In its second year in New Orleans, GalaxyCon New Orleans did not disappoint!
I was in attendance for the first GalaxyCon New Orleans last year and while I did enjoy the show, there was definitely room for growth and improvement. Well, the organizers did just that. Everything was at least on par or better than last year.
Making the three-hour trip down to the Crescent City was a breeze. We arrived at our usual Lot F parking area around 9:30. There was plenty of parking available at that time and use of the ParkMobile app to pay was a snap. If it’s your first time attending an event at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center, do yourself a favor and set up your ParkMobile account ahead of time. It’s not difficult, but will save you a few minutes of sitting in your vehicle.
With a quick walk across the street, we went in at the Hall J entrance. This year’s show was set up in Hall I and J, a bigger area than last year’s Hall D and E space (or at least it felt bigger). I picked up my press pass quickly and easily at the Information booth right at the front of the hall. We had to enter Hall J to pick up a Saturday day pass for my girlfriend. That only took a moment and we were off to line up at the doors to Hall I. By the time all that was taken care of, we had a short ten-minute wait for the doors to open.
Day passes this year were wrist bands rather than the more durable plastic badges. If you had a weekend pass or a press pass, you got a badge, though. My personal preference is all plastic badges like they did in 2025, but I can understand the wrist bands are probably a financial decision, as I’m sure the badges are more costly to produce.
Upon entering the halls of GalaxyCon New Orleans at 10 am sharp, I immediately noticed a difference over last year’s layout. While guests, vendors, and artist alley were all pretty much in the same arrangement, there was a much larger area dedicated to table top games, video games (including some old arcade games), tattooing (yep, you could get some ink at the con), and a pet adoption center. Throughout the day, this area was full of people taking part in the variety of activities available.
While on the subject of attendance, this year’s Saturday crowd looked to be larger than last year. We were there until almost 4 pm and the crowd grew steadily throughout the day. It was not overwhelmingly large and overcrowded, thanks to a generous aisle layout, but there was a clear increase in the number of people present, which is great to see.
The variety of guests remained just as good as before. William Shatner, Sam Raimi, and Kevin Smith were the headliners and their lines were consistently full throughout the day, as you’d expect, but not unreasonably long. Judging by the number of people in line for other guests, there was a little something for a wide range of fans. While I didn’t get any autographs from the celebrities, I did walk through the area and it was neatly arranged, allowing for an easy flow of traffic.
As was the case last year, the number of comic creators was solid. Again, the traffic in this area, right next to the celebrity tables, was steady, but not congested. I was able to get Mark Waid to sign my copy of Kingdom Come #4 and chatted with him for a minute or two. He was an extremely nice guy and you could tell he was genuinely happy to talk with his fans. I also picked up an incredible Freddy Krueger print from Jenna Cha. I did a double take when I walked by her table and saw it. She was very friendly and asked if I wanted her to autograph it, which I did.
Walking around the vendor booths and artist alley revealed a greater variety of merchandise available for purchase. Last year, there was a lot of Funko and anime-related merch, but GalaxyCon drew in a better assortment of vendors this time covering areas such as comics, art prints, 3D printed items, books, swords, and figures, just to name a few. You would be hard-pressed to come out of there not finding something of interest.
There were complaints that last year’s convention had several vendors featuring AI artwork. I am happy to report that was not the case this year, at least not that I noticed. Many people seek out artwork from talented artists and view AI artwork as a negative. I think the organizers heard this loud and clear, making a change for this year’s show with a few of the artists highlighting the fact their work was free of AI.
Naturally, I was most interested in the comic book vendors. Last year, there were only two of them and while I was able to find some books, I wished for an increase in the number of vendors. It is a comic-related convention, after all. As with other aspects of the convention, there was growth here, albeit only a little, with three main vendors selling comics. Between the three of them, I was able to come out with a stack of awesome books.
Willy’s Comics had a fantastic variety of issues in great shape with fair prices. He was easy to make a deal with and I was able to find these comics of some of my favorite horror franchises at a slightly reduced price than what was on the sticker.
Another vendor was with a non-profit organization raising money for autism awareness. He had about ten to fifteen long boxes that took me some time to dig through. I came away from that booth with 35 books for $2 each. Some were run-fillers, but several were ones I’d been searching for with artwork by Alex Ross and Lee Bermejo.
Food and drinks were available in the back area of the hall. The portions given were filling, although pricing was high. A large bowl of jambalaya was $12. It was hot and delicious and I knew about the pricing ahead of time, so I enjoyed my meal just fine. The seating area for eating was big, so finding a seat was easy.
We didn’t have time to venture to the second floor area or attend any panels, as there was plenty enough on the main floor to keep us occupied for six hours. Ideally, if you’re planning on attending a future show, giving yourself more than one day to explore is recommended. Even if you can only attend for a day, you can certainly come away satisfied with the experience.
Being that it was mid-July in south Louisiana, rain is always on the table. There was a flash flood warning in the afternoon, but by the time we left, everything had cleared out. At this time of the year in this part of the country, arriving early is your best chance to avoid getting rained on.
Overall, this second-year convention was highly enjoyable. If you haven’t been able to attend one of the GalaxyCon shows yet, make plans now for GalaxyCon New Orleans 2027. The venue is excellent and the organizers are dedicated to improving their show. I look forward to what they’ll have to offer in 2027!
