It’s been awhile since the last Comic Con here in New York City. Housed in the Jacob Javits Center, right near the water, it’s been growing bigger and bigger every year that it’s been around. And then they took a break. The last time was around a year and 8 months ago, February 6 – 8 to be exact. Luckily it won’t be as freezing out this time. So what is there to do at NYCC 2010? The problem is that there is just too much to do and we here at Criterion Cast will let you know of the key things you should be looking out for while running around, spending way too much money and dressing up as a bounty hunter from Star Wars (and not as Boba Fett, either).

Friday October 8th

Usually the place to be is the IGN Theater for the best and the brightest, and the first day of the convention doesn’t disappoint. We have an upcoming look at future DC Animated films (which we love) at 5:30 p.m. until 6:15 p.m. Following that at 6:45 p.m. until 7:30 p.m. is more from Seth Green and company at Robot Chicken. And then from 8:00 p.m. until 8:45 p.m. is new stuff from Doc Hammer and Jackson Publick’s brilliant show, The Venture Bros.

But that’s later on in the day, so what else is going on? If you’re interested in Gareth Edward’s film Monsters, they are doing a behind the scenes video package at 7:00 p.m. in Room 1A06 and why not stay there, directly right after, to see the American premiere of BBC’s new show, Sherlock. Room 1E02 has a great few hours, everything from Bill Plympton (5:15 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.), The Exorcist panel about the new Blu-ray (6:30 p.m. – 7:15 p.m.) and if you love some insane Asian horror, then you have Mutant Girls Squad for 2 hours at the end of the night.

There’s also tons of comic stuff, such as a Geoff Johns spotlight (Room 1A08 at 2:15 p.m.), IDW Publishing spotlight (Room 1A14 at 5:45 p.m.) and a spotlight on Dark Horse Comics (Room 1A24 also at 5:45 p.m.). But the excitement is definitely going on at Room 1A17 at 6:30 p.m. because that’s where the panel for A Geek’s Guide to Podcasting and Blogging will be going on.

Saturday October 9th

After that first shortened day, Saturday is the cream of the crop. It’s when the rush of insanity happens and as convention goers know, when a lot of prime stuff occurs. Let us begin.

Starting early at IGN Theater (again, the place to be for the most part) is a 10:30 a.m. panel for Universal’s new movie, Your Highness, starring Danny McBride and James Franco. Focus Features has their own panel at 12:30 p.m. and then Universal has a very short panel right after at 1:30 p.m. And for all you Battlestar Galactica fans, there is a spotlight on the women of that show at 2:30 p.m.

Looking throughout the day, there’s tons of great stuff but I’m going to pick out a few things that most people might miss out unless they are told how great they are. One of which is in Room 1A24, the panel being hosted by Criterion Cast friend and guest host Scott Weinberg, which he’ll be covering a MTV horror panel for the films My Super Psycho Sweet 16 Part 2 and Savage County, which will be at 2:00 p.m. Right before that panel though is a panel for Industrial Light and Magic, which has reserved seats so be early for that one (starts at 1:00 p.m.) Also, if you want to see Corey Feldman try to convince you that a new Lost Boys film is any good, that will be going on 1A14 at 10:45 a.m.

Again, if you’re a comic fan, there is plenty to do, but the things that sparked my interest are all going on in Room 1A06. One is a Vertigo Comics panel (3:45 p.m.) and then, following that, is a spotlight on one of my favorite comic book artists, Darwyn Cooke (5:00 p.m.) Room 1A08 has a Marvel Television panel about Avengers Assemble (1:30 p.m.) which seems to be a sleeper and Cup O’ Joe at 4:00 p.m. in the same room, which is where Joe Quesada, editor in chief of Marvel, answers questions, is candid as hell and might let out a few nuggets about future Marvel films.

Sunday October 10th

Last but certainly not least, when you’ll see people wandering around for any last minute deals from dealers who are trying to lighten their load before going back across the country, we tend to have some really good stuff saved on this day.

IGN Theater again is primarily television day, with my most anticipated event being the AMC Walking Dead panel, which is at 2:15 p.m. I cross my fingers for more exclusive clips of this eagerly awaited show. A must see convention attraction and Ash himself, Bruce Campbell, has his very own panel in Room 1A08 at 4:00 p.m. Sadly, for anyone who knows me as the huge Doctor Who fan that I am, I am torn because in Room 1A15 at the same exact time as Bruce Campbell is something called Doctor Who: Podshock. Torn between two nerd loves is damning!

In Room 1A23 is a Making of panel for Secret of Kells, the wonderful Irish animated film. In Room 1A22, for all of us Indiana Jones fans out there, is a Real Archaeology of Indiana Jones panel, which just sounds very cool. And in Room 1A24, for anyone who is interested in Seth Rogen’s new film The Green Hornet, is a History of The Green Hornet panel to school anyone who doesn’t know anything about this great pulp hero.

There’s just so much going on, and this is just the tip of the iceberg. Anyone have any other suggestions of events, panels or secrets that we might not have gone over in this post, please comment as much as possible. As I said, I’m only one man and will hopefully get to go to as many of these things as possible. Or fatten myself on Nutella crepes, a comic con mainstay if I do say so myself.