New York Comic Con: Searching for the Spark

I went to New York Comic Con all four days this year, and I’m still not sure how I feel about it. Maybe it’s me. I haven’t really read comics in a long time, and stepping back into that world felt a little like visiting an old neighborhood that’s been rebuilt and repainted beyond recognition. The energy was still there, the costumes, the crowds, the endless lines, but somehow, the spark that used to hit me the moment I walked through the doors never really landed.

Part of it was the sameness. The big announcements felt like reruns, just louder and glossier. Everything “new” seemed to be a reboot, a crossover, or a rebrand of something old. I could smell the popcorn, the overpriced churros, and the unmistakable mix of hype and exhaustion that fills the convention floor, a carnival of nostalgia with corporate logos on every wall.

That’s the thing. Comic Con used to feel like a fan convention, not a marketing convention. This year, the corporate presence was everywhere, the big studios, the pop-up “experience” booths, the celebrity product tie-ins. It wasn’t just the size of the brands; it was the mood. There was a strange tension in the air, a sense that the industry itself knows it’s trying too hard to keep people excited. Even the independent section, usually my refuge, felt caught in that same cycle, echoing old ideas instead of breaking new ground.

But I can’t blame the industry without looking at myself. I’ve drifted away from comics for years, and it shows. It’s hard to jump back in when everything feels fragmented, variant covers, endless storylines, cinematic universes stacked on cinematic universes. Somewhere along the way, the simplicity of picking up a single issue and getting lost in a story disappeared. And yet, underneath the noise, I still miss that feeling of discovery, of finding something raw and weird that no one’s talking about yet.

So here’s my plan: I’m going to start reading again. One comic at a time, no expectations, no event hype. Each week, I’ll pick a title mainstream or indie, digital or print and write about it. Not a review, exactly, but a kind of rediscovery log. A way to reconnect with the medium that built my imagination in the first place. Maybe the industry’s changed, or maybe I have. Either way, it’s time to find out.

Sean Pisano
Founder & Chief Curiosity Officer