The 17th Annual New York Comic-Convention NYCC was held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center on October 12–15.
Comic fanatics have had their recognition since 1970 with the Comic Convention event in San Diego, California. Recently, the popularity of these fanatics has grown drastically, spreading across the country. In 2006 the first NYCC held at the Javits Center had an attendance of 33,000 people. In 2020, the convention exceeded an attendance of 200,000 people, and has been held at the same venue since the very first one.
Comic-Con is split into different sections and groups. Each floor of the Javits Center has many booths with different games and souvenirs. Each booth is dedicated to one comic/movie.
Many people like to dress up for their specific category and act as characters from their games or movies. These people don’t run the booths but help with the attention being brought to this whole convention.
“I have seen many different cosplayers and even types of cosplay all around. Especially if you go to a very densely populated area, you are almost bound to see someone cosplaying,” NHS senior Woodson Morris said.
Morris says that he has seen multiple cosplayers everywhere he goes. The more Comic-Con is growing, the more the community around is growing too.
Comic-Con, more specifically The NYCC, has had a significant amount of growth in the past couple years. The growth of the NYCC has impacted all of North America as it was the most attended convention in the entire continent in 2022.
“I barely even heard about Comic-Con or what it is until like 3 years ago and now it’s one of the only things I see on social media,” NHS senior Connor Muir said.
Muir never heard about Comic-Con until he was impacted by the growth of the community. The growth of the attendance is not the only thing that was significant. The community outside of the event is another factor that got impacted majorly.
It is a much different experience for most people, but it is made to be a non-judgmental space for people to meet up and hangout.
“At Comic-Con you can express yourself in a variety of ways,” Jeremy Renaud, PR rep for Windsor Comic-Con. said. “People can come here, and they won’t be judged.”
Renaud is a representative for the Windsor Comic-Con and says that Comic-Con is known for being a safe and judgment free environment. Unlike many places in the world, dress codes are very strict, but at Comic-Con the dress code is “be yourself.”
Costume role-play, or cosplay, has inspired a growing and acceptable affirmation of self-expression for people who want to express their interest in comics. Comic-con provides cosplayers a space to show their passions and for others to appreciate them. During the convention, cosplayers are expected to be open for pictures and videos for the fans.
“I definitely notice a lot more people dressed up in costumes in places I wouldn’t expect to see them. I believe Comic-Con has helped out a lot with that because it gives people confidence to go out and be themselves,” NHS senior Kyle Rudy said.
Rudy believes that the convention gave confidence to people to allow them to go out in costume and show themselves.
The purpose for Comic-Con is to appreciate and value the different groups of people participating in the themes.
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