New York Comic Con is over. It was a lot, both in the way it always is and several new ones — at least for me. But what stood out from this event? Did anything burst through the chaos enough to make an impact? Those are good questions, and ones I asked myself and others in the industry throughout the weekend. It felt important to do, because New York Comic Con has an outsized impact on comics in terms of what is revealed there and the deals that are made behind the scenes. Its events will have consequences going forward in comics. And all that means it deserves to be examined in a robust manner.

But it’s also too chaotic to be explored through a single narrative. To attempt that would be like courting madness, and I’ve already done enough of that by going to NYCC itself. So, instead of going that route, I’ll be diving into what happened during the now five days of New York Comic Con 10 by sharing 20 observations and anecdotes from every corner of the event.

Now, because it’s me, it won’t just be the juiciest bits of information. Some will instead be examples of the kinds of things that make NYCC such an interesting and entertaining event. But there will be plenty to dig into along the way, so let’s get straight to it.

New York Comic Con is So Back

This was my first New York Comic Con since 2023, so I have no idea what last year was actually like. Everything I heard suggested that the 2024 edition wasn’t too different from the one that preceded it, though. It was still spicy. NYCC has a high floor. It’s guaranteed to draw in massive crowds and significant vendors. But it felt like it was still in the COVID recovery phase, as it failed to match the heights of the late 2010s.

About that.

NYCC?

It’s so back.

This year’s edition was absurdly busy from the second the doors opened on Thursday, and I truly mean from the very second. Case in point. There was a giant line in the bathrooms 10 minutes after the convention floor opened. And this wasn’t even a typically heavily used restroom! This was an off the beaten path one I went to because I expected it to be empty. Strangely, that was the moment I knew that NYCC was going to be wall-to-wall.

No matter who I talked to, the takeaway was that Thursday — typically NYCC’s slowest day — felt similar to a normal Saturday, which is always the heaviest in terms of foot traffic. That certainly matched the eye test. The show floor was monstrously full, it was hand-to-hand combat to get into panels, and Artist Alley was stormed by eager commissioners trying to get on their favorite artists’ lists. It only grew from there. If Thursday was similar to a typical Saturday, then Saturday felt like Super Bowl Sunday simply because everyone in the world had to be taking part in it. No wonder the con ended up with over 250,000 attendees.

It wasn’t just a volume proposition either. Enthusiasm was through the roof. The sheer joy and energy of attendees was palpable. It radiated throughout every square inch of the Javits Center. NYCC is normally crazy, of course. I’ve been to a bevy of them throughout the years. But I’ve never experienced one like this. By the numbers and the buzz, NYCC 2025 was a sensation, delivering a singular example of a convention that was already a beast to begin with.