Those who go to cons are used to seeing protestors. For the most part they are the judgmental type who tell us we are all sinners, going to hell, need to repent, blah, blah, blah. But at New York Comic Con, a new group took to the streets and though their message is pretty clear, who they are isn’t. Donning red hoods and white masks, these anonymous-esque folks gave messages leading back to a twitter account YoureWelcomeSOS as well as an associated YouTube channel (the video can be seen after the jump).

Under the name Dramatis Personai, the group is seemingly protesting the demise of privacy. Most likely looking to hit a cord with the technology focused NYCC audience, the messages of the group strangely resemble the classic messages from the classic Watchmen, possibly another reason why the group targeted New York Comic Con this weekend. Drastically different from the Westboro Baptist Church or even Anonymous, the group has so far been respectful of the people they interact with while calling for their attention they have not taken to invasive scare tactics.

As we hear more about this group and their involvement at NYCC, we will be sure to update.

Knowing full well that no matter what, when review season was going to come around Halo 4 would be on my list, I couldn’t bring myself to wait in the horde of players hoping to get a brief hands on in San Diego at Comic Con. With so much going on, it wasn’t worth missing an entire day’s worth of events just for ten minutes of multiplayer. But with preview night of NYCC being less crowded, the proposition of waiting less than an hour to get hands on with Halo 4’s multiplayer seemed much more reasonable.

In our game, we had the opportunity to play Team Slayer on Ragnarok. As the name would suggest, this map is the successor to Valhalla from Halo 3. Not much has changed about the physical layout of the map though. The same basic structures still exist as they did before but with higher res textures. The only major change to the level was the position of weapons, taking into effect weapons new to the game. We also had the mech walker in our level which when used properly was a beast on the battlefield. Unfortunately, everyone was rushing for it at most times so we didn’t get to spend too long with it.

Unfortunately due to prior commitments, I was only able to make my way down to the New York Comic Con this year for preview night. While it was great to be able to take to the floor and not be mowed down by waves and waves of people, part of what makes a Con great is being surrounded by your fellow geeks. But even though it wasn’t the storm of crazy that usually envelopes the show floor by Friday or Saturday, there was still tons to see at the Con.

In the gallery below, check out some of the great booths from the show as well as some early cosplayers. One thing that stood out this year at NYCC is just how much video games were represented. PlayStation came in with a booth the same size as their San Diego setup including a huge diorama for God of War: Ascension. Meanwhile, Nintendo had two areas set aside: one for the 3DS and one larger area featuring both Wii U and 3DS titles. Not to be outdone, Microsoft came in with their biggest gun, Halo 4 which boasted a 45 minute to hour wait time on the least crowded of the show days for one round of multiplayer.

Take a look at all NYCC had to offer after the jump and we will try our best to find some more photos from the show floor from the rest of the weekend if at all possible!

Back at San Diego Comic Con 2011, we gave a preview on Friend of the Flickcast Kirk Manley’s debut issue of Z-Girl and the 4 Tigers. Since, Kirk and Z-Girl writer Jeff Marsick have been to dozens of conventions around the country promoting their series. Tomorrow, the team will be debuting the third issue of Z-Girl and the 4 Tigers.

For anyone who has read the previous issues of Z-Girl and the 4 Tigers, this may be the biggest story issue yet. A flashback that reveals the past of one of the tiger spirits. Z-Girl’s most trying moment so far. And a red headed woman waking up and talking to a voice in her head.

For those who haven’t read Z-Girl and the 4 Tigers yet, it is an independent title from Studio Z focusing on a military group composed of a high level functioning zombie and four teammates each inhabited by mythical spirits known as the 4 Tigers. The story is a blend of sci-fi, horror and military drama with some fantastic art by Manly.

NYCC this year saw the debut of one of the most nostalgia filled MMO gameplay trailers since Star Wars: The Old Republic. Though we can’t show you the trailer we can tell you about what we saw and what information we were able to get about the game. Transformers Universe is being developed by Jagex, the makers of the free to play fantasy MMO Runescape. Jagex promises an experience meant to appeal both to the masses as well as the Transformers hardcore fan.

Transformers Universe will be a browser based MMO for both the PC and Mac which means no downloads are necessary. It will take place using real world looking cars on a diverse landscape and will be a planet-based experience. So what does that mean? Don’t expect boats or planes just yet for this game. PR people were very careful to only mention driving and not piloting. It may be possible that they may exist in the future but the character creator screen we saw only gave options for cars, trucks and motorcycles thus far.

We have also been promised that Transformers Universe will be a constantly evolving world with huge character customization options. This means that when players pick their side as either Autobot or Decepticon, they will have a massive level of creative control over their character and that the world around them won’t be static. Areas, characters and missions will change and allow for new gameplay experiences instead of repetitive gameplay. Additionally, players will be granted the ability to play alongside iconic characters like Optimus Prime. Similar to the vein of DC Universe Online, players will fight with or against some of the recognizable faces from the Transformers Universe, helping make that individual’s story feel bigger and more important.

At New York Comic Con, we got a special media only peek at live gameplay of Max Payne 3. For those who may be too young, the original Max Payne came out in July of 2001 for the PC with XBox and PlayStation 2 releases to follow in what Rockstar claims as “the birth of the cinematic action shooter”. Max Payne introduced the concept of bullet time into games, which has been copied innumerable times since, especially in titles like John Woo’s Stranglehold, where players were able to slow down time and carefully aim and place each bullet they fired as opposed to the mad run and gun fury in most first or third person shooters. Precision was key.

Max Payne also took a Noir approach to its storytelling which helped set it apart from the games at the time which focused more on being more like big summer blockbusters than gritty crime dramas. Max Payne would eventually spawn both a sequel and a motion picture release starring Mark Walberg.

When we got to see Max Payne 3 in action, the first noticeable improvement is the full facial animations of the characters. Max no longer has the eternal look of pain frozen into his face. Instead, he has a fully animated set of emotions ranging from angst to utter despair. Just because it’s a new game, don’t expect a new demeanor for Max.

Also changed is the graphic novel style storytelling. In the first two games, cut scenes played out like reading panels from a comic book with static images with caption boxes over them while Max’s voice over told the story. Now, everything plays out in engine in full animated glory for the players as they traverse through levels. There will be Hollywood style camera cuts as well as on screen captions of what Max is saying but the game plays much more like a high quality motion comic during these cut scenes rather than flipping through a book.

New York Comic Con was a huge showcase for the folks at Activision. In addition to the Spider-Man photo booth where people could green screen themselves webslinging through the city, the other side of the Activision booth had part of a full size helicopter people could pose next to. Why a helicopter you ask? Well, remember that question asked about “What is cooler than drop kicking a helicopter?” that was posed for a little game called Prototype? One of the showcase pieces given its first hands on to the public was Prototype 2 on the XBox 360.

During our playthrough we played both a story mission and a challenge mission of the game. Much like the original Prototype, Prototype 2 has impressive visuals and fantastic animation. One thing that quickly stood out though is the change in the field of view.

The player model for James Heller is smaller on the screen which allows players to see furher into the distance, more of what is in front of him and more importantly, more of what is on the side and behind him. This quickly changes up the gameplay as a player can relax a little more without the constant fear from the original of a rocket launcher off screen delivering a killing blow from out of nowhere.

The combat of Prototype 2 seems fairly consistent to the first meaning it is both brutal and fun. This game gives new meaning to collateral damage as players may be aiming at the Blackwatch soldiers but end up tearing through hordes of innocent New Yorkers in the process. Some of the classic powers return as well as updates on the tendrils which in effect turns a target into a magnet for every destructible item close by to come flying at it as seen in the game’s most recent trailer.

What is the one thing that has been missing from both the recent Transformers game reboot with War for Cybertron and the Michael Bay film franchise? Ponder that for a moment.

Last summer kicked off with Transformers: War for Cybertron, a return to the much heralded Transformers original G1 continuity. And we all know that for purists of a series, continuity is everything. Players got to take on the roles of both the Autobots and Decepticons as their civil war ripped all of Cybertron apart. The rise of Optimus Prime and the decent of Starscream were both key story elements as well as the Autobots being brought down to their weakest moments before the story ended in somewhat of a cliffhanger of the fate of the world.

This summer, High Moon Studios had to step back from the series and put out the Transformers: Dark of the Moon tie-in game, which while good for movie game standards, it was no War for Cybertron. Thankfully, the folks at Activision and High Moon Studios have heard the cry of Transformer fanboys world wide and are continuing with the story we have been hungering for over the past year.

At New York Comic Con, Activision released the first trailer for the game with only this statement:

As always, one of our favorite parts of any convention is the sights and NYCC was full of them this year so we had to share them with the Flickcast audience. The level of dedication by the men and women who attend the con every year is staggering.

Some are picture perfect renditions that rival movie quality costumes like the Anakin Skywalker we saw wandering the floor. Others come from careful collection of legitimate television costumes and props like the classic Power Rangers Green Ranger. Still others take their own imagination and run wild with custom Mandalorian battle armor for both human and giant chicken alike to life sized Castle Crashers.

One of the things this gallery sadly doesn’t do justice is give an idea on just how huge NYCC was this year. Though it is yet to overtake the surrounding neighborhood like SDCC does, the New York Comic Con feels every bit as big and as important as its west coast counterpart.

The entire Javitts Center was filled with every major comic company to movie studios and video game publishers in every corner. This year the Flickcast was only able to spend a day on the Con floor but if things keep looking up for NYCC, we may have to tackle this show the same way we do San Diego Comic Con or E3.

Take a look below to get just a glimpse of the many sights at this year’s convention. See you next year New York!

You may know him best as Malcolm, you know from the middle. Or maybe even a few of our readers will remember him as Agent Cody Banks. But now, Frankie Muniz is taking on a new role on the silver screen as the Pizza Man. And he isn’t just your every day delivery man, he has super powers.

At NYCC, the world saw the debut trailer for Pizza Man starring Frankie Muniz alongside former professional wrestler Diamond Dallas Page who plays Pizza Man’s arch nemesis and other notable stars like Shelly Long and Corbin Bersen. Pizza Man is the tale of a kid who mistakenly falls into super powers and how he must deal with. Sort of like Spider-Man but with pepperoni.

Frankie talks with us about just what kind of super hero Pizza Man is, learns from us what the definition of a rogues gallery is and gives us some insight into Diamond Dallas Page’s villainous character. This family friendly super hero flick should be coming to theaters early next year.

Take a peek below at our full interview talking all things Pizza Man with Frankie Muniz below.

With 2011 in full effect, so has begun Con season. While so far it has been mainly industry and media events like Toy Fair or this week’s Game Developers Conference, the big boys like C2E2, San Diego Comic-Con and the New York Comic Con are all just around the corner. And while most of The Flickcast have earned our geek merit badges (as well as Foursquare badges) by surviving numerous conventions, we realize not everyone has had the chance to experience the Con world like we have.

The world of conventions can even be a little intimidating. While shows like Wizard World can be good day trips where someone can just go in and out, others like San Diego are week long vacations that take some actual time and planning. To help prepare Con goers, we have put together this post loaded with advice for both new and veteran geek adventurers.

Know Your Con

As mentioned before, some cons are large epic events while others can be treated as just quick day trips. When picking your Con, make sure you know which of these two categories it falls into. Don’t expect to see San Diego Comic-Con all in one day.

It will be damn near impossible to spend any decent amount of time at every booth that catches your interest if you are only there for one day. Plus, you won’t have any time for autograph signings, panels or other con events as you will just be rushing through to see a little of everything but not having enough time to really enjoy any of it.

On the same token, smaller shows like ComiCONN, a local level show with only a hundred or so booths, don’t have nearly as many special events going on, or fellow con goers to wade through. Planning a full weekend around the con alone might leave someone looking for more to do.

Has the thrill of San Diego Comic-Con waned (gasp!) in the last few years? Is the scheduling for the San Diego, Chicago or New York Cons not ideal for you? Or, would your love of comics, games and movies inspire you to travel internationally (this writer is definitely in that camp)? If you fit into any or all of these categories, then today’s your lucky day! Mark Millar is about to become your new hero (if he isn’t already)!

Millar (Kick-Ass, Wanted, Civil War) has announced that he is launching a Comic Con-themed event for the UK market next April. The Kapow Comic Con will take over London’s Business Design Centre on April 9 and 10, 2011 and be dedicated to the world of comics, movies, TV, games and more.

Stars from Hollywood and TV-land have yet to be announced, but Dave Gibbons, John Romita Jr, Frank Quitely, Bryan Hitch and Andy Diggle have all been confirmed for attendance.

Kapow will also introduce the Stan Lee Awards, which will pay tribute to the comic book legend by giving recipients gong statues for Best Comic, Best Superhero or Sci-Fi Movie and Best Comic Book Hero among others.

For more information, check out the official Kapow Comic Con site. See you in London!