The biggest story at New York Comic Con turned out not to be. I didn't hear a single fan whining that the headlining guest, J. Michael Straczynski, had pulled out of the convention. JMS recently scored a BAFTA nomination for his work on Changeling, and the award ceremony in London turned out to be the same weekend as the New York con. Looking through the program at all the signings and panels they had scheduled him for, I expected it to be a bigger deal. I guess comics fans were more concerned with the creators who were actually there.

Bryan Lee O'Malley, for example. The 29 year-old artist and writer of the Scott Pilgrim series of graphic novels has finally achieved rockstar status, if the lines around the Oni Press booth for his signings were any indication. The New York Times apparently thinks so, too: their Comic Con write-up gave more space to Scott Pilgrim than everything else put together. I picked up the freshly-released fifth volume of the series, and I can tell you that Mal deserves all the praise he's getting. The buzz wasn't just about the book, though: Scott Pilgrim is also soon to be a movie starring Michael Cera and directed by Edgar Wright (Hot Fuzz, Shaun of the Dead).

For indie creators, getting booth space was a main concern. I heard artists talking about the challenge of landing a spot in Artist Alley, which seemed to have a handful of empty spaces despite rumors of a waiting list to get in. It's easy to feel snubbed when you see empty tables for the taking, and your only option is to shell out a lot of money for a spot in the small press area that you probably won't recoup before the weekend is over.

Some people took to the con floor as nomads, spreading the word about their books on foot. One of them was Brendan McGinley, the dapper, tuxedo-sporting writer of the Image Shadowline webcomic Hannibal Goes to Rome. Although he didn't have a table, Brendan sold a bunch of copies of his humor anthology, DOSE. It's hard to say no to a gregarious, smartly-dressed guy with a money-back guarantee, especially when what he's selling is really freaking funny. By the end of the weekend, no one had asked for their money back.

Everyone at the con also seemed to be watching the Watchmen. I saw maybe a dozen Rorschach cosplayers, and free reprints of the first issue were lying everywhere. All the vendors at the con were pushing the Watchmen graphic novel and various movie companion books. The only book I saw more of was that ubiquitous Obama/Spider-Man crossover. If you don't have it, don't bother. It's not good, but it was selling at anywhere from 4 bucks to 20.

Webcomics were also huge at NYCC. DC's web imprint, ZudaComics, set up shop in a corner of the huge DC booth. Past winners of the Zuda competition, who all have graphic novels coming out soon, rotated through the booth all weekend and drew a good-sized crowd. Dumbrella, home of original webcomics like R. Stevens' Diesel Sweeties and Meredith Gran's Octopus Pie, also had a hobo-themed booth, complete with flaming trashcan. Despite their recession-inspired styling, the Dumbrella guys did seem to be moving a lot of books and tees. Forget the JMS no-show, this is the real biggest story of NYCC '09: keep an eye on web-based comic distribution this year. I have a feeling that the shift to reading even mainstream books online starts now.