New York Comic Con 2015 Day 1

New York Comic Con (NYCC) 2015 kicked off today. Yes, I did make the long, long, long trip all the way to New York to take in this convention for the first time. I was surprised by a few things today. I was surprised by just how large the crowds were for a Thursday. It was the largest crowd on the opening day of a convention that I can recall seeing apart from San Diego. The other thing that was a bit of a shock to me was the difference between the number of people in costumes and those in street clothes. I don’t know why, but I expected to see far more cosplayers than I did today. Still, there were the odd few impressive costumes and at least a few cool toys or displays to check out. Not every vendor was set up today, so I know there will be even more to see come tomorrow. Check out pictures of the day below, and keep reading for quick wrap ups of the panels I attended.

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I did have the chance to check out a couple of panels today apart from making my intense examination of the exhibit hall. SyFy showed off a couple of new properties in The Expanse and Hunters. The Expanse is a show set in the not too distant future of humanity. Humans are spread between both Earth and Mars with a large collection of people occupying space stations and asteroids in between. There is a conflict over water, air, and other resources just waiting to boil over, and the show begins by giving us the spark to start that blaze. I am a sucker for a good space show, and The Expanse is a nice mix of action, intrigue, and drama wrapped up in a bit of gritty post-apocalyptic and shiny futuristic space adventures all rolled into one.

Hunters is the other property that SyFy showed off today that I had the opportunity to check out. It is an alien invasion show with a bit of a twist. The aliens are already here and they have been for some time. The aliens are called Hunters, and they look just like any ordinary human. They happen to have strengths and abilities that humans don’t and communicate and interact with the world around them in a different fashion. While the motivations of the Hunters weren’t completely exposed during the panel, it was revealed that they are engaged in serious terrorist activities to further their agenda. Think Homeland meets Invasion of the Body Snatchers. It most certainly has the potential to be something fantastic, and I am willing to give it 13 episodes to make a decision.

My last panel of the day was Banshee. I am a hardcore Banshee fan, so just getting to see Antony Starr, Ivana Milicevic, Frankie Faison, Matt Servitto, and new addition for season 4, Eliza Dushku all on stage together was utterly fantastic. We didn’t get any specifics on season 4 due to everyone attempting to not give any spoilers, but that alone tells me that the upcoming final season is so packed full of action and activity that giving away any specifics would potentially ruin the surprises to come. We did get to watch a full trailer for season 4 which looks to be even more hectic and over the top than the preceding three have been. All I have to say is Carrie Hopewell with a flamethrower and Lucas and Carrie “interrogating” the man who kidnapped Job. The cast and audience interaction was fun and filled with energy. It was a great note on which to end the first day of NYCC.