I did bail around 5 p.m. and it was still very crowded when I left. I am here tomorrow too and I’m happy to go back, but I think overall, New York Comic-Con may be too big for me.
I wouldn’t mind shopping more, but with such a large, packed crowd, it was hard to look. There didn’t seem to be much of a system to the layout, either. I know there was sort of majors on one side, media/video game companies in the middle and smaller presses on the other side, but everything kind of ran together. Costume booths butted up against retailers selling back issues that were next to an indie creator selling his comic. Or maybe it just seemed that way because of the crowd.
I’m glad it was well attended, but I do wonder how much people are actually buying inside the show. The convention itself is definitely entertainment — lots of good people watching and things to look at — but I know that selling their wares is essential to a lot of the vendors here and I would hate if it wasn’t worth it for them.
Tomorrow, there are several panels I’d like to go to and I think shopping will be more fun once the crowd thins out late in the day (provided that the crowd does thin out by then). I’m glad I have another day of it, sure, but I think people that do all three days by choice are crazy.
I do realize that not every show or convention can be or even should be like my much beloved Small Press Expo, and I’m certainly not an indie snob. But I do think this con may be too big for me overall. It’s been a fun — if exhausting — experience so far, but I honestly don’t know if I’ll go back next year (but since it’s in the fall in 2010, I have what, nearly 20 months to decide).
