New York Comic Con has come and gone, and quite frankly most of the weekend was a blur. The weekend was full with many returning greats as well as some new things that were a truly wonderful surprise. Though while all this great stuff was happening, a few things seemed different. We’re the crowds just that much bigger or did Main Hall Panel Queue’s cause problems?

Rather than fragment the weekend, here’s an extended look at everything we took note of Friday onward.

Welcome To Jurassic World – The Sights, The Sounds & The Nostalgia:

One of the best surprises at New York Comic Con was the massive Jurassic World exhibit commemorating not only the series but also the release of Jurassic World on Blu-Ray and DVD on October 20th. Any Con goers by the Main Entrance/ The Block area would have heard the iconic music, seen the massive archway and perhaps even heard the screeches of a Raptor. That’s right!

In addition to the iconic music and set design, a life size, animatronics and mobile raptor was brought along to further the feelings of nostalgia. As if Comic Con wasn’t already the perfect place to bring out your inner child, Jurassic World and Universal stole the show and became the most wondrous sight to see. In fact, can we make Jurassic Con a thing?

The Marvel Panel – Agents of SHIELD and Netflix:

As always Agents of SHIELD came out with a great showing and was fully booked before we knew it. Though with the season already under way, there was no real need to show trailers or hint too much at the future. Instead audience members got treated to an early screening of this week’s upcoming episode.

The Netflix Panel on the other hand brought in the past, present and future as Charlie Cox (Daredevil), Krysten Ritter (Jessica Jones) and Mike Colter (Luke Cage) all appeared on stage. Though whereas there was great catching up on Daredevil, we also got some reveals about Season 2 and saw the first slight footage of Punisher and Elektra. The trailer – which you’ll see below – was just officially released and shows off some nice shots of Elodie Yung as “Elektra” and hear The Punisher’s first words “Bang” all while Murdock talks to Father Lantom about his guilt – probably guilt over inspiring more vigilantes.

Beyond this we also got some hints of the Luke Cage series. Mike Colter said that he began shooting that series almost immediately after Jessica Jones. He also confirmed that like Daredevil to Jessica Jones, the feel of the show will be very different from Jessica Jones.

Though the true focus was on Jessica Jones. Even the Marvel booth was outfitted with a special Jessica Jones set photo op and free series comic. David Tennant (Killgrave aka The Purple Man) was also supposed to make an appearance but got tied up with work last minute. Much like with Fisk in Daredevil, Killgrave’s won’t appear right off the bat. His appearance will be hinted in the first episode but then become the menacing focal point very quickly. Krysten spoke of how impressive Tennant’s acting was and how he could seemingly switch between a range of emotions at a drop of a pin.

Project Triforce – The Yearly Booth Of Awesome:

Every year Project Triforce sets up shop to display some of their latest real life adaptations. For those of you who don’t know, Project Triforce is a company that producers high-end – and officially licensed – scale replicas of items from TV, Video Game and film. And this year was no exception as they not only brought multiple examples of their astounding work but also partnered up with equally astounding cosplayers Amie Lynn, It’s Raining Neon & Lyndsey Elyse – 3 Cosplayers who we will be interviewing soon.

At its core, New York Comic Con is about bringing together creative businesses and individuals in fun and exciting settings – no matter how big or little the name. It is because of this that the Project Triforce boot most embodies the essence of NYCC sometimes. They might not be as big as Marvel, Bandai or some of the other big names; but they can create just as much awe with their impressive displays.

Lego Marvel’s Avengers Panel:

There was one panel though that stood out above all the rest and that was Lego Marvel Avengers? Why? Well simply because it was the surprise hit of everything NYCC had to offer in my opinion. Panels are always a blast and you get to meet the famous cast and crew of your favorite shows. But Lego Avengers brought something else.

It was impossible to sit in the Main Hall listening to Arthur Parsons, Mike Jones, and Bill Rosemann talk about their game and not become overwhelmed by their passion and dedication. Originally, some thought Lego Avengers might be a smaller scaled game compared to the previous Lego Marvel Superheroes, but that’s completely backwards. This isn’t merely a Lego-used version of the avengers film, but will also feature material from almost all the Marvel Phase 2 films. Additionally, Lego Avengers will feature over 200 playable characters – many seen for the first time such as Fing Fang Foom, Devil Dinosaur and more. Further more, the amount of work and detail put into the game is beyond belief. In fact, due to just how much there is on this subject I might have to write an entire article dedicated solely to it! – So stay tuned!

Panel Hassle – Larger Numbers? Overflow? Better Attractions?

Panels are always one of the most sought after NYCC activities, but this year things seemed a little worse than usual. It’s true that the Main Hall panels featured a Queue line where’d you’d have to first get a wrist bad in the morning and THEN line up again later in the day for your admittance into the actual panel. But even the usually smaller panels seemed more packed with many reaching capacity quite fast.

It’s hard to know exactly why this occurred until we get the numbers from NYCC. Was there more guests this year than last? That could be since some Panels weren’t even held on site, but rather at the Hammerstein Ballroom. Then again, maybe this just means that Con-goers are becoming more panel-active and trying things they wouldn’t normally do. OR maybe this year NYCC just gave everyone the panels they’ve always wanted.

NYCC Meet Ups & Cosplay Antics:

Perhaps it was the planning on NYCC’s end, but you also can’t overlook the planning on the fans end either. This year there were numerous ‘Official’ Meet-Ups planned by fans – some to varying degrees of of success. There were tons of small meet ups for new and classic shows; but there were also many Cosplay/Photo Op centric meet ups.

The most successful of these being the annual Assassins Creed NYCC meet up – planed by former Cosplayer Of The Month NYC Assassin and Ubisoft – as well as a Deadpool meetup planned by the infamous Merc with the Moves D-Piddy. Though even Dragon Ball Z and The Joker had pretty popular meet ups.

But even when a meet up was a bust, the fans always made the best out of it. From creative cross overs, scene reenactments to even one pair of Cosplayers choreographing an Arrow vs Daredevil fight scene – it was pretty epic – NYCC belongs to the fans. And no matter how long the lines or crowded the panels, when you get this many talented and creative people together, magic is bound to happen! – For more photos, check out my Facebook Album.

So come back next year; or attend for the first time! New York Comic Con might be getting harder and harder to attend; but the people behind it truly know how to put on a great show. So keep doing what you’re doing! Just make sure to separate the 4-Day/VIP Ticket Sales from the 3-Day/Single Day Ticket Sales. Unless you want another site meltdown like earlier this summer. Everything else, THUMBS UP ReedPop!