New York Comic Con 2025

I attended New York Comic Con for the first time this year and I had a good time. If that sounds like a ridiculous understatement given the content of this website, I'll be honest and say I typically don't enjoy comic conventions as much as anime conventions. They have a different feel and audience. Comic cons draw comic book fans, obviously, but also fans of fantasy, science fiction, and popular television and streaming series. Their attendees are your average Americans with an interest in geek culture. The anime crowd is typically younger and more weeb than geek, if that makes sense. As someone who shrugs his shoulders at Marvel movies, I was worried I'd be exposed as a fake and carried out by fans holding pitchforks and torches. Thankfully, I felt very welcome at New York Comic Con and discovered more than just the standard comic book fandoms. Anime was, thankfully, very much a part of NYCC.

New York Comic Con is a big event, drawing over 250,000 attendees to the Javits Center. Although it's unclear whether this is a turnstile or unique attendee count, it's a significant event either way. There are very few fan conventions which reach these kinds of numbers. The big entertainment companies brought their big booths. Apple, HBO, and Paramount debuted trailers for upcoming shows. Celebrities made appearances and advertisements filled every empty floor and overhead space. While it's not as prestigious as San Diego Comic-Con, it's still impressive to see.

The Javits Center is the perfect venue for NYCC. The building is used to its fullest, holding 650 exhibitors and 500 artist alley participants. Even the northern section of the building, which is closed during Anime NYC, is completely occupied by NYCC. The facility is notable in its size and design, with the glass and steel Crystal Palace making a striking first impression. I'm not familiar with other event spaces in New York City, but I struggle to think there's another space more fitting for NYCC than the Javits Center.

Given these large numbers, attending NYCC can be a challenge. Full weekend tickets sell out quickly, leaving just individual day tickets. Since it's a four day event there should be enough time to experience everything you want to do whether that's shopping for merch, attending panels and premiers, or cosplaying your favorite character. Travel options are plentiful. There are three airports in relatively close proximity. The famous New York subway covers the area and ferries can take you from New Jersey to Manhattan, sparing you expensive parking and vehicle congestion fees. Hotels are on the expensive side, though, with rates above $300 per night for hotels closer to the venue. Definitely plan ahead if you want to attend.

It's interesting how much the location of an event becomes entangled with its identity. A given facility might host hundreds of different events throughout the year, but it's considered home by the attendees of fan-centered events like NYCC. Consider Katsucon, for example. Can you imagine how different that event would feel if it wasn't held at the Gaylord National? I posit it would suffer significantly if it moved to a facility like the Walter E. Washington Convention Center in Washington D.C. The hotel and its gazebo are as much a part of the identity of Katsucon as anything. Holiday Matsuri is practically dead to me since moving away from the Orlando World Center Marriott to the boring Orange County Convention Center. It's such a different experience that I no longer want to attend. There's just something about a location which can trigger excitement and even nostalgia for an event. I can't walk into the Gaylord National without thinking about Katsucon. I still think fondly of the Orlando World Center Marriott even though it no longer holds Holiday Matsuri. These events are bound to the buildings which house them and over time they become the home of that event.

The for-profit company behind NYCC, ReedPop, is no stranger to large events and facilities. It runs other notable events like C2E2 in Chicago, Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle, MCM Comic Con in London, and all the PAX events. They do a respectable job of engaging with fans and providing entertainment for a broad audience. This is proven through events like the Cosplay Central Crown Championship which awards prizes and gives creatives in the cosplay space an opportunity to show off their creations. They don't have to put as much effort as they do into a cosplay event, but the fact that they do means something.

Cosplay is, of course, a primary interest for Flannel Ninja. I'm happy to have had the opportunity to produce a beautiful cosplay music video featuring the amazing cosplayers pictured below. Please give the video a watch and follow the cosplayers at their linked Instagram accounts.