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Actually not a con war, but a curiosity of scheduling with both the MoCCA Festival and Crucial Entertainment East Coast Comicon in the Meadowlands both scheduled for this weekend.

When I originally heard about the scheduling I was told that it had all been worked out and there was no beef, but it’s still unfortunate since there are great guests at both shows and I’m sure a lot of people would go to both. Although they aren’t that far apart AS THE CROW FLIES, the crow must fly over a wide river, and hopping back and forth between Jersey and the meatpacking distract isn’t totally easy unless you have a car and don’t mind paying a lot of tolls.

Someone also pointed us to the East Coast Comicon website, which has an updated attitude towards the press:

Everybody wants one, everybody has a blog. We’ve found that coverage of the con, during the con does little to promote our efforts. We have a finite amount of tickets and we can’t give them out to everyone who wishes to shoot some video or chat to a comic creator — yes, we’re mean terrible people because we don’t want to let you in for free. For the most part, your blog posts do not help us spread the word about our con. How do we know this? We’ve polled our customers. Why do other cons let bloggers and podcasters into their cons for free? Perhaps they haven’t done their homework to find out what helps for promotion. So please don’t feel ill of us, we’re glad you love comics enough to write or blog about the art form, but we just can’t justify granting all the requests we get; and we get a lot.

All that said, Torsten will be on the scene for ECC covering all the breaking news. As for The Beat, we’ll be at MoCCA both days, and we have no idea if we’re on the press list or not—admission is $5 a day and that’s cheap enough that we can swing it no matter what.

Wherever you may be going, have a fun time!

So, over in the Meadowlands this weekend, there’s this little comic con going on… Nothing big… a few media celebrities, a few Silver Age greats, the up-and-coming talent with a few credit…

Ah… who am I kidding?!  I recognize almost every name teased below!  Every decade from the 60s to the 10s is represented with Hall-Of-Famers, seasoned pros, and future comics rock stars!

Sweet Christmas, that’s an all-star roster!

I admit… I’m terrible with names.  Heck, I have trouble recalling Neal Adams’ name! But dang…  this is a crazy amount of talent, with names well known to comics fans! There are animators, fanzine greats, cover artists (both comics and records!), writers, illustrators, comic strip creators, historians, and even some guy who was famous for making dinosaur t-shirts! Below is just a tease…   Visit their website for more information!

Crucial Entertainment, best known for their amazing comics-focused comic cons in Asbury Park, New Jersey, premieres their inaugural East Coast Comicon in the Meadowlands this weekend!  10 AM – 6 PM Saturday and Sunday, just minutes from the New York City!

We’ll have a teaser post momentarily about the amazing guests and exhibitors, but here’s the survival guide!  We know how easy it is to get lost in the wilds of the Jersey Meadowlands (just ask Jimmy Hoffa)!  Last summer, when Marvel had a special promotion with Wal-Mart, this intrepid reporter caught a bus from Mos Eisley the Port Authority Bus Terminal and ventured into suburbia.

The Show:

Official website  (We’ll have a separate post on the show itself!)

The Venue:

Meadowlands Exposition Center

For those keeping score at home:

The Meadowlands Exposition Center features:

• 61,000 square feet of contiguous, obstruction-free, dedicated exhibition space with 20-foot high ceiling
• 3,578 square feet of carpeted meeting space
• Capacity: 365 10′ x 10′ booths; 398 8′ x 10′ booths; 3,500 seating – banquet; 5,000 seating – sports events; 5,000 seating – concert/theater style
• Large multi-functional lobby may be used for registration, exhibit space or banquet area
• Two drive-in doors and four loading docks on street level for easy access
• Unique “flown from the air” electric simplifies floor plan and eliminates the need to carpet aisles to cover floor wires

Directions:

The Meadowlands Exposition Center offers directions.

Take the bus! (Here’s the county bus map for the area!)

Bus stops near the Expo Center:

• 85 Hoboken – Secaucus/Mill Creek (The other side of the shopping complex)
• 320 New York City PABT – Secaucus/Mill Creek  (About fifteen minutes from NYC.) ($.3.95 one-way)
• One stop away (400 feet) is the #78 bus departing from Newark Penn Station to Broad Street and then Harmon Meadow, which then connects at Secaucus Junction.

If you’re driving from Manhattan, take the Lincoln Tunnel and Route 3.  North or South, use the Eastern Spur of the New Jersey Turnpike (Interstate 95).  Click on the map above to figure out travel options.  If you’re taking public transit, I suggest the buses.  The ones from Port Authority are coach buses, similar to the shuttle buses you find at amalgamated-cons.  I suspect the other NJT lines are as well.

The Neighborhood:

Harmon Meadow
The Plaza at Harmon Meadow (Click to access the map key.)

Note that this map is somewhat out of date.  There is now a Red Robin restaurant across the street from L.A. Fitness.  Also, to the north is a Sam’s Club and a Wal-Mart.

Also note the ATM east of the Expo Center (#31 on the map). It is a Chase bank. (Want to save on bank fees? Buy something at the Wal-Mart with your debit card, and ask for cash back.) Also, there is no shortcut between the 400 and 500 Plaza Drive buildings. You’ll have to walk around to get to the restaurants to the south.

On the other side of the Interstate/Eastern Spur is The Mall at Mill Creek.  It’s a bit of a hike.

Home to Kohl’s, Toys R Us, A.C. Moore, two gas stations, a liquor store, and waterfowl.

Map:

Dining:

There’s also a McDonald’s in the Wal-Mart to the north, but if you’re already there, why not buy some real food instead?  (Maybe one of the employees will let you use their SNAP card.)

Hmm… with all of those office buildings nearby, I wonder if any of these restaurants deliver to the Expo Center?

Here’s the YELP search for the area.

Sleeping:

The official con hotel is Embassy Suites.  [Please book here first.  It’s next door to the Expo Center, and if the hotel has a good weekend, then it makes things easier for the show next year.]

Here’s where to stay:

DISCOUNT CODE FOR RESERVATIONS: ECC
Online reservation here >>
Official hotel of East Coast Comicon is the Embassy Suites
Located right next to the Meadowlands Exposition Center

$169 per night. Includes breakfast.

Embassy Suites Secaucus – Meadowlands

455 Plaza Drive, Secaucus, New Jersey,07094, USA

TEL: +1-201-864-7300

There are other hotels in the area (due to the high concentration of corporate offices, the junction of Route 3 and the Turnpike, and the Meadowlands).

This is a great location for a show!  Easy access, affordable dining, emergency retail (or distractions for family members), lots of hotel rooms.  It rivals SPX!  Maybe not “Camp Comics”, but certainly a “Spring Break” experience!

Every year I’ve missed the Asbury Park Comicon, and every year I’ve regretted it, as it always sounded like a charming show in a quirky setting. And now, it seems, I won’t be able to go until 2016, as the show is moving to the Meadowlands and rebranding as the East Coast Comicon, According to an email from promoter Cliff Galbraith, securing a suitable venue in Asbury Park became impossible.

The Berkeley Hotel was unable to accommodate our needs and we felt it was time to move to an actual convention center. And so we’re stoked to announce that we will be moving to the Meadowlands Exposition Center in Secaucus, NJ, for April 11 & 12, 2015!!! See our new website at www.eccomicon.com.

The new venue is just 10 minutes from NYC, and close to NJ Transit train and bus lines. There’s a wide selection of hotels, restaurants, bars and shops all within walking distance. There’s also plenty of free parking.

East Coast Comicon will be run in the same spirit as Asbury Park Comicon and New York Comic Fest — that means great guests, engaging panels, a growing cosplay contest, and tons of prizes for trivia contests and other events.

The Meadowlands Exposition Center while hold twice as many exhibitors and artist; over 300 booths and tables.

Galbraith adds that they are still in negotiations to hold another Asbury Park Comicon in 2016.