There's never a shortage of Jedi knights at New York Comic Con, and this year was no different. Courtesy of New York Comic Con.

There's nothing like taking a bite out of the Big Apple, and this year's New York Comic Con offered up juicy animation and vfx tidbits, along with a healthy serving of comic books and graphic novels. The show, which was NYCC's third installment and took place April 18-20 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center, boasted some 64,000 attendees. These days, with comics crossing the line into movies, TV, toys and video games, it's no surprise that fans were offered lots of animation- and vfx-related programming and exhibits.

The Andromeda Strain
On the show floor, a large, long, white biohazard containment tent offered "survivors" a peek at A&E's new treatment of Michael Crichton's The Andromeda Strain, from Ridley Scott and Tony Scott, due to air over two nights beginning May 26 (Memorial Day).

The new movie stars Benjamin Bratt, Eric McCormack, Christa Miller, Daniel Dae Kim, Viola Davis, Ricky Schroder and Andre Braugher, and relates how a U.S. satellite crash-lands near a small town in Utah, unleashing a deadly plague that kills virtually everyone except two survivors -- who may provide clues to immunizing the population. As the military attempts to quarantine the area, a team of specialized scientists is assembled to find a cure and stop the spread of the alien pathogen, code-named "Andromeda." David Vána acted as vfx supervisor for the mini-series.

Those who visited the exhibit were provided with small samples of The Andromeda Strain hand sanitizer to ward off any alien infection.

I Want to Believe
FBI Agent Fox Mulder is no stranger to alien visitations and he's back, along with partner Dana Scully, in The X-Files: I Want to Believe.

The film, which is set to release on July 25, is described as a supernatural thriller that takes the complicated relationship between Mulder (David Duchovny) and Dana Scully (Gillian Anderson) in unexpected directions. According to the new film's writers Chris Carter and Frank Spotnitz, a lot has transpired since the events of the TV show and the first feature-length movie.

"This is a stand-alone story that does not hold to the last movie. Most of the TV episodes were stand-alone. This movie is a good, scary ride," Carter says.

The X-Files: I Want to Believe writers Frank Spotnitz (l) and Chris Carter explain that the feature is a stand-alone title. All images courtesy of Janet Hetherington, unless otherwise noted.

"The characters are older, and we found we had a lot to say about where they are," Spotnitz says. "To be able to reconnect in this way is uncommon. I found I missed them."

"As for the theme," Carter says, "'Trust No One' and 'I Want to Believe' are two different ideas. One is conceptual, and one is practical. I think 'Trust No One' is really a plea to find someone you can trust. 'I Want to Believe' is about wrestling with your beliefs."

Spotnitz says, "All those things were in the show from the beginning."

"The series ran for nine years, and we planted seeds," agrees Carter. "If you plant seeds and don't harvest what you grow, it's a waste. We were mindful to place a solid foundation."

That foundation has included various monsters and other hard-to-explain events, yet Carter never thought of The X-Files as an SF genre show. "I didn't like the label," he says. "I thought of it as a mystery show about the things that were in the realm of extreme possibility."

"The secret to its broad appeal on television is that it's like a police drama," Spotnitz says.

As a PG-13 movie, the new X-Files feature won't be as graphic as many of today's horror films, but Carter still hopes to scare people. The film will have vfx to support the spooky.

"There will be some greenscreen effects, but they're minimal compared to some summer blockbusters," Spotnitz says. "It's about the story." Offering a new, frightening mystery for the special FBI agents to solve "allows us to plumb the depths to see the light."