GEEKS UNITE

The New York Comic Con is now in its fifth year—the “wood” anniversary, for you traditionalists. So you can celebrate by bringing a wooden scimitar, but according to the Con’s official “Weapons Policy,” you’ll have to leave your steel swords at home. For those not prepping for fantasy duels, a smorgasbord of 300-plus panels and screenings will explicate “Lolita” fashions (Victorian-inspired—not Nabokovian—pleated skirts and bloomers); Darwyn Cooke’s blistering graphic novel The Outfit; Dash Shaw’s psychedelically drawn tome Body World; and other pop-culture sensations. Comic Con is paired with the New York Anime Festival this year, so can roam the farthest reaches of the Javits Center in search of that “Limited Special Edition Tin” DVD of Akira to complement your complete manga set.

Fri., Oct. 8, 1 p.m.; Oct. 9-10, 10 a.m., 2010