GATHERINGS

A MARVEL IN GOTHAM The city’s brilliant freaks and geeks, many of whom are burning up the Web logs in anticipation of the feature film release of “Iron Man” next month, will find some relief at New York Comic Con, the largest pop culture convention on the East Coast. The event showcases the latest comics, graphic novels, anime, and manga, and features more than 300 film screenings, panel discussions, previews, and autograph sessions. The author of the “Sandman” series, Neil Gaiman, gives a reading on Friday at 6 p.m.; a reception for the author is at 5 p.m. Convention begins Friday, through Sunday, dates, times, and event prices vary, Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 655 W. 34t St., between Eleventh and Twelfth avenues, 888-605-6059, $30 and up. For complete information, go to nycomiccon.com.

COMEDY

GIRL BEHAVING BADLY The acerbic host of the E! network’s nightly chat-fest “Chelsea Lately,” Chelsea Handler, dips her feet back in the stand-up pool with a show at Caroline’s. Ms. Handler’s merciless skewering of Hollywood “celebutantes” and ne’er-do-wells is offset by the fact that she often says exactly what audience members are thinking but are reluctant to say in polite company. Ms. Handler’s breakthrough came as an ensemble member of the prank show “Girls Behaving Badly” on Oxygen. Monday–Tuesday, 9:30 p.m., Caroline’s, 1626 Broadway, between 49th and 50th streets, 212-757-4100, $27.25.

DANCE

UNITED STATES OF DANCE Ballet Builders presents new works by choreographers from across the country during its annual showcase. A panel of ballet company directors and instructors selects the choreographers through a rigorous audition process. This year’s performance series features dancers and choreographers from Ballet Arizona, Colorado’s Lemon Sponge Cake Contemporary Ballet, and Ballet Neo, among others.

Saturday, 8 p.m., Sunday, 3 p.m., Kaye Playhouse at Hunter College, East 68th Street, between Park and Lexington avenues, 212-772-4448, $30.

THOROUGHLY MODERN Among the highlights of Ballet Tech’s Mandance Project is the excellent pair of solos. A swan-like Ha-Chi Yu dances choreographer Eliot Feld’s “Pursuing Odette,” set to a stirring Mahler Adagietto. And in “Isis in Transit” (a premiere), Fang-Yi Sheu scales a thicket of pipe-like poles on her journey. Those unfamiliar with Mr. Feld’s Martha Graham-inspired use of abstract props might find the devices distracting, but the payoff is an acrobatic exposition of modern technique. Friday, 8 p.m., Saturday, 2 and 8 p.m., Sunday, 2 and 7:30 p.m., Joyce Theater, 175 Eighth Ave. at 19th Street, 212-9740, $25–$44.

FILM

CINEMATIC CACHE Although filmmaker Jean Eustache is emblematic of the post-New Wave cinema that emerged in 1970s France, in America he remains a shadowy figure to many. The French Institute Alliance Française spotlights his oeuvre with its ongoing series, Jean Eustache’s Circle. A double screening of shorts features “Les Photos d’Alix” (1980), in which the titular character discusses a number of her personal photographs with a young man. Moviegoers gradually realize that the images Alix describes are not the manipulated ones displayed onscreen. In “Le Cochon” (1970), the process of slaughtering a pig — to make sausage — is documented. Far from being an exposé, it proposes an appreciation of farmers’ work and their simple way of life. Both films are in French with English subtitles. Tuesday, 4 and 9 p.m., French Institute Alliance Française, Florence Gould Hall, 55 E. 59th St., between Madison and Park avenues, 212-307-4100, $10 general, $7 students, free for members.

POSTWAR PULP During the Adolf Eichmann trials of the 1960s, Israelis heard the horrific details of abuse and killing in concentration camps. As Holocaust survivors were giving chilling testimony, a curious literary trend began: Pocket books of torture pornography began appearing on the shelves of Israeli news vendors. Director Ari Libsker’s documentary, “Stalags” (2007), explores the history of these stories, which often contained graphic depictions of female SS officers torturing Allied soldiers, then being raped or killed by their male prisoners in retribution. Through Tuesday, 1:15, 3, 4:45, 6:30, 8:15, and 10 p.m., Film Forum, 209 W. Houston St., between Sixth and Seventh avenues, 212-727-8110, $10.50 general, $5.50 seniors and members.

HOLIDAY

EAT, PLAY, HUNT The 92nd Street Y hosts “The Night Before Passover Shabbat Dinner: The Great Chametz Hunt.” Families are welcome to share in the tradition of searching for leavened bread on the eve of Passover. A series of clues is distributed on arrival. Instructors at the 92nd Street Y, Yaron Kapitulnik and Karina Zilberman, lead a discussion, and the hunt ends with a dinner abundant in breads, pasta, and cakes. Friday, 5:30–8:30 p.m., 92nd Street Y, 1395 Lexington Ave. at 92nd Street, 212-415-5500, $30 general, $10 children, free for children under 2.

MUSIC

A LITTLE BIT COUNTRY Indie actress-turned-chanteuese Zooey Deschanel and her collaborator in the She & Him musical duo, singer-guitarist M. Ward, perform at the Hiro Ballroom of the Maritime Hotel. Ms. Deschanel’s raspy, at turns ethereal, vocals recall a young Linda Ronstadt and are showcased to great effect on She & Him’s alt-country-pop debut album, “Volume One.” The duo plays selections from the release. Monday–Tuesday, 7 p.m., Maritime Hotel, Hiro Ballroom, 363 W. 16th St. at Ninth Avenue, 212-307-7171, $20.

TWEEN BOP The budding jazz musicians of the H.B. Whitemore Middle School in Verona, N.J., give a free concert as part of the Young Music Makers series, held at Damrosch Park. Friday, noon, Damrosch Park, southwest corner of Lincoln Center Plaza, 62nd Street near Amsterdam Avenue, 212-721-6500, free.

TOURS

PURSUIT OF HAPPINESS The Municipal Art Society presents “Commemorating the Flushing Remonstrance: Religious Freedom in North Flushing,” a walking tour of North Flushing. The neighborhood is home to a spiritually diverse mix of mosques, churches, temples, and synagogues has its roots in a petition for religious pluralism issued in 1657 to the ruling Dutch colonial government. Urban geographer Jack Eichenbaum leads the tour. Sunday, 1 p.m., meet at St. George’s Church, 39th Avenue at Main Street, North Flushing, Queens, 212-935-2075, $15 general, $12 Municipal Art Society members.