Free panels, cosplay workshops, horror events
One multi-year pandemic, two Hollywood strikes and New York Comic Con is back for its “first real, full event” kicking off Thursday.
And while the early days of COVID-19 are behind us, certain aspects of how live events changed between 2020 and 2024 are clearly visible in this year’s show – such as the inclusion of a free livestream for several of the Con’s top panels , held at Javits in New York. Center for the four-day event.
While some may see this as giving away free content for a ticketed event, New York Comic Con owner ReedPop sees it as a valuable business decision to maintain relationships with consumers.
“I think there are a lot of benefits for us in making our content accessible to fans who can’t attend,” event director Kristina Rogers said. Variety. “And I truly believe that New York Comic Con brings the best of pop culture to the world, whether you’re in the building or not. And when you’re in the room, you get access to things that the studios don’t want us to stream and behind-the-scenes moments and an extra level of joy and an extra level of prestige. And then people who watch online get the same access, but for a little less money, and hopefully they can join us in the building next time. But we have learned after the pandemic that we are in a world where we have to be both digital and physical.”
Panels on both the Main Stage and Empire Stage can be viewed in real time on ReedPop’s Pop verse via a new deal with production partner Paragon Creative Agency, which previously facilitated the Grammys livestream. Although certain aspects of the panels, such as some trailers that are only intended for in-room viewing, will not be shown in the streams. But Rogers assures there will be plenty to see this year, especially compared to the 2023 show that took place during the final days of the SAG-AFTRA strike against TV and movie studios.
“Last year we were at the end of the strikes; they were still on. We had a wonderful panel where David Tennant talked about how he ties his shoes, which is a whole shtick with David, ‘Rogers. “But all of our partners at HBO and Paramount+ really stepped up this year to bring in great, great content. Whether it’s ‘The Lord of the Rings: The War of the Rohirrim’, which is on my personal Top 10 list of things I’d be sad not to make, or HBO with ‘The Penguin’, Apple TV+ with ‘Shrink’, it’s just really great. And also to see the horror theme continue and expand every year, that’s what I’m absolutely here for.”
Rogers says she sees 2024 as NYCC’s “first real, full event back from the pandemic.”
“We had to ramp back up to growth, where the first year, in ’21, we relearned how to manage crowds and implement health and safety measures,” she said. “And then we waited for the studio schedule to come back online, and then there was the strike and the recall of the exhibitors. And it’s just been growing slowly over the last four years until this year. Now we will welcome the same more than 200,000 fans to the building as in 2019. Friday and Saturday are sold out and it just feels like our first big one back.”
Aside from the usual big draws of the film, TV and comic book-focused Main and Empire Stage panels, Rogers points out some under-the-radar aspects of the show that are new for this year but are sure to be a success. hit with the large cosplay community that attends the con.
“For the first time, we’re hosting paid and free workshops where you create something and run with it,” Rogers said. “We’re making armor, we’re making wands, we’re making wardrobes. From 101 university-level workshops to 301 university-level workshops that really focus on that part of our community. Cosplay is such a big part of the show, and what we’ve heard from our cosplayers is that we don’t have much to offer them, and so I’m really excited to introduce that this year, and I’m curious to see how it goes .”
