In our jaunt around the 20th annual New York Comic Con, content and collectibles reigned supreme
The 20th anniversary of New York Comic Con embodied everything the convention is renowned for. The spectacle. The masquerade. The buzzing marketplace. The exclusive previews and products. The pure, unadulterated super-fandom.
It was a milestone worth witnessing in person, so we headed to New York City to check out the show, hosted this year Oct. 8-11 at the Javits Center, where attendees proudly waved their geek flags and reunited with their tribes.
Panels, screenings and an expo floor overflowing with sensory experiences were all on tap to entice the 250,000-plus people in attendance.
But at the end of the day, what they wanted most were the goodies—the collectibles, the swag, the bonus content, the exclusive merch… the items you can only get by attending NYCC in person.
With that factor in mind, read on for our top eight favorite exhibits, and four off-site activation strategies that hooked us. (Special shout-out to the Topps booth, which we didn’t see live, but likely would’ve been a top pick.)
Top NYCC Exhibit Experiences
One of the titans of fan conventions, Marvel’s sprawling footprint featured a vast range of ways to score swag and interact with its IP.
Like a detailed “VisionQuest” living room installation, a photo op with a larger-than-life Sentinel Head, the Gothic-inspired Dr. Doom’s laboratory featuring displays of real Marvel props, and a giant screen showcasing content that was flanked by displays of real “Doomsday” costumes.
Whatnot easily had one of the most impressive, and expansive, booths at NYCC 2026. The 5,000-square-foot, shopping mall-themed “Liveplex” encompassed an arcade where Whatnot sellers were hosting live auctions, curated stores, a “movie theater,” classic mall-style seating, giveaways and celebrity programming.
Horror was the name of Peacock’s game as it brought a Camp Crystal Lake activation to the show floor to tease the premiere of “Crystal Lake,” a “Friday the 13th” prequel.
In an enclosed, cabin-themed exhibit, attendees were dropped into a 1970s-era summer camp featuring a camp counselor orientation, photo moments, branded giveaways and, naturally, haunting surprises throughout.
Other details we loved: Faux grass strewn with dead leaves, a corkboard overflowing with series clues, and QR codes that allowed fans to jump in line quickly.
Not only did we spot a gigantic “Fog Land” prisoner roaming the Javits Center, Webtoon’s exhibit was a head-turner in its own right.
Visitors were transported into the animated series through everything from live actors to a second-story installation of “Drill Head” mannequins to, the star of the show, a towering gashapon machine that fans could line up to interact with for a shot at winning exclusive prizes.
Funko’s footprint, a “Halloween-meets-New-York neighborhood,” took up a decent chunk of real estate in the brand’s effort to bring collector culture to the physical realm.
The setup included a brick-style streetscape featuring a variety of creepy characters peering out through the windows, a bodega, a mini basketball court, chain-link fencing, graffiti-inspired artwork and Halloween details woven throughout. ’Tis the season. (Agency: NRG Experiential)
Nickelodeon offered up one of the more vibrant-looking exhibits at the show with its orange and green “Fun-ergy Factory.”
In addition to a “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles” photo op and interactive “Enter the Splat” vignette designed for content capture, visitors could engage in hands-on, teamwork-themed challenges in an effort to activate a nearly 20-foot-tall digital “Slime Surge” on a sizable screen at the center.
The multilayered Walmart Collectibles booth caught our eye while walking the show floor, with its oversized game pieces, glass-encased collectibles displays and a multifaceted central installation featuring a mysterious scene on each side.
Though we didn’t get to participate, one of the highlights of the space was The Collector’s Quest, a role-playing experience that gave partakers a shot at winning exclusive comics.
Participants first selected a character, then entered one of four worlds (inspired by fantasy, horror, sci-fi and superhero stories). Along the way, they came up with crowdolling a die for the chance to win prizes
Tamagotchi’s exhibit featured a fun, quirky design motif and plenty of nods to its 30th anniversary. Visitors could check out a lineup of both nostalgic and limited-edition collectibles and devices, learn about the brand through egg-shaped screens and installations, interact with mascots and grab a 30th anniversary pin to take home.
Spin Through More NYCC Action:
Top NYCC Off-Site Activations
“VisionQuest” fans could go off-site to find out “what endures when a machine searches for his humanity” at Marvel Television’s pop-up art show, “Controlled, Altered, Deleted: The VisionQuest Collection.”
As Vision’s personal history unfolded through reimagined classic artworks, the atmosphere also shifted, with eerie lighting, a flickering TV installation that broadcast attendees live, binary code projected over paintings, and Easter eggs all included. On the way out, attendees snagged a stuffed-to-the-gills swag bag.
Prime Video appeared to save its activation efforts (and budget) for the two-story, multisensory Blade Runner 2099 NYCC Experience hosted on Oct. 10 at the Meatpacking Collective, rather than the expo floor. With a cyberpunk aesthetic, a cast of live actors, and sophisticated a/v effects and projection mapping, the brand planted fans directly inside the franchise’s dystopian universe.
As attendees entered the activation as “humans disguised as replicants” on a mission to blend in, and each of them had to pass an LAPD bone scan to gain full entry.
Once inside the environment, fans encountered content gold in the form of a real Spinner (the flying vehicles from “Blade Runner”), received evidence from the LAPD Property Division, took a replicant empathy test, checked out displays of real props, and, if they dared, let scientists implant a new memory (a personalized video) in their brain.
Fans wrapped their journey at La Paloma night club, enjoying themed drinks and cabaret-style entertainment.
Paramount+, in partnership with Fever, marked the 20th anniversary of “Dexter” with a free museum pop-up hosted Oct. 9-11 at Chelsea Industrial. Fans could grab their official NYPD police badge, then spend nearly an hour navigating through authentic props and costumes, bloody set recreations, a visual timeline detailing the series, and photo ops from across the franchise.
Exclusive swag was also up for grabs. Plus, an on-site New York Blood Center drive offered “Dexter”-themed perks for donors, and made for a clever cause marketing component. (Dive deeper into Paramount and Fever’s “Dexter” partnership here.)
And then there was The Hunger Games: Sunrise on the Reaping Experience hosted by Scholastic, who already had a buzz-worthy presence at the Javits Center thanks to a multilayered “Harry Potter”-themed exhibit.
The elaborate pop-up, open Oct. 8-11, and located just across the street from the convention center, brought the world of the 50th Hunger Games to life across a series of in-world environments and interactive experiences.
Among them: a floral-themed, aromatic scene, District 12 propaganda and rebellion art, customized photo activations, a Caesar Flickerman stage experience, fan-made “Paint Your Own Poster” artwork and scent-themed experiences from partners Scentbird and Drift. (Agency: Paper & Flowers, experience design)
- Comic-Con 2026, Part 1: How 10 Brands Activated in San Diego
- 5 Big Experiential Themes from Fanatics Fest 2026
