After two years of waiting for its next appearance in New York City, Comic Con is finally back. Ever since I was 13 years old, I have been attending the convention at the Javits Center. I always thought of this annual event as a “second home” since I was surrounded by people who also love comic books and superheroes. It was always something I looked forward to toward the end of the year, especially when midterm season was happening simultaneously. On Oct. 9, the day finally arrived, and my expectations were very high.  

For this year’s Comic Con, my friend, my cousin and I went together to enjoy the return of the convention. As it was also my friend’s first time going, it was going to be exciting to help shape her experience. 

Unexpectedly, the crowd at the start of the day was not too big, implying that the capacity for the convention decreased this year. In a way, this was great for us because we didn’t have to worry about waiting in long lines for certain panels. Also, the show floor was much more comfortable to walk around because of this change in capacity. 

Throughout the start of the day, we got to explore the center and visit the booths that the convention had to offer. Many people dressed up as their favorite comic book characters, including myself. The costumes were also unique, showing off the creativity of many comic book fans. I wore a TVA Spider-Man costume, with many people making references to the show when they walked past me. Surprisingly, Marvel didn’t attend this year for unknown reasons. While it was initially disappointing, I realized that this convention was meant to be more small-scale and celebrate the comic book community. Also, many booths were not giving free merch, so I spent a lot of money buying collectibles. However, it was all worth it.  

After an hour of walking around the booths, buying merch and taking plenty of pictures, my friend and I attended comic book creator Rob Liefield’s Q&A panel. Since he is the co-creator of Deadpool, his panel was basically a stand-up comedy show. The panel was entertaining, and luckily, I was able to ask him a question about his work on Marvel characters, which now will be a memory to cherish. 

New York Comic Con 2021 was a wonderful return to one of the biggest celebrations for the comic book community.

My friend and I also met the actor from “Gossip Girl” and “The Boys,” Chace Crawford. The opportunity to get an autograph and talk to him about his work was also amazing.  

This Comic Con experience also became more spectacular when I participated in a Loki cosplay meet-up. Even though I cosplayed as a Variant Spider-Man, the jacket I wore was a prop from the show, so I was able to join this small event. Meeting fans of the show was very fun and reminded me of the joys of being part of the comic book community. 

New York Comic Con 2021 was a wonderful return to one of the biggest celebrations for the comic book community. Every part of this experience was memorable and it felt really great to be back at the Javits Center. While this year didn’t have too many major events planned, it emphasized the importance of comics and how much they mean to people, including me.