New York Comic Con expected to draw crowds

NEW YORK - If there is a ghost that needs to be busted this weekend in New York City, Ron Maxwell is who ya gonna call. Decked out in "Ghostbusters" cosplay, Maxwell is attending New York Comic Con. 

"I'm here for the costumes, the cosplayers. I'm here for the other Ghostbusters," he said. "I'm here for just anybody who wants to have fun."

New York Comic Con 2022 is now underway at the Jacob Javits Center in Manhattan. It's a pop culture mecca for all things comics, anime, and science fiction.

The four-day spectacle is expected to draw 200,000 costumed and non-costumed people alike. This is the second in-person gathering since the pandemic canceled the annual event in 2020. 

The event doesn't require proof of vaccination this year but does require masks. While many didn't have them on, "Dragon Ball Z" fan Rahmell White did. 

"It's hard to social distance of course but we're doing the best we can," White said. 

Marianne Soto and Hector Maldonado, a.k.a. Starfire and Nightwing, said the event adds another component to their relationship.

"We had already been friends before we started dating so I think it just really added more to it, especially since he has figurines in his room," Soto said. "So it was an automatic plus if anything."

 Security is tight and attendees must wear badges to enter and exit.

New York Comic Con runs through Sunday, Oct. 9. Costumes are not required but they are encouraged.