Best New York Comedy

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

On Saturday I saw Chris Carter, David Duchovny, and Mitch Pileggi interviewed by Kumail Nanjiani, plus a screening The X-Files Season 10’s first episode (which is slated to air January 24, 2016 on FOX). The series return looks to be a solid one, dealing with the issues of our time—government surveillance, rise of police states, manipulation of media, etc. And most importantly, the chemistry is still there between Mulder and Scully. When asked what prompted the revival, Carter explained, “I got a call telling me David was interested in coming back.” That apparently did the trick… I won’t give anything away, but for a trailer of Episode 10.1, please click here.

This final Day #4 of Comic Con highlights include:

• The latest about Japanese animation from the CEO and editor-in-chief of Anime News Network (10:45-11:45, Room 1A18)
• Mega-selling children’s authors R.L. Stine (Goosebumps) and Ann M. Martin (The Baby-Sitters Club) chat with Dave Roman & Raina Telgemeier, who created graphic novels based on their books (10:45-11:30, Room 1A10)
• A sneak peak at the newest DC Comics animated movie, LEGO DC Comics Super Heroes: Justice League—Cosmic Clash (11:00-noon, Empire Stage 1-E)
• Indie comics creators tell you how to succeed at self-publishing (11:00-noon, Room 1A01)
• Screening and Q&A for upcoming FOX superhero TV series Lookinglass that’s slated to debut in 2016 (noon-1:00, Room 1A21)
• Children’s book illustrators use audience suggestions to bring a story to life on the spot (noon-1:00, Family HQ 1C02)
• Star Wars authors perform dramatic readings of their stories (noon-1:00, Room 1A21)

• Screening and Q&A for Wabbit, a new Bugs Bunny cartoon series that started ariing on the Boomerang network on Monday, October 5th at 8:00 pm (12:15-1:15, Room 1A10)
• Screening and Q&A for FOX’s new TV series Minority Report, which so far has provided cool graphics but not much else worth watching (12:15-1:15, Empire Stage 1-E)
  
• French comic book creators discuss their work in a Euro-panel moderated by Publishers Weekly (12:15-1:15, Room 1A01)
• DC Comics previews Harley Quinn, Bizarro, Black Canary, and other assorted new titles (12:15-1:15, Room 1A06)

• Nobel Prize winner Paul Krugman and Star Trek experts discuss whether it’s possible to ever achieve the utopian ecomonic world of Star Trek (1:15-2:15, Room 1A24)
• Talents at Image Comics, where creators own their work, show off their latest series (1:15-2:15, Room 1A21)
• Darryl DMC McDaniels of Run DMC and other hip-hop artists discuss how they were influenced by comic books (1:15-2:15, Room 1A18)
• A discussion about closing the gender gap in comic books, movies, toys, and other pop culture (1:30-2:30, Room 1B03)
• Various women wprking for Marvel Entertainment discuss what it’s like to be a gal in the comic book biz (1:30-2:30, Room 1A06)

• Warner Bros. Television screens its series Gotham, Supergirl, DC’s Legends of Tomorrow, Blindspot, and Person of Interest, plus Q&As with each show’s creators and/or cast (1:30-5:30, Empire Stage 1-E)
• Cartoonists teach you how to quickly and easily draw your own monsters (2:00-3:00, Family HQ 1C02)
• LGBTQ representation in today’s comics and other pop culture (2:30-3:30, Room 1A24)
• Authors explore the infrastructure of SF/fantasy universes such as Star Wars (2:30-3:30, Room 1A05)

• Jack Black, R. L. Stine, and more discuss their upcoming Goosebumps movie from Sony Pictures (2:30-3:30, Main Stage 1-D)
• Mad Magazine Editor John Ficarra, Art Director Sam Viviano, and Mad writers & artists do a Q&A with “prizes awarded for most moronic questions” (2:30-3:30, Room 1A21)
• Sneak peeks of the Crossed horror series in both comics and film forms (2:45-3:45, Room 1A01)
• A look back at The 8 Doctors of Classic Doctor Who (4:00-5:00, Room 1B03)
• A panel about achieving a full spectrum of race diversity in comics (4:00-5:00, Room 1A01)

• Sleepy Hollow screening, followed by a Q&A with series executive producers and cast (4:15-5:15, Main Stage 1-D)

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:

And noteworthy shows happening outside of Comic Con today include:

• The Andy Kaufman Awards: Comics including Jo Firestone (who should easily win unless she self-sabotages), Julio Torres (who might win if he wasn’t up against Jo), and more compete for this annual award often chosen with astonishing stupidity, but hopefully this year things will go well. Hosted by Elayne Boosler, the show has sold out of seats, but you might be able to get in if you arrive early and are okay with standing ($15, UCB East at 153 East 3rd Street)
• Make My Baby Laugh: Wonderful parents & improvisors Mary Theresa Archbold & Pat Shay challenge comics to make laught babies, toddlers, and/or other children who don’t get typical stand-up references (2:00 pm, $5, The PIT Upstairs Theatre at 123 East 24th Street)
• Nice Tits: A one-woman comedic show by Amy Marcs about dealing with breast cancer (4:00 pm, $15, The PIT Upstairs Theatre 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.