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ReedPOP has posted all of the maps for this year’s New York Comic Con, and there are lots of changes, as expansion of the Javits Center has forced some compression on site, and expansion elsewhere!

First, the neighborhood, the big picture:

Click to access NYCC17-Area-Map-Website.pdf

A) That’s the convention center, you all know where/what that is.

B) Hudson Mercantile? 500 West 36th Street.  Here’s a list of all the events taking place there.

C) The Manhattan Center? Hammerstein Ballroom! Lots of media panels. 

D) The Theater at Madison Square Garden.  The BIG Media events. 

Hit those links, or search for specific panels. I suspect all require an additional ticket. (Which, in my opinion, is better than a wristband. Especially if there’s reserved seating, like at MSG. Dunno if they’ll use it, or if it’s general seating. Either way, big improvement.)

Also, there are numerous events occurring all over the city, starting October 2, under the NYCC Presents banner.

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The building:

Click to access NYCC17-Area-Overview-Website.pdf

Lots of changes here!

• Artist Alley is now in Hall 1E. (Walk towards the DC exhibit, then hang a right and go down the stairs.)

• Level 4 looks to be even more off-limits. Is the Sy-Fy Fan Lounge the VIP area? Or some sort of experience?

• The food trucks are beneath the overhang (and right above the food court).

• There are two gender-neutral bathrooms near 1D.

• Warner Brothers, Sony, Bandai, and Nickelodeon claim the quad in the Crystal Palace.

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The Show Floor:

Click to access NYCC17-Show-Floor-Website.pdf

 Of note:

• Toys R Us and Uniqlo are up front in 3E.

• The Block, traditionally the anchor for 3E, has been pushed to the back of that hall. (Perhaps to maximize floor rents in a smaller space?)

• Bait? Another clothing company.

• Amazon Echo and Amazon Prime have large booths near the back, as well as Audible and Prime on the Concourse. Those booths are labeled “Amazon Studios” on the exhibitor guide, so it could be Hollywood promotions.

• (I’ll have a separate post about the show floor, where I go into more depth.)

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Artist Alley (1E):

Click to access NYCC17-Artist-Alley-Website.pdf

419 tables.  There were 460 in the North Hall last year. Hall 1E is a little more than half the space of the North Hall. Will it feel cramped and crowded?
Of those 419 (um… the website says 382), 176 are selling “Posters/Prints”.

Check out those hours! 10 AM – 8 PM! (I think Bar-Con will cause a rethinking of this. Plus Broadway, dinner, not much traffic…)

No ATM? (The building map shows one outside the hall.)

…and… not many bathrooms! I wonder if there’s one in the back-of-house that artists can use?

Is that an exit near “Q”? If so, the bathrooms are right on the other side…

How good is the wi-fi down in 1E? In the North Hall, you get a good cellphone signal due to the glass and being in a shed. We’ll see how dealers fare trying to swipe cards downstairs.

The hall is carpeted.

Just thinking… Hall 1B is used for autographing, photo ops, and sundry. It’s the same size as the demolished North Hall. It also seems half-empty during the show. Given that these activities are a destination, could they have been better situated over in 1E (45K sq.ft.) and instead, have Artist Alley in 1B where there’s more space and greater visibility and traffic, between the panels in 1A and the Queue Hall/stockyards of 1C? OR… since 1C isn’t used much during the day except to queue people for Hall 1D, why not use the smaller 1E for queuing, and maybe 1C for something else?

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