NY Comic Con: T-Minus 2 Days

I haven't been nearly as enthuastic about this year's NY Comic Con as I was about last year's, but that's primarily because last year's was so exhausting, my level of direct participation this year is drastically reduced, and I stupidly scheduled some minor surgery for tomorrow without realizing it was the day before the Con.

Despite dragging my feet, my press registration has been secured (Thanks, Phoenix!) and as long as all goes smoothly tomorrow and I'm on my feet as expected by Friday, here's what I'm hoping to catch this weekend:

FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23

10:30AM - 11:30AM
Kids Comics: The Category Waiting to Explode

Nice to see they picked up this theme again this year, though it's too bad that it's scheduled during the trade-only portion of the show. Of course, considering the majority of the audience for my similar panel last year consisted of retailers and a couple of pros, it makes sense, I guess. Glad to see Jimmy Gownley in the mix, too, as Amelia Rules! is an excellent comic deserving of much more attention.

1:30PM - 2:30PM
Graphic Novels: Direct Distribution or Book Wholesalers?

Last year's version of this panel was incredibly informative and woefully underattended by publishers and professionals. It's a little disappointing to see the distributor representation on the panel isn't as strong as it was last year, though.

2:30PM - 3:30PM
Capturing Female Readers: The Fastest Growing Audience for Comics
Comics Bloggers: Rewriting the Rules of Tastemaking and Trade Influence

Tough call here, as I'd love to see both, but I'm currently leaning towards the "Female Readers" panel as I figure the bloggers will post the details of their own panel. I am curious to hear what MediaBistro's Ron Hogan has to say, though.

4:30PM - 5:30PM
MARVEL: World War Hulk

I've really been enjoying "Planet Hulk", and considering it was Greg Pak himself who convinced me to try it out during his appearance at last year's NYCC, this should be a fun panel.

6:30PM - 7:30PM
Mothers & Daughters: Female Graphic Novelists and the Family

If I'm not completely burned out, I may check this out out as it has the makings of a candid, insightful session.

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 24

12:30PM - 1:30PM
Don't Quit Your Day Job! The Truth About Breaking Into Comics

I believe this is the panel Rich Johnston has been added to, which should make for an interesting discussion.

2:00PM - 3:00PM
The Black Panel

Terrible name, but interesting lineup makes this a must-see.

6:00PM - 7:00PM
Who Reads Graphic Novels? Who Doesn't!

Intriguing line-up here.

SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 25

2:00PM - 3:00PM
NYCC Comics School: Writing Under Pressure

Another intriguing line-up.

And, of course, don't forget Saturday night's PopCultureShock's After-Party!