Let’s say you’ve never been to the Javits Center before. You’re a bit lost on the New York subway as you’re struggling to find directions. Then, you see a crowd of people in geeky wear and cosplayers get onto the same train. You’ll easily know where to find the center for one of the largest conventions in North America, New York City Comic-Con ( NYCC ) that over 250,000 people attended this year ( 2019 ).
I recently learned from the Hard NOC Life podcast that attendance at New York City Comic-Con (NYCC) has surpassed San Diego Comic-Con (SDCC). While I’ve never attended the latter con, this wasn’t surprising to me. I’ve attended multiple NYCCs including this year’s and the crowds are always some of the largest I’ve ever been in. The number of attendees, combined with the sheer variety and quality of content from the largest names in pop culture, shows that NYCC is truly a powerhouse con to be reckoned with. It could very well be, as is suggested on the Hard NOC Life podcast episode, a con that will overtake SDCC.
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The only advantage at this point, it seems, is that SDCC garners, overall, more famous actors and creators. However, with NYCC having more attendees, it is possible they’ll have more famous names soon as w. It’s even possible they’ll have breaking news at the level of revealing a Marvel slate as we just had at SDCC.
The panel array at NYCC 2019 was vast, covering almost everything you could think of in the realm of tv, comics, and movies. The company with the most palpable presence, however, was Marvel. Huge crowds flocked to their track, eager for news on comics, movies, tv, and, perhaps for the first time in such eagerness, the upcoming Square Enix video game.
The Avengers game news dominated the Marvel track, with the exciting news that Ms. Marvel/Kamala Khan would be the main protagonist of the game. The voice actors for the game met fans at the convention’s Marvel section. To be quite honest, I wasn’t too excited for the game as I didn’t think, initially, the design looked good. Kamala’s official announcement and the new footage revealed assuaged many of my concerns, and I’m keenly looking forward to playing Square Enix’s take on the Avengers with Kamala.
Animation had a sizeable presence at the con, with The Dragon Prince, She-Ra and the Princesses of Power, and Disney’s The Owl House, Amphibia, and Big City Greens. The lines for the Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Dragon Prince panels were some of the longest. With the exhaustive trend of “live-actioning” everything, the crowds at NYCC 2019 for these panels and other events showed that animation fandom is still here in full force. Maybe studios should reconsider this live-action trend.
Of course, the cosplay was vast. You could find virtually any character from any of your favorite properties at this con. Some of the designs and concepts these cosplayers have come up with are really incredible.
The Artist Gallery at NYCC 2019 is one of the most expansive you could find. The artists come from all over at all levels of repute. Getting to meet and speak with Greg Pak at his booth, for example, was an incredible experience for my Marvel-loving nerd heart. You could spend hours walking the alley while meeting the creators of some of your favorite art across visual media, along with fan artists who are looking to break into the industry.
Overall, while I was only there for two days, NYCC 2019 was a great time and place to have a quality nerd time. There’s such a great variety of content to find there and enjoy, so you’re guaranteed to find enrich any one of your fandoms. In the near future, it may be even bigger.
