A day in the life of a Comic Con vendor, who runs a booth with his wife, completes up to 15 commissioned caricatures in a day, and avoids drinking water because he has no time for bathroom trips

Katie Warren/Business Insider

180,000 people attended New York Comic Con in 2016.

• New York Comic Con is a massive pop culture event, drawing thousands of people from all over the world.
• We talked to a vendor about what it's like to work a booth at the event.
• He described a hectic 12-hour work day with no lunch break and barely any bathroom breaks - but he said it's all worth it.

One of New York City's largest pop culture events, Comic Con, is underway this week at Javits Center in Manhattan.

Hundreds of vendors and exhibitors pay to set up booths at the convention each year, selling comics, artwork, costumes, collectible action figures, and much more.

We talked to two vendors, Mervyn and Nicole McKoy, partners in both business and marriage, who run their commercial art and multimedia design studio, Paper Lab Studios, from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. They travel to conventions throughout the year, including Dallas Comic Con, Indiana Comic Con, MegaCon in Orlando, Florida Super Con, Raleigh Super Con, and Katsucon in Maryland, and others.

Mervyn said New York Comic Con is definitely one of his favorites because of the diverse group of people who attend.

In between conventions, the McKoys do commercial art, custom commissions, and design. Some of their past clients include Burger King and Filthy Food, which makes high-end drink garnishes. They also produce their own comic books in collaboration with various writers, which Mervyn illustrates and Nicole edits.

Here's what their day looked like on the first day of New York Comic Con.