NY Comic Con 2017
photo by Amanda Hatfield

New York Comic Con begins (Travis McElroy, Will Butler, DMC, Jean Grae, Steve Aoki & more included)

New York Comic Con, NYC’s very popular convention that, along with comics, covers the worlds of genre television, movies, gaming, anime, and more, kicks off its 2018 edition on Thursday (10/4) and runs through Sunday (10/7) at Manhattan’s Jacob Javits Center. Badges for Thursday are on sale now, but Friday-Sunday are sold out. Badges are also still available for Anime Fest @ NYCC x Anime Expo, happening at Pier 94 10/4-10/7. If you can’t attend this year’s Comic Con, some of the panels and events will stream live via SYFY Wire throughout the conventions’ four days.

Along with convention events and panels happening inside Jacob Javits Center and at various offsite locations, there are some separate NYCC Presents events that you can get tickets to without a badge. My Brother, My Brother and Me and The Adventure Zone podcaster Travis McElroy is unveiling a new show at Hammerstein Ballroom on October 6. It’ll include a Comic Con-exclusive episode of Shmanneres, Travis’s etiquette podcast with his wife Teresa McElroy, and some special guests, including Jonathan Coulton, Jean Grae, nerdy songwriting duo Paul & Storm, Quelle Chris, Sammus, former Mythbusters co-host Adam Savage, The Kingkiller Chronicle author Patrick Rothfuss, The Doubleclicks, Janet Varney, Holly Conrad, Brent Black, Courtney Enlow, Lucky Yates, Amy Dallen, Clint McElroy, Maureen Johnson, and Miles Luna. Tickets are on sale now.

Speaking of Jonathan Coulton and Paul & Storm, they join surprise guests at Bell House on October 4 for a NYCC Presented night of “music, hilarity and general nerdery,” including a performance of They Might Be Giants’ album Flood. Tickets are on sale now for that, as well.

Travis McElroy also appears with Arcade Fire’s Will Butler and other guests at The Upright Citizen’s Brigade Theatre presents “The George Lucas Talk Show,” a NYCC panel happening on 10/5. From the event description:

“Comedians Connor Ratliff (The Chris Gethard Show, Orange Is The New Black) & Griffin Newman (The Tick) pretend to be “retired filmmaker George Lucas” & his talk show sidekick Watto, interviewing a star-studded panel of guests! Featuring prizes for everyone who attends in costume!

Sonia Manzano and Grey DeLisle are among the other listed guests.

There are a few options for music related panels at this year’s Comic Con. Darryl “DMC” McDaniels has a booth at Artist Alley for his independent publishing house Darryl Makes Comics, and he’s also speaking on two panels: Hip Hop, Comics, and Culture on 10/4, and From the Stage to the Page: Musicians Creating Comic Books on 10/5, which also features Steve Aoki. Steve makes another appearance to talk about his new comic series with Impact Theory Comics, Neon Future, with writer Jim Krueger and writer/co-creator Tom Bilyeu at a panel on the NYCC Live Stage on 10/5. Common also makes an appearance, to speak on a panel about Caster, a new digital comic series that he scored with Robert Glasper, on 10/4.

Hip hop is also the subject of Hip Hop & Comics: Cultures Combining on 10/5, and Nerds on Hip-Hop: Bridging Anime & Hip-Hop 10/6. Korean pop music, aka K-Pop, is represented at The Evolution of K-Pop on 10/4 and K-Pop: Beyond the Niche on 10/6, and The Modern World of Japanese Music promises to explore the genre from “Idols to Visual Kei to Rock.” Finally, Japanese “kawaii metal band” Babymetal are the topic of Apocrypha: The Legend of Babymetal on 10/4.

For those seeking comedy at Comic Con, H. Jon Benjamin appears following a sneak peak at Archer: 1999 at Hammerstein Ballroom 10/7, in conversation with other voice castmembers. Jon Glaser has two scheduled appearances on 10/4: with John Hodgman and others on a panel about his series Jon Glaser Loves Gear, and at Sketch Fighter Live, “the quick-draw game which pairs stand-up comedians with professional artists.”

We listed some interesting panels when Comic Con announced their schedule back in September, and even more have been announced since then. On 10/4, the original cast of Harry Potter and The Cursed Child speaks about the Tony award-winning play. Writer, showrunner, and Amanda Palmer spouse Neil Gaiman will be around for a look at season 2 of American Gods on 10/5, and a sneak peak at the upcoming television series of Good Omens on 10/6, as well as an interview with cast members David Tennant, Michael Sheen, and Miranda Richardson.

Rob Zombie had to cancel his Comic Con appearance this year due to “scheduling conflicts, but you can meet Lloyd Kaufman at the Troma booth (#429), and rock band Coheed & Cambria will be there:

“Coheed and Cambria is partnering with New York Comic Con to celebrate “The Unheavenly Creatures” release with an intimate performance at Times Square’s legendary Hard Rock Cafe next week during the annual massively popular convention on October 5th. Tickets will be offered for sale today first to NYCC badge holders, and a small amount will be held for fans of the band. The band will also do signings at the convention.”

What did we miss? What are you looking forward to at Comic Con? Let us know in the replies below, and stay tuned for our annual photo galleries full of cosplayers and more. Meanwhile check one of our galleries from last year here: