by Mike Collins

Overcrowded.

I've been to a few big cons before but I've never seen anything like this. From the moment I arrived at the Javits Center I could tell that there were a lot of people there. There was a lot of confusion at the entrance as to where you were supposed to go. I had bought a ticket a month ago to avoid a line getting in and was promptly sent into the wrong line to register.

After about twenty minutes someone on the staff asked if anyone had a ticket already. Those of us that did were given bracelets and told to go into the show. It just seemed disorganized for such a big convention.

The actual show floor was smaller than I expected. D.C. was the first big booth when you enter. Lots of nice banners hanging from the ceiling, lots of preview books to take a look at and lots of staff.

Marvel's booth was off to the right of D.C. Really crowded and not much to look at. They did have a huge display case with all of their upcoming action figures. Marvel's Jesse Falcon was on hand talking to the fans and answering questions. He seemed like a nice guy and even had surveys for fans to fill out. It was good to see Marvel actually attempting to listen to what their fans were more interested in seeing.

The aisles were small, maybe six or seven feet wide with tons of people jammed in. It's great to see such enthusiasm for a comic show in New York but it was so crowded you couldn't get into a booth to look at anything without pretending to be Indiana Jones dodging onrushing boulders. Retailers couldn't have been happy to have so many people on the floor that you couldn't stop to shop.

Artists Alley wrapped around the back end of the floor and was honestly too crowded for me to even walk through. I wanted to try and meet David Finch but I couldn't figure out where he was supposed to be. I did see several creators including Michael Oeming and David Mack signing boatloads of things for fans with smiles for everyone.

Frank Cho had a prime spot in the back but each time I walked past his space he wasn't there. He probably got stuck outside like everyone else.

The panels I attended were entertaining. Say what you will about Joe Quesada but in person he comes off as a genuinely nice guy. When he opens the floor up to questions in each panel he will answer any question asked of him. Fans may not like the answer but he does answer. His running joke throughout the day was the apparent demise of Speedball, going so far as to have presentation slides made up to continue the joke.

At the panel for Ultraviolet, Milla Jovovich absolutely had a good time with the fans. She took some questions, gave a few hugs and sang Happy Birthday to someone's brother. She came across as a stunningly beautiful, hyperactive kid. I had read somewhere that she could come off a bit cold. Not yesterday. She delighted the people at her panel.

I'm not a big fan of D.C. comics but I am now a fan of Dan DiDio. When the lines were at their worst and people were stopped from returning to the show floor, DiDio walked the lines handing out pins and talking to everyone. He made a point of thanking everyone for coming and for being fans of the medium. He did a better job of calming angry fans down than the show's staff. Dan is a great spokesman for comicbooks.

Despite the headache of the crowds I had a good time. I got to see some panels covering books that interest me and found out about some new ones I'd like to give a try. The con showed that fans would really come out and support a big show in New York. It's just a real shame that the event organizers so severely underestimated the number of people who would be attending. I hope they get the kinks out and have a much more successful show next year.

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