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New York is known for many things: Skyscrapers. Times Square. Hamilton (both the man and the musical). This weekend, however, New York Comic Con 2024 is front and center in the city that never sleeps. Just like the city, this event is big, loud, and packed full of things to do – and spend an unreasonable amount of money on – but that isn’t actually what NYCC is all about. My first New York Comic Con taught me one important thing; the joy comes from being in the room when it happens.

I’ve been going to conventions for nearly two decades and, like many people, New York Comic Con has long been on my list of ones to attend. Those of you who have read my bio on this site (you really should read our bios. Popverse writers are very interesting people) will know that I am from the UK, making the trip to the show this year an intercontinental one. Admittedly, I had my doubts about if it would be worth it. After all, this is a huge investment of time and money, both of which I am in chronically short supply of. How could a convention be big enough to justify the investment?

So, after a bit of deliberation and a seven-and-a-half hour-long flight, I arrived at NYCC 2024 ready to be simultaneously over and underwhelmed by the New York Comic Con experience. And the cynical Brit in me was prepared to brush off the giant stalls and the panels in favor of focusing on digging through the slew of announcements that have been hitting us all weekend. I'm a journalist, after all. I'm here to work.

And yet, here I am, riding a way of joy that can only come from sitting in a room full of fans as legendary voice actor Masako Nazawa, who has been voicing Goku since the series began, finished off the Dragon Ball Daima panel by leading the audience in a Kamehameha. Or listening to Josh Brolin recount his initial reaction to seeing One-Eyed Willy’s ship for the first time. Or hearing the fan reaction to Colin Farrell casually dropping important story elements from The Penguin. Or even just seeing Goku going Super Saiyan on the giant screens in front of me, feeling the energy surging through the crowd - even though we've all seen the Dragon Ball Daima trailer a dozen times already.

These are the moments that bring those all-over tingles. That make our jaws drop and our legs kick beneath our chairs. That make us cheer not just because the moderator urges us on but because we cannot contain the excitement of seeing these things unfold in front of us. The joy, specifically, of being among other fans as we hear something for the first time or find ourselves steeped in childhood nostalgia as our heroes (or villains) do the thing we love about them.

Sure, Comic Con is big business and it has its corporate side, but the magic of it for me hasn’t come from the shopping (though I’ve spent an inordinate amount already). It hasn’t even come from the giveaways from stalls. It is watching other anime fans staring up in wonder at a giant Goku and Luffy as we walk into the halls. It is watching a sneak peek of a remastered episode of One Piece and seeing the person to my right smiling through every second.

What makes New York Comic Con truly special, and the thing that has made every second of this trip worth it for me, is being in the room when it all happens. And being there surrounded by thousands of other people feeling exactly the same thing.

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