TRIP REPORT – New York City once more filled up with heroes, villains, and just about every painted or costumed character between them for the yearly New York Comic Con. Crowds and excitement felt back to pre-pandemic strength, with most major names, including Marvel, on hand again. DC, however, remained the obvious no-show, having skipped NYCC since before the pandemic.
New York City served up a gorgeous weekend, and the Javits Center was packed wall to wall with pop culture fans celebrating favorite shows, movies, books, characters, games, and plenty more.
The SAG-AFTRA strike kept many actors away from appearances and new-project promotion, but the schedule still had plenty of guest spots and panels. Down on the show floor, the buzz stayed high, and Thursday attendance matched the other three days for the first time.
NYCC Videos
This year we changed things up a little by talking with several vendors making their comic con debut. The lineup ran from familiar names such as Ryobi and Lionel Trains to a husband-and-wife duo from Florida who make one-of-a-kind tiki woodcuts by hand.
Burgschneider: heroic Dungeons & Dragons clothing
After nearly twenty years making heroic clothing for medieval reenactment and live-action role-play, Burgschneider arrived at NYCC for the first time. Mike and Marcus showed us the new Dungeons and Dragons: Call to Arms collection.
The clothing quality from Burgschneider shows up as soon as the fabric is in your hands. These pieces feel like sturdy everyday clothes, the kind you could wear while working or relaxing without babying them. Being ready for a dragon hunt or dungeon raid is simply the nerdy little perk, which is my preferred kind of perk.
The pricing is another pleasant surprise, since buying these clothes does not call for a Glorious Transmutation spell.
Great Scott Designs: handmade pop culture tiki woodcuts
Scott Martini of Great Scott Designs traveled from Florida to see what NYCC was all about for the first time. Scott and his wife make and sell tiki-style woodcuts based on sci-fi, fantasy, and music characters.
Their booth had artwork covering everything from Star Wars to He-Man to the Beastie Boys, which naturally got my vote because I am still pretending my taste in music counts as a personality.
The pieces that stood out most, though, were Great Scott Designs’ original scenes of skeletons lounging around.
Robosen: programmable Transformers that actually roll out
Robosen has spent more than ten years building very cool robots. Their AI-powered smart toys, including realistic versions of Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and Buzz Lightyear, move and respond in ways I had not seen before.
What really sets the robots apart is full programmability, so owners can build custom routines ranging from fight scenes to dance numbers.
Every robot on display had impressive detail, but Buzz Lightyear clearly reached another level. With smoke, lighting, and sound effects, he looked genuinely ready to head for infinity and beyond.
Ryobi: hobby and craft tools for serious DIY cosplayers
Ryobi has been a dependable tool name for decades, so seeing a big NYCC booth from them caught me off guard. It clicked after we spoke with Odin Abbott, better known as the host and star of the Odin Makes YouTube channel. Odin chatted with us and showed off Ryobi’s hobby tool lineup, which is aimed squarely at making cosplay outfits, weapons, and accessories.
Across the four days of comic con, Odin built different cosplay pieces using only Ryobi tools and basic materials. From the mini glue gun to the hot wire foam cutter, each item seemed dialed in for the oddly specific crafting problems cosplayers run into.
Personally, I like seeing Ryobi bring its reputation for reliability into a space long ruled mostly by Dremel and a handful of smaller brands.
Lionel Trains: upgrading the Christmas tree train
Michael from Lionel Trains was happy to make its first New York Comic Con appearance, and even happier to show off movie and holiday themed sets.
Pop Couture Clips: geeky, gamer-inspired hair clips
Jessie from Pop Couture Clips was clearly thrilled to be at NYCC for the first time. Jessie and her husband, who ran the Comic Controller booth, came up from Florida as well to share their unusual wares with the NYCC crowd.
Their pop culture and video game-themed hair clips and controllers were popular finds, and I had not seen anything quite like them at comic con before.
Walking the show floor
We finished our NYCC coverage by walking the full floor and trimming the experience into a five-minute video. It should give a good feel for the yearly mix of excitement and fun the fans enjoy, including this lonely guy trying not to block anyone’s photo.
