Big crowds and the growing transition to digital delivery were the big stories coming out of New York Comic Con, held this past weekend at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. Although official figures have not yet been released, in his blog, ReedPop v-p and show organizer Lance Fensterman said the 2011 New York Comic Con attracted a record crowd of 105,000 people, easily surpassing the 90,000 fans that attended last year.
Digital delivery, in particular the move to “day and date” release, or simultaneous release of digital and print editions, figured prominately. In the biggest announcement when Viz Media announced plans for a new weekly digital manga anthology that will publish selected manga series in English translation two weeks after their Japanese publication. DC announced that its Vertigo imprint announced plans to go day and date with six series between now and the beginning of the year and Marvel’s Season One, a new line of standalone graphic novels, will also be released simultaneously in print and digital.
DC Comics also announced it has sold more than 5 million comics over the six weeks since it launched the New 52, the much-hyped relaunch of its entire superhero comics line, a sales level not seen since about 2003. The relaunch and subsequent sales increase is turning into a big boost to a category that has been in decline and the sales are an early validation of the DC relaunch. Simultaneous digital and print release for all the relaunched titles is also a key element of DC's New 52.
Yen Press is also offering simultaneous Japan/U.S. publishing with Soul Eater Not by Atsushi Akubo, a spinoff of the Soul Eater series, that Yen Press publishing director Kurt Hassler said is a first step to offering more titles in print and digital at the same time in both markets. Kodansha USA Publishing, the U.S. unit of the big Japanese publishing house, joined Viz and Yen Press—which also announced plans to release serialized manga adaptations of bestselling prose authors Cassandra Clare and Sherrilyn Kenyon in its online magazine Yen Plus—is finally releasing an iPad app and initial digital releases.
Publishers contacted by PW seemed very happy with both traffic, media attention and book sales out of their booths. Chris Staros, publisher of independent comics house Top Shelf, said the show was great; “we met with retailers and wholesalers, our books sold well. It was a great show,” Staros said. Cory Cassoni, publicity director of Oni Press, said “the show has been great. People don’t know our books and New York Comic Con has been great for getting the word out and showing off our authors.
Although there were a number of impressive books being promoted, there didn’t seem to be a ‘big book’ of the show. However, Abrams’ had two notable books, The Someday Funnies by Michel Choquette, an amazing collection of strips about the 1960s by famous cartoonists and writers originally commissioned in the 1970 that was never published; and My Friend Dahmer, an unusual and engrossing memoir by cartoonist Derf Backderf, who grew up with the serial killer Jeffrey Dahmer. Vertical Inc. had copies of The Drops of God by Tadashi Agi and Shu Okimoto, a much anticipated manga about wine that the manga community has been buzzing about.
The exhibition floor was jammed with fans and while security at the big entrance points on the upper level often seemed overwhelmed—many fans without passes were seen walking in with the surging crowds—there wasn’t a repeat of the dangerously crowded grid-locked situations of last year. Nevertheless, it was slow going in the areas around the videogames and the Anime artist Alley and stage area—held in the Galleria atrium on the upper level---was packed with cosplayers and young otaku fans every day of the show.
