NEW YORK COMIC CON 2026 DAY 2 RECAP: REACH FOR THE SKY(BOUND)

credit: ReedPop/RELX Inc. (RX)

New York Comic Con kept the momentum rolling in the second day of festivities. The pop-culture extravaganza cranked up the news and set the stage for a monster Saturday!

Friday, October 9th, 2026 set a high bar right from the opening panels and never slowed down. Fans in attendance were treated to a plethora of information and celebrations as NYCC went off. There was something for every fan in attendance & even some world records to be witness for!

Let’s do a quick recap on what stuck out from Day 2 of NYCC 2026!

DC ABSOLUTE UNIVERSE BRINGS JUSTICE TO NYCC!

Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Belen Ortega, Nick Robles, Al Ewing, Frank Martin and Che Grayson

Opening at 11am, the hottest ticket in town was DC Comics: Absolute Universe panel. The showcase was standing room only as fans were eager to hear what was unfolding in the highly successful line of book.

Scott Snyder, Rafael Albuquerque, Belen Ortega, Nick Robles, Al Ewing, Frank Martin and Che Grayson started the panel covering their Absolute books. Absolute Green Arrow and its’ one-shot companion tale Absolute Black Canary set a high pace with information coming about the next phase of the emerald archer. Albuquerque eluded to a more mysterious tone in the next arc, with horror elements abound.

Robles discussed Absolute Flash and other notable DC heroes making their appearance in the line via Absolute Cyborg and Atom. Al Ewing mentioned of changes with Absolute Green Lantern with a chart explaining the complex Power structure of the book. Che Grayson rounded out the first wave of creators highlighting the excitement of creating Selina Kyle’s new escapades.

This led to Scott Snyder addressing the fans and thanking them personally for the overwhelmingly positive response to the AU line. Jason Aaron, Nick Dragotta, Hayden Sherman, Juan Ferreyra & Frank Tieri joined Snyder on stage to dive into the Absolute trinity heroes (Superman, Batman and Wonder Woman).

Scott Snyder, Jason Aaron, Nick Dragotta, Hayden Sherman, Juan Ferreyra & Frank Tieri

READ DAY 1’S RECAP OF NYCC!

Each team mentioned plans for their respective 25th anniversary issues. All have huge plans behind them, especially Absolute Batman. Snyder, Dragotta and Martin touched upon rumors of a hiatus after issue 25 along with creating the smash hit series. Snyder debunked rumors and confirmed the hiatus is only one month with Absolute Batman: Beyond Ark M filling in the void.

The panel closed off with a thunderous reaction to a long-awaited event. “Absolute Justice” is a 5-part mini-series uniting the heroes of the Absolute Universe for their first major crossover. Aaron and Ferreyra will be the creative team behind the series. A major win for fans and raising the bar for the rest of the days action!

PUBLISHING….IDW PUBLISHING! THE NEW HOME FOR 007 (& BLUMHOUSE)

IDW Publishing was running the same time as DC: Absolute for their “You Don’t want to miss this panel”. Opening with the latest from the Star Trek Universe, IDW hyped up the upcoming “Star Trek: Crusher” with TNG actress Gates McFadden writing. Timothy Zahn’s “Star Trek” Roc’s Egg” OGN was also mentioned to close out this portion.

idw publishing at NYCC 2026

The panel discussed more fandoms such as Hello Kitty and the extremely popular TMNT line. Matthew Rosenburg spoke of plans for his upcoming run starting at issue #25. Rosenburg mentioned the first six issues of this run would be spun in a 12-hour time window inside the book. As events turned to IDW Dark, fans witnessed the first of two major reveals.

It was announced that Blumhouse properties would be featured in IDW series starting in 2027. “The Purge”, “Megan” and “Happy Death Day” will lead the pack on this new initiative. This created a positive stir for those in attendance. What happened next turned into a true show-stopper.

Grant Morrison entered the panel via video message saying “I’m Grant, Grant Morrison” in homage to the new partnership between 007 franchise (Ian Fleming Publications) and IDW. Morrison will writing “Sunbreaker” featuring James Bond in 2027. Huge news indeed as the hits kept rolling.

DO NOT ADJUST YOUR EYES! SKYBOUND IS PLANTING VISIONS OF THE FUTURE!

skybound “visions of the future” at NYCC 2026

Skybound Entertainment came out swinging late in the day with their “Visions of The Future” Panel. Ben Abernathy (Exec. Editor), Doug Mahnke, Matt Emmons, Tate Brombal, Stephen Graham Jones and Leandro Fernández filled the panel as they discussed the new line of books coming from Skybound.

“Skybound Visions” will focus on pop-culture heroes in a vision fans have never seen before. It is welcoming to new readers and seasoned fans who enjoy fresh takes on classic characters. Transformers: Bumblebee - Lost Planet, G.I. Joe: The Island of Dr. Mindbender & Turok: Son of Stone lead the way as this bold look at characters is set to launch in 2027. Fans were spellbound with wonder as the creators broke down their takes while teasing more to come!

MARVEL’S NEW EIC GIVES THE MARVEL FAITHFUL SOMETHING TO RALLY AROUND!

DAREDEVIL #700 (MARVEL COMICS)

Marvel Comics’ Editor-in-Chief Stephen Wacker opened Marvel Comics’ lineup of panels with Bullpen Bulletins! During this panel, Wacker announced a new Captain Marvel series by G. Willow Wilson & Rachael Stott. The new adventures of Carol Danvers is slated for a May 2027 release.

Stephanie Phillips joined Wacker for the panel to talk about the milestone moment of Daredevil #700. The road to this historic issue begin with issue #11 & the debut of LATCH as a new rogue ready to make an impact.

THE LATEST DAREDEVIL REVIEW!

Marvel’s day wasn’t done here as the Midnight Universe closed out festivities for the House Of Ideas. The huge debut week kept a solid energy amongst the crowd as Phillip Kennedy Johnson (Midnight Spider-Man) Jonathan Hickman (Midnight X-Men), and Benjamin Percy (Midnight Fantastic Four), alongside Editor Jordan D. White, Executive Editor Dan Buckley, Assistant Editor Kaeden McGahey, and Editor-in-Chief Stephen Wacker held court breaking down the latest from the horror universe. The panel revealed images from upcoming issues while teasing more nightmares to come.

MIDNIGHT SPIDER-MAN!

LEAVE IT TO GARY VEE & VEEFRIENDS TO BREAK SOME RECORD AT NYCC!

VEE FRIENDS #22 SPECIAL EDITION - NYCC

All throughout NYCC, Gary Vaynerchuk’s “Vee Friends” booth has been one of the most happening places at the con. It is no surprise if you know of the passionate fanbase of “Strangers become Acquaintances, Acquaintances become Friends, and Friends become Family”. The VeeFriends universe has been gaining comic attention for months with their ultimate focus being on NFTs.

With over 250 characters in the universe, Vee Friends draws comparisons to being the next Star Wars, Pokémon and/or Marvel Universe. For weeks on socials and WhatNot, Gary and his team have been claiming that they had something “Gigantic” for NYCC.

They weren’t kidding.

On Friday, Issue #22 featuring the origin of “Gentle Giant” accomplished a rare feet.

It was announced that Guinness World Records confirmed the special edition of this issue (A special B cover drawn by the one and only Rob Liefeld is the World's Largest Comic Book being more than three feet tall! A true feat for one of the fastest growing brand in collectability! Congrats!

After all of this, there’s a huge day of news planned for Day 3 of NYCC. Keep an eye out on FLZ socials for more stories from pop culture’s largest event!

Hit us up in the comments below and/or on FLZ social media and let us know your favorite stories were from Day 2 of NYCC!

Thanks for reading.