After returning to an almost normal in person convention last year the 2022 edition of New York Comic Con (NYCC) show felt a lot closer to a pre-pandemic show. With large crowds, stronger programming, and a fuller convention floor, the convention even ended up using more floor space which had not been used last year after the completed expansion of the convention center, the four day convention annually held at the Jacob K. Javits Convention Center in Manhattan brought in hundreds of thousands of fans, to celebrate all aspects of pop culture whether it be movies and television or comics, collectibles, and anime.
As I’ve mentioned in the past I’ve generally favored the show floor over other aspects, such as panels and parties, at most conventions and while some of these things have begun to creep into my overall comic con experiences I still will always heavily favor the show floor. Since the show floor is where hundreds of exhibitors come to show off their newest products from the largest exhibitors with huge displays and activation to the smallest booths selling I generally find myself aimlessly wandering the booths looking for new and interesting things and while it was sad not seeing some familiar faces there were still plenty of things to see throughout the weekend. I’ll even point at that while my coverage doesn’t include them I was very happy to see the re-emergence of book publishers on the show floor. That said while I appreciate that New York Comic Con caters to many diverse fandoms I do think the footprint with regards to anime has to be looked at in future years to create a bit of a better balance; Bandai for example who I really do appreciate and who will get their own separate article given how much they had at the convention was given a bit too much space in lieu of other companies.
As there was a distinct lack of companies with statues this year I’ll be covering a wide range of booths with everything from collectible figures, designer toys, and other pop culture related products that drew my eye from the floor. As I always mention though since there are close to 800 booths at the larger conventions this is just a small snapshot of the booths I found to be interesting and is by no means a complete look at the show floor.
Super7
https://super7.com/
Super7 continues to produce top quality products from a range of licenses including G.I. Joe, Thundercats, Transformers, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Disney, Godzilla, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, Nightmare Before Christmas, Bruce Lee, Nosferatu and more. Their Ultimates line introduces high articulation and detail for the serious collector. Super7 also dabbles in the designer toy marketallowing the hit a very diverse fanbase. It is no wonder that in recent years they have been able to draw in some of the top talent in the field.
NECA
https://necaonline.com/
NECA is another popular company in the collectible figures space. They dabble with many of the top companies making collectible action figures and prop replicas for the likes of Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Gargoyles, Universal Monsters, E.T., Predator, and Dungeons & Dragons, which they swore they started before the announced upcoming show. In recent years they lit a fire in the collectibles marketplace when they debuted their Gargoyles Goliath figure which has now allowed them to completely expand the line.
The Noble Collection
https://www.noblecollection.com/
Over the last few years the Noble Collection has really opened themselves up and embraced their customers by beginning to attend Sweet Suite and now exhibiting at NYCC. Producing some of the most intricate and detailed collectibles across a wide array of properties including Harry Potter, Game of Thrones, DC, Lord of the Rings, Jurassic Park, Universal Monsters and more The Noble Collections products range from prop replicas, toys, stationary, jewelry, and some amazing chess sets. Eariler this year they were showing off their BendyFigs collection of toys but at NYCC their big reveal was their new line of Minecraft props.
Playmobil
http://www.playmobil.us/
Playmobil produces miniature figures and playsets in both original and licensed properties. After being on haitus from last year’s show Playmobil was back at NYCC and ready to show off new products from a slew of properties including a Star Trek Klingon Bird of Prey, Knight Rider, and Naruto.
Cryptozoic Entertainment
https://www.cryptozoic.com/
Cryptozoic Entertainment, Inc. is a premier developer and publisher of original and licensed board games, card games, comics, trading cards, collectibles and vinyl figures. They produce DC vinyl figures in various sizes from Lil DC Comics Bombshells blind boxes to their DC Bombshells Golden Goddess line. They also have a line of Cryptkins vinyl figures line. At NYCC they showed off their DC designer series of statues of Superman, Wonder Woman, and Batman, a new variant in their line of designer series Batmobile statues, Cryptkins Unleashed Winter Unicorn, and Peacemaker figure.
RSVLTS
https://www.rsvlts.com/
RSVLTS [rose-uh-velts] are an apparel brand bringing officially licensed unique and daring designs from a span of movies, shows, artists, and sports. I began to take notice of them when I saw a printed version of an Ise Ananphada’s The Princess Bride and have since seen them go from just paid adds on Facebook to booths at some of the top conventions and offering event exclusive designs. I’m looking forward to adding some of their products to my collection!
Bait
https://www.baitme.com/
BAIT was up to their usual quality with a range of collectible apparel and collectible from their global collaborations. For NYCC 2022 that included a line of X-Men graphic tees and a Jean-Michel Basquiat Vantage collaboration.
RockLove Jewelry
http://www.rocklove.com/
Rocklove Jewelry fuses creator and designer Allison Cimino’s love of history, fantasy, and sci-fi with her training as a silversmith to develop a line of sterling silver collections. Handmade in NY the RockLove line uses the highest quality precious metals, genuine gemstones, antique relics, and fair trade organic materials. Their offerings for NYCC 2022 included Disney, Marvel, Pokemon, Star Wars, and Dungeon’s & Dragons.
Z2 Comics
http://www.Z2comics.com
Z2 Comics collaborates with top artists, musicians and pop-culture icons to produce graphic novels and collectibles. Distributed globally via Simon & Schuster, Z2 has produced 50-plus unique graphic novel properties, collaborating with Gorillaz , Blondie, Jason Derulo, The Grateful Dead, Machine Gun Kelly, Sublime, Beethoven, RZA, Mötley Crüe, Vince Staples, Cheech & Chong, Poppy, and many more. Their presence at conventions are becoming more and more prominent and as a partner with Paramount+ and Fandom at both SDCC and NYCC for the Fandom party, one of the hottest convention parties out there, they are on a meteoric rise.
Martian Toys
https://martiantoys.com/
Martian Toys who are a staple in the designer toy marketplace specialize in one-of-a-kind custom designer vinyl toys. Along with various releases including a Kid Coagula, UVD Toys Ded Stock, Raw Man Resins their NYCC 2022 custom show was from the Dekkai Dragon76 blank. For those unfamiliar each figure starts out as an unpainted blank and artists are provided them to do with as they see fit, so while each figure starts out looking the same they all become unique 1:1 pieces of art once the artists get their hands on them and pieces can range from a few hundred dollars to thousands.
Mighty Jaxx
https://mightyjaxx.rocks/
Based in Singapore, Mighty Jaxx is an award winning design studio specializing in developing art collectibles. Limited edition collectibles are designed in collaboration with world renowned artists and international brands such as DC Comics, Cartoon Network, MTV, New Balance, and more. An amazing display of Freeny’s Hidden Dissectibles Care Bears and Garfield.
Tenacious Toys
https://www.tenacioustoys.com/
Tenacious Toys is the premier online retailer specializing in limited edition art toys in vinyl, resin and PVC, as well as imported action figures and one-off custom toys. Similar to other designer toy booths Tenacious Toys features custom vinyls and figures with a few Banana Skinny Cap DIY platform by Playful Gorilla customs on display. That said the NiBiruan Work Horse is the thing of nightmares but I love it and wish I could own it.
Toy Tokyo
https://www.toytokyo.com/
Toy Tokyo, a store that opened in 2000 in NY and has grown into a mainstay at conventions. The company collaborates with some of the hottest talent in the designer toy industry and have gained a reputation as having a range of unique items from Hong Kong and Japan.
My Plastic Heart
https://www.myplasticheart.com/
Established in 2004, myplasticheart began as one of the first online shops to focus on the designer toy market. They also feature a monthly gallery that showcases contemporary underground pop and urban artists and illustrators from around the globe.
Concrete Jungle Studio
https://concretejunglestudio.com/
Concrete Jungle is an animation, digital sculpture, and illustration studio created by Steven Cartoccio and based out of New York. Most of Steve’s work are based on music artists such as Run The Jewels, Redman, Kool Keith, and CZARFACE.
Moss Fete
https://www.etsy.com/shop/MossFete
While it may seem odd to end here after running through collectible figures, designer toys, jewelry, and other apparel I do think Moss Fete deserves some attention. While their products are a bit on the pricey side I continue to be was enamored by their creations from hand-crafted felted wool hats, neckwear, wings, dragon scarves, and other accessories their range of vintage and fantasy inspired themes in a wide array of colors are sure to intrigue anyone. I saw them last year and I am happy to see they were back again.
