BY CHARLI BATTERSBY | New York Comic Con weekend (October 9-12) was unseasonably cold the first two days, and rainy the last two–not a fun commute for a cosplayer, and not a good day to be a ticket scalper loitering outside the Hudson Yards subway station.
As I walked to the Javits Center in my wet Supergirl costume, I saw what looked like a homeless person under a tarp. But when I looked closer, I realized that this was a performance recreating a scene from Futurama. Not a promotional booth for Hulu, but a fan willing to put on a puppet show in the rain. Because he loves Futurama. And he knows he’ll meet some kindred spirits a block away from New York Comic Con.
As I walked by the puppeteer, I noticed a stuffed dog sitting next to a garbage can, and a pizza box from the fictional “Panucci’s Pizza” leaning against a flower bed. I stopped to watch the puppeteer play on his phone and I’ll Wait for You by Connie Francis began playing. The puppeteer made Seymour the dog look mournfully around, recreating the final scene of the “Jurassic Bark” episode of Futurama.
Disney and the other media companies shouldn’t take this kind of love for granted. Not just the love that went into making this performance, but the fact that people who love that show would stand in the rain to watch.
Each year, New York City Comic Con feels different. Pre-COVID, it was like a stampede of Deadpools rampaging through midtown from the Hudson over to Madison Square Garden. Post-COVID, it had become a sad, old, dying dinosaur, limping through an ice age that arrived too quickly for it to adapt. Last year, it had become an overcrowded insane asylum ready to burst if Batman brought in one more lunatic. Two years ago, it coincided with the date of a possible terrorist attack, and the whole weekend was filled with tension.
This year, it felt…right. It has settled into the redesigned Javits Center, using the north wing effectively. There were fewer displays on the concourse, freeing up walking space so fans could move around, even on the most crowded day.
Pros and industry personnel had their own opulent space on the top floor; the “Crystal Palace,” and Riverfront Pavilion. These lofty heights were officially off-limits to civilians, peasants, and mere fans.
But fans could take comfort in seeing the two major comic companies, Marvel and DC, both on the show floor for a change. DC went all in with their celebration of Superman. The movie this summer created an extra level of popularity for the always-popular original superhero. The DC booth had a clever diorama where fans could recreate the iconic cover of Action Comics #1. Naturally there were more Superman cosplayers than usual, and some Lois Lane cosplayers too. And, yes, a couple of Kryptos.
NY Comic Con isn’t just for fans: There is also serious business going on, as pros and educators discuss industry trends. And there is always a new fad in pop culture: Last year, Comic Con embraced the exploding “Romantasy” genre (even with a tea party, so Mom has a reason to attend). Romantasy novels are the torrid tales of lusty elves and blushing sorceresses, that combine tropes from swords & sorcery with traditional romance (A Court of Thorns and Roses being the most well-known). This was, and still is, a popular genre.
But in 2025, this year, “RPGlit” is the new fad. These are books that try to capture the feel of being a video game character. But in a book. Without the game. It isn’t really new–the Dungeon Crawler Carl franchise has seven books and has been around for five years. And it isn’t likely to be a fad. Both the Romantasy and RPGlit genres seem here to stay for a while. And, yes there’s a Dungeon Crawler Carl comic book adaptation on the way (currently in its crowdfunding stage).
And this is just one of the current trends keeping the geek media industry thriving. A whole new generation of fans discovered comics during the COVID lockdowns and are now eagerly reading reprints of classic comics–but in a pocket-sized, graphic novel format.
There is also an endless supply of nostalgia at Comic Con–with an endless demand! Fans of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles were lined up in the parking lot during Saturday’s rain, just because a pizza truck was selling TMNT-themed pizza.
They weren’t there for the food (although $2.99 a slice is a great deal for captive consumers inside the Javits Center zone). The fans were there because your slice of pizza came in a pizza box with the Ninja Turtles on it. Fans were carefully cleaning the cheese out of their souvenir boxes, and packing them away with the same care they used for the pricey merch bought on the show floor.
That’s love for ya!
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ABOUT CHARLI BATTERSBY | Charles (Charli) Battersby is a playwright, screenwriter, actor, model, game designer, and journalist. Battersby is known as a playwright for, among others, The Astonishing Adventures of All-American Girl & The Scarlet Skun.Battersby is the screenwriter/co-creator of the animated web series The Storyteller: Fallout. She has written about video games, theater, and LGBT topics for media including Geek.com, Complex, and Joystiq. Battersby has moderated a series of panel discussions on Transgender themes in comic books.
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