New York Comic-Con (NYCC) took place Oct. 17 to 20 with crowds of well-known Marvel actors, horror film directors and voice actors spanning across fandoms. Dressed inconspicuously, I was able to disappear into the geek mosh pit.
Comic-cons are fan conventions that are frequented by creators, actors and experts. Although comic book conventions have been around since the 1960s, Comic-Con as we know it now rose to fame in the early 2000s as superhero films began pushing adapted comics into the mainstream. Comic-Cons feature an array of what could be considered “geek content,” ranging from comics to TV shows and films to video games, and are intrinsic to fandom culture. Whether announcing the newest Marvel projects or holding Q&As where actors address character headcanons, Comic-Con has been the place to be when it comes to the iconic fandoms of the last 20 years.
While I have been a long-time observer of fan culture, reading Tumblr posts and watching SuperWhoLock YouTube edits, I always thought of myself as outside of fandom, feeling unable to contribute anything meaningful to these community spaces. Instead, I have haunted popular culture individually, trying to consume as much of it as possible. Although I have never fully given into fandom culture, my fascination with it led me to the Jacob Javits Convention Center’s glass doors for this year’s NYCC.
NYCC, beginning in 2006, is considered the second most popular Comic-Con, following the largest and longest-running con held in San Diego. The event runs from Thursday to Sunday, with roughly 200,000 attendees over the four days. Tickets cost $75 per day with a 4-day pass costing $240 and VIP tickets costing $575. Individual photo-ops and autographs range in price based on popularity from $50 to $120, the latter usually being the cheaper of the two options.
Autographs occur in one room where actors are grouped with their co-stars, and lines for these meet-ups frequently extend past the designated rows and into the walkways. While waiting in line for an autograph can be an opportunity to bond with fellow fans, it can also be a contentious experience. NYCC is attended by comic book collectors and cosplaying superfans alike, and common tensions between these two groups can often manifest between those waiting in these lines. The reward is also difficult to measure; for more popular actors, three hours of waiting in line amounts to a ten-second experience. For people paying to meet smaller creators, the cost is halved and conversation time is raised exponentially.
Entering the empty line of actor Sean Maguire, who had just sent his kid off to explore, he immediately welcomed me and my friend’s extensive “Once Upon A Time” anecdotes and sincerely asked us if there was anything else he could answer. Jason Mewes, whom I’d met to question about “Degrassi,” called me back by name to recommend another Canadian teen drama. The welcoming energy of lesser-known creators extended to panels, as the liveliness of the small “Wynonna Earp” panel emphasized the joy that niche community spaces can bring. This is not to say that larger panels and meet-ups are not worth it — they are just two different experiences that Comic-Con can offer.
The two largest panel rooms are the Main Stage and the Empire Stage, and there are roughly four large panels a day with smaller panels occurring more frequently in assigned rooms on the center’s top floor. This year’s main panels included “House of The Dragon,” “Dune: Prophecy,” “Spongebob Squarepants,” “Baldur’s Gate 3” and “Hannibal,” among others. Panel moderators are usually geeks themselves, but are there to keep conversations (mostly) on track. Still, audiences can only be controlled to an extent, so the rowdy environment of these events lives on. With a show like “Hannibal” which is less built for fandom than its superhero alternative, this manifested in the teasing relationship that the two lead actors have with their excited audience.
Besides panels and meet-ups, Comic-Con is known for its Artist’s Alley and Show Floor, which are packed rooms with pathways of booths that host different sellers. Where the Artist’s Alley focuses on artists like comic book creators to Etsy shop owners, the Show Floor displays the commercialized side of the con, with walls of fandom-specific mystery boxes, rows of action figures and interactive attractions. This year’s con greeted Show Floor guests with a gargantuan statue of the protagonist of the popular anime “One Piece.” Attendees can choose between various experiences, whether they decide to take a photo with the cardboard rendition of Spongebob’s Bikini Bottom or buy enough items to receive a four-foot-tall Funko-brand shopping bag. The Show Floor’s overwhelming atmosphere is synonymous with the energy of the convention as it fuses fandom and marketing.
Nearly half of the attendants of NYCC are dressed in some sort of cosplay, and the other half is looking around to spot someone cosplaying their favorite characters. While waiting in the will-call line, I watched two attendees give one of their day passes to a crying stranger. Each day I noticed different groups in matching cosplays find each other in a crowd like long-lost friends. It is evident in these moments that Comic-Con attendees feel immediately comfortable upon entering a space where everyone is just as passionate as they are.
While it is not affordable to many, and therefore is frequented mostly by millennials, NYCC still reflects current internet community spaces. It is a declaration that fandom culture is still kicking, though more spread out from its comic book origins and from the height of The CW days. What has been flourishing in 2024 is the smaller, but no less passionate, groups of headcanoning queers, “Twin Peaks” bloggers, DnD lovers, anime watchers and “Gravity Falls” kids. Attending Comic-Con has shown me the strange, loud and unapologetic community of fandom that I am very much a part of, even as I watch from the sidelines.
