by: RJ Young

It was early Halloween in Manhattan for fans of comic books, anime, sci-fi and fantasy this past weekend. The Jacob Javits Center was host to NY Comic-Con 2010, a three-day festival which looks somewhat like the Mardi Gras indoors. There’s something very appealing about the exuberance and lack of self-consciousness on display at the Con. Where else do you see the joy of imagination so joyously celebrated by adults and children alike?

This year the Comic-Con was expected to exceed last year’s attendance of 77,000 for the weekend. The place was as densely packed as a department store the day before Christmas. One look at the massive crowd illustrated that comic/ sci-fi fandom can be a bonding event for some families and couples, many coming in elaborate costumes. One family of four was dressed as the Captain Marvel Family, albeit with two Mary Marvels.

The effort and detail put into the costumes was impressive to say the least. There were lots of Obi Wan Kenobis and Supermen. There were a few Wonder Women and Wolverines. Captain America was well represented, as was Goku. A few sexy Black Canaries sauntered around the Con and there was a very elaborate Iron Man. The most effective look-alike was probably the guy dressed as the Comedian from Watchman. There were just so many amazing outfits that a whole article could be filled by listing them.

As is typical for the Con, there were many celebrity guests. Bruce Campbell, Seth Green, Eric Bana, James Marsters and Cory Feldman were in attendance. Katee Sackhoff from Battlestar Galactica stopped by to sign autographs and she’s as pretty in person as she is on the small screen. Daphne Ashbrooke, former Dr. Who companion, was also signing and she was extremely friendly and charming.

Adrian Brody was on hand, being interviewed by MTV about the sequel to Predators and the rumors of an Arnold Schwarzenegger appearance. He also talked the rumors that he would be playing Ant-Man in the upcoming Avengers film.

Director M. Night Shymalan appeared to head up a panel discussion on Unbreakable and also talked a bit about his latest film Devil. And speaking of the supernatural, Ryan Buell of Paranormal State was at the Con, as were several of the cast and crew of Vampire Diaries.

Writer J. Michael Straczynski, creator of Babylon-5, talked about his current run on the Superman comic. On the subject of Superman, Sarah Douglas (who starred as Ursa in Superman 2) was on hand, along with some cast members of the TV series V. Douglas starred in the original V series and is making an appearance in the updated show.

Sadly for horror fans, the Scream Awards recap was cancelled and the crew of Vampires Suck didn’t show up. Still, on the positive side for gore fans, they did get the first trailer for AMC’s new program Walking Dead, about a Zombie apocalypse overwhelming the Earth. It looks very good.

Since it was Comic-Con, the luminaries of the comic industry were present and accounted for. Illustrious illustrator John Romita Senior and his son John Junior singed autographs for the fans, and John Sr. co-hosted a panel on the Golden Age of comics. Neal Adams showed up, as did Jim Lee. But the spotlight guest and biggest attraction was comic legend Stan Lee, who was constantly surrounded by a team of snarling security men

Two new animated series were previewed. Marvel’s upcoming Mighty Avengers series was given an early premier. Also, a panel on the planned Green Lantern CGI series displayed some of the show’s early artwork and a test reel. Bruce Timm, who oversaw many of DC’s earlier animated program’s, was on the panel along with Geoff Johns, writer of the Green Lantern comic. They gave some hints about the upcoming Green Lantern film, which promises to be excellent.

The BBC premiered a screening of their new series Sherlock. The series is a modern reinterpretation of the iconic sleuth Sherlock Holmes. This time Sherlock is very young and living in the 21st century, along with his pal Watson. The DVD version was on sale at the Doctor Who booth, along with many of the Big Finish Audio cassettes for Doctor Who.

There were some large, elaborate exhibits at the Con. One such exhibit was the Alien booth, which was a replica of the suspended animation compartments on the spaceship freighter Nostromo. Fans were allowed to go inside the booths where they experienced some sort of virtual reality Alien experience. There was a plant-filled Planet of the Apes exhibit and stage of dancers that played non-stop Michael Jackson music. Additionally, the car from the upcoming Green Hornet film was on display, accompanied by a glamorous female model in green posing on the hood.

A line of highly talented artists sat in rows on “Artist’s Alley”, displaying their work for fans. Some were famous and some new but all of them had skill and were proud of their work. There was a variety of styles, from computer graphics to paint to pen-&-ink.

Many new computer games were waiting to be played at Comic-Con for all the video gaming enthusiasts. Highlights included two Marvel games, “Marvel vs. Capcom” and “The Marvel Super Hero Squad: Gazillion” game, as well as a Tron game. There were many, many more and a listing would make this article far too long.

These are just some of the keynote moments of Comic-Con 2010. The weekend long festivities were chock full of exhibitions, activities and guest speakers. This event gives people a chance to let their inner child or closet fanboy nature out with complete abandon, in the company of those who are equally overjoyed to be immersed in a weekend of heroes and fantasy.

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