We went to New York Comic Con and had a blast! Having been to both NYCC and SDCC this year, it's interesting to see the difference between them. They're both around the same size, but when SDCC hits, the entire city of San Diego is overrun. When NYCC hits, New York barely notices. The picture above is a snapshot of two cosplayers I found wandering the streets after the Con had ended. 

Although attendance numbers are close, I'd say SDCC still wins. It tends to spill over into several nearby parking lots and turn into a massive event outside of the convention center. NYCC pretty much stays in the Javits Center. In any case, it's gotten huge as you can tell by this picture. 

And the cosplay at NYCC has continued to improve! I still think SDCC beats it in terms of quality and high-end cosplay, but I saw more Shonen Jump love on the floor of the Javits Center. In fact, it reminded me of when I went to Otakon and was blown away by the number of SJ cosplayers walking around. Does the East Coast love Shonen Jump more? Hrm...

And just like SDCC, we had an SJ Panel Podcast where we discussed all things Shonen Jump with the audience. If you listen to the podcast, you'll know there's a rap intro and outro by the one and only Cashamill. He wowed the audience with a live performance of the rap! 

The SJ Podcast Panel was a blast. I don't think you guys know how fun it is for us to talk to you. We spend hours everyday toiling away at Weekly Shonen Jump, and when we have a podcast panel and get to see how excited and knowledgable fans are about the manga, it makes us really happy. Don't these guys look really happy?

Later that night we all headed to an exclusive SJ Fan Meet-Up at a bowling alley! There we hobnobbed with various SJ Subscribers, did some interviews (video coming soon!), and of course, bowled! I'm pretty sure everyone had a good time, and I'd like to give a special shout out to the "Brooklyn Zoo Crew," who've gone to every SJ Fan Meet-Up we've thrown out there, including the very first Fan Meet-Up ever! 

It was a great con and a wonderful end to a very busy con season. Hope to see you wherever we end up next! 

by Urian Brown