of a few already!) and our resources to bring in talent and guests is massive. Really, this is going to be an exceptional event, mark my words, we won’t do it any other way….
Last but not least, I freaking love Chicago, I can’t wait to have an excuse to be out there on a more regular basis!
OK, here ends my rambling on our new projects. Give me shout if you’ve got ideas or suggestions, I want em!
-L
I know a guy that helped get me my job running BEA and eventually NYCC as well……He’s a helluva a guy and works for Harper Collins. That same guy acquired a book by another helluva of guy who also happens to hilarious. So why does this all matter to you’s? Because I got to read the manuscript months ago, loved it and now that the book is out, Xavier Robillard will be at NYCC pimping said book, Captain Freedom. So welcome to Medium at Large a real life, professional, publisher writer for a guest post and don’t miss him at the con, he’s signing copies of his new book (which is really hilarious) on Friday from 5-6…..
-L
G. Xavier Robillard
Ask the Superhero: Save the Cheerleader, Save the World?
The Superhero Captain Freedom has an advice column on his blog, captainfreedom.net. He will answer almost any question you put to him. Though this is not an excerpt from his memoir, Captain Freedom – A Superhero's Quest for Truth, Justice and the Celebrity He So Richly Deserves, you'll get a good sense of his personality and philosophy. Our Hero's powers are strength, flight, lightning-fast reflexes and acute weather prediction.
Is 'Save the Cheerleader, Save the World' Always True?
T. Kring, NBC.com
I'm guessing that you're asking about this specific plot resolution offered by the hit television show Heroes. Because I'm feeling as magnanimous as Doctor Magma is hot, I will answer this question both specifically and generally.
Does saving the Cheerleader always save the world? In Heroes, yes, it does. The Cheerleader, as played so well by Hayden Panettiere, is an important instrument in Heroes because she's damned adorable. I don't mean sexually, because that would be creepy. She's cute like a baby seal. Like a unicorn. Like a toddler using a unicorn horn to paint a picture of a baby seal. Not saving the Cheerleader would be devastating.
You might wonder why saving her always saves the world, and this is a fair question. In these uncertain times we need certainty in our television: the Superbowl won't end in a tie, great shows like Firefly will always be canceled and we will be left feeling like our feeding tube was pulled out, and the Cheerleader's life will save the world. Because we don't know what will happen to Sylar: will he be good, bad, or the stoic detached Zen monk who can kill people by pointing his index finger? Or will he use this same talent to become a neurosurgeon? We don't know. But we know that saving plucky Claire Bennett will allow humanity to continue.
As a matter of general superhero strategy: does saving any cheerleader save the world? The answer is also a resounding yes.
Little is known about the vast mysterious nature of cheerleaders, but cryptozoologists believe that they come from the planet Cutopia. They are created in a process in which faeries throw magic dust over spirit sticks which are carved from fallen tree limbs from trees deep in the Magik Woode. The cheerleaders are then sent to this planet to cure unhappiness and prevent misfortune. They're like an interplanetary charm bracelet.
Exhibit A: Bring It On. I could watch that movie almost every single night to unwind after a long day of crimefighting. Just one look at Kirsten Dunst's cute-as-a-button rictus and I start to relax - it doesn't matter that we face global ecological catastrophe, our enemies are gathering strength, and Iceland has no money, government... or ice.
Like most magical creatures cheerpeople are vulnerable, and it very important to keep them safe, and if the world is in jeopardy you will be rewarded. So if that mad scientist has a Death Ray trained on Manhattan your first priority should be to rescue a cheerleader from a nearby burning building. She will reward you with her magical pom-pom, which will render you invincible for 45 minutes, allowing you to take the full impact of the death ray with no collateral damage to the city, except a few extra potholes, which is well worth it.
G. Xavier Robillard is a humorist from Boston. He has contributed to McSweeney, Comedy Central and NPR. Captain Freedom is his first novel. Robillard will be signing books at ComicCon on Friday February 6.
As promised, I wanted to blog a few thoughts on the big announcement we made this week regarding a new home on the calendar for NYCC and our intention to launch a cool new pop culture and comics event in Chicago.
These were both projects we’ve been working on for a while, with not a lot of movement, and that all it once it came together. Cleary we needed the NYCC dates to be settled before this weekend’s show, but I felt strongly that if we were going to make Chicago happen I wanted it all to come out at once. By the skin of our teeth we pulled it all together, but in the process I may lose my mind!
I’ll focus here on NYCC and post separately on Chicago as they are linked, but really separate animals.
So why October for NYCC? To put it bluntly, we really didn’t have any choice in the matter. We had been meeting with the Javits on and off for over a year trying to find acceptable dates, with room to grow, that we could keep for multiple years. We looked at everything; moving other Reed shows, running the con on Mothers Day even if there was anywhere else we could stage the con (Boston? Could we call it New York Style Con?). Finally, Javits came to us with an idea – October. They would move another show to make room for us and give us the ENTIRE upstairs of the building and the downstairs for panels. This was a big risk for us as we’ve never been in the fall, but after months of scheming, this was the only option we had to work with. After talking to our customers the general consensus was that we have built something of value, and if it happens in October then they will be there in October. And what we were facing was no New York Comic Con or NYCC in October, all signs seemed to point to the fall. I talked with the folks from other cons who this would disrupt before we announced it, and while I could do little more than give them the heads up, we did not want anyone to think we were doing this to deliberately cause difficulty for anyone, it was the best choice of no choices!
So now we have a long time in between this NYCC and the next, and while I’d love to take a long vacation, we are looking at some cool fan focused event ideas that we can do half way through the long cycle, so stay tuned for that, OK?
A number of people have also asked about the New York Anime Fest and what will happen considering it is just 2 weeks from the new NYCC 2010 dates, and the answer is, for now, nothing. NYAF will still happen in September of 09 and from there we’ll decide what is the best course of action. What I do promise is that whatever we do, it will honor the community we’ve developed of Anime fans. The whole reason we launched a separate event in NYAF was to give those Otaku’s there own place to be with there friends and fellow fans and no mater what they do, we won’t disrupt that, it may be in a different form but we’ll keep the Otaku together, I promise.
So now we’ve finally got a permanent home for NYCC on the calendar and room to grow. Do you get this, we are talking about the entire top floor of the Javits center, this allows us to grow into a massive pop culture event with comics right in the middle of it all. This a huge step in the development of NYCC and, bumps and all I am freaking thrilled at the prospect of building something totally massive for all of you fans in 2010.
This is going to be fun kids!
-L
Heidi has an amazing listing of plans for NYCC from Pubs, check it all out right here at The Beat it will enrich your con experience!
-L
A few things have come up that I want to cover here, briefly.
Twitter – I will be tweeting during the con, not a ton, but I’ll tweet some prizes and flash mobs when I see something cool, I’ll also tweet out any last minute schedule changes and the like. So if you haven’t already, sign up to follow NY_COMIC_CON on Twitter and enable your mobile so you’ll get tweets from me during the con.
Don’t Freeze – I got it confirmed today that we’ll have a queuing hall for Friday in addition to Saturday & Sunday (we pushed another show out sooner so you can line up inside in a nice hall on Friday). This is a good thing. I’ve also been asked about when the building will open on Saturday & Sunday. The plan is to open the doors around 7am. I say “around” because we rely on Javits security and public safety to be in place on time so we can open the building on time – this does not always happen, but I’ll be there pushing them! We’ll distribute the first come first serve autographing tickets before the doors open, so I’m thinking 645ish for the tickets.
Friday Autographing Tickets – I don’t think we had a time on the site, but we’ll be handing out autographing tickets on Friday at 11am in the queuing hall to those first in line.
OK, that’s the stuff that was on my mind that I wanted to share with you tonight. I’m heading down to the Javits Center tomorrow and will be there through the weekend, so emailing me might get a slightly slower response (if at all, who are we kidding!) but I do a pretty good job of keeping up with things.
Wanna know something really crazy? The very big boss of Reed is going to come to the con for the first time ever on Friday. I mean the guy that runs the whole thing – offices in 40 countries, 400 events around the globe, the big guy. Please promise me that you’ll all make me look good on Friday, ok?
See you at the con!
Lance
Man, this is not happy news for NYCC, fans or the Morrison family, but we learned today that Grant cannot make the trip to NYCC due to a family situation. We spoke to Grant personally, and I want to respect his privacy, but this is a really unfortunate situation with his mother that is far more important that NYCC. Grant said, “My apologies to everyone, and particularly to the readers I won’t get a chance to meet this time around due to circumstances beyond my control.”
I know this stinks, but family always comes first and this is a serious situation for the Morrison family, so please join me in sending good vibes across to pond, he was deeply disappointed to not be joining all of us.
This news caught us totally off guard today so we issued a press release as soon as we learned and we did not blog it first to all of you, my apologies.
If you bought an advance ticket for a signing with Grant, it will be automatically refunded and it should be done tonight. If after the con you have not seen that refund come through, please let us know right away.
Drag, but the con will go on!
-L
NYCC has a lot of movies and TV coming this weekend. We've got Dollhouse, Fringe, Futurama, Torchwood, Watchmen, and Pixar's Up at just the start of the list. But, there's a lot more coming to NYCC beyond the big networks and studios. I'm very excited to have screenings including Big Man Japan (3:15 / 1A04 / Friday), The Girl Who Leapt Through Time (11 AM / 1A04 / Sunday), and Hero Tomorrow (1:30 / 1A04 / Saturday). And I wanted to talk a little more about Hero Tomorrow -- as while you probably know a thing or two about Dollhouse, Futurama, and even Big Man Japan -- I'm going to think Hero Tomorrow is new for most of you. What's it about officially?
David spends his days cutting grass and his nights smoking while desperately trying to keep his super hero fantasies alive. When Robyn, his aspiring fashion-designer girlfriend, makes him a Halloween costume of his original character -- Apama -- it doesn't take David long to hit the streets and begin blundering towards disaster. This comic book Don Quixote is characterized by surreal flourishes, mixing dream, fantasy, and flashbacks that borrow as much from the art house as the comic shop.
Sounds good? Sure. What this little except doesn't capture is just how much Hero Tomorrow's been praised by Newsarama, G4, and the Comic Buyers Guide, and we're proud to bring it to NYC and NYCC. Hero Tomorrow screens at 1:30 PM in Room 1A04 on Saturday, February 7. Director Ted Sikora will be coming to the con, too, so stick around after the screening for a Q&A.
New York Comic Con revealed last month that maverick Japanese director Takashi Miike and superstar actor and pop star Sho Sakurai will attend New York Comic Con and present the World Premiere of their upcoming feature film, Yatterman. The news of Yatterman's premiere and Miike and Sakurai's appearances quickly spread throughout the media, talked about by press and fans from America to Japan. And soon after, we made note that because of some changes from Japan, we'd be revising the schedule of Yatterman events. Today, NYCC can reveal the full and final schedule of Yatterman, Takashi Miike, and Sho Sakurai events at New York Comic Con.
Meet Yatterman Star Sho Sakurai
2:45 PM, Friday, February 6, Yatterman / Nikkatsu Booth (#1315) (Jacob Javits Center)
Star of Yatterman and Japan’s top pop idol Sho Sakurai makes a rare personal appearance for his fans, many of whom have come from very far away to see him. Stop by the booth to hear his personal greeting to his fans and to get a glimpse at one of Japan’s top stars. (Please note that Sakurai’s time will be limited and that his appearance is subject to change or cancellation for security reasons. All photography and video recording of Sakurai is strictly prohibited, and he is unable to sign autographs at this time.)
Yatterman Booth
Booth #1315 (Jacob Javits Center)
Get a glimpse of Yatterman all weekend long at the Nikkatsu booth on the New York Comic Con show floor. Additionally, on Friday, February 6, tickets for that night’s 8:00 pm World Premiere screening of Yatterman will be distributed free to fans beginning promptly at 3:00 — ask a booth staff member for your ticket. (Ticket numbers are limited and do not guarantee movie admission.)
Yatterman Panel
4:00 PM, Friday, February 6, IGN Theater (Jacob Javits Center)
Fans have been waiting for Takashi Miike to create a giant robot movie for years, and finally it’s here! Takashi Miike will premiere the first nine minutes of Yatterman for the first time anywhere in the world at NYCC's Yatterman panel and then speak about the film and take questions from fans in a panel moderated by Subway Cinema.
Yatterman Signing
4:00 PM, Friday, February 6, IGN Theater (Jacob Javits Center)
Following the Yatterman panel, director Takashi Miike will be signing autographs for fans for a limited time. Sakurai will not be signing autographs at NYCC.
Yatterman World Premiere
8:00 PM, Friday, February 6, Directors Guild Theater (110 West 57th Street)
This is it! The first time the brand-new, live-action, Japanese feature film Yatterman is screened anywhere in the world, and New York Comic Con, Subway Cinema, and Nikkatsu are all thrilled to open this event to fans. Free tickets to the Yatterman premiere will be distributed to fans on Friday, February 6 at the Nikkatsu booth (#1315), starting at 3:00 pm. Takashi Miike and Sho Sakurai will both be present at this special event. Please note, though, that Sakurai's appearance is subject to change or cancellation for security reasons. Tickets are subject to limited availability and access to the cinema is on a strictly first-come, first-served basis; arrive early to guarantee your seat. Note that no cameras or recording devices will be allowed inside the DGA Theater.
New York Comic Con is excited to welcome Miike, Sakurai, and Yatterman to New York. We know plans have changed since our original announcement, and we hope fans understand the reason for these changes. Not present in New York Comic Con's revised Yatterman plans are Sho Sakurai's autographing signing and a second screening of Yatterman, originally scheduled for Saturday night. Both of these events have been canceled due to security concerns. We know fans have been clamoring for more information and more access to Sakurai, and NYCC has been working with all our partners to make this a possibility, but there are some security issues we cannot get around, and as such, we have to announce this revised schedule.
The world premiere of Yatterman would not be possible without the tremendous support of Nikkatsu, Subway Cinema and The Kitano Hotel, the official hotel sponsor for the event.
I’m very pleased to announce Yvonne Strahovski (Sarah Walker on Chuck) will join Chuck co-creator/executive producer Josh Schwartz and co-creator Chris Fedak for NYCC’s panel on (you guessed it) Chuck! The trio will appear for a Q&A to discuss the second season of the popular action-comedy and to screen an extended trailer created especially for NYCC. This footage has never been seen before. (This glimpse into the future of Chuck will include the likes of Chevy Chase and Scott Bakula, lots of action, a bit of romance and maybe a few other surprises.)
Airing Mondays at 8 p.m. ET/PT on NBC, the one-hour series stars Zachary Levi as Chuck Bartowski, an everyman whose life is thrown into disarray after his friend, a CIA agent, sends him an e-mail that results in the world's secrets being embedded in his mind. Overnight, this mild-mannered computer genius has a new career as the government's most vital secret agent.
NYCC’s Chuck panel kicks off at 11:15 AM on Sunday, February 8 in Room 1A08. No autograph sessions are scheduled.
NYCC is thrilled to announce that Joshua Jackson will be appearing at NYCC as part of our Fringe panel – taking place Sunday, February 8. A critically acclaimed thriller, Fringe centers on an unlikely trio uncovering a mystery involving a series of unbelievable events and delves beneath the surface as the threat of a larger, more disturbing pattern blurs the line between the possible and the impossible. Fringe, from J.J. Abrams (Lost), Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci – the team behind Star Trek, Mission: Impossible III and Alias – and fellow executive producers Jeff Pinkner (Lost, Alias) and Bryan Burk (Lost, Alias), airs Tuesdays at 9 p.m. ET/PT on FOX. Jackson portrays Peter Bishop on the hit series. Previously announced panelists include Anna Torv (“Olivia Dunham”), John Noble (“Dr. Walter Bishop”), Jasika Nicole (“Astrid Farnsworth”), Lance Reddick (“Phillip Broyles”), Kirk Acevedo (“Charlie Francis”), and Blair Brown (“Nina Sharp”).
Additionally, due to the size of the appearing cast and fan response to our original panel announcements, NYCC will be moving the Fringe panel into our biggest room – the IGN Theater. NYCC’s Fringe panel will take place at 2 PM on Sunday, February 8 in the IGN Theater. The Fringe panel will directly follow NYCC’s Dollhouse panel featuring Joss Whedon and Tahmoh Penikett (12:45-1:45).
Select Fringe cast members will be autographing immediately following their panel in the Autograph Area in the rear of the Exhibition Hall. The Fringe autographing is not ticketed.
OK gang we've been working on this massive announcement for a while now and I can finally fill you in on some big changes for NYCC and a huge new event for the team here and fans boys and fan girls in downtown Chicago.....
The con is upon us dear friends, the con is upon us. Don’t panic, just refer back to your training - deep breaths, do your stretches, wash your good con clothes, txt your friends, plan your safe word, clear your head and get ready for a pop culture explosion.
In my quest to help you, I’m pulling together a few pre-con thoughts to help you get the most out of NYCC 2009.
iCon – Use it. It’s our handy interactive map and con planner. You can view all the panels, see every exhibitor, you an event track me thanks to the chip they inserted. Really, use it, it will help you plan your time at NYCC. Check it out here.
Where To Go for Tickets – Are you a fan and need your badge or need to buy one? Look at the map on this post (click on it to enlarge), the blue area on level 3 is where all fans go. Professionals and exhibitors? The blue area on Level 2 is for you!
Get Your Badge Early – Prices will go up on site, so buy your ticket online before midnight on Thursday. Next, pick up your badge early if you can do it. Professional and fan alike can beat the crowds and pick up (or purchase) badges early. Here are the hours that we’ll have registration open for your convenience.
Wednesday: Pros only12-430 Thursday: Pros 8-430 Fans 12-430 Friday: Pros 8-7 Fans 11-7 Saturday: ALL 8-7 Sunday: All 8-5
The Building Layout – Now that you know where and when to get badges, you better learn the rest of the building (really, use the map!). Most important is how to get into the con. Fans will enter on level 3 after being led in from the queuing hall. Pro’s Exhibitors and VIP’s YOU HAVE YOU VERY OWN ENTRANCE! You will use a dedicated entrance on Level 2.
Autographing Tickets – This is new this year, so be sure to read all of the instructions which you can find right here. The goal was to give as many people as possible a shot at getting tickets.
Addendum – Remember, things will change at the con up to the very last minute, so when you get to the con, be sure to grab the on site addendum so you can see any last minute traditions.
VIP’s – You have your very own lounge where you can store your swag, hang your coats, get your chance at autographing tickets and event eat your lunch. The room is located on Level 1 all the way at the North end of the building.
-L
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 April 13-15, 2012 |
 April 6 -8, 2012 |
 Fall 2012 |
 October 7 - 8, 2011 |
 October 11 - 14, 2012 |
 October 11 - 14, 2012 |
 August 20 - 21, 2011 |
 August 23-26, 2012 |
