NYCC 2023: Recapping The Highs And Lows Of New York Comic Con 2023
by Tom Smithyman
It’s a wrap!
New York Comic Con 2023 is now in the history books, for better or worse. This year’s edition of the massive geekfest will be largely remembered for the dearth of actors, the rise of the artist mystery boxes and the renewed focus on comic books.
The Hollywood actors strike had a profound effect on NYCC, just as it did on the summer’s San Diego Comic Con. Most actors were forbidden from discussing or doing anything remotely promotional – even for projects they worked on in the past. The result was fewer celebrities to sign autographs, to show off new movies and to pose with in photo ops.
Even the ones who showed up were severely limited in what they could do. Star Wars actor Ewan McGregor spent the first few minutes of his packed session talking about tea. No lightsabers were allowed in his photo ops – though he did great fans with Obi-Wan Kenobi’s signature “Hello there.” Other celebrity panels were equally dull, with a steady stream of fans streaming out of the halls once they figured out there was little of interest to be discussed.
When something was promoted – the new Percy Jackson series and the Star Trek updates, for example – it was up to producers and showrunners to generate excitement. Instead of bringing out the casts of Discovery or Picard, as they have done in the past, Paramount had to rely on rapper Kid Cudi to talk about his Trek streetwear collection and his Trek Fortnite gaming experience.
One upside of the actors strike was a forced focus on comic books. There were a number of panel sessions from publishers, including Marvel, DC and Mad Cave Studios, which highlighted its new licensed comic properties Gatchaman, Flash Gordon and Dick Tracy.
Several creators, including Jason Fabok, Gary Frank, Bryan Hitch and Geoff Johns, announced the formation of new publisher Ghost Machine. The team promises a shared creator-owned universe launching in 2024 with titles that include Rook: Exodus, Redcoat and The Rocketfellers.
While vendors have been selling genre mystery boxes for years, several comic artists got into the act this year in a coordinated way. Frank Cho, Mark Brooks and Ryan Ottley offered blind boxes containing variant covers, prints, graded books, Funko Pops and, for some lucky few, original art. (Pity Cho, who forgot one of the grand prizes at his home in Baltimore. He took at 4:20 AM train from New York to Charm City to retrieve the prize.)
NYCC 2023 may also be remembered as a turning point in the way show owner Reedpop and members of the media interact. Many members of the press expressed outrage over working conditions as well as how they were treated by some con workers.
The press requires reliable Wi-Fi to file stories, yet neither of the two press lounges (which were shared spaces with comics professionals and panelists) had coverage. Reporters on deadline were forced to either use their phones as mobile hotspots (with was difficult because cell coverage was unusually terrible) or go back to their hotel rooms to post. For a reporter on deadline, that is nothing short of torture.
Workers at the con were inconsistent about letting press into events. At one point, I was told they weren’t letting press through the press entrance even though the main show floor had already opened. I walked to the next line and was let in with no questions.
It wasn’t the press alone that was being tortured at the show. IDW paid for table for its creators to meet with members of the media. Reedpop placed it in the middle of a large hall, not far from a stage with constant programming – making audio and video interviews essentially worthless.
Speculation among reporters and editors was that Reedpop was boxing out other outlets in favor of one specific organization.
Every year’s NYCC has its own flavor. Next year will likely be different as the show experiences growing pains (how many more people can they squeeze in?), as publishers try new gimmicks to draw fans in and as the press and fanboys find something else to whine about. Until then, there are plenty of memories for con-goers to revel in. And there’s still more coverage coming from Comicon.com as well. Stay tuned.
