It’s lucky year number 13 for New York Comic Con hosted by ReedPop and it was a pretty big year! More than 250,000 fans gathered from October 4-7, taking over the Javits Center, Hammerstein Ballroom, and even Madison Square Garden!
If you’ve never been to New York Comic Con before, then brace yourself because it’s the biggest comic book convention in the country by sheer numbers. Not only that, this year NYCC brought in more than $100 million into New York City’s economy… how about that?
Here’s a little of what I got to experience, plus check out my Facebook gallery & video at the end of this post!
Fans of comic books, celebrity guests, art, and even cosplay gathered for a unification of all fandoms. This year, NYCC even offered an Anime Fest called NYCC x Anime Expo to further reach their diverse fans. And with the ever-expanding Javits Center, ReedPop got creative with their panels around Midtown as well as some pop-ups.
VRVHQ was one of those pop-ups, right outside the convention center, with anime freebies, contests, a cereal bar, and even a foam cereal pool!
But with the release of so many great comic books and movies, everywhere you turned was a spectacle – whether it was a Bumblebee cosplay to promote the latest Transformers movie or a giant Dragon Ball display for the Dragon Ball North America Tour:
The hype was real this year with plenty of A-list guests coming in for panels and meet & greets: Mark Ruffalo & Danai Gurira from Marvel’s Avengers, David Tennant & Matt Smith from Doctor Who, Dean Cain & Teri Hatcher, the cast of Mortal Engines, Gifted, and Gotham… just to name a few!
Even though the main autographing area was downstairs as usual, I was able to meet a good amount of celebrities down there as well as some more upstairs on the show floor! Be sure to check out my full gallery on Facebook for the details.
But here I am with Dan Fogler (Fantastic Beasts, Fanboys, Balls of Fury) and Travel Channel’s Toy Hunter / Lucasfilm’s Jordan Hembrough (Our Star Wars Stories):
The show floor was exceptionally exciting this year with Aisles 100 to 3100 filled with comic books new & old, action figures & statues, apparel, and so much more!
For comic book lovers, you’ll have a great time hunting down all the variant covers that are exclusive to New York Comic Con! I picked up a number of them from IDW, Comic Mint, DC, and other vendors.
And keep in mind that some publishers even offer free signings with creators! The key is to study up on the various schedules or visit their booths to see what’s going on for the weekend. It can be a little overwhelming if you’ve never been to a comic con of this size before, but the more you prioritize what you want to do and who you want to see, the easier the whole process will be!
Here’s Todd McFarlane signing my black & white Spawn comic! He was a super cool guy and I’ve always loved hearing his stories about Venom, Spider-Man, and Spawn. He even posts regularly on social media so be sure to check that out if you’re not already following him!
Other signings included creators such as Jim Lee, Scott Snyder, Greg Capullo, Sam Kieth, and Frank Miller! You could even try your luck at Marvel’s booth with a randomizer button determining if you win a free signing with the cast of shows like Daredevil or Marvel Rising… or receive nothing at all! (But in reality you might receive a consolation prize)
And let’s not forget about the panels! With the utilization of all the off-site venues, NYCC was able to offer a plethora of panels. There are lottery systems in place so that you can get into specific panels & signings without the hassle of lining up – I was able to win a ticket to the TITANS World Premiere because of this. Otherwise, you can always try your luck with standing in line to get into one of the off-site panels!
I also attended a couple of the smaller ones inside the actual Javits Center and it didn’t matter what size it was because it was still packed with enthusiastic fans! Here’s a look at the How To Train Your Dragon panel on the SYFY live stage:
Plus, while you’re on the show floor, it’s irresistible to take part in some of the fantastic fan experiences all over the place!
Get a mental evaluation at the Glass movie booth and take a pic with the props:
Photo op moments with Mega Man, Puglie, or even Rilakkuma:
Or one of my favorites: pilot an X-Wing fighter from the new animated series Star Wars Resistance!
But one of the coolest displays this year comes from DC Comics again. Two years ago it was a display for the Wonder Woman movie, last year it was giant costume display for the Justice League movie, and this year it was a costume display (plus Lego statue) for the upcoming Aquaman movie:
And speaking of costumes, it wouldn’t be a New York Comic Con without some out of this world cosplay!
There’s no convention like NYCC when it comes to cosplay! Be sure to check out my video at the end of this post for even more, but here’s one of my favorites from the con… a kinetic energy Black Panther suit!
Everything was just spectacular this year – from the line process to the crowd management, I thought New York Comic Con did a phenomenal job. You’re guaranteed to walk out with some amazing swag (without even spending any money, thanks to all the great freebies!) and some irreplaceable memories!
If you’ve never been to New York Comic Con, I would recommend attending a couple other cons leading up to NYCC so that you can get used to some crowds and the atmosphere of it all. Like I mentioned earlier, it can be potentially overwhelming but the key is to not stress out about doing “everything” (because it’s impossible) but rather aim to have a good time!
But not to fret – there’s plenty of time before the next NYCC. As always it will be held at the Javits Center in New York City from October 3-6, 2019. For more information, visit www.newyorkcomiccon.com and be sure to check out my Facebook photo gallery and video below:
LesDudis 