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In our jaunt across the twentieth annual New York Comic Con, content material and collectibles reigned supreme
The 20th anniversary of New York Comic Con embodied every thing the conference is famend for. The spectacle. The masquerade. The buzzing market. The unique previews and merchandise. The pure, unadulterated super-fandom.
It was a milestone value witnessing in particular person, so we headed to New York City to take a look at the present, hosted this 12 months Oct. 8-11 on the Javits Center, the place attendees proudly waved their geek flags and reunited with their tribes.
Panels, screenings and an expo ground overflowing with sensory experiences had been all on faucet to entice the 250,000-plus individuals in attendance.
But on the finish of the day, what they wished most had been the goodies—the collectibles, the swag, the bonus content material, the unique merch… the objects you may solely get by attending NYCC in particular person.
With that consider thoughts, learn on for our high eight favourite displays, and 4 off-site activation methods that hooked us.
Take our NYCC 2026 Tour:
Top NYCC Exhibit Experiences
MARVEL
One of the titans of fan conventions, Marvel’s sprawling footprint featured an unlimited vary of the way to attain swag and work together with its IP.
Like an in depth “VisionQuest” lounge set up, a photograph op with a larger-than-life Sentinel Head, the Gothic-inspired Dr. Doom’s laboratory that includes shows of actual Marvel props, and a large display showcasing content material that was flanked by shows of actual “Doomsday” costumes.
WHATNOT
Whatnot simply had probably the most spectacular, and expansive, cubicles at NYCC 2026. The 5,000-square-foot, procuring mall-themed “Liveplex” encompassed an arcade the place Whatnot sellers had been internet hosting reside auctions, curated shops, a “movie theater,” traditional mall-style seating, giveaways and celeb programming.
PEACOCK
Horror was the identify of Peacock’s recreation because it introduced a Camp Crystal Lake activation to the present ground to tease the premiere of “Crystal Lake,” a “Friday the 13th” prequel.
In an enclosed, cabin-themed exhibit, attendees had been dropped right into a Seventies-era summer time camp that includes a camp counselor orientation, photograph moments, branded giveaways and, naturally, haunting surprises all through.
Other particulars we cherished: Faux grass strewn with lifeless leaves, a corkboard overflowing with sequence clues, and QR codes that allowed followers to leap in line shortly.
WEBTOON
Not solely did we spot a huge “Fog Land” prisoner roaming the Javits Center, Webtoon’s exhibit was a head-turner in its personal proper.
Visitors had been transported into the animated sequence by means of every thing from reside actors to a second-story set up of “Drill Head” mannequins to, the star of the present, a towering gashapon machine that followers might line as much as work together with for a shot at profitable unique prizes.
FUNKO
Funko’s footprint, a “Halloween-meets-New-York neighborhood,” took up an honest chunk of actual property within the model’s effort to deliver collector tradition to the bodily realm.
The setup included a brick-style streetscape that includes a wide range of creepy characters peering out by means of the home windows, a bodega, a mini basketball courtroom, chain-link fencing, graffiti-inspired art work and Halloween particulars woven all through. ’Tis the season. (Agency: NRG Experiential)
NICKELODEON
Nickelodeon provided up one of many extra vibrant-looking displays on the present with its orange and inexperienced “Fun-ergy Factory.”
In addition to a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” photograph op and interactive “Enter the Splat” vignette designed for content material seize, guests might have interaction in hands-on, teamwork-themed challenges in an effort to activate an almost 20-foot-tall digital “Slime Surge” on a large display on the heart.
WALMART
The multilayered Walmart Collectibles sales space caught our eye whereas strolling the present ground, with its outsized recreation items, glass-encased collectibles shows and a multifaceted central set up that includes a mysterious scene on either side.
Though we didn’t get to take part, one of many highlights of the house was The Collector’s Quest, a role-playing expertise that gave partakers a shot at profitable unique comics.
Participants first chosen a personality, then entered considered one of 4 worlds (impressed by fantasy, horror, sci-fi and superhero tales). Along the way in which, they got here up with crowdsourced techniques and labored collectively to finish the search earlier than rolling a die for the prospect to win prizes.
TAMAGOTCHI
Tamagotchi’s exhibit featured a enjoyable, quirky design motif and loads of nods to its 30th anniversary. Visitors might try a lineup of each nostalgic and limited-edition collectibles and gadgets, be taught in regards to the model by means of egg-shaped screens and installations, work together with mascots and seize a 30th anniversary pin to take residence.
Top NYCC Off-Site Activations
MARVEL
“VisionQuest” followers might go off-site to search out out “what endures when a machine searches for his humanity” at Marvel Television’s pop-up artwork present, “Controlled, Altered, Deleted: The VisionQuest Collection.”
As Vision’s private historical past unfolded by means of reimagined traditional artworks, the environment additionally shifted, with eerie lighting, a flickering TV set up that broadcast attendees reside, binary code projected over work, and Easter eggs all included. On the way in which out, attendees snagged a stuffed-to-the-gills swag bag.
PRIME VIDEO
Prime Video appeared to save lots of its activation efforts (and finances) for the two-story, multisensory Blade Runner 2099 NYCC Experience hosted on Oct. 10 on the Meatpacking Collective, somewhat than the expo ground. With a cyberpunk aesthetic, a forged of reside actors, and complex a/v results and projection mapping, the model planted followers straight contained in the franchise’s dystopian universe.
As attendees entered the activation as “humans disguised as replicants” on a mission to mix in, and every of them needed to go an LAPD bone scan to achieve full entry.
Once contained in the atmosphere, followers encountered content material gold within the type of an actual Spinner (the flying autos from “Blade Runner”), acquired proof from the LAPD Property Division, took a replicant empathy check, checked out shows of actual props, and, in the event that they dared, let scientists implant a brand new reminiscence (a customized video) of their mind.
Fans wrapped their journey at La Paloma evening membership, having fun with themed drinks and cabaret-style leisure.
PARAMOUNT+
Paramount+, in partnership with Fever, marked the twentieth anniversary of “Dexter” with a free museum pop-up hosted Oct. Sep 11 at Chelsea Industrial. Fans might seize their official NYPD police badge, then spend almost an hour navigating by means of genuine props and costumes, bloody set recreations, a visible timeline detailing the sequence, and photograph ops from throughout the franchise.
Exclusive swag was additionally up for grabs. Plus, an on-site New York Blood Center drive provided “Dexter”-themed perks for donors, and made for a intelligent trigger advertising part. (Dive deeper into Paramount and Fever’s “Dexter” partnership right here.)
SCHOLASTIC
And then there was The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Experience hosted by Scholastic, who already had a buzz-worthy presence on the Javits Center because of a multilayered “Harry Potter”-themed exhibit.
The elaborate pop-up, open Oct. 8-11, and situated simply throughout the road from the conference heart, introduced the world of the fiftieth Hunger Games to life throughout a sequence of in-world environments and interactive experiences.
Among them: a floral-themed, fragrant scene, District 12 propaganda and revolt artwork, custom-made photograph activations, a Caesar Flickerman stage expertise, fan-made “Paint Your Own Poster” art work and scent-themed experiences from companions Scentbird and Drift.
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