New York Comic Con (NYCC) took place this past weekend (Thursday, October 9 to Sunday, October 12) at the Javits Center in Midtown Manhattan, gathering fans of comics, anime, toys, and pop culture. Various pop culture announcements were made, rivaling San Diego’s Comic Con and making NYCC the East Coast’s (some say North America’s) largest pop culture convention with over 250,000 fans in attendance. NYCC has been happening since 2006, and this year was the biggest and best one yet. Every year, fans outdo themselves with cosplay and the programming continues to astound.
This year, some stand out celebrity-studded programming included Sigourney Weaver discussing Alien with Happy Sad Confused podcast host Josh Horowitz. Paramount Pictures hosted a panel on Stephen King’s The Running Man featuring writer-director Edgar Wright and stars Glen Powell and Lee Pace. Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. stars Clark Gregg (Phil Coulson), Ming-Na Wen (Melinda May), and Chloe Bennet (Daisy Johnson/Quake) returned for a reunion. Arden Cho (Rumi) and May Hong (Mira) from KPop Demon Hunters signed autographs and took photos. Avatar: The Last Airbender original voice actors Dante Basco (Prince Zuko), Jack De Sena (Sokka), Mae Whitman (Katara), Michaela Jill Murphy (Toph), and Zach Tyler Eisen (Aang) were on a panel to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the Nickelodeon show. X-Men stars James McAvoy (Charles Xavier) and Elliot Page (Kitty Pryde) reunited, and so did The Matrix stars Joe Pantoliano (Cypher) and Laurence Fishburne (Morpheus). Clearly, these events and panels were just a small fraction of the four-day jam-packed programming of NYCC. As usual, Viz, Crunchyroll, Toei, and others hosted presentations and panels.
Since the 7 train to 34th Street-Hudson Yards leads to quick and easy access to the convention, fans from all over the world, country, city, and Queens were able to attend. Many fans have attended for multiple years. As always, the cosplay wowed, and the Queens Gazette captured many of the best looks.
This year, a separate wing of the Javits Center at the River Pavillion was reserved for those with Pro badges, making the investment in a Pro badge a smart choice. Exclusive panels, mixers, and workshops were available to participate in like The Art Knight: Batman in Animation, The Comic Industry Mixer, and The Harvey Awards. At The Art Knight, Batman: Knightfall was announced and previewed. Those involved said, “We have currently in production the most recent incarnation of Batman: one of the great stories we haven’t done. We are working on a multi part animated film series.” Knightfall has never been directly adapted for the screen, though it has been referenced in numerous Batman projects over the years. Perhaps most famously, elements of the storyline were incorporated into the film The Dark Knight Rises starring Christian Bale as Bruce Wayne/Batman and Tom Hardy as Bane.
The Harvey Awards were announced on Friday, October 10, at NYCC, presented to the best of the best in comics creation. The Harvey Awards were founded in 1998 and named after writer and artist Harvey Kurtzman. Nominees are judged by comics publishing professionals, including publishers, retailers, librarians, and educators. There are seven Harvey Award categories. This year, six creators were also inducted into the Harvey Kurtzman Hall of Fame. The Book of the Year was Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees by Patrick Horvath. The Digital Book of the Year was Sarah’s Scribbles by Sarah Anderson. Best Children’s Book was The Cartoonist’s Club by Raina Telgemeier and Scott McCloud. Best Young Adult Book was Raised by Ghosts by Briana Loewinsohn. Best Manga was Witch Hat Atelier by Kamome Shirahama; translated by Stephen Kohler. Best International Book was Blacksad: They All Fall Down Part 2 by Juan Díaz Canales and Juanjo Guarnido; translated by Diana Schutz and Brandon Kander. Best Adaptation from a Comic Book/Graphic Novel was Superman directed by James Gunn. Based on Superman, created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Schuster. The six creators inducted in the Hall of Fame include: ElfQuest creators Wendy and Richard Pini, Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell, writer and artist John Byrne, award-winning writer Peter David, and one of the first female cartoonists for The New Yorker, Barbara Shermund.
Vegas Valentine, 37, from Bushwick, attended NYCC for the fifth time. He said, “I keep coming back because I love cosplay. I cosplay as a different character every day that I’m here. Today, I am Emperor Zerg from Toy Story. My character has been pretty recognizable today, but not everybody knows who I am. NYCC has a very loving vibe. I lost my phone and the community passed it around and got it back to me within four hours. I am looking forward to seeing more friends and taking more pictures. My advice is wear comfortable shoes. I was definitely not as savvy at meeting people the first few times I came to NYCC. Networking can take some finesse, but asking for people’s names and forging genuine connections is 100% worth it. NYCC is bigger and more comprehensive than other cons. You can find almost anything here, and it encompasses all of pop culture. It’s the Grand Daddy of cons.”
Kid Lew, the creator of Lumpy Bumpkin, from Little Neck, has been attending NYCC every year since the first con in 2006. He said, “NYCC’s line in 2006 was shut down by the fire department. It was a fraction of the space they have now and only downstairs. The fire department had to shut the line down because there were so many people. Aside from the Covid year, I always came back. I come because I’m a professional in licensed product design, including for Marvel, Star Wars, and Disney. With my character Lumpy Bumpkin, I get to interact with the cosplayers. If the cosplay speaks to me, I talk to someone. I try to go for cosplay that is handmade, not out of the bag. If somebody made a prop, you know they put time into it. I know because I make my character. Artist Alley is my favorite. People should definitely come for Artist Alley. The price of a badge is worth that alone.”
Lew shared a positive interaction he had at NYCC this year. He said, “Lumpy is handmade from resin and a cosplayer dropped it and broke it in half. After I fixed it, I thought I should have taken a picture of the causality of war. Today, earlier in the day, someone cosplaying as Batman dropped a Lumpy too. It also broke in half. A few hours later, I found a guy cosplaying as Queen of Hearts and took a video of him with the two broken parts of Lumpy saying ‘Off with your head!’ That was lemons into lemonade for me. Out of all the people I’ve met at NYCC, famous and not famous, that interaction will stick with me the most because it involved my character Lumpy. It was heartwarming for a stranger to be so into making a video with me. He made my day.”
Lew continued, “When you really get involved in NYCC and keep coming back every year, it’s like a family. Yes, there are hundreds of thousands of people, but you will run into people that you only get to see a couple of times a year. You can continue where you left off. You might not see them again until next year, but you can really build on your experiences. I always try to experience something new each convention. I used to think, ‘Oh, I’ll find a new artist in Artist Alley,’ but now I know that I will if I just go there. So now I just focus on experiencing something new. Maybe I will learn a technique with my character. Maybe I will find a new anime or character or movie brand I am not familiar with; something I can take with me.”
Lew also recommended a Pro badge. He said, “NYCC has different tiers of badges. If you’re connected to some area of the convention, you should get a Pro badge. If you’re an artist, cartoonist, animator, etc. If you’re involved in film or license design. Some of the companies I did licenses for had booths here. It’s on the NYCC website how to apply for a Pro Badge. It’s not a hidden secret. See what they look for. Do the application. If you have the credentials, you can get the badge discounted. The Pro badge helps with talking to new people. It helps to tie it all in. People are more inclined to talk if they see you have a Pro badge.”
Since he’s been attending for so many years, Lew has learned many tips and tricks. He said, “Sundays vendors discount their items. Do eye candy shopping the first three days of the con, and then Sunday get the deal. If it’s a drop, like Funko, you gotta get it when you see it. But most shops will give discounts on Sunday, even half off. Not everything, but cash is king. If a vendor only has one of something left, you can hand them some cash so they don’t have to pack it up. You’re making things easier for them! It’s better to give them the cash, not Amazon.”
Yun Kuang, 37, from Bensonhurst, has been to NYCC at least ten times. She said, “The crowd and the environment is so fun. You see crazy costumes and personalities come out. I also love the panels and the stars. It’s so cool to see what they’re producing and previewing new comics, movies, and shows. I walked around a lot today at the convention floor and saw the merchandise. Lines are long, but it’s worth it. Bring snacks because the food prices can be higher than usual. Arrive early and enjoy. I am looking forward to a panel by the people who made Balls: the Pokemon Parody Musical. I went to see the show two months ago. It was wonderful and filled with inside jokes if you played the video games or watched the show.”
Christopher Taylor, 53, from Bayonne New Jersey, is a professional photographer with Taylor Images who has been to NYCC many times. He said, “I think NYCC this year is as great as always. I keep coming back because I love the creativity of the cosplayers, and to photograph them. A positive experience I always have is seeing cosplayers I recognize, and who recognize me from the many years of going to NYCC and talking with them. It’s like a family reunion among artists.”
Lance Curan, 46, from Chicago, attended for his fifth NYCC. He said, “I felt like this year, it may have been a bit better organized. I feel like every year I’ve been it’s sold out, but it didn’t feel as overwhelming as past shows. I do wonder if this has anything to do with the huge amount of what looked like scalped badges trying to be sold outside the show? I saw someone on the highline with a whole box of badges they were selling for cash. Makes me wonder if attendance was down but scalping was up. I did hear reports from other booths that their sales were down compared to past years. That could also just be because of the current state of the country/world right now. The vibes of attendees and exhibitors were all really good despite all that. I attended a lot more of the panels and events than in the past. Lots of great conversations at the show! This was a rare year where I got to spend more time as an attendee and not spend the whole week working a booth or table. Also, I was really worried that I might see a bunch of AI slop and was happy to see only one booth that featured AI and at least it was only in the decoration of the booth itself and not a product they were selling. Still thought it was really gross but I think they were just selling food of some sort. Just like the focus and support of human creators. I keep coming back because it’s New York! There’s just so much to do in and outside the show. I always have a blast. NYCC also has one of the best Artist Alleys of any show and I really like to see all the original creator owned work and not just the well-known IP characters. Discover something new every time! I was able to help make an intro for an artist that led to them getting asked to do a variant cover for one of their all-time favorite comic properties. It’s a property that got them into doing art in the first place. Making those types of connections are a highlight for me!”
Harrison Bryan, 33, from Midwood, attended NYCC for the first time. He said, “This was my very first comic con! And to be part of it as a panelist was truly a gift. It’s been a wonderful and wild way to dive head first into this amazingly interactive universe of fandom. I’ve been overwhelmed by the passion and commitment of artists and fans who’ve congregated to share this gigantic space and celebrate, champion, and nerd-out to things we love together. Our special performance panel had 400+ people in it, the line wrapped around the hallway floor, so it was the largest audience we’ve had the opportunity to entertain ever, and that energy was felt from all directions – on and off the stage. It was ROCKING! It felt like none of us wanted to leave the convention – and we were making some lifelong friends and fans in the space. It was a special moment sharing the stage with Veronica Taylor (Ash Ketchum) and Stuart Zagnit (Professor Oak), these iconic performers whose voices we grew up rooting for. There’s plenty of laughs in our show, but the panel experience at NYCC reminded us also how much heart there is, and how we share both authentic sides of ourselves in the material. We really had the best time, and the audience rode the wave of adrenaline with us. We can’t wait to hopefully come back year after year and keep the BALLS momentum going here in NYC and beyond. They also LOVED the splash zone! Maybe next year Team Turtle does a huge takeover of the whole convention! (Insert: WARLORDTURTLE’s maniacal laughter).”
Brandon Zelman, 33, from the Upper East Side, also attended for the first time. He said, “This is my first Comic Con! It was a dream come true – I always imagined attending to present my work and I am still in shock that BALLS featuring STUART ZAGNIT and VERONICA TAYLOR is how it all came together. I got to cosplay as myself and present something that we’re all very proud of! Touring the grounds, meeting monster-lovers was a real treat. And the most out-of-body experience was meeting fans of our show at this absolutely MASSIVE event. We’re a grassroots production and we would be nowhere without the tireless work of our small, small team, so to see people that are already engaged with our show is a testament to the huge amount of work that’s gone into mounting it and spreading the word.”
Fanhome returned to NYCC this year with an expansive booth showcasing an impressive array of new subscription-based collectibles and build-up models for celebrated characters and iconic vehicles depicted in some of pop culture’s most popular franchises that include Star Wars, Star Trek, Marvel, Batman, John Wick, World of Warcraft, Fast & Furious, and more. Fanhome North American General Manager Luca Latini said, “The 1989 Tim Burton’s Batmobile was supposed to be the centerpiece of our show, but unfortunately it got stuck in customs, and we are not able to display it, but it’s already on pre-order. It’s out there. Fans are getting crazy about it. The original prop designer is here. We don’t have the product to show, but he’s helping to define the message and the excitement. I would say that’s supposed to be the centerpiece, and it still is in a way. The Batmobile is here in our minds and hearts. Star Trek was a big thing too. We have unveiled some ships that have been in demand for many, many years, that were not available anywhere. So we have brought them back to life. We had the crew of Prodigy, the creators, and some of the voice actors who signed the Voyager A featured in the show. That’s part of our collection. That was another very good moment. We chose NYCC to do the unveilings because I’m a New Yorker, so I wanted to be here. This is one of the biggest consumer shows and events in the fan space. We MUST be here. We have a plan as Fanhome and we have a presence to expand. This is a stepping stone for us. We are growing. We have a massive booth this year, and this is going to be a springboard to other shows. New York is the door to the free world. I love being able to talk and interact directly with the fans, both the fans who have never heard of Fanhome and are in awe when they see our models on display here and want to know more about it and especially our own fans, the people who have been subscribing, building, and collecting with us for a very long time. I love hearing their suggestions and their excitement, even their grievances. For me, that’s what NYCC is about. It’s about the fans. Most of the fans that come here know Fanhome because we are very active on social media and advertising. The most common response from fans is, ‘I didn’t think that it would be this good or that it would be this big. I didn’t think it would be this heavy or this detailed.’ They are literally in awe when they see the final products here on display. We are really able to showcase the uniqueness and the quality of our products. It’s like nothing else here. Our product strategy is a little different. These are large scale models, long collections. We sell them as subscription kits, so you collect pieces or components over time, and you build it yourself. We have a station here at our booth, where you can see live assembly of the Megazord, and that is one of the most successful parts of our booth because then people actually get it. They come down and see how these models are actually being built on site. NYCC HAS to be our home where we announce new releases and what’s coming up. Next year, we want to announce new concepts, unveil more products, and make sure that people understand that Fanhome is a brand with a plan to grow in the future.”
There are a million and one ways to enjoy NYCC, and each year new features are added, in addition to classic favorites. Whether fans come for the panels, celebrities, artists, merch, cosplay, or something else entirely, it is clear there will be many more amazing years ahead for NYCC.
Photos Courtesy of Nicollette Barsamian
