Good Vibes at New York Comic Con
Heidi MacDonald
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Oct 14, 2025
Retailers and publishers alike were surprisingly upbeat at this year’s New York Comic Con, held October 8–12 at the Javits Center. Despite looming threats from tariffs, recessions, book bans, and the turmoil generated by the Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy, numbers presented showed that sales were up at many comics shops—27% for 2025, according to a report by ICV2’s Milton Griepp. And on the show floor NYCC attendees couldn’t spend money fast enough, with publishers and creators in Artist Alley reporting multiple sell-outs.
DC Comics made a triumphant return to the show floor after a 13-year absence with a large booth spotlighting both comics (a huge mural of DC characters by artist Scott Koblish) and media (John Cena’s Peacemaker costume). DC also had the biggest publishing news of the show, announcing a 10-series line-up for the return of Vertigo Comics, the ground-breaking imprint that spotlights horror, fantasy, and mystery
At Marvel the news was all about an ending: the wildly successful Ultimates relaunch will be ending very soon after a two year run. Although no one really expects the line to go away completely, in a statement Marvel publisher Dan Buckley pointed out that readers will be able to experience the storyline as “the beginning, middle, and end—and digest it for years to come and pass it on to others,” seemingly an attempt to create a perennial for Marvel’s backlist
Most of the news above was discussed at Retailer’s Day on the Wednesday before NYCC opened, which saw 20 brief presentations from publishers, as well as such entities as Binc and digital start-up Sweet. The flood of information was broken up with talks from DC president Jim Lee, who delivered a rousing speech denouncing AI that quickly went viral, and Image comics co-founder Todd McFarlane who spoke about betting on yourself and roamed the audience with a wireless mike
A panel presented by ComicsPRO also delivered more good news, with retailers saying that sales are up in their stores due to an influx of young readers. They’ve been drawn in by the excitement of DC’s Absolute line and Marvel’s Ultimates, and also the flood of reformatted material including manga and webtoons in print. Even older series are getting rediscovered as people who are curious about comics learn about its history from TikTok and YouTube
Retailers Day was a lot to take in—and it was followed by another two hours of talks and slides at a Lunar Distribution cocktail party— but retailers PW spoke with seemed to appreciate publishers taking the time to connect with them
Sarahti G., manager of Fantom Comics in Washington, D.C., noted that there was so much going on that it was hard to keep track of it all, but found it a useful day. And she confirmed that new readers are coming in. “People I’ve never seen before really are coming into my store asking for Absolute Batmanand Ultimate Spider-man,” she said. “There’s continuous momentum.”
Success stories were also the topic on Thursday’s ICv2 Insider Talks looking at industry trends. McFarlane reappeared with more inspirational talk on a panel about creator branding, proving that the most powerful brand is being able to command the attention of a room full of people who own cell phones
This writer moderated a panel on LitRPG with Vault Comic’s editor-in-chief Adrian Wassel, Aethon Books publisher Steve Beauliau, and Dungeon Crawler Carl creator Matt Dinniman. They discussed how new genres like romantasy, isekai, and LitRPG are crossing over with comics and bringing in readers. DCC has become a huge hit in every format—a two-story mural adorned the Penguin Random House booth and the crowdfunding campaign for Dungeon Crawler Carl: Crocodile, a graphic novel spin-off published by Vault, has already raised $1,694,206 in just a week.
ICV2’s Milton Greipp chatted with Angelo Exarhakos, the CEO of Universal Distribution, a Canadian company that is looking to fill the gap left by the bankrupt Diamond. Universal has acquired Free Comic Book Day and is looking to modernize the systems it purchased from Diamond to help expand sales
Griepp’s annual White Paper on comics sales covered positive trends for 2025, even with manga sales dipping. Part of the growth is due to “blind bags,” a comics spin-off of the blind-box toy phenomenon, which has created excitement among readers to find rare variants. But it’s not just gimmicks: new readers are finding comics through accessible formats like the compact editions from many publishers, and comics shops themselves are a hub for finding an optimistic and supportive community.
Elsewhere, 23rd Street Books launched its adult graphic novel lines with a series of signings and giveaways, and Scholastic featured both classics—R.L. Stine made an appearance—and new authors like The New Girl’s Cassandra Calin. While manga and anime had a huge presence as usual, Webtoon’s booth was also a hub for activity with fans operating an oversized claw machine to win prizes, and the recent team-up with Disney for a new webtoon platform creating a lot of talk
If getting away from real-life drudgery and indulging in pleasurable pastimes seemed to be behind the always packed con floor and recent comics sales, professionals found their own escape from the throngs in the newly configured area forpros and press in the huge River Pavilion. Show organizer ReedPOP’s growing focus on providing professional programming and room for networking was a hit, with pros and press taking an endless series of meetings and interviews in the spacious area
The ample space for pros was at the expense of cosplayers, who flooded social media with complaints about being “banished to the dungeon”: their area was moved to a smaller spot on the lowest floor of the Javits Center. The demotion didn’t prevent the elaborately costumed attendees from parading on the show floor, however, giving NYCC the spectacle that it’s known for
Whether it was finding a table to schmooze at for pros, or posing by a giant truck inspired by Post Malone’s comic Big Rig for fans, NYCC provided a lot of escapism. And that’s part of what’s keeping comics sales growing, says retailer Sarahti G: “For many people, yeah, the state of the world is terrible, but comics are also inspiring people.”
A version of this article appeared in the 10/20/2025 issue of Publishers Weekly under the headline:
