Autumn in New York is a beautiful thing. For fans of pop culture, the season brings their own east coast Comic Con.  It's Preview Day, and because it's in Mid-Town Manhattan on a Wednesday, the foot traffic was not the critical mass that San Diego normally is. For this website, not having to cover Hasbro on a show of this magnitude is a little weird, but Hasbro's absence are DC and Mattel's gain, particularly if you're a Batman fan and collector where new figures from DC Direct and Arkham City were prominent. There were some Star Wars reveals from other licensors like Kotobukiya and Diamond Select, and they're not bad at all. But Gentle Giant and Sideshow were also absent and there was  clearly less Star Wars than the show last year.

KOTOBUKIYA

The Japanese company is expanding their ArtFX+ Astromech Droid series that launched quite well with this past summer's CVI exclusive R2-A6. Four new astromechs are scheduled to come our way next summer including R2-Q5, R2-R9, R2-C4, and R2-M5. Given the popularity of astromech droids, these should be pretty well received especially with the quality and detail that's given to the ArtFX+ assortment.

A painted production sample of the upcoming ArtFX+ Jango Fett was also in display and he also looks well done with just the right pose that captures the essence of the character. Jango is set to be released in Q2 of next year.

Kotobukiya has also super-sized their popular silicone ice trays with a new Deluxe size for the times you need to chill a really big cup of your favorite beverage. The first wave of deluxe sized trays include Han Solo in Carbonite, R2-D2, and the Millennium Falcon. (IMAGE BANK PHOTOS)

DIAMOND SELECT

The guys at Diamond Select are carving a niche for themselves with their collection of Star Wars collectible banks that just keep improving in detail and quality. They had a new Han in Carbonite and Yoda bank that are pretty stunningly detailed for PVC banks and would be able to hold their own displayed next to a Gentle Giant or Sideshow piece but less expensive and not so easy to break. (IMAGE BANK PHOTOS)

LEGO

The LEGO pavilion had the same set up as SDCC and CVI but with a little more focus on things Middle Earth and their Hobbit assortment. LEGO is offering the third in their series of Star Wars collectible tins with Luke Skywalker and Landspeeder that's limited to 1000 pieces at the convention for $40 each. Tickets were handed out at the beginning of the show and went pretty quickly. (IMAGE BANK PHOTOS)

HALLMARK

The Zuckuss and 4-LOM Keepsake ornaments that were exclusive at SDCC were being offered again for NYCC. Remember that limited edition exclusive Momaw Nadon that was offered at this past summer's Keepsake Event? It's also being sold at the Hallmark booth for $14.95 each. (IMAGE BANK PHOTOS)

DEALER FLOOR

The dealer space was less awe inspiring than Celebration VI which had a plentitude of Vintage Kenner and Star Wars related art prints and collectibles. Some booths had Starkillers and Malguses at $30 to $40 a pop and that's just not that exciting is it? SDCC Carbonite Chambers were going for $120.

Maybe because it was Wednesday in the Big City but the cosplay was sparse and uninspired. I'm sure that will change over the weekend.

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STORY AND PHOTOGRAPHY BY MIKE SULLENGER