Comic Con Rebounds After the Pandemic
By Victor Marinez and Ryan Pullido
Wacky and colorful characters dressed to impress at the 17th annual New York City Comic Con (NYCC) at the Javitz Center October 6-9. Attendees cosplayed their creative takes on comic characters such as a female Joker carrying a large green bazooka. Due to the Covid-19 restrictions last year, only 150,000 people turned out for Comic Con. The crowd rebounded in 2022 with 200,000 attendees visiting panels, event halls, artist alley, autobiography signings, arcades, and a gaming station.
Toei and Shonen Jump, which are both anime-focused companies, dominated a large area of the show floor. One Piece: Red featured extremely elaborate displays to promote the film. Dragon Ball: The Breakers, a brand new online asymmetrical action game, featured players fighting off villains from the titular franchise. Seasonally anime like Spy X Family and Chainsaw man attracted hordes of people for photo-ops and demos.
A giant poster promoting the third season of the Japanese animation series Mob Psycho 100 hung from the steel beams of the exhibit hall. The series focuses on the adventures of an inconspicuous middle schooler named Shigeo Kageyama, nicknamed Mob, who is a very powerful esper with psychic powers.
Fans had to reserve a spot to get brand-new exclusive items only sold at NYCC. Brandon Sanderson, the famous fantasy author known for his New York Times bestsellers Mistborn and A Way of Kings, had a huge line of people waiting to buy his books and get an autograph.
In the middle of the exhibit hall, a giant model of the main character of One Piece “Monkey D. Luffy” towered over every booth. A trailer played for the latest movie of the franchise “One Piece Film: Red.” The exhibit resembled a lifelike model of the main characters’ pirate ship “The Thousand Sunny.” Inside the exhibit, visitors could purchase models and items from the One Piece franchise.
One of the models featured in the Dragon Ball Z exhibit was the “Golden Shenron Statue.” Shenron is a mythical dragon, set in the Dragon Ball Universe, and has the ability to grant wishes to anyone who collects the seven Dragon Balls.
The anime/manga Naruto written by Masashi Kishimoto featured a life-sized rendition of a ramen shop from the anime. The animation series focuses on the adventures of Naruto and his quest to become the Hokage of Hidden Leaf Village.
Many of the fans were dressed for cosplay, wearing outfits such as Spiderman, The Joker, or Darth Vader as tributes to their favorite characters or franchises. It takes a lot of time to fully realize a cosplay. While people could always purchase a full-body suit from Amazon and go about their day, for most it’s never that simple. For a lot of these outfits, cosplayers spend weeks crafting the perfect incarnation of their characters. Not only is the purchase of materials and clothes involved, but so are 3D printing, sewing, and any other outside help they require.
On a somber note, despite the upbeat vibe at the event, staff at the New York City Comic Con built a memorial for one of the illustrators that tragically passed away just days before the event. Kim Jung Gi, a world-renowned illustrator from South Korea, passed away in Paris on his way to attend the New York City Comic Con. Flowers, notes, and autographs were left on his booth to commemorate the fallen artist. Fans all over social media expressed their deepest condolences.