Comic books are becoming more and more intertwined with digital (see our interview with DC Comics’ SVP of Digital, Hank Kanalz). Comics are now available in the digital format for the iPad and other mobile devices; comic book creation is now routinely accomplished with digital tools, from pencils to inks to colors; and web comics continue to pop up around the Internet.
This past weekend, Flightpath attended New York Comic Con 2011 at the Jacob Javits Center. We’re happy to share our photos from the getting-bigger-every-year event, which attracts retailers (both physical and online), comic book publishers, toy makers, movie studios and more. Enjoy the sights and weirdness that is New York Comic Con.
New York Comic Con gets very, very crowded. This year, however, the show was spread out over four days, and took up more of the convention center, which made for more space and a more enjoyable time. Still, if you ever go, count on getting jostled. A lot.
As you’ll see in this report, a big part of Comic Con is cosplay – costume play – with attendees dressing up as their favorite comic book, videogame, movie and TV characters. Many of the costumes are highly, if not shockingly, detailed. Here, Bumblebee from Transformers suits up.
Lots of movie promotion at Comic Con (except for Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight Rises, which honestly, will print money for Warner Bros. regardless of having a presence at these things). Here’s a life-size fake Spider-Man from Marvel‘s upcoming reboot, The Amazing Spider-Man.
Marvel was really pushing The Avengers, its coming film that brings together the leads of its various franchises – most of the cast also appeared for a panel discussion and autograph signing.
Captain America’s movie suit, guarded by two “agents” of SHIELD.
And what would a comic book convention be without toys? (I ask that sincerely.) Hasbro showed off its various Marvel lines, including Thor…
…and Spider-Man.
Five-year-old me would have been very excited to see that Optimus Prime himself made an appearance at Hasbro’s booth.
Reallusion showed off iClone5, its very cool 3D animation software.
DC Comics was also, of course, a major presence at Comic Con, having dominated the news lately with its line-wide reboot, in addition to this week’s much-anticipated release of Batman: Arkham City for PS3 and Xbox360.
Speak of the devil! Or of Batman: Arkham City, which fans got to play on the show floor.
The crossover event NO ONE demanded, but would actually kind of rock! Rogue from X-Men and Dark Helmet from Spaceballs.
DC Direct, DC’s in-house action figure division, showed off its upcoming line of toys based on the revamped designs of characters from DC’s relaunch.
The whole gang is here!
Flightpath favorite Threadless, makers of the greatest tees on Earth, were also present…
…and brought along an awesome zombie.
Many fans go to Comic Con to meet their favorite artists and writers, who set up for commissions and autographs. Here, Trevor McCarthy, famous for his work on Nightwing, talks with fans.
Billy Fowler signs for some fans. (Nice Wolverine, Billy.)
Predator looks angry, but I hear he had a wonderful time!
There were tons of comics retailers, and it was hard not to spend a fortune.
Jem is her name, no one else is the same. The classic ’80s cartoon is coming to DVD via Shout! Factory.
No job is too big, no fee is too big: the Ghostbusters!
And that’s it! Hope you enjoyed our photos. If you went to Comic Con, feel free to share your thoughts in the comments section below.