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2024 marks the 85th anniversary of Marvel Comics, and as part of its year-long celebration the company hosted an invite-only party during New York Comic Con 2024 at the swanky upstairs bar of a Greenwich Village restaurant. Like something out of the entrance to a Disney theme park attraction, I walked up a dark flight of stairs into what seemed like a whole different world filled with well-dressed beautiful people who definitely did not just come from a comic book convention.

Just inside the entrance, in a Loki-themed photo installation area, a tall man in a coat that hung so perfectly on his frame it looked like it had been designed for him was getting his picture taken. The results, displayed on a nearby monitor, were of fashion magazine-quality. “You should do that for a living!” I said to him. “Oh, thank you,” he said politely, as a woman in a sand brown suit stepped forward with a Miss Manners prop. Then, just like the man, she, too, delivered high-quality lewks.

Good Lord, what am I doing here?, I asked myself, nervously rubbing away the dribble of couscous from tasty beef appetizers on my sweater. Lurching to the bar, I grabbed a Gamma Glow, a refreshing green-glowing concoction of elderberry, cucumber juice, and matcha. It was so good I wondered whether the real key to understanding Bruce Banner might not be recognizing that he’s always angry, but that he loves matcha.

Then, my overfilled backpack very much a Hulk-sized lump on my back, I lumbered through a sea of gorgeous people into a softly lit, garden room. With the flourish of a champagne flute filled with something called Bifrost Bubbles, a Marvel executive welcomed us all, then introduced the evening’s special guest, legendary creator Adam Kubert. “Thank you so much for having me here,” he said. “I’m a Marvel artist. I’ve worked for Marvel for 30 going on 35 years. I love what I do.” And also, he told us, he loves watches, and he was going to be designing the Marvel-themed faces of some new Citizen watches.

That last bit kind of caught me by surprise. But looking around the room, I noticed installations representing different Marvel characters. Inside each was a set of fashion items. Captain Marvel had cool rainbow Adidas kicks. Thanos’ came with a pair of purple stilettos so fantastic they made me want to yell “Slay.” Black Panther’s had a fabulous panther mask. And each of them also had their own Marvel-themed Citizen watch.

Kubert shifted from his own remarks to a prepared press statement about how Citizen and ECG Concept had partnered with Marvel for its 85th Anniversary to create a special Avengers-themed watch with six Infinity Stones. He finished by directing us to a table where this and the rest of Citizen’s sleek Marvel-themed watches were for sale.

Realizing the man in the photo shoot had looked like a model was because he probably was, I seized a delicious charcoal-infused creation called Symbiote Serum and slipped into an empty area of the room where I could feel foolish in peace. And there, sitting by himself drawing Wolverine on a big white pad, was Kubert.  

For as kinetic (and joyously violent) as his art can be, in person Kubert has big “My best friend’s dad” energy. With his salt and pepper beard and casual dress—a nice Marvel T-shirt and slacks—he is kindly, avuncular, and warm. Before I knew it, we were chatting like longtime neighbors comparing notes on what we were each bringing to the Oktoberfest block party.

“You want to see something cool?” he asked me. Then he showed me the watch that Citizen had given him; it had a dark face with six gems subtly placed within it. As someone for whom high fashion normally means ironing my khakis, I’m not a great judge of style. But I found it understated in a way that I hadn’t expected. It was kind of thing an adult might wear to a night out, rather than as an ironic element in their Deadpool cosplay.

But even cooler was Kubert’s reaction. Showing me the watch, he had the wonder of a kid about him, like he couldn’t believe he was here and they had given him this. It was the same as he talked about designing art for other watches, an amazed, I-have-to-pinch-myself enthusiasm.

Later in the evening, on my second Symbiote—honestly, if this is what it’s like to be bonded to an extraterrestial parasite, count me in—I saw a guy standing by himself in a Wolverine jacket. He looked exactly like the model in the Marvel fashion ads popping up on video screens at the con. Wanting to seem with it, I asked him if he was the guy in the photos. (Note: This is the opposite of how to seem with it.) He had no idea what I was talking about. “I’m here because I won the contest.”

You know all those Facebook promotions, Click here and win your information sold to a thousand people who will harass you henceforth and forever? Well, it turns out that sometimes they are for real. This guy clicked on one about Marvel and NYCC, then got a call the morning of the 85th Anniversary event saying he was to be Marvel’s guest. When he arrived he’d been given his own Infinity Stone watch and a signed poster by Kubert, who also promised to draw him something special if he came to Artist Alley.

The two of us spent the better part of an hour talking about Marvel stories on the page and on the screen. It turns out we shared an obsession with the Scarlet Witch, Vision and her kids. Would Billy be able to bring Tommy back on the Road? Could DoomStark possibly be married to the Scarlet Witch? Is that how they would bring Wanda back? It was nerd geeking out with nerd, like whale song but for comics fans, and it was wonderful.

I did not end the evening buying a watch. But as I walked out later that night, a Symbiote in my takeaway cup—for Science—I was surprised to realize that the evening had brought me back to the experience that got me into comics in the first place, that feeling of walking into Moondog’s, the local shop by my house, and discovering something that made the world seem fantastic and strange and big. The Justice League written as a comedy. Earth X. Pretty much anything by Terry Moore, Alan Moore, or Grant Morrison. Kubert’s own beautiful work on the Superman story, Last Son. Even looking at the watches had some of that happy surprise of wandering the stacks and coming upon something unexpected.

Anniversaries can mean or be positioned to accomplish many things. But for me, 85 years of Marvel is a celebration of the experience shared by its fans and creators of entering into a universe that has proven endlessly expansive and affirming and new. It’s turning a page, down an aisle in a comic shop (or a corner of a swanky party), and responding to what we came upon with the wonder and delight we felt as kids. How did we ever happen to find this? How did we get so lucky?

Relive New York Comic Con 2024 with Popverse's all-star crew of writers, editors, and video producers right here.