New York Comic Con 2013 Write Up

I love Comic Cons!  But New York Comic Con will always have a special place in my heart because it was the first Comic Con that I attended way back in 2008.  Back then I wasn't much of a reader yet.  I had attended the convention to see a Japanese pop musician perform.  Last year I returned to NYCC and I was amazed at the growth of the convention in just 4 years.  It has grown to become the biggest Comic Con of the east coast, and the second biggest Comic Con in the United States.

I live in New Jersey, and even though I do love to travel (love to travel, but hate to fly) it's nice to go somewhere that's just an hour train ride away from where I live.  New York is literally a second home for me.  I travel to the city at least 4 times a month.  It is my dream to work in New York City (work not live, I love living in Jersey).  But traveling to NYCC is always interesting because you get to see the many cosplayers taking public transportation.  Especially on Thursday and Friday of the convention, because those commuting to and from work will give them the strangest looks.  But I embrace it, I enjoy it.  I love being around gamers, readers, comic book fans, and those who are just into pop culture.  Since Comic Cons have gotten to be more mainstream, the attendees have definitely become a lot more diverse.  Diversity is good, because it makes so there is something for everyone.  And this book lover definitely had plenty of fun!

First up was preview night on Thursday!  Thursday is usually the day that you can buy Comic Con exclusives and is generally the best day to walk the exhibit hall because it's the least crowded day.  Of course I immediately hit up the book publisher's booths.  

I am always amazed at the teams working the booths.  If you ask them any question about an upcoming release, they either have the answer for you, or they will find it out for you.  And they are always so enthusiastic about their upcoming releases, that if I wasn't a book lover I would probably buy the book they were pitching to me.

There is always so much going on at publisher booths, from author signings, book giveaways, swag giveaways, and general socializing with other book lovers. You can't help be feel at home.

Harper Collins Spin It & Win Wheel

Friday morning I hit up the Vampire Academy movie cast signing.  Now I haven't read the books yet, but with the films upcoming release and this being a mostly young adult book blog, I thought I should check out their panel.  Unfortunately I didn't make it in time for the panel, but I did make it to the signing and chatted a bit with the cast.  They definitely seemed extremely excited for the movie.

YA book to movie adaptations seem to be slowing down with the releases of a few unsuccessful films that have wildly huge fanbases.  I really do hope that Vampire Academy film does well at the box office.  The cast seem very attached to the project and from what I have seen put a lot of effort into the movie.

Penguin had a very special author signing of Andrea Cremer's new YA steampunk.  I am not biased to publishers, and as I mentioned before they work really hard.  But the ladies at the     Penguin book really take these cons seriously.                                      Andrea Cremer dressed in Steampunk

Penguin employees working their booth

Saturday was a big day for Harper Collins.  Through out Thursday and Friday I kept hearing about the Divergent trilogy giveaway from Harper.  If you have read post from me in the past, I think you may know that I am a huge fan of Divergent.  So of course this was number one priority.  Harper Teen had an amazing set up, and were extremely organized with their line control.  Everyone hears the horrors about waiting in line and dealing with line cutting and lines not moving fast enough, but they were really on point and the line moved fairly quickly.  A friend of mine, who is a sometimes reader actually skipped getting in line for The Walking Dead tv show panel (one of the biggest highlights for the average con goer) so she can pick up some Divergent swag.  That's how popular this series is.  Harper Teen provided cardboard cut out of the two leads in the series Tris and Four for fans to take pictures with.  So of course I made sure I did this.

Closest I'll ever get to Tris and Four

On Sunday I just wandered around the exhibit hall and popped into a few author panels.  It always amazes me to see authors together.  The way they vibe off of each other is so interesting to watch.  But of course I always wander over to the book publisher's booths.  On Sunday I had a great conversation with the workers of the Simon & Schuster booth.  Sometimes I can get pretty nervous talking to publishers, but I was able to really express my enthusiasm over books.  Such a great chat.

Simon & Schuster's booth

I ended NYCC by going to a signing and meeting the author of The 100.  This book is scheduled to be reviewed by me in December.  I told the author Kass Morgan that I was so excited to pick this book up at BEA this year, and that I really love the premise.

Of course I didn't leave NYCC empty handed!  Stay tuned for an upcoming NYCC prize pack giveaway that will include Advanced Reader Copies of upcoming YA reads, The Mortal Instruments swag, and much more!

                                                                                                Author Kass Morgan and myself