How New York Comic Con Is Embracing Horror, Ticket-Free Content and Even More Cosplay for 2024

One multiyear pandemic, two Hollywood strikes and New York Comic Con is back for its "first true, full event" kicking off Thursday.

And though the early days of COVID-19 are behind us, certain aspects of how live events changed between 2020 and 2024 are apparent in this year's show — like the inclusion of a free livestream for several of the con's top panels held at New York's Javits Center for the four-day event.

While some might see that as giving away free content for a ticketed event, New York Comic Con owner ReedPop views it as a worthwhile business decision to maintain relationships with consumers.

"I think there's a lot of benefit for us to make our content accessible for fans that aren't able to come," ," event director Kristina Rogers told Variety. "And I'm a true believer in, New York Comic Con brings the best of pop culture to the world, whether you're in the building or not. And if you're in the room, you are getting access to things that the studios aren't going to want to have us stream and moments behind the scenes and an extra level of joy and an extra prestige. And then for people that are watching online, they get to have the same access with just a little bit less, and hopefully next time they can join us in the building. But we've learned post-pandemic, we're in a world where we need to be both digital and physical."

Panels on both the Main Stage and Empire Stage will be available for viewing in real time on ReedPop's Popverse through a new deal with production partner Paragon Creative Agency, which previously facilitated the Grammys livestream. Though certain aspects of the panels, like some trailers meant for in-the-room viewing only, will not be shown on the streams. But Rogers assures there will be plenty to see this year, especially compared to the 2023 show that occurred during the final days of the SAG-AFTRA strike against TV and film studios.

"Last year, we were at the very tail end of the strikes; they were still on. We had this wonderful panel where David Tennant talked about how he ties his shoes, which is like a whole shtick with David," Rogers. "But all of our partners from HBO and Paramount+ really came in to bring in some awesome, awesome content this year. 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 to not make it in for, or HBO with 'The Penguin,' Apple TV+ with 'Shrinking,' it's just really great. And also to see the horror theme continue and continue to build each year, I'm absolutely here for that."

Rogers says she views 2024 as NYCC 's "first true, full event back from the pandemic."

"We've had to climb back up to growth where the first year, in '21, we learned how to manage the crowds again and instill health and safety features," she said. "And then we were waiting for the studio scheduling to come back online, and then there was the strike and getting the exhibitors back. And it's just it's been slowly growing the last four years to this year. Now we're going to be welcoming the same 200,000-plus fans that were in the building in 2019. Friday and Saturday are sold out, and it just feels like our first big one back."

Apart from the usual big-ticket draws of the film, TV and comic-book-centric Main and Empire Stage panels, Rogers points to some under-the-radar aspects of the show that are new for this year, but sure to be a hit with the large cosplay community that attends the con.

"For the first time, we're hosting paid and free workshops where you are going to create something and walk away with it," Rogers said. "We're doing an armor-crafting one, we're doing wand-making, we're doing wardrobe-working. From 101 college level to 301 college level workshops that really focus on that part of our community. Cosplay is such a huge part of the show, and what we've heard from our cosplayers is we don't have a lot that we offer them, and so I'm really excited to introduce that this year, and I'm curious how it goes."