Contributed by collector and Overstreet Advisor Art Cloos
Photos by Alice Cloos

New York Comic Con was held on Thursday through Sunday, October 17-20, 2024, at the Javits Center in midtown Manhattan. This is the biggest comic show on the East Coast, attracting fans from across the country and as far away as Australia.

There was a large turnout of creators including Al Milgrom, Agnes Garbowska, Adam Hughes, Adam Kubert, Alyssa Wong, Amy Chu, Andy Park, Anthony Del Col, Ariel Diaz, Arthur Adams, Bernard Chang, Chrissie Zullo Uminga, Cliff Chiang, Creees Lee, Dan Parent, Dan Quintana, Daniel Sampere, Darryl “DMC” McDaniels, David Finch, David Mack, Erik Larsen, Franco, Frank Cho, Frank Miller, Jeph Loeb, Jim Lee, Klaus Janson, Brian Azzarello, Todd McFarlane, and a whole lot more.

There was a strong line up of celebrity guests at the show. NYCC’s media guests of honor were Elizabeth Olson, Ella Purnell, Hayley Atwell, John Boyega, Josh Brolin, Paul Bettany, Walton Goggins, Andy Serkis, and Orlando Bloom. The show’s featured media guests included Adam Nimoy, Alessandro Juliani, Alex Brightman, Alex McKenna, Alexis Henderson, Alison Schapker, Alyson Kiperman Sullivan, Andrew Buchan, Andrew Lee Griffith, Arty Papageorgiou, Brian Cox, Rhenzy Feliz, Robert Bogue, Ryan La Sala, and more. Many of them participated in panels of their own, but attendees waited in long lines for some of them.

Dealers and buyers came from across the US including Harley Yee, Metropolis Comics, Bullet Proof Comics Inc., Dave & Adam’s Card World, Gary Platt Comics, High Grade Comics, Reece’s Rare Comics, Royal Collectibles, St. Mark’s Comics, The Comic Mint, Toy & Comic Heaven, Zap Comics, East Side Comics, Koch Comics, Nerdy Girl Comics, Royal Collectibles, Toy & Comic Heaven, Dan Gallo, Very Gary Comics, and many more.

Comic art dealers were well represented by Nostalgic Investments, Albert Moy Original Art, Animation Art Emporium, Anthony’s Comic Books, Original Art, and Collectibles, Scott Eder Gallery, Romitaman Original Art, Alex Ross, and others. Some comic dealers also sold original art.

Toys both vintage and modern were supplied by Larger Than Life Toys and Comics, Legends Comics and Games, Diamond Select Toys, KnoWhere Toys Comic & Games, Lost 4 Toys, Tenacious Collective, Absolute Comics & Statues, Toy Tokyo, Lionel Trains, and many more. Auction houses set up at NYCC included Hake’s Auctions, ComicConnect, and ComicLink.

There was a resurgence of major book publishers at this year’s show, including Abrams, Harper Collins, IDW, Simon and Schuster, Tor, Macmillan, and others all with freebies for interested fans.  

In terms of comic book publishers, there were both large and small, led by DC, Marvel, and Image. DC had a strong presence at NYCC. DC’s panels included one with Jim Lee as well as a spotlight on the Gotham City side of publishing, and a look at the Absolute/All In universes. The DC Studios animated series, Creature Commandos, was given its own panel. Series creator and DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn was at the panel, alongside executive producer Dean Lorey and stars Frank Grillo, David Harbour, Zoe Chao, Sean Gunn, and Steve Agee. As for Marvel, new artists that were interested in having their portfolios reviewed could drop off copies at the Marvel booth. Marvel’s big event was their “Next Big Thing” panel with Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski, executive editor Tom Brevoort, VP of digital media Ryan Penagos. Marvel had a host of guests including Fantastic Four writer Ryan North in Artist Alley. Image Comics came to NYCC with a large lineup of panels spread across both the venue from the main stage to Artist Alley and midtown Manhattan.

Collectible storage supplies were supplied by Hot Flips. CBCS and CGC were there to take consignments for grading buyer’s comic books.

In addition to the Javits food booths located around the dealer floor, there was a food court on the lower level with a nice variety of food options, but attendees had to be prepared for long waits. ATM machines were available for VIP badge holders who needed more cash for the show. A show this size can be considered a one stop shopping experience for serious collectors and casual buyers too.

NYCC had a lot of panels in so many different categories. There was plenty of film and TV news showcased in panels and beyond those there were many other panels from scholarly ones to conversational ones to panels just for kids. However, some exclusives, private autograph signings, and seats in panels on both the Main Stage and Empire Stage had to be reserved in advance of the con via a reservations system which was “first come, first served.” For those who were unable to get a panel reservation, there was a standby line for both stages. Some notable panels included “HBO’s The Penguin: Extended Sneak Peek” and “Conversations with Colin Farrell” and the show’s cast and creative staff, “The Lord Of The Rings: The War Of The Rohurrim” with guests Stephen Colbert and Kenji Kamiyama, “The Toys That Made Us” with Brian Volk-Weiss, Savannah Gooses, and Matt Kravitsky, “The Frights and Delights of Queer Horror Comics” and many more.

For professionals and educators, NYCC went all out this year. Besides its yearly free passes on the first day of the show for professionals and educators, for the first time ever New York Comic Con expanded to five full days of programming. In addition to the regular pro programming, a full slate of panels, workshops, and mixers were open to professional retailers, creators, librarians, lawyers, game developers, or others in the pop culture industry. Eligible New York State educators were able to receive CTLE credit for attending specified panels during NYCC Professional Day.

NYCC always has a tremendous turnout of cosplayers, and this year hosted guest cosplayers included Alleycat, Casey Renee, Ludus, Coden Citidel, Cowbutt Crunchies, Yaya Han, Plexi, and many others. The con hosted a table in the River Pavilion for cosplayer meet and greets where fans could connect with their favorite cosplayers in person. Of course, the 501st Legion: Empire City Garrison was there along with several other groups. NYCC had Cosplay Central with multiple cosplay groups selling material and offering a chance to join them. The winner of the NYCC cosplay contest received a cash prize and a trip to C2E2 in 2025 where they will compete against winners selected at other cons in the USA National Final. They will then have the chance to compete against cosplayers from all over the world, all trying to claim the title of Crown Champion of Cosplay in the Global Final.

NYCC offered a variety of exclusives from DC’s Catwoman #68 with a cover by Rose Besch to Absolute Batman #1. Then there was an Akira homage and Deadpool and Wolverine posters. There were exclusives from angel duckie and mini enamel pins to Steamboat Willie pins. Fans had a very large selection to choose from.

Once again NYCC offered the Family HQ where free craft activities included pirate hat making, comic creation, and superhero masks. There were also a large number of panels for family fun and learning.

The Harvey Awards, named for writer and artist Harvey Kurtzman had their Hall of Fame 35th annual awards ceremony. This year’s hall of fame inductees were Arthur Adams, Sergio Aragonés, John Buscema, Larry Hama, and Akira Toriyama.

Walking the aisles and talking to longtime dealer friends, I got positive vibes as they told me about their sales. A lot of them said that sales came in waves on Friday. There really was a pretty strong and varied showing on dealer’s walls of comics ranging from the mid-1930s to the current hot books of today. Golden Age in particular had a strong showing this year which I was happy to see. There were a lot of Batman related ones and many Silver and Bronze Age keys. One thing I noticed was the increased number of foreign comics, some very high grade and Allie bought some Wonder Woman ones for her collection. Sales of original comic book art were good as well. Allie and I both found some very nice Golden Age comic books for our personal collections, and I found some Atomic and Silver Age ones as well. Beyond the comics and art, pop culture inspired clothing, jewelry, posters, perfume, make-up, plush toys, swords, dice pieces for gaming, cosplay accessories, Star Wars lightsabers, tea and coffee, candy, and much more were offered, as well as a lot of freebies beyond the ones that book publishers made available.

Allie noted how Artist Alley was very well attended. There were long lines at many of the creator tables. She was able to get a remarque from the top creator on her list, Daniel Sampere. Allie noted that Hot Flips not only had a booth on the dealer’s floor but also in Artist Alley so that attendees who purchased an art piece could then buy protection for it to keep the piece safe.

As Allie, Dayana, our friend Pat Dunne, and I entered the show on Thursday morning we were struck by the size of the crowd. The lobby was jam packed as were the dealer room aisles, which was impressive since Thursday is usually the least crowded day of the con. You never know who you are going to run into at this show and I met up with friends at Harley Yee’s booth, including noted Wonder Woman collectors Susan Natoli and Salvo Alta, my former students Johnny Dhaness and Randy Jerez, and Billy Kwack. I saw Antonio Albanese who lives in Australia, former student Nurul Khuka, and longtime friend Max Gotfried. I chatted with artist Bob McLeod, friend and comic dealer Lauren Becker, Thomas Tremberger while he worked at the Absolute Comics booth, collectors and dealers Joe and Nadia Mannarino at the Heritage booth, and Steve Fishler and Micah Spivak at their ComicConnect booth.

It’s hard to overstate the importance of this show both to the fans attending and the city of New York as a whole. The show reported that over 200,000 fans attended this year’s edition. Past conventions annually brought in more than $100 million to the city and for this year according to the New York City Tourism and Conventions center it estimated that number at $80 million and probably higher when the final numbers come in. There are many reasons for this. Beyond the show itself attendees paying for hotel accommodations, eating out at restaurants, going to a Broadway show, going to one of the many museums in the city, and paying for transportation options all contribute to the city’s economy.

In addition to the Javits food booths located around the dealer floor, there was a food court on the lower level with a nice variety of food options, but attendees had to be prepared for long waits. Outside of the center, there is a vast number of diners and restaurants in the area.

NYCC offered a limited number of reduced rate hotel rooms that were fairly close to the convention center. The city has an extensive public transportation system to get people around Manhattan, including trains, buses, taxis, and ride shares.

There is a process to buy tickets and it’s important to note that tickets are not sold at the door, and attendees must be fan verified first no matter what type of ticket they buy.

Con badges varied in price from single day admittance to four-day passes to a special VIP one. For those who could not make it to the con, an NYCC @ Home ticket was offered.

As Allie and I left NYCC for the last time in 2024 we were already talking about the next show.

New York Comic Con will return in 2025 on Thursday through Sunday, October 9-12 at The Jacob Javits Convention Center. News and updates on the 2025 show will be available on the NYCC website.

More photos from NYCC are in our In the Limelight section.