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DMC and Try Love Foundation kick off a new mental health initiative at NYCC 2025, courtesy of Whatnot

Darryl McDaniels is sharing the love (and talking about how important creativity truly is) at New York Comic Con 2025, brought to you by Whatnot

News by Graeme McMillan, Editor

Published on Fri Oct 10 2025

This article is brought to you by Whatnot - the live shopping marketplace. Whether you're here at New York Comic Con or anywhere in the world, you don't have to miss out on some of the big exclusives happening this weekend.

As if we weren’t already in love with Darryl McDaniels for being hip-hop royalty as part of Run-DMC, he’s also been a long-time New York Comic Con regular, appearing at the show since the 2014 launch of his Darryl Makes Comics imprint. He’s been a constant, welcoming presence in Artist Alley for years to longtime fans and newcomers alike, and he’ll be at NYCC 2025 continuing the tradition, as we hope he’ll continue to do for many years to come.

What some may not know is that McDaniels is also an outspoken mental health advocate, and it’s in that mode that he’ll be taking part in an important discussion at the Whatnot House at NYCC 2025 on October 10. As part of World Mental Health Day, McDaniels will be speaking onstage with non-profit initiative Mending Minds (part of the Try Love Foundation, which focuses on uplifting underrepresented communities through education and storytelling), talking about his own journey with mental health and how music and creativity have helped him deal with depression, therapy, and recovery.

The event will take place 1pm at Whatnot House (Booth #1000 in the Javits Center) for those at the show; thankfully, it’ll also be streamed for those elsewhere on Whatnot’s platform right here.

It’s not enough that DMC was a hero through his music for decades; now he’s showing that he’s a hero for demonstrating the importance of vulnerability in pop culture spaces and the next generation coming up behind him, as well.

Here's everything you need to enjoy New York Comic Con 2025:

About New York Comic Con

Welcome home, hero. This is your event where you can feel unafraid to geek out. Where you’re accepted and embraced for being yourself, regardless of your cultural background, physical ability, personal identity, or self-expression. Where you can experience the best in pop culture, be inspired, get star struck, treat yourself, and create all of those memories with the people you care about the most.

Dates

Oct 10 - Oct 13

Location

New York City
United States

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Graeme McMillan: Popverse Editor Graeme McMillan (he/him) has been writing about comics, culture, and comics culture on the internet for close to two decades at this point, which is terrifying to admit. He completely understands if you have problems understanding his accent.