The top moments of the first day of New York Comic Con October 9th 2014.

WB Preview Night Screenings

This panel closed out the opening Preview day of NYCC 2014. While it was billed as the preview of the fully completed pilot episode for Constantine and a preview of the Season 2 premiere of The 100, there was actually a lot more on show with an exclusive first look for the crowd at the second episode of the new CW hit The Flash; that really builds on all the threads left open from the pilot episode which was broadcast in the US this week. The episode had a great premise and deepened the relationship between Barry Allen (Grant Gustin) and his surrogate father Detective Joe West (Jesse L. Martin). Another surprise was a preview of crazy upcoming cartoon show Mike Tyson Mysteries. It felt like a fusion of Scooby Doo and Archer and worked very well on the unsuspecting crowd. The newly retooled official pilot for Constatine is excellent, Welsh actor Matt Ryan carries off the swagger of the scouse demon hunter John Constantine excellently, your eyes and ears are drawn to him in every scene that he’s in making it difficult for some of the other characters to get much of a look in. A scene where the helmet of Doctor Fate is introduced got a huge cheer from an audience who had been at the convention for almost twelve hours. I think Warner Brothers have a hit on their hands. Constantine will debut in the US on the 24th of October on NBC, hopefully a UK and Ireland broadcaster will be announced soon.

Adam West talks “Gotham” and Batman Blu Ray release

In the main hall at 6.45 we were treated to almost an hour in the presence of Adam West who played Bruce Wayne/Batman in the 1960’s series due for release for the first time on Blu Ray in November 2014. Mr. West was a fascinating guest and shared many fun anecdotes of the process of making the show, yes of course they knew it was a joke for adults and apointment TV for kids. He spoke of the various guest stars from Vincent Price to Burgess Meridith and also gave some impressions including a fantastic Liberacé. Adam West also talked about his opinion of the TV show Gotham saying he’s delighted that Fox are taking a new look at the Batman mythology and giving his seal of approval to the shows fresh approach. A really fun panel where we also got to see multiple clips from the newly restored Blu Ray box set which includes and preserves all original 120 episodes of the TV series and contains 3 hours of extra features. We know what’s going on our Christmas list.

Artist Alley and Exhibitors

The preview day of Comic Con is also the day that most collectors are waiting all year for. Almost every exhibitor on the show floor brings along exclusive items for the earliest through the door. From Alliance Cruisers to one off Sketch variants of comics there are tonnes of exclusives available for purchase at extraordinary prices. Given the queues most attendees choose exactly what they are looking for before they arrive and go for that one thing but we saw more than a few NYCC guests layden down with more than they could carry. Alternatively Artists Alley is a great place to visit some of the creators behind all of your favourite characters. DC Comics feature a list of their hottest talent including Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. Many other artists from independant comics to the majors are all over the area willing to give you a few minutes of chat and a signature. We even got a one of a kind drawing from 30 days of Night, Welcome to Hoxford and upcoming “Gotham By Midnight” artist Ben Templesmith. A visit to the artists area will give you that one of a kind experience that only an event like this can produce.

Things we missed

You can’t be everywhere, the one panel we would have loved to have been at was the Disney “Big Hero 6” and “Tomorrowland” panel. Not that we are hugely excited about those particular movies but with panel members such as Damon LIdeloff and Hugh Laurie we were sorry to have to skip it. But even bigger than that was a special appearance from George Clooney who dropped in unannounced to the Tomorrowland panel to discuss his role in the show. He also got the whole room on side when he appologised for killing the Batman franchise with his starring role in the movie Batman & Robin. Don’t worry George we know it was the twelve year old who wrote the movie who was at fault.