As is tradition, the Elite Beat writing squad fanned out over the entirety of New York Comic Con 2025, getting the inside scoop on everything from the biggest panels to the best food to the cleanest place to enjoy the go. Here’s the definitive list of what ruled and what drooled at NYCC ‘25. Contributors include: Aaron Halls, Ricky Serrano, Zack Quaintance, Justin Guerrero, Masha Zhdanova, Billy Henehan, Christian Angeles, Taimur Dar, George Carmona 3rd, and Heidi MacDonald
WINNER/LOSER: Easy access to beer on the show floor. We all know the sweet sound of a can of beer being cracked open. That metallic KSHK that lets everyone know the bar’s open, or that it’s now safe to consume alcohol to your heart’s content. Well, that sound was ringing all over NYCC as certain booths and stands openly sold beer to drinking age con goers. That said, I did stumble upon more than a few discarded cans that still had beer inside them, and in spots where a ton of underaged kids roam. It felt a bit out of place, to be honest. It was also a bit weird to hear that KSHK interrupt the crowd’s concentration during panels. If you needed a buzz to navigate the chaos of NYCC, then you were in line to be a winner! If you preferred your panels devoid of beer can acoustics, then you probably left a loser. (RS)
WINNER: Bird blindness awareness! If you watched Peacemaker Season 2 at all this season you’ll know that one of the highlights was Tim Meadows’ character Langston Fleury. He hilariously couldn’t tell the difference between one type of bird and another – which was a problem when he was hunting down Peacemaker and his pet eagle (who in one scene he calls a parrot). Many people took to the internet thinking the fictional ailment was real – a perfect opportunity for someone to create a viral website. I first saw a sign in the Javits Center press lounge touting “Bird Blindness is real!,” but also saw a person with it near the entrance. If you visit https://www.birdblindness.com/ you’ll find a satire website dedicated to “a condition spreading across the world.” Very funny! (AH)
LOSER: No accessibility ramp for panelists on stage in North Room 406.2. New York Comic Con areas need to be accessible to all panelists – whether on the 1D: Main Stage or in the North Room. I went to the Thursday panel, “Incorporate Diversity and Accessibility Into Costumes & Content Creating.” This was a beautiful panel where the panelists passionately talked about their experiences with disability and ways to make cosplay and conventions more accessible for all. One of the panelists uses a wheelchair and wasn’t able to easily get up the stage to join the discussion. I was admittedly disheartened by the North Room 406.2’s panel stage accessibility and would like to see further consideration of these elements for future conventions and further thought by the event planners into NYCC accessibility in general. (AH)
WINNER: Metal Gear Solid cast reunion. PS1 nostalgia was in full bloom when the original English voice cast of MGS made it to the stage in what was a special reunion for the ages, and a very rare one at that. The voices of Solid Snake, Liquid Snake, and Sniper Wolf were present for what ended up being a very informative trip down memory lane. David Hayter (Snake) was asked what it was like to work with Hideo Kojima, to which he responded: “I don’t know, but if you have let me know.” The English voice cast had very limited interactions with the game’s legendary director because he was in Japan working on the game while the actors recorded their material in this part of the world. Everyone did one of their iconic lines in character. Fans were pleased. No time paradoxes occured. (RS)
WINNER: T-shirt of John Carpenter flipping the middle finger. Yes, a shirt that had John Carpenter flipping the bird was up for grabs at the Storm King Comics booth. The shirt has Carpenter sporting the iconic They Live glasses while hovering over the word OBEY. There’s a case to be made that the shirt was the most culturally relevant piece of pop culture in the show. In essence, those who took one home can now safely outsource their angry hand gestures to the legendary director of Halloween and The Thing. Ball’s in your court now, Scorsese. (RS)
WINNER: AEW puts on a show once more. During their Heroes and Villains panel, AEW wrestlers Darby Allin and Jon Moxley continued to build on their grudge as they duked it out in spectacular fashion in front of a large audience. Darby broke a glass jug on Moxley’s head to start an attack that led to the destruction of the NYCC-branded scenery. NYCC has been good to AEW, and vice versa. Many of these types of scuffles have broken out in panels at the con, showing fans a great time while also playing into angles that’ll get resolved shortly after the con is over in some big event. Maybe it’s time NYCC had a live wrestling match at one of their shows. (RS)
LOSERS: So many Trading card games, promos and booths. What’s the deal with this aggressive push for trading cards? I could be getting old and not get the appeal and craze, especially with the Pokemon TCG as one example, but I’ve been getting emails about several new Trading Card Games launching, telling me to go to this booth for cards. While roaming around the main showroom floor you will run into so many booths for trading cards! It is basically the new Lootbox booth pandemic that once was everywhere on the showroom floor in previous years. It just feels so out of place in a literal COMIC CONVENTION that this year it felt more like a Card Game Convention at some sections of the Showroom floor. (JG)
WINNER: DC Comics. I have been covering DC panels at NYCC and SDCC for The Beat for eight years now, and the publisher has never had such an exciting show. DC made sure that every one of their panels had news in it, specifically news about new comics. This is how it should be done, rather than doling out exclusive announcements in mainstream entertainment publications ahead of the show, as some publishers are wont to do. They also had a booth on the show floor for the first time in years, anchoring the new comics corner space. And their most visible comics executive, Jim Lee, opened the first day of NYCC festivities with an inspiring denunciation of AI. If all that weren’t enough, DC rolled out its full lineup of 10 (10!) titles for its Vertigo revival, all of which are from creative teams who have worked together before, generally on some of the most beloved comics series in recent years. It was enough to get even a jaded con goer like me (did I mention I’ve been doing this for eight years?) excited at the show. (ZQ)
LOSER: People with the capacity to smell things. When I saw that DC would anchor the rear right side of the exhibit hall, I wondered if they would move the food carts that used to be there. Answer: sorta. While it was not as bad as the epic Gorilla Curry smells of ’22, it did get pretty fragrant in this area, especially with a pervasive smell of popcorn. The area around the amazing new DC booth (centered by an epic mural by artist Scott Koblish) did become a lunch room for some folks because there still aren’t enough places to sit down and eat at NYCC. And everyone complained of being smell blind by the end of the weekend from the popcorn aroma. (HM)
WINNER: Comics podcasters. As news consumption habits have shifted and corporate moves diminished some big comics websites (not The Beat!), we’ve entered a Golden Age of Comics Podcasting. That was certainly apparent at this year’s show. There were two panels headlined by a total of five different excellent podcasts. The first was held on Friday, and it brought together the hosts of Comic Book Couples Counseling (whose Brad and Lisa Gullickson also hosted the Harvey Awards), The Oblivion Bar Podcast (with Chris Hacker and Aaron Knowles), The Short Box Podcast (with Badr Milligan), and Off Panel (whose David Harper was selling a super fun Stilt Man zine at the show), for a comics podcast jam. Then on Saturday, our own Heidi MacDonald and her cohorts with the Publisher’s Weekly’s More to Come podcast celebrated their 700th episode with a star-studded panel. And if that weren’t enough, I also spotted Alex Zalben and Justin Tyler of the Comic Book Club talking to creators in Artist Alley a couple times. And these are just the podcasts I personally listen to. I’m sure there were plenty of others in attendance as well, doing their things for their audiences. (ZQ)
WINNER: The return of the Korean Pavilion! While smaller this year compared to back in 2024, it was still nice to have a small section of the showroom floor where you can meet the staff behind some South Korean comics which are published on platforms such as WEBTOON, Tapas, Tappytoons, Manta, and more. The staff behind these studios which can include even the Founders and Co-Founders of these companies are very outgoing and easy to approach. They are happily and willing to just talk for a long time with you about the creation process behind these stories, how the studio functions in South Korea, and more. Goes to show you just how much they really do appreciate the work and show such passion for the series they are involved with. It’s always a joy to stop by these booths, if it’s not for the free goodies and stamp rallies, then it has to be for the experience to have one-on-one conversations with the people behind these stories. Hope next year they can have a larger pavilion with maybe more studios brought in as more and more of these stories are being read worldwide especially with this resurgence in South Korean culture and media. (JG)
LOSERS: Security. Now don’t get me wrong, they are just doing their job. However, I feel like there is some miscommunication on what badges do what. For example, myself and a few other folks from The Beat had a Crunchyroll industry breakfast at 9:45am. The event however, was INSIDE of the Showroom floor. Security clearly saw that I have a press badge and would instead direct me to go to the other entrance, only for the security there who saw the same badge and would redirect me yet again; But this time to a line for pro and exhibitor badges…outside of the Javits Center! Keep in mind I have to be INSIDE of the venue to make it to an already scheduled and reserved special event. Normally those with the press badge would be allowed inside the venue before 10am, so this was a surprise to me this year as it hasn’t happened in previous years. This issue was not just isolated to me, it has happened to my fellow co-workers on previous days as well. So while yes, the strict security is just them doing their job, which I commend. There is obviously a huge miscommunication at play here as to who is and isn’t allowed into the venue at a certain time as well as a misunderstanding of the privileges and benefits each badge holder has. I also have heard of similar issues happening even with the exhibitors who have to get in early to set up their booths, in which there has to be a certain number of badges to even be allowed in? The end result is unnecessary lines, barely missed special events, and tons of stressful headaches! Hopefully this gets worked out and better planned before next year’s event. Myself and my peers most definitely would not want to go through that whole ordeal ever again. (JG)
WINNER: Graphic novelists at Artist Alley! Everyone I talked to on Saturday who had brought books to sell had already sold out– even people who’d been to Anime NYC and NYCC before and brought their stock based on past experience. I saw a lot of other people selling out of things before the end of the day on Saturday, but graphic novels in particular seemed to be going like hotcakes. A friend of mine theorized that, in a recession, books seem like more bang for your buck than zines. Still, it’s great to see comics moving at a show when most of the time these days I see stickers and prints selling better than anything else out there! (MZ)
LOSER: Panelists. A lot of the panels about queer media, manga, and webcomics were scheduled at overlapping times, making it impossible for fans to decide which to attend and leading to low attendance numbers for most of the smaller panels off the main stage. I’m worried those low attendance numbers could provide a reason for the convention to reject the panel application in future years, which would mean less panels about niche content and less diversity of programming at NYCC in general. (MZ)
LOSER: Crunchyroll manga app booth. The staff running it didn’t know the answers to most of the questions I asked them about the content on the app or the visuals being used to promote it. There’s an image of a girl in a sailor uniform eating that’s the main visual for the app and no one could tell me what manga she was from. The booth lacked any kind of fun interactivity besides swiping through the app on sample phones. It didn’t make me excited about this app versus the five other manga-reading apps I already have (VIZ, Shonen Jump, Manga Plus, K-Manga, Azuki). Especially looking at Azuki, which also collects manga from multiple publishers and was founded by ex-Crunchyroll employees, it’s hard to see what makes this new-old manga portal stand out, and the booth activation did not do a good job of selling it to me. (MZ)
WINNER: Vault Comics and Post Malone. The “Big Rig” monster truck was the biggest thing on the floor (and had to be driven in first before anything else), and a surprise appearance by Malone at the Vault booth turned into a hugathon that lasted so long he was 20 minutes late for his panel…..unfortinately the panel itself got insanely crowded with a stage rush, as fans were seen crying with joy at seeing their hero, Which leads us to….. (HM)
LOSER: Panel capacity. Don’t know if this is exactly the Venue’s fault or just them underestimating the numbers for some panels. But for example the Glitch productions panel and even the Marvel showcase panel had long lines that had to be capped up to almost an hour before the panel would begin. These are rooms mostly in the North pavilion which while they are “big” aren’t big enough as compared to say the Empire Stage where the capacity for these panels would be better held. But hey, better than being in the panel rooms on the first floor. (JG)
I second that, Wayne Brady’s Improv show was in a room that held maybe 300 people. They had to cap the line 30 minutes before the panel started. (GC3)
WINNER: Skybound Comics. They hosted a fun party on Thursday night downtown to hype press and pros up for the launch of Invincible Vs., and then opened up the event space to everyone on Friday so that fans could join in the fun. ACT IV completed its very successful J. Scott Campbell Danger Girl Artist’s Edition Kickstarter right as the convention was beginning. The energy level at the Energon Universe panel was off the charts, especially when Robert Kirkman took out a prototype action figure of Optimus Prime with Megatron’s arm. Both Kirkman and Joshua Williamson said they have stories planned for years and years to come in the Energon Universe. It’s a good time to be a fan of Skybound.(BH)
LOSER: Citizen Watches. The watch company hosted a free signing with Adam Kubert at their booth on Saturday. Kubert even advertised it on his Instagram, saying fans could get 2 of their own things signed for free, and if they bought a watch, they’d receive a signed Iron Man print as well. Adam Kubert recently designed two watches for Citizen, including an Iron Man that shared its design with the print’s art. As fans lined up at the booth near the noon signing time, the Citizen booth staff repeatedly, adamantly and angrily told the few fans there that they could participate in the signing if and only if they bought a watch, despite Adam even telling a fan who asked minutes earlier that he didn’t to buy a watch to get a signature. There was a lot of back and forth between Citizen and the fans.. Kubert eventually did end up signing for free, but what could have been a nice goodwill branding event for Citizen ended up being the opposite. Fans left the booth happy for the signatures, but unhappy with the attitude they received from the Citizen staff. Business school students could use this in a case study on how not to convert potential customers. (BH)
WINNER: Michel Fiffe. The Copra creator capped off a four convention tour at NYCC, tabling between Jim Rugg and Adam Hughes in Artist Alley. This seemed like a victory lap for Fiffe, whose Copra reached its conclusion earlier this year with issue #50. He was sketching for and chatting with fans all weekend, and was almost completely sold out of the comics and trades he brought to sell for the weekend by Sunday afternoon. (BH)
WINNER: Butts on Things. For the past few years, Brian Cook’s table in Artist Alley has been very popular, especially on Sunday’s Kid’s Day. It was the first place my daughter’s friend wanted to stop at when we met up with them, and it looked like the floor of the stock exchange in front of his table as people eagerly tapped their credit cards to pay for stickers of butts on Star Wars droids, Dunkin’ cups and my personal favorite, a gumball machine with a butt whose gumballs were also butts. I wouldn’t be surprised if you told me Brian Cook paid off a mortgage with Butts on Things sticker sales alone. (BH)
WINNER: Wal-Mart. I can’t believe I’m writing this. I was there with everyone else scratching their heads over Wal-Mart’s increased presence at NYCC this year. But they really leaned into the COMIC in New York Comic Con, hosting signings with Todd McFarlane, Stan Sakai (!!) and Tom King. Stan Sakai only signed at one place during NYCC, and it was the Wal-Mart booth.The booth was set up well, with space for neatly organized, snaking lines. When not hosting signings, the booth felt like The Legend of the Hidden Temple, with convention goers figuring out puzzles in order to win prize tickets that could be redeemed for exclusive G.I. Joe, Marvel Zombies, Transformers, Usagi Yojimbo, Spawn and Supergirl comics. It was a fun booth. And the outside retro video game truck was just as fun. Fans played N64 era Mario Kart, Dr. Mario and Mario Party on the Switch 2, took photos in a photo booth, and received a Yoshi plushie and a bag of swag.(BH)
LOSER: Diamond Comics. The once great entity was reduced to a lone display case on the outside of a large, bustling booth for NECA and other Ad Populum companies. (HM)
WINNER: Todd McFarlane. The Toddfather is a perpetual motivation speech. And he’s on his game: he spotted cartoonist Mindy Indy and posed for a picture because brand knows brand. (HM)
LOSER: Lego Javits Center. While the minifig SDCC at this year’s San Diego had a giant line at all times, this PERMAnent set-up in the Javitz lobbby just sits there. Perhaps it needs more cosplay figures? (HM)
WINNER: Bubblegum Kids. The licensed-brand candy company had some very good looking and tasty candy for sale on the show floor of NYCC. Their lollipops looked just like the characters they were based on (Ninja Turtles, Rugrats, etc). Their chocolate bars tasted REALLY good! And they had sweet looking merch for sale too. I kept waffling back and forth on buying one of those ICEE satin jackets. (BH)
LOSER: Wonder Man trailer. Not that there was anything terrible or egregiously wrong with the trailer. But I find it hilarious that the vast majority of comments were about the casting of Zlatko Burić who played Boravian president Vasil Ghurkos in the DC Studios film. The irony is that this Wonder Man show has been in development for quite some time and could have avoided the free Superman advertising if the show was released earlier. This year has proven without a doubt that Marvel Studios has serious competition with DC Studios. (TD)
WINNER: James Gunn. Despite those still trying to argue that the Superman film was a failure, you couldn’t go anywhere without spotting Superman cosplay based on the film whether it was the Man of Steel himself or members of the Justice Gang. Regardless of Joe Illidge’s assertion online that he saw more Mister Terrific cosplayers than Superman during NYCC, I think this is the most popular the Last Son of Krypton has been in quite some time.. Moreover, Gunn and the Superman film team scored the Harvey Award best comic adaptation. (TD)
WINNER: An actual dedicated honest-to-god press room floor with a private bathroom! One huge improvement over previous years is no longer being in this small room with 3 tables and a water container. Last year we upgraded to a larger room within the north pavilion. Now, we have an entire floor within the River Pavilion. It felt so much more like a well earned safehouse away from the hustle and bustle of the Showroom floor which was at times a nightmare with those shoulder-to-shoulder crowds. Did I mention we have private bathrooms too? Bladder-gods-be-praised!! No more having to wait on 30 minute lines and feeling like you are on a timer to relieve yourself before getting kicked out for the next person. Bathroom in peace! The pavilion also had plenty of tables available to rest your weary legs, charge your devices, and was also a great spot to not only enjoy the scenic views of the Hudson River and New Jersey, but also at times spot some celebrities who would pass through the area. Now if only there was an easier way for the press to go from the River Pavilion to the North Pavilion…because slowly descending down the escalator into the absolute hell of the cosplay and con-goer crowd in the main floor feels like walking into a zombie infested mall in Project Zomboid. Absolute terror! (JG)
SECONDED: it was nice to have a quiet place to work and rest. (MZ)
LOSER: Hydration in the press room. The fountain by the bathroom had a very thin stream and the water jug on the main floor was emptied once each day…and never replaced. (HM)
WINNER: No Cosplay Central in the River Pavilion. While it felt like a sudden change in some ways, it was honestly nice to have space and less congestion again in the back. For years, they’ve been slowly taking away space for press and professionals to host Cosplay, up until now, where it all feels breathable again. Now, I’m not against Cosplay, it’s just the Javitts is huge and there are a million better places for it. If we’re going to be smart, NYCC should keep it focused near the side entrance. It’s the most engaging thing for casual fans, and there’s a lot more space, plus you can fiddle with interior/exterior lighting by going through the door. Seriously, let us keep the River Pavilion (CA).
Sidenote: I love the Cosplay meet-ups, BUT for everyone’s safety, they need to be away from the stairs and escalators. There was no need to have them in such critical areas. (GC3)
LOSER: The FF activation pop-up. Look, for years I’ve been the biggest Marvel stan, and even I have to admit there’s a lack of hype in the house of ideas right now. I feel like this one felt… safe? Entertaining, but the videos and seating arrangements provided nothing special, with some guests complaining that it felt like leftovers from the set at SDCC. Really, the biggest reason to go was to get a video with H.E.R.B.I.E., which was being puppeteered by three different people. I’ll admit the photo op was nifty, though there was no line at all to get in. Marvel malaise is real (CA).
WINNER: The wifi and, more importantly, the NYCC app. From the press room on the top floor to Artist Alley on the lower level, the overall wifi coverage was the best I’ve used at Javits. In conjunction with the app, its locator function was a big help in finding booths on the show floor. (GC3)
LOSER: The drastic temperature changes. Some places would be freezing, while other spots would be like a sweatshop. (GC3)
WINNER: DC Booth. As Zack pointed out, DC was the comic publisher that easily won NYCC this year. But I have to specifically highlight the DC Booth itself. This was the first time the booth had returned since pre-pandemic and was a much welcomed homecoming. While getting an opportunity to play the upcoming LEGO Batman game was virtually impossible unless you lined up at the crack of dawn, the DC Booth booth was hopping with creator signings and other activities. (TD)
LOSER: IT: Welcome to Derry activation. I had modest expectations going into this activation which only decreased after learning it utilized AI. Honestly, there was not much to it. You and a group enter a 1960s child’s bedroom after telling an activation attendant your childhood fear. I put in snakes, however I had no idea how it factored at all into the generated image that appeared on screen of a skull vomiting yellow ooze. The only thing scary was the time that people wasted on line for this activation. (TD).
LOSER: Cosplayers. The outcry among cosplayers over being removed from the River Pavillion to a much smaller area on the ground floor has been filling Reddit and Threads. While as Press, I loved having an open area to work and take meetings, I feel for the very talented folks who, let’s face it, provide the spectacle that has made comic cons a worldwide phenomenon. But I guess pros and cosplayers are like Mets fans and Yankee fans – we prefer not to be around one another. (HM)
WINNER: People who went to the Titan Comics/MINKY WOODCOCK: THE GIRL CALLED CTHULHU party. There were many parties to choose from at NYCC and it was tough to party hop at more than a few, so not many folks made it to this event held on the Frying Pan, an iconic boat/event space on the Hudson River. Hosted by Cynthia von Buhler, one of the most interesting people you’ll ever meet, the party featured purple velvet cape giveaways and the best food I’ve ever had at a NYCC party, including heirloom tomato salad and lobster rolls. I had tipped off the Beat staff that this would be a winner, and I’m happy to say a lot of them made it! As my pal Amy put it, “Best plate ever!” (HM)
English (US) · 