Bigger and better than ever, the 17th New York Comic Con pulled out all the stops from October 12-15, 2023 with some of today’s top comic book artists, writers, exhibitors, and entertainment guests. Every year NYCC celebrates the titles & fandoms we all know & love and introduces us to new ones along the way, too!
Among this year’s notable guests were Chris Evans, Ewan McGregor, Mary Elizabeth Winstead, Tom Hiddleston, Jim Lee, Adam Hughes, Chris Claremont, Peach Momoko, and Kevin Eastman. Not to mention some “blink & you’ll miss them” surprise cameos from celebrities like Tom Hardy, Kid Cudi, and Charlie Cox. Many of the featured guests were scheduled for photo ops and autographing (below) but could also be occasionally found in panels for special programming or on the main Show Floor level for in-booth appearances, where over 600 exhibitors were presenting their best products & experiences across thousands of tables & displays!
Publishers, toy manufacturers, trading card companies, video game developers, retail stores… you name it and NYCC has it! And you absolutely need to feast your eyes on the hottest comic books: whether you’re looking for first appearances, slabbed comics, complete sets, or rare variant covers, fan favorite exhibitors like Zapp Comics (making their NYCC comeback) won’t disappoint:
So go ahead and find that elusive missing issue for your collection, or simply track down the book you need to get signed by one of the 500+ creators on-site… because you truly won’t find a more impressive Artist Alley anywhere else! Aside from the talent represented by companies like Comic Sketch Art, Essential Sequential, Artgerm Collectibles Crew, Trinity Comics, Artist Alliez, Cadence Comic Art, Scott’s Collectables, and Kirby’s Comic Art, you’ll find hundreds of other creators who have both worked on mainstream titles and have created their own independent properties. Everyday, Thursday to Sunday, the Artist Alley was packed with amazing art… the perfect opportunity for fans & collectors alike to pick up commissions, prints, original art, and so much more.
And with grading opportunities with CGC, CBCS, PSA, JSA, and their respective authorized partners, you can’t go wrong with submitting your signed collectibles for authentication & encapsulation. PSA was even offering same-day grading for Funko Pops (below) submitted at NYCC! What a great service, especially if you were one of the lucky ones to score an exclusive. Plus all of the fantastic exclusives & freebies from staple booths like eBay, Nickelodeon, MetaZoo, Crunchyroll, Konami, Viz Media, Marvel, Gundam, Topps, and Bandai. And even though exhibitors like DC and Image Comics did not have a physical booth this year, they still had a presence at the con through panels & appearances.
The Gaming Zone presented by MetaZoo also returned for 2023, providing a dedicated space with even later hours for all gamers & hobbyists including TCG, RPG, video games, miniature painting, and even Mahjong. Check out some of the best gaming vendors like Pro-Play Games, Mr. Magic, and SkyBox Collectibles (below) who were selling tabletop accessories, trading cards (like Marvel, Pokemon, Digimon, Magic, Yu-Gi-Oh, Lorcana), and supplies.
Lastly, we can’t forget about the unbelievable cosplay you’ll see all four days! It was particularly exciting to encounter themed cosplayer meetups around the various NYCC fan activation areas such as Dragon Ball, One Piece, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Studio Ghibli, and Genshin Impact (below)… just to name a few!
New York Comic Con will once again be held at the Javits Center in NYC from October 17-20, 2024. You won’t want to miss it!
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