New York Comic Con Is Celebrating Its 20th Anniversary

This year marks 20 years of New York Comic Con (NYCC). 

Home of the geek, Brooklyn’s Coney Island is this year’s theme featuring boardwalk, roller coaster, and sideshow-inspired aesthetic and exclusive merch. Although Coney Island is the theme, the event will take place at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center, 429 11th Ave., located in Manhattan, Thursday, October 8th to Sunday, October 11th. The organizer ReedPop is promising four full days jam-packed with pop culture, film and TV studios, comics, celebs, authors, and panels. 

Event organizers announced new speakers and authors earlier this month, and promised many first looks and conversations from the worlds of comics, film, television, video games, anime and literature. Featured Guests include: Anika Fajardo, Barbara Perez Marquez, Ben Passmore, Dr. Chris Kempshall, Gale Galligan, Jamie Campbell Bower, Mirka Andolfo, Rick Riordan, Sarah Beth Durst to name a few. Nicolas Cage is this year’s Guest of Honor.

Chris D’Lando, Event Director for New York Comic Con said “The biggest standout is that we’re celebrating our 20th anniversary by leaning into what has always made the show so special—our connection to New York. This year’s theme is a collaboration with fellow NYC institution Coney Island, and its presence will be felt throughout the event, from official merchandise to live performances on the Community Stage. Fans will also experience programming from other New York mainstays, including the New York Public Library, Sesame Street and many of the city’s major book publishers.”

The Main Stage and Empire State is where you’ll see the panels, movie/TV trailer debuts, and celebrity question and answer sessions.

D’Lando went on ”I’m also incredibly proud of our show floor this year. We just released our exhibitor list, and there are some really exciting new and expanded booths. The floor brings together some of the biggest brands in pop culture, balancing that sense of local community with an impressive global scale that I can’t wait for fans to experience.

We’ll be hanging out at the Artist Alley, where Printed Word Reviews’s Jessica Shih will be spending a lot of her time, connecting and covering comic creators, graphic novel illustrators, and independent artists. Be sure to check out her highlights tomorrow where she will be focusing on some of the exhibitors that are most excited to share their news with you. And, who knows, you might even find one of us at the Cosplay Central, which hosts the Cosplay Central Crown Championships alongside the workshops and dedicated photo zones. 

D’Lando expressed that ”Book programming in particular has grown at NYCC over the past few years and is now a cornerstone of our programming, thanks in large part to the support of the major publishers. Our author lineup is pretty stacked this year, with names like Matt Dinniman, Tomi Adeyemi, Rick Riordan, R.L. Stine and V.E. Schwab, to name just a few.”

NYCC is not only about the consumer anymore. They have expanded their offerings to professionals.

"I’m also really excited about how much our professional track has grown over the past three years. In addition to industry programming for people working across pop culture, NYCC now offers professional development for educators, librarians, licensing and legal professionals, marketers and content creators." D'Lando stressed. "The track has expanded so much that we’ve begun programming a day early, effectively stretching NYCC into Wednesday. This year, we’re also giving general fans access to parts of that programming, creating an on-ramp for those looking to take the next step in their careers.

For tickets, Badges must be purchased through the official NYCC site, https://www.newyorkcomiccon.com/en-us/buy/tickets.html, which now requires Fan Verification. Both single and multi-day badges are available, with options to upgrade to a Superfan VIP. 

Once you have badges assigned to your account, you can reserve spots for major programming before stepping foot into the Javits Center. Empire & Main Stage Panels are first-come, first-served. On reservation day, you enter a virtual queue. Once inside, you can add 100% reserved seats directly to your badge. There is a limit. You can book up to four panel spots for Thursday, five for Friday, five for Saturday, and three for Sunday.  If a panel fills up, a physical standby line is available at the con, but entry is not guaranteed.