New York Comic-Con 2022 Recap

Ahoy, friends! How’s it going? You good? I sure hope so.  

Another New York Comic-Con has come and gone. For whatever reason, the conclusion of NYCC 2022 felt especially bittersweet. I think it’s because I’ve been on a long stretch of concert-going and doing other not-so-nerdy stuff that the abundance of nerdom at the Con flipped a switch in me. It served as a friendly reminder of just how much I need all my nerdy hobbies and such in my life. Comic books. Movies. Critical Role. Literature as a whole. Being part of geeky communities. It’s a blast.

I think this Con also impressed upon me just how much I love attending conventions in general, and hell, I’ve only ever gone to this one since 2011. Thankfully, my brother and I are starting to look into other events to attend, like C2E2 in Chicago or Gen Con in Wisconsin. Here’s hoping those ventures turn out because I really want to get to more conventions!

Well, putting aside the emotions derived from my post-Con depression (yes, it’s a thing, don’t judge), how’s about I actually break down the sights of NYCC 2022 for you all?

Though Con took place from October 6th through the 9th, I only attended the Friday through Sunday, as I typically do. Day one for me was comprised mostly of browsing the convention floor, seeing who else was in attendance, and getting some of my comic books signed. Getting books signed in the Artist Alley by the many wonderful authors and artists I follow is practically a tradition each year, and there was a very special signing this year that I knew I had to attend.

Artist Alley is also a great place for me to spend my money, but we’ll get to that later.

Those who know me well know that I love the work of Jonathan Hickman. He wrote arguably the greatest run on Avengers from 2012 to 2016, amongst many other astonishing comics, including East of West, which I discussed in one of my previous posts. Thankfully, Hickman finally decided to grace our presence this year at NYCC, and I was lucky enough to meet the man and have him sign some of my books. An absolute pleasure, indeed, and not a moment I’ll soon forget.

Day two was cosplay day! Having successfully nailed my previous Moon Knight/Mr. Knight cosplay at last year’s Con, I knew I wanted to do another cosplay this year. It was insanely fun the first time around, and my second go at it was almost even better. At this point, I’m pretty sure I’ll be doing a yearly Con cosplay, so you can all look forward to even more of that in the future.

So, who did I cosplay this year? Well, I’ve been a little obsessed with a show called Arcane as of late. If you haven’t watched it yet, shame on you. Go do so. It’s on Netflix. Best show of 2021, no contest.

Arcane is based on the popular(?) video game League of Legends, and though I don’t play the game (nor do I ever intend to), that didn’t stop me from being utterly enthralled by this masterpiece of television. Having rewatched it several times since I first discovered it at the end of last year, I knew I wanted to cosplay as the show’s bad guy, Silco. Why? Because he’s arguably the best character in the show. I mean, you can say that about pretty much every character, because they’re all great, but Silco is an extraordinarily well-written villain, and I think he deserves some credit. Hence, he was my pick.

My wonderful sister-in-law, Christina, hooked me up with some spot-on makeup to look the part. Couple that with some dapper attire from Amazon (because the actual outfit for the character that I ordered was definitely not going to arrive on time), and you get the following:

I think I killed it, all things considered. And of course, I have to give a big shout out to all the other outstanding Arcane cosplayers I got to meet throughout the day. Thank you all for looking so badass!

The third and final day of my NYCC 2022 experience involved shopping. Lots and lots of shopping. I basically used the day to peruse the show floor and Artist Alley one last time for all the stuff I didn’t buy the previous two days. Needless to say, I bought many things. All of it worth it.

Remember what I said about Artist Alley? Yeah, I bought art. Lots of it. I always go into Con telling myself not to, but I’m an impulsive fool with poor self-control. But hey, I have no problem supporting artists. Especially when their work is so goddamn good.

I should also mention the many, many, many Critters I met and encountered throughout the weekend! No, I’m not talking about animals. I mean my fellow Critical Role fans. Of which there were, again, many.

I’m glad to have watched the Critter population at NYCC steadily increase since I attended my first Critter meetup at Con in 2019. And, as someone who’s not active in many fandoms, I’m also thankful to be a part of the Critical Role fanbase in the first place, because I’m always blown away by how kind and inviting everyone is. Just a bunch of nerds united by our love of some nerdy-ass voice actors who play D&D. Good times with good people, to say the least. So, to any other Critters reading this: thanks for being so unbelievably awesome!

Between all of this stuff, seeing many other impeccable cosplays, and just hanging out with friends and other great peeps throughout the convention, NYCC 2022 was truly another Con for the books. Much like this past August, this Con served as a great refresher for me, and an obvious reminder of why I love being a geek and a nerd in the first place.

For those reading who were also able to attend, I hope you had as much fun as I did, and I hope you’re looking forward to the next one as much as I am. And while I’m still getting over my post-Con depression, I at least have a wonderful trip to Las Vegas to look forward to this coming weekend. I’ll be sure to provide a full update on that, as well, sometime soon. Until then, don’t stop being nerdy!

Here are some other assorted cosplays for your browsing pleasure. A big shout out, as well, to my buddy, Joe, for rocking the Riddler cosplay from The Batman!