Another New York Comic Con is officially in the books, leaving us with memories of the con that was and dreams of what will await us next year. And folks, personally… we’re dreaming that next year has way more Muppet offerings, because this year felt particularly light. But we’re ToughPigs, and to butcher a phrase from Dr. Teeth, we don’t take “meh” for an answer. We spent four days scanning the con for all the Muppet, Sesame, and Henson goodness we could find, which we’ve compiled in this neat little recap!
Panels! (Er… Panel. Just one.)
Our pals at Diamond Select shared a first look at the next box set of Muppet figures in development, Lips and Lew Zealand. While the sculpts are still being worked on, we can see that Lew is significantly shorter than Lips. But we love a short king, especially with a command of boomerang fish! During the Q&A, we learned that the company may be nearing the end of the roster of characters for completely new figures, but they do hope to continue on the series with sketch-specific and movie-inspired variants, like “Pigs in Space” or Kermit in his reporter’s outfit from The Great Muppet Caper. (Fingers crossed that we finally get Gonzo in his sweater-vest.) By now, you may be asking, “but what about Robin and Sweetums? And when will we FINALLY get Pepe and Uncle Deadly?” More on that a little later.
Cosplay!
By now, you may have seen this amazing cosplay paying tribute to both Jim Henson and Frank Oz. But did you also know that the person wearing this outfit is former Muppet performer Rick Lyon? Wild, huh?
Elsewhere, Baby Kermit crawled out of the nursery to check out the con. Luckily, walking around the show floor is practically a crawl.
Every so often, we’ll find someone mashing up Muppets with another beloved pop culture property. This year, we got to see Elmo colliding with the Red Ranger from Mighty Morphin Power Rangers, complete with his weapon of choice: a crayon. (Hopefully this will challenge someone to do a Super Morphin Mega Monsters cosplay next year.)
Sometimes in life, you’re the cookie, and sometimes, you’re the monster. (In this case, they were the cookie.)
This year also brought us a glamorous-looking Miss Piggy!
On the Creature Shop side, we were thoroughly impressed with the accurate renditions of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles as they appeared in the original live-action films, accompanied by Shredder, April O’Neil, and Casey Jones. Could the person in Casey’s outfit actually be actor Elias Koteas? With this level of detail, we wouldn’t be surprised.
Merch!
On the show floor, Diamond Select had their Sweetums and Robin Deluxe Action Figures on display. Retailing at $29.99, they’re expected to release in early 2025. Naturally, we couldn’t help but ask about the status of the Pepe and Uncle Deadly set, and the latest update is that the set is expected to finally hit shelves by the end of the year. So if all goes according to plan, you can put the king prawn and the Phantom of the Muppet Show under your Christmas tree. Or Hanukkah bush. Or kinara. Or Festivus pole.
Over at NECA, we got to see several of their upcoming Sesame Street figures. You can always add in Pee-Wee Herman to the collection to reenact “Put Down the Duckie.”
The Toony Classics Ernie and Bert, expected to release very soon, feature the characters in a 6-inch scale. Bert’s disapproving grimace is particularly unsettling to see up close!
For those looking for more detail, there’s the Ultimate figures for Ernie, Bert, and Count von Count.
These 7-inch scale figures come with multiple accessories, like Bert’s bottlecap collection, Bernice, Rubber Duckie, and the portrait of the two of them that hangs in their apartment.
Meanwhile, the Count comes with a scowling number 2, a candelabra, and the famous Sesame Street sign. (Not pictured: The Count’s telephone.)
Geeky Tikis were selling their line of Muppet mugs, and it seems business was brisk, as the Kermit mugs were sold out before we could get over there to snap a picture! It’s nice to see obscure characters like Kermit getting some much-needed attention.
If you’ve ever wanted a t-shirt with a Sesame Street character’s face on it, NYCC was the place to be. Dekryptic had shirts with Elmo and Cookie Monster on the front AND the sleeves! On one shirt! What a value!
Stylin Online had a few Sesame products nestled in their very visible tower of t-shirts. The Ernie hoodie definitely had us tempted!
It was also nice to see Fraggle Rock get some representation in the apparel department as well.
Eat your heart out, Cookie-zilla! (Or your heart-shaped cookie, in this case.)
There were no shortage of Muppet pins as well. (Moon Knight is my favorite Muppet.)
BirdBrains played right to our nostalgic heart with this mashup pin of Fozzie Bear and Pac-Man.
Who wants a whole box of stuff with dead-looking Muppets on it? Anybody? Anybody at all?
Literary Alterations charmed us with these charm bracelets featuring Sesame and Muppets characters.
Even the gang from Labyrinth got the cute treatment from Geeky Girl Stitches with these keychains featuring Ludo and the Worm.
Naturally, in a building full of vendors like this, you’re bound to find some vintage goodies as well. While the programming wasn’t Muppet-heavy this year, the merchandise came through.
Guy Gilchrist!
One artist at NYCC had so much Muppet art that we just had to give him his own section, and that’s Guy Gilchrist, who co-created The Muppets comic strip, which ran in newspapers from 1981 to 1986.
The vast majority of the art he offered came from the creative worlds of Jim Henson.
He also played with unique media for some of his pieces, including drumheads and tambourines with Animal and Baby Animal’s faces, as well as a toy piano with Rowlf and a baseball with Kermit! (Again, this Kermit character is so obscure, baseball could very well be one of his defining traits.)
Art!
Of course, Gilchrist wasn’t the only person with some awesome Muppet/Henson art! Here are some of the other great works we saw!
The Muppets Take Manhattan takes center stage in this piece saluting movies all set in New York City.
Did Stitch get that shirt at an Electric Mayhem concert? Jealous.
Between merchandise and art, 2024 feels like the Year of the Worm!
Now here’s a name we wouldn’t mind saying three times. Beakerjuice Beakerjuice Beakerjuice!
Oscar the Grouch even makes a cameo on his headgear!
And so another recap of New York Comic Con comes to a close. While it might not have been the most Muppet-packed edition, there’s always something to enjoy. Here’s hoping 2025 brings the Muppet magic roaring back, maybe with another ToughPigs panel! If we put enough people together, maybe we can figure out who this Kermit guy is.
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by Matthew Soberman and Joe Hennes
