Wednesday past saw MarvelFest
NYC 2009 unfold at NYC’s Union Square, traditionally one of the most traversed public spaces of the city. A cold, gloomy rain dried up just in time to make for a cold, brisk night that was just the right mood for a pre-Halloween costume contest. CBR’s Josh Wigler has a report and an interview with Marvel’s MIke Pasciullo:
Was that a big reason behind bringing this event outdoors – so that you can literally drag people off the street and get them involved?
Absolutely. There’s a lot of traffic here just walking by, and when you have a spectacle or a festival like this, you kind of get their attention. They probably haven’t been to a comic book store or read a comic in years, so it’s a great opportunity for us to get that walk-by traffic. It’s basically us taking the message to the people, as opposed to trying to get the people to the message.
The entire event was a bit unorganized to say the least, but it definitely had a festive mood. While we’re still unconvinced by the motion comics format in general — it is safe to say that projection onto the side of a building did not degrade its quality — it was a fun event, and the number of cute girls dressed as Marvel characters zooming around on Segways alone made it a memorable night. Lest we be accused of sexism, there were also some cute Nightcrawlers and Spideys.
