Best New York Comedy

For a day-by-day guide to Comic Con highlights,
please click Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

On Friday I saw Frank Miller talk about spearheading graphic novel series Dark Knight III; the charming Clark Gregg chatting about Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D.; the writer and cast of USA’s innovative Mr. Robot banter about the many twists of the past Season 1; Josh Holloway (Lost) plugging USA’s upcoming Colony, which looks terrific and is well-acted (it also stars Sarah Wayne Callies of The Walking Dead), but is based upon potentially fatal writing choices (time will tell); and a LEGO-driven videogame jam-packed with visual jokes springboarding off recent Marvel movies and the Marvel universe.

Highlights of Day #3 of Comic Con include:

• Genre novelists with female protagonists discuss how Chicks Kick Ass (11:00-noon, Room 1A21)
• Comics pros explain how to write and pitch stories to comic book publishers (11:00-noon, Room 1A01)
• The Comic Book Legal Defense Fund discusses legal and censorship battles it’s waging on behalf of all of us (11:15-12:15, Room 1A05)
• Marvel devotes a panel to new projects in All-New All-Different Marvel (11:15-12:15, Room 1A10)
• What’s likely to be an epic Naruto feature film, Boruto (11:30-2:00, Hammerstein Ballroom at 311 West 34th Street)
  
• How the human body works is unraveled in graphic detail in Human Body Theater (11:45-12:30, 1C02)
• The writers and artists of DC Comics core titles—Superman, Batman, etc.—talk about what’s coming up for these iconic heroes (12:15-1:15, Room 1A06)

• Star Wars novelists discuss what’s coming from Disney-Lucasfilm Press (12:15-1:15, Room 1A21)
• A history of horror comics and a look at new series Rachel Rising (12:15-1:15, Room 1B03)
• Pop culture critics savage recent comics, movies, and music albums (12:30-1:30, Room 1A10)
• Marry, Fuck, or Kill: Shattering Female Stereotypes in Comics (12:30-1:30, Room 1A05)
• Selling your concept using Tumblr and other social media (1:30-2:30, Room 1B03)
• News about all things Batman and his Bat-Family from DC Comics writers & artists (1:30-2:30, Empire Stage 1-E)
• Writers and artists creating autobiography in queer comics (1:30-2:30, Room 1A01)

• Screening of the first episode of rebooted The X-Files, which is returning to FOX in January, and a Q&A with creator Chris Carter and star David Duchovny moderated by Kumail Nanjiani (1:15-2:30, Main Stage 1-D)
• A no-holds-barred Q&A with Marvel Comics’ Chief Creative Officer Joe Quesada (2:45-3:45, Empire Stage 1-E)
• Comics veterans discuss Will Eisner’s pioneering work in graphic novels (4:00-5:00, Room 1B03)
• Execs and talent discuss ComiXology self-publishing program Submit (4:00-5:00, Room 1A18)
• Talents at Image Comics, where creators own their work, show off their latest series (4:15-5:15, Room 1A24)

• Screening and discussion of Netflix’s original Marvel series Daredevil and Jessica Jones (4:00-6:45, Main Stage 1-D)
• The latest from red-hot comic book publisher Valiant following its smash hit Book of Death (5:15-6:15, Room 1A1B)
• From Dusk Till Dawn creator Robert Rodriguez and his cast offer news and answer questions about From Dusk Till Dawn : The Series (5:15-6:15, Empire Stage 1-E)
• News from FUNimation, North America’s largest anime distributor, whose titles include Dragon Ball Z and Akira (5:30-6:30, Room 1A24)
• Truthiness is Stranger than Fiction: New Reality-Based Graphic Novels (6:45-7:45, Room 1A05)

• Dr. Who writer Toby Whithouse screens his latest episode “Before the Flood” and then answers questions (7:45-9:15, Empire Stage 1-E)

Virtually all 150,000+ Comic Con tickets are sold out, but if you’ve already nabbed one for today, there’s a whole bunch to enjoy.

And noteworthy shows happening outside of Comic Con tonight include:

• Bobcat Goldthwait: A stand-up legend headlining at 8:00 pm, 10:00 pm, and 11:45 pm ($26 plus 2-drink min., Gotham Comedy Club at 208 West 23rd Street)
• Beware The Chupacabra!: Last chance to catch the Encore Series reprise of my favorite FringeNYC 2015 show—thanks largely to the equisite music composed & orchestrated by Christian De Gré (9:30 pm, $18, West Village’s Soho Playhouse at 15 Vandam Street)
• Murderfist: NYC’s award-winning heavy metal version of a sketch group makes fearless dark comedy (9:30 pm, $10, The PIT Upstairs Theatre at 123 East 24th Street)
• Centralia: An acclaimed experimental improv trio consisting of Matt Higgins, Jay Rhoderick, and Kevin Scott is tonight joined by guest improvisor Chris Griggs (9:30 pm, $10, The PIT Downstairs Lounge at 123 East 24th Street)

For tomorrow’s top comedy picks, please click here.

For a day-by-day guide to Comic Con highlights,
please click Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday

For many more shows, please click the following links to top NYC comedy venues:

Best Inexpensive Stand-Up, Improv, Sketch, and Storytelling

Upright Citizens Brigade Chelsea
(307 West 26th Street; 150-seater; shows free-$10; one of the most respected comedy theatres in the world; especially strong on improv (e.g., Gravid Water, Adsit & ?), sketch (Maude Night), solo shows, and one-act comedic plays, but also hosts one of the very finest stand-up shows in the city (Aparna Nancherla’s Whiplash)

Upright Citizens Brigade East
(153 East 3rd Street; 99-seater; a top comedy venue that leans a bit more towards stand-up and screenings, and on experimental shows taking big risks, than sister theatre UCB Chelsea; shows free-$10)

The PIT Striker (Upstairs) Theatre
(123 East 24th Street; 99-seater; a top venue that’s a powerful rival of UCB, and often surpasses UCB when blending comedy with music and/or theatricality; shows free-$20)

The PIT Underground (Downstairs) Theatre
(123 East 24th Street; 40-seater; often more quirky & experimental than upstairs Striker; shows free-$10)

The PIT Loft
(154 West 29th Street; 50-seater; not at the level of its two sister PIT theatres, but evolving; shows free-$10)

The Magnet
(254 West 29th Street; 60-seat theatre; strong on improv, musical improv, sketch, and energy; shows $5-$10)

The Annoyance Theatre
(367 Bedford Ave. in Brooklyn; J/M/Z to Marcy or L to Lorimer; 50-seat theatre; spinning off from Chicago’s Annoyance Theatre, brings a fiercely fresh, experimental approach to improv and sketch; shows free-$10)

The Creek and the Cave
(Queens’ Long Island City; 40-seat theatre upstairs, 25 downstairs; virtually all shows free)

Littlefield
(622 Degraw Street in Brooklyn; R to Union Street; 100-seat theatre; shows $5-$20)

Union Hall
(702 Union Street in Brooklyn; R to Union Street; 50-seat theatre; shows $5-$20)

Bell House
(149 7th Street in Brooklyn; R to 9th Street or F/G to Fourth Ave.; 200-seat theatre; shows $10-$25)

Best NYC Stand-Up Comedy Clubs

Comedy Cellar
(117 MacDougal Street; among the finest daily stand-up lineups in the world; 2-item min.)

The Stand
(239 Third Avenue; recent competitor to Comedy Cellar; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Carolines Comedy Club
(1626 Broadway; focuses on the world’s top headliners, who perform hour-long sets; 2-drink min.)

Gotham Comedy Club
(208 West 23rd Street; headliners on weekends, specialty & lineup shows weekdays; 2-drink min.)

Eastville Comedy Club
(85 East 4th Street; strong weekend lineups; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Greenwich Village Comedy Club
(99 MacDougal Street; convenient if Comedy Cellar’s sold out; no cover using code HyReviews; 2-drink min.)

Comic Strip Live
(1568 Second Avenue, off 81st; Upper East Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

Stand Up NY
(236 West 78th Street, off Broadway; Upper West Side club with typically solid lineups; 2-drink min.)

The Standing Room
(4738 Vernon Blvd., by #7 train; Queens LIC club; no drink min.—support this policy!)

Other NYC Live Shows, Heavily Marked Down via Goldstar:
Click Any Image That Interests You to See the Discount Offer

From legendary NYC comedy site Brooklyn Vegan: Thank God for Hy Bender’s religiously updated show bible BestNewYorkComedy.com…It must be exhausting keeping that monster of a website alive. It is your daily comedy itinerary and it scares me how on top of his shit this guy is.

Please feel encouraged to reach out to tell me about comedy shows, submit material to my short story anthology Ghosts on Drugs, hire me for book or screenplay work, or for any other reason by emailing me at hy@hyreviews.com.