Comic Con Rocks New York
The annual pop culture event draws huge crowds
October 14, 2013
By Glenn Greenberg
STEPHANIE KRAUS FOR TIME FOR KIDS
A comic-book dealer prepares for customers at New York Comic Con.
It may have seemed like thousands of superheroes, supervillains, wizards, cartoon characters, and aliens from other worlds invaded New York City last weekend. But there was no need for innocent bystanders to duck for cover. It was just New York Comic Con (NYCC), an annual event celebrating comic books, animation, gaming, movies, and television.
STEPHANIE KRAUS FOR TIME FOR KIDS
Sebastian and Arianna Castillo strike a pose during New York Comic Con's costume parade.
An estimated 130,000 people—many wearing colorful and elaborate costumes—attended the four-day gathering at the Javits Center in midtown Manhattan. There, they had the opportunity to meet and get autographs from the stars of their favorite TV shows and movies, as well as bestselling authors and popular comic-book writers and artists. Special guests included actors William Shatner (Captain Kirk of Star Trek), Patrick Stewart (Captain Picard in Star Trek: The Next Generation and Professor X in the X-Men movies), and Anthony Daniels (See Threepio in the Star Wars movies), as well as wrestling legend Hulk Hogan, Goosebumps author R.L. Stine, and top comic-book creators such as Stan Lee, John Romita Jr., and Amanda Conner.
A Wild Weekend
Over the weekend, fans of all ages filled the convention center. There were presentations about the animated TV series The Legend of Korra and the new live-action Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D., with cast members talking about their work and dropping hints about future episodes. In addition, Marvel Comics announced new comic-book series about the Avengers, the Silver Surfer, and the Iron Patriot, an armored character played by Don Cheadle in last summer’s Iron Man 3.
STEPHANIE KRAUS FOR TIME FOR KIDS
Randy Modglin (seated) checks out a book about Spider-Man as he waits for the costume parade to start.
Kids could see a play about the creation of Batman and take part in a costume parade. At the parade, wearing a Superman cape and glasses that would look perfect on Clark Kent, 12-year-old Sebastian Castillo told TFK what brought him to NYCC. “I’m a nerd,” he said.
Castillo, attending the event with his parents and his 9-year-old sister Arianna, said his goal was to meet Stan Lee, who co-created Spider-Man, the Hulk, the X-Men, and the Avengers. “He’s one of my favorite comic-book writers,” Castillo said. “I got See Threepio’s autograph,” said 10-year-old Christopher MacDonald of Yonkers, New York. And sixth-grader Randy Modglin, who came all the way from Indiana, dressed up as a character from The Walking Dead, a TV show he’s not even allowed to watch yet. “I’ll find a way,” he said—though his mother silently shook her head “no” behind him.