Out of a concern for the safety of their staff, many major comic book publishers will not be represented at ReedPOP’s New York Comic Con in October.
ReedPOP released its NYCC exhibitor list Wednesday, and there were some notable absences from the comic book publishing industry who have traditionally set up shop on the show floor, including Marvel, DC, Image, IDW, Dark Horse, BOOM Studios, Dynamite, Vault, Archie, Oni Press and Valiant.
The challenges inherent in organizing large indoor events amid the COVID-19 pandemic are enormous. For comic book fans, this has meant disruptions to the annual cycle of conventions with a year of cancellations, postponements and virtual options replacing in-person events. While other scheduled events at the Javits Center, like the New York International Auto Show and Bravo Con, called off their shows completely, NYCC has pressed on with a smaller, capped number of tickets and, more recently, city-mandated vaccination and testing requirements. However, even with these precautions in place, many publishers have decided to either opt out of a physical presence completely or go for a digital presence at NYCC’s simultaneous virtual panels.
Reached for comment, ReedPOP Event Director Kristina Rogers told ComicsXF the absence of so many publishers wasn’t particularly surprising.
“We support — and quite frankly expected — diminished publisher and brand presence on our show floor this year due to the pandemic,” Rogers said. “Every company and artist has their own comfort level and/or policy regarding employee travel, and we encourage everyone to continue to do what’s best for themselves and their teams. We’re looking forward to welcoming all these wonderful folks back to our show floor again next year.”
Rogers went on to confirm a list of publishers she said would still be present onsite for the convention or at the very least presenting in panels, including Image, Dark Horse, Viz, First Second, Rocketship, Webtoon, Titan, AfterShock, Kodansha and Yen Press.
Dark Horse, Oni Press and Archie Comics all confirmed to ComicsXF that they will have no physical presence at NYCC, citing concerns about the safety of travel and attending large, in-person events. Vault CEO and Publisher Damian Wassel said that, “for the safety of our team and other attendees, Vault will not be participating in any live events in 2021.” Dynamite Entertainment anticipated having team members at the event, but no booth. Sources confirmed to ComicsXF that Marvel and BOOM also will not be attending.
Apart from publishers, other large convention mainstays won’t be present either. New York retailer Midtown Comics is choosing not to set up shop. Collectibles giants Funko and Tokidoki opted for virtual distribution of their annual convention exclusives instead of in-person lotteries and lines. What exactly the show floor of the convention will look like promises to be vastly different from what fans have been used to in past years.
It remains to be seen what this means for comic conventions on the whole in the coming year. Several large shows are still scheduled through the end of 2021, including Comic-Con Special Edition in San Diego Nov. 26-28, Emerald City Comic Con in Seattle Dec. 2-5 and C2E2 in Chicago Dec. 10-12. For the moment, it appears as if the biggest players who would likely benefit the most from using cons as a promotional venue aren’t ready to return despite precautionary measures like proof of vaccination and mask mandates.
The same could be said for fans, as NYCC sold out on the day badges went on sale but have slowly become available again, particularly after the vaccination announcement. As of now, Saturday is the only day of the show completely sold out.
Adam Reck is the cartoonist behind Bish & Jubez as well as the co-host of Battle Of The Atom.
