Links
*Note: Twitter Advanced Search is not perfect, so some Tweets will be out of chronological order.
- Hasbro Transformers Press Event (October 4)
- All NYCC 2018 related Tweets
- "Transformers" Related Tweets
- "She-Ra and the Princesses of Power" Tweets (October 4)
- "Voltron: Legendary Defender" Tweets (October 5)
- "Mortal Engines" Tweets (October 5)
- Marvel's "Runaways" Tweets (October 5)
- "Star Trek Discovery" Tweets (October 6)
Regarding Cosplay Photos:
While I endeavored to ask permission for all cosplay photos I took during the convention I know I was unable to do so for a few (especially in big crowd situations). If you see a photo of yourself here and would like to be acknowledged with a link in this report, please contact me directly on Facebook and I will edit this report as soon as possible.
Over the course of the last six years, I have been watching New York Comic-Con grow. Mind you, this was never a small event. After all, this multimedia spectacular has filled the Javitz Center since it began. Over the past few years however it has spilled over into events outside the Javitz, including panels held at both the Hammerstein Ballroom and the Hulu Theater at Madison Square Garden. This means more than ever there is a lot of planning involved in trying to attend panels that interest you and still get what I call "floor time" where you can just wander the mind blowing experience that is the Javitz Center show floor. Even then you will likely have to sacrifice something to do something else. This is the new normal and it is an expression of just how grand this event has become.
When you do get to go to a panel for something you like (or love) it is an amazing experience. There is nothing like being in a room with hundreds of people who enjoy the same thing you do cheering and sometimes screaming happily as their favorite actors come on stage or a clip of a show is presented. At this year's "Voltron" panel for instance I learned that "Voltron" fans were some of the most enthusiastic (and loud) fan bases in all of New York Comic-Con and it was an absolute blast just soaking in the enthusiasm in the room. These are also the moments that remind you of why being a fan is such a great thing: the pure love and enthusiasm involved can be almost overwhelming at times and it makes me proud to fly my Geek flag high whenever I can!
The show floor was a sea of overwhelming stimuli as always. You have your giant booths like Marvel Comics, Diamond and Funko but you also have smaller shops that sell action figures and collectibles. In between other booths sell apparel ranging form hoodies to hand crafted leather goods. Among my favorite areas to visit are "The Block" where you get to see some of the weirder goods (like strange monster PVC figures and hand sewn goods) while the more mainstream Eaglemoss Booth features starships galore for Star Trek fans. Pro-tip: If you are looking for exclusive items, try to attend Thursday. I spend most of Thursday running around the show floor purchasing my exclusives for the weekend that way I did not have to worry about it later. Granted this is easier said than done. Some exclusives require waiting on extremely long lines so you could easily spend half a day on line for one or two items. This helped me avoid such madness (granted I did not go to any of the totally insane booths like Funko). By the end of Thursday I had managed to grab all the exclusives I wanted for the weekend and had a big hole in my wallet to show for it.
Another of my favorite aspects of Comic-Con are the experiences, generally set up by studios to promote projects like moves and TV shows. This year the folks behind the upcoming "Mortal Engines" movie were set up near the entrance with a mini "London" set with architecture and details right out of the movie. Small groups were assembled, quickly put in costume and then asked to act out some reactions to a scene happening on screen. Your reactions were then spliced into a video. The result was the video below. Super fun! I really recommend participating in these experiences as they really add a layer of fun to the whole convention.
Of course, when people think about conventions such as Comic-Con, they automatically think about cosplay! As always I was absolutely amazed at the creativity and sheer skill on display. From giant LEGO Super heroes to an awesome April O'Neil with four Turtles in tow in a wagon I really appreciated the work fans put into these costumes. It takes something special to be wiling to let your Geek Flag fly so high and put yourself out there for potentially thousands of people to see (and photograph).
In some ways, New York Comic-Con 2018 was a bit smaller than previous New York Comic-Cons. There were less photo ops and autograph guests than I remember in previous years and the big studios did not have as many large scale projects to promote. At the same time however the convention was just as big in size, with thousands of attendees bumping elbows as they shuffled past each other to get to the next exciting panel or event. It was exciting, fun and exhausting all at the same time and I am very happy to have attended.
Ben's World of Transformers offers its thanks to Reed Pop for providing BWTF with a Press Pass for this event.
