The first time I took my daughter out of school to attend all four days of New York Comic-Con, she was four years old and deliriously excited at the prospect of hanging with her Papa. A year later when she started attending public school, the school asked the reason for the absence, and I instinctively said, “due to New York Comic-Con,” which apparently is not an excused absence in the state of New Jersey (even though it absolutely should be!). My son didn’t have much of a choice in the matter – he was born into this life – and has been attending since he was in a newborn.
Kavya is now fifteen and my son, Shaiyar, is ten and while their cosplays and fandoms and personalities are sometimes wildly different, New York Comic Con has become a family tradition. We even manage to drag my wife, Sona, who is generally averse to large crowds. Over the years we’ve gotten the layout of Javits imprinted into our brains and can instinctively find the bathrooms, navigate all the rooms, and now that the kids are older, they often have their own agenda of panels or artists they want to see,
Our parenting style is somewhere in-between all out anarchy and spreadsheets dictating every minute. I like to call it, “organized chaos.”A little pre-emptive planning that allows for sponaneity and can make enjoying New York Comic Con with your kids easy-peasy. Here are some tips to make some wonderful memories as a family and level up your nerdiness:
Plan Out and Budget for That Cosplay
Don’t overthink the cosplay, especially if your kids are very young. The dollar store, a glue gun, and duct-tape will be your best friends in the beginning. After that, it’s a slippery road towards more complex competitive cosplays involving special effects makeup, a billion sequins, and engineering feats. I don’t do any of those things yet, but have experimented with magnets!
Figure out what costume you’re going for. Save reference photos and start planning out how you’re going to get close to it. Have a budget and a plan because way too often cosplay can become expensive. Since Shaiyar started engineering and Stem club, he’s developed a little too much confidence in my ability to create things like mechanical arms and webshooters made from magnets. I’ve had to bring him back down to Earth and reintroduce him to the exciting world of cardboard and glue guns and ductape! The messiness of weeks or months leading up to a finished cosplay can make it very enticing to just click the “buy now” button from an online store and have a readymade outfit. But the whole joy and bonding of it is through creating the costumes yourself no matter what the quality is. The drrrrama is sometimes the best part. One year, Shaiyar cosplayed as Miles Morales and quickly found out the error of using a one-piece underlayer as it was a major production using the bathroom!
Of course, it’s not required to be in cosplay, but it makes things so much more fun. Some years we’ve coordinated our cosplay as a family with various versions of Spiderman and Spider-Gwen, and some years when the vibe is different, we’ve all gone from different fandoms. The important thing is that everyone is involved.
The App Life and Mapping Out The Day
New York Comic-Con has an app! And it is a lifesaver especially for families trying to avoid stampedes. There are so many things to do that it can get really overwhelming, A lot of the panels or special events have really long lines and it’s very easy to get panelled out. As you’re mapping out must-sees it’s also a good idea to map out your backup plans and roaming around.
Pencil in Some Down Time and Talk to Strangers!
I cannot stress the importance of downtime. Coming early or staying late and just roaming around the floors or by the food court or outside by the food truck is sometimes the highlight of the con because that’s where all the cosplayers hang out. They’re always in character when taking photos, so make sure you have some signature poses ready to go! Always ask. Shaiyar first got the idea for adding magnets from approaching a Spiderpunk cosplayer and just asking about how he got the spikes to stay on. The secret: magnets!
Bring Snacks and Do Not Eat at Javits
Pack snacks so you have some energy to keep going! I love roaming around Javits and the food being offered is actually pretty diverse, from bulgogi to barbeque to burgers. But I can’t justify spending $10 for a tiny bag of popcorn, or over $100 for family lunch when there are tastier and more affordable spots within a few minutes walk from Javits – by NYC standards anyway!
Three of our favourite places are Suram: Sushi and Ramen at Hudson Yards, Kashmir9, and Patiala Indian Grill well worth the few minutes of extra walking for delicious food. And best part is if you’re there on Thursday and Friday, you can make use of the lunch specials! Don’t forget to check out Shaiyar’s post on kid friendly eats near Javits!
Bonus!
Looking for more nerdy comic-con vibes, check out my Young Adult novel, Sunny G’s Series of Rash Decisions (Penguin Teen) about a crocheting cosplayer who goes on a 24-hour Prom night adventure in Fresno, California. Three days after I submitted the final draft, a perfect line came to me that is very apt for this post: “it’s called costume play, not costume stress.” I’ll give you a moment to compose yourselves after that solid wordplay.
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