This writer has attended nearly every New York Comic Con since it first emerged at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in February 2006. Back then, it occupied a smaller section of the downstairs. Over nearly two decades since, the four-day event has taken over the whole venue and ballooned from the initial 33,000 attendees to 200,000 this year.
As ever, NYCC is a colorful celebration of all things pop culture. While the initial idea behind it was to celebrate the books and characters themselves, so many things have been spun off of these properties that the majority of vendors fall into other categories – toys, memorabilia, T-shirts, video games, and immersive exhibits, plus a lot of panels focused on upcoming movie and television events. In many ways, comic books probably less than half of the overall scheme, although the Artist Alley downstairs features dozens of original comics artists and remains as popular as ever. The cosplay is where comic book, anime, and manga characters get lots of free exposure.
The Aquarian attended many events throughout this year’s four-day NYCC weekend. There were the Hysteria!, Cross, and Futurama panels and press rooms. There were the Electric State, Creature Commando, and Fandom panels, some of which were close to being packed. During their panels, stars like Millie Bobby Brown, Chris Pratt, David Harbour, and Tom Hardy stirred up plenty of fan enthusiasm. At the Fanhome space on the main floor, Star Trek: Picard cast member Todd Stashwick met fans, signed Fanhome items, and posed for photos. He also appeared on a panel.
During the Fandom panel, it was revealed that Universal Orlando Resort is developing an attraction based on the Universal Monsters, but with a fresh storyline not found on the screen. It’s called Dark Universe,”which was the name of Universal Pictures’ failed cinematic reboot of that whole continuum, but which seems to be finding new life here. Many fans were excited by the news.
One of the most special events was the conversation between Simpsons creator Matt Groening and Mutts creator Patrick McDonnell. For an hour they engaged in a conversation about their influences, career, and other artists they revere. One could feel the genuine respect and mutual admiration between the two. McDonnell has a new book, Breaking the Chain: The Guard Dog Story, while The Art of Futurama (another great Groening show) comes out soon.
One panel I wanted to attend but had a double-booking conflict with was Witches After Dark: A Conversation in New Witch City featuring Starr Ravenhawk (The NYC Wiccan Family Temple), Jason Myers (from the band Icarus Witch), Judy Ann Nock (author of The Modern Witchcraft Book of Crystal Magic), and Michael Herkes (aka The GLAM Witch). It was moderated by Gia Manalio-Bonaventura (senior marketing manager at Adams Media, an imprint of Simon & Schuster) and was reportedly well-received. That’s the kind of panel that ties into the vibes of NYCC, but explores something different and interesting.
One nocturnal event I attended was the launch party for Cynthia von Buhler’s new comic series The Girl Called Cthulu, which is the third entry in her racy pulp fiction franchise centered around 1920s detective Minky Woodcock. It’s published by Titan Comics through their Hard Case Crime imprint. She always invites a colorful cast of artistic characters to her events. This time that included Charles Ardai, author of the crime fiction novel Death Comes Too Late and the recent Heatseeker comic book, part of his Gun Honey series. He is also a Titan author.
Per usual, this writer dove into the back issue bins in search of DC horror titles, oversized science-fiction and fantasy publications from the seventies, and the odd superhero book. Victory Comics from Virginia and Zapp! Comics from New Jersey offered some good deals. It was also a lot of fun just to window shop for early superhero and Pre-Code horror titles that will always be financially out of reach. Just to gaze upon the covers of those vintage books that are still in great shape after so many decades is a fun experience.
A fun part of wandering the floor is checking out all of the creative costumes that people come up with. Not matter how long you are there, you’re never going to see everyone who passes through. Some of these devoted fans can spend anywhere from six months to a full year preparing a costume to show off for perhaps one day. You have to admire their passion and effort.
Something else to note about NYCC 2024 is that Friday and Sunday felt like busier days than Saturday. Thursday is always the lightest of them all, which makes it easier to shop for things, although you have a smaller concentration of people and are therefore likely miss out on some of the cosplayers who pass through over the weekend. However, given that Saturday has always produced such a massive traffic jam (and big sales), one wonders if many people have decided that Friday and Sunday are better bets in terms of pass prices (and dealing with people). It will be interesting to see how this trend moves forward in the coming years.
One thing that was evident on the main floor was that many major comic book publishers no longer have booths. They still conduct panels and do signings, but the likes of DC Comics, Image Comics, Dark Horse, and IDW were absent on the main floor this year. The flipside to this is that more independent comics creators could lure people to their booths because they were present and actively trying to gain new followers. They really need the exposure, and it seemed like many were very busy this year. That was heartening to see.
For those of us who are lifelong geeks, New York Comic Con remains a fun annual pilgrimage. (I even got a photo opp with Godzilla this year.) It’s going to be interesting to see how comic book culture and influence continues shaping pop culture in the coming years as both the comic book industry and Hollywood face challenges in the wake of economic changes and an overdose of IP. At the same time, there are always many young attendees at NYCC who represent the future of fandom and continue showing up year after year. As long as they keep coming, the industry and NYCC will keep charging ahead.
