The biggest news out of an otherwise gaming-light New York Comic Con this year was when Steve Jackson Games announced their agreement to license the recent hit Image Comics book, Skullkickers. Naturally, we had to catch up with company COO Phil Reed, who was in attendance, to get his thoughts. Check out our video highlights below to find out what's new with Steve Jackson Games.

Looks like the gang's all here! Both the grape soda-chugging Dreadnoks and the Sergeant's own Slaughters Marauders are going to be fighting their way into the current G.I. Joe line as part of two box sets, available exclusively through our friends at Big Bad Toy Store! During this year's New York Comic Con, the internet rumors were proven true as both gangs of hard-hitting warriors were shown off to the masses at the Hasbro booth.

Check out this exclusive video interview with Hasbro's Derryl DePriest about the fan-favorite sets, followed by a few close up photos from the NYCC G.I. Joe display!

NYCC 2011: Hasbro's G.I. Joe Releases

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Tags 2011 New York Comic Con, Action Figures, Dreadnoks, G.I. Joe, Hasbro, Interview, mtv, MTV Geek, NYCC 2011, Slaughter's Marauders

Over 300 people crowded into the room to see Makoto Shinkai speak at New York Anime Fest -- but MTV Geek readers get a special audience, because we were able to sit down and chat with him right after the panel.

Shinkai is the director of the critically acclaimed anime Voices of a Distant Star, 5 Centimeters per Second, and most recently, Children Who Chase Lost Voices from Deep Below, which had its U.S. premiere at NYAF. He was looking forward to visiting Central Park and the Empire State Building on his New York trip, but he took a few minutes to talk to us.

MTV Geek: You were a graphic designer before you started making anime. Did that influence you in any way, either in the way you approach the work, the way you do your work, or the content of the work itself?

Makoto Shinkai: When I was working at the game company, I wasn’t just doing graphic design, I was doing the entire product management, so I would do the graphic design, I would create the advertisements, even the catch copies. I would figure out what kind of packaging and design of the packaging, so I was basically doing total product management at that time. I approach anime work in a similar way: I am thinking about all aspects and how to deliver them to the end user.

MTV Geek: Do you think your unusual background puts you at an advantage or a disadvantage?

Makoto Shinkai: I would like to believe there are a lot of merits I derive from my background, but I feel a little bit of a complex in that I didn't have the traditional background as an anime director. I feel inferior sometimes. But then like today, when I see all those fans getting excited and showing love and appreciation for my work, I feels that it is OK that I didn’t not take the traditional career path as other anime directors and creators have.

MTV Geek: It's one thing to make an anime, another to get people to watch it. I know your first anime, She and Her Cat, won the grand prize at the 2000 DoGA CG Animation contest.. How did you get it to viewers before that?

Makoto Shinkai: I put a promotional video up on the internet and I made a bunch of CDs—at the time it wasn't DVDs, I burned it on a bunch of CDs—and I sold them at Comiket. I sold around 5,000 of them, which is a big number. And then you could order them by mail on my website.

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Tags 2011 New York Comic Con, Anime, Makoto Shinkai, NYCC 2011

By Elizabeth Keenan

What comic character would you bring to the anti-prom, New York’s LGBT prom alternative?

For comic writer Ivan Velez, Jr., the answer is Colossus, that well built wall of muscle. Prism Comics’ Zan Christiansen would bring Captain America—“a nice, wholesome boy my family could be proud of.” Marvel editor Daniel Ketchum would pair with Cypher of the New Mutants. And manga writer Rica Takashima would take Bubbles from the PowerPuff Girls.

Moderator Chris Shoemaker’s opening question set the tone for the New York Comic Con panel on LGBT characters in comics. The question is a joke—kind of. But it points to a greater presence of LGBT characters in comics (hello, Ultimate Universe Colossus) and to the growing number of LGBT comics readers (the panel itself had a standing-room overflow).

Last year, the tragic death of Tyler Clementi inspired the “It Gets Better Project,” a collection of video testimonials focusing on reaching LGBT teens, who are at much higher risk for suicide than straight teens. The “It Gets Better—with Comics!” panel ranged from serious topics such as representation of queer identity in comics, reaching at-risk teens, and the difficulty of striking a line between LGBT advocacy and reaching a traditional comics audience, but it also offered hope for helping LGBT youth through comics.

Panelists first tackled the issue of LGBT representation in comics, a potential minefield of issues. For example, is a flamboyant character representative of gay culture, or a stereotype? Read more...

Tags Ivan Velez, Jr., LGBT, NYCC, Prism Comics

Just in time for Halloween, Oni Press has announced that it will be bringing back Ted Naifeh’s Courtney Crumrin—in color!

“It’s our 15-year anniversary, and we want to do a combination of old and new things,” said Oni’s marketing director Cory Casoni, introducing the new Courtney Crumrin books at the Oni Press panel at New York Comic Con. The series will in April with a new edition of Courtney Crumrin and the Night Things, and Naifeh will be doing new Courtney Crumrin monthly comics beginning in the spring.

Courtney Crumrin is a girl with magical powers who lives and travels with her mysterious Uncle Aloysius. “I like to call her Harry Potter with gumption, because she is willing to feed her enemies to trolls,” said Casoni. “The beauty of Courtney is that she doesn’t always do well at the things she does, and she uses magic inappropriately until she learns the ropes.” Read more...

Tags 2011 New York Comic Con, Courtney Crumrin, D.B. Cooper, J. Torres, NYCC 2011, Oni Press, The Sixth Gun

By Gregg Sanderson

On the heels of recent releases Spider-Man: Edge of Time, X-Men: Destiny, and Super Hero Squad: The Infinity Gauntlet for Nintendo 3DS, Marvel Entertainment has a slew of upcoming games cutting across a wide range of Marvel characters, not to mention game platforms and genres. Javon Frazier, Marketing Director for Marvel Games, along with Chris Baker, Manager of Licensed Games at Marvel Studios, led a panel of developers at New York Comic Con to discuss each one. The big surprise? Announcing the upcoming movie tie-in game The Amazing Spider-Man, complete with a world premiere video!

Patricia Briggs, author of the popular Mercy Thompson novels, was on-hand at NYCC this year

By Jamila Rowser from Girl Gone Geek

The “We’re No Angels: Leading Ladies of Science Fiction and Fantasy” panel at New York Comic Con was moderated by Colleen Lindsay (Book Country). It featured veteran female writers including Patricia Briggs (Mercy Thompson Series), Alison Goodman (Eon), Kim Harrison (Pale Demon), Jeaniene Frost (Night Huntress), Marjorie M. Liu (Tiger Eye) and newbie’s Sabrina Benulis (Archon) and Kristen Painter (Blood Rights).

The panel was filled with great advice for aspiring sci-fi and fantasy writers, lots of laughs (Kristen Painter is a riot) and tons of love for editors. Colleen Lindsay began by asking the women to dispel a common publishing myth. They disproved everything from not needing an “in” to get published to not all female SF/F writers are as rich as J.K. Rowling.

By Gregg Sanderson

Not many people are lucky enough to be around for their 98th birthday. Fewer still can say they've had the cultural impact of co-creating Captain America, the four-color symbol of liberty and the best that Americanism represents. Luckily for us all, Joe Simon can claim both!

Just a few days after Joe was blessed enough to have his 98-candle birthday cake, comic book fans were treated to his appearance at New York Comic Con. The purpose of the panel was to hear Joe reminisce about his career, on the heels of his well-received autobiography released earlier this year, Joe Simon: My Life in Comics: The Illustrated Autobiography of Joe Simon.

McFarlane Toys had a small setup as part of the Image Comics booth at this year's New York Comic Con. While only keeping it to two display cases, they were constantly blocked and surrounded by rabid fans of the company's various toy lines. In fact, you should be amazed we were even able to battle our way through the hordes of undead fully living The Walking Dead enthusiasts to bring you photos of the TV Series figure premieres!

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Tags 2011 New York Comic Con, Action Figures, Halo, McFarlane Toys, mtv, MTV Geek, NYCC 2011, Sports Picks, The Walking Dead