What a show! While I've been to New York for Toy Fair several times, this is my first new York Comic Con-- and I was there working at Entertainment Earth's booth, taking pictures during breaks and as life permits. What did I going to see? A lots of things!
The show itself was very similar to a very small version of SDCC on Thursday and Friday, you could easily glide across the convention center, hop in a panel, or buy an exclusive with little to no wait in a line. Even Hasbro's line for the store was mere minutes, and at my own booth business was brisk-- there were steady streams of people and you could probably get whatever you wanted in a few minutes tops. The same could be said of several other booths, unless they were goofing off, which happened a lot. (Some were pretty slow.)
Saturday and Sunday were much closer to San Diego's show in terms of crowd density and manic energy as the local folks came out for the show, meaning anyone from out of town had a huge advantage in seeing what they wanted to and getting their exclusives by coming early. You know, exactly what the point of a "preview" or "early bird" night should be-- the show opened for just a few hours on Thursday and it was clearly not the insane rush we've come to expect.
Of course, much of this could be due to the nature of the exclusive toy product. Diamond Select had some neat free Minimates at the show, but the bulk of the items available were leftovers from San Diego mixed in with some new first-on-sale items.
Overall, the show seems to give you the San Diego experience of 2003 with current licensors. Hollywood had less of a presence, most companies had smaller booths, and there just wasn't as much new to announce. Hasbro declared it an important media event now and in the future, but obviously some of us will go just about anywhere to snap some photos and buy an exclusive. Back in 2000, Hasbro's summer con toy tours involved Plano, TX and a show in Louisiana.
--Adam Pawlus
