7 JULY 2026
Let's talk about offsites! Today's Lodge tickets sold out in a nanosecond, leaving some people elated and others despondent and bitter.
But where jaded old veterans like me can roll with it, some first-timers are getting a wrong and dismal impression of SDCC: that offsites and exclusives are the main attractions of Comic-Con. That they have now been shut out of what's most glorious and intriguing about SDCC.
As Comic-Con grows less competitive - yes, each badge sale leaves casualties in its wake, but it's much easier to get badges than it used to be - more first-timers wash ashore. I genuinely love that. What I don't love is how many get their first impressions from Reddit, Facebook, etc., where people talk about offsite tickets like they're the ne plus ultra of SDCC.
They're not - not for everyone. For many of us, they're a waste of time and, I'd argue, a mass delusion for others where they buy into the hype, beg for tickets, bake in the sun for hours, and then go through a boring 8-minute experience that may or may not bestow a cheap t-shirt upon them.
But that's my cynical take - and I know a lot of you, first-timer or not, really like offsites. So here are a few things to remember.
San Diego Comic-Con is more than offsites and exclusives.
Believe it or not, Comic-Con used to be about comics! It's how it got started! Comics and science fiction fans came together in a nuclear fusion of Detective Comics, Star Trek, Stan Lee and other fevers, and Comic-Con was born. People milled around meeting Ray Bradbury and hunting for back issues and adding to their Famous Artist Sketchbook. No one expected corporations to set up big glamourous marketing promotions called offsites and parties were largely just friends getting together.
In recent years, yes, offsites and parties have become a star attraction for many people, but there is still so much else to do. Like panels and the Exhibit Hall and film festivals and networking and gaming tournaments - you know, all the original bricks of the Comic-Con house.
But I don't think first-timers know this because I see bitter laments that say things like, "Apparently I've been shut out of everything so I don't even know why I'm going." If you've never been to SDCC, you might think offsites are the point since they dominate the conversation - or at least, share supremacy with "What time should I line up for Marvel in Hall H?"
But there's so much more magnificence you haven't heard about. Once you're there, you're going to forget all about the offsite you didn't get picked for because you'll be dazzled by other things.
Also, the Con proper has little to do with offsites - so stop blaming CCI.
Again, I don't blame first-timers for this but when people call the Con "badly run" and "mismanaged" and "elitist" because they couldn't get tickets to an event - it's just unfair. Chances are, that event or attraction has zero connection to CCI, who runs Comic-Con.
That's right: most of these fancy little events with dazzling graphics are wholly owned and run by some company with a fat marketing budget. They come to SDCC to promote to you, but CCI has zero power over them. (In most cases. There are exceptions and sometimes the lines blur.)
So please stop blaming CCI because a media company's offsite didn't pick you in a lottery. These activations were never intended to accommodate a hundred thousand people passing through them. They are fringe offerings, not part of SDCC programming. No one guaranteed access to any of this when you bought a badge.
Sorry to sound heartless, but I've seen too many people blame CCI for something that has nothing to do with them. I've even seen people say they feel deceived, that SDCC is unfair by selling so many badges when only a few people can get into the top attractions. CCI sold you a badge for official Con programming. Not an ancient Roman chariot race organized by a subsidiary of NBCUniversal Media Group.
Obviously some lotteries are a little different, but you still have to be realistic.
The Wolverine screening a few years back in Hall H turned into an epic fail - mostly due to wily scammers reproducing winning emails - but anything with limited seating and big interest will likely disappoint you. And if you do get picked, you may have to make the Sophie's choice of choosing which friend to invite.
Exclusives lotteries just went live, and they are typically a source of deep bitterness. First-timers, thrilled with their badge, assume they can buy from any booth on the floor. Being shut out can hurt, especially for die-hard collectors. Is there a way to make everyone happy? Probably not.
If offsites and parties are all you care about, maybe SDCC isn't for you - but I bet you will find other things to fall in love with.
If more things move to a lottery methodology, people who only care about offsites and parties may ask themselves if they still want to go to SDCC. It's probably a pertinent question in those minutes before the badge sale: if you get into absolutely zero events, do you still want to attend? Is there a more experiential Con that would be worth your while?
But right now, for this year, give the rest of the Con a shot. I've seen for years the split between the nerds and the fans, who somewhat cross over but not always. If comics, gaming, anime, science, cosplay, books, collectibles, science fiction, and fantasy don't interest you, give them a shot this summer.
Expand your interests. Maybe some of that is for you and maybe it isn't.
Everyone remembers their happy SDCC memories - not the things they didn't do.
I feel safe in saying this. Of course, we all remember a stinging injustice or sadistic booth worker, but by and large, SDCC is so immersive that upon entering, we are swallowed up in a sensory overload that drowns out all other thoughts.
If this is your first Con, you will find plenty to occupy yourself, on and off the convention center grounds. That will probably include some currently unannounced offsites but also other events and Con programming. Just enjoy the mystery of that and not the July mania over tickets and exclusives.
Yes, this is a Darwinian process where the organized and highly skilled come out on top. At the very least, you have to be proactive.
Nothing tugs at my heartstrings like seeing a first-timer say plaintively, "I can't find any of this stuff listed on the site. How do you all know about these events?"
Again, I get it - they scored a Comic-Con badge, they assumed that everything is listed and linked somewhere on the CCI site. A lot of companies spoonfeed everything to you these days through nurture campaigns and UX-dream websites built on intense buyer research.
So if you're new, you probably have no idea of how many companies and studios you need to follow and the communities you need to join. Instead, you may stumble across social media like bison across a wintry tundra, starving and desperately hunting for food. And if you realize that most of this stuff is dominated by super-attendees who tend to band together to conquer, you may get very pissed off.
Yes, preparing for Comic-Con is almost a second job. It's one I've mostly abandoned because my priorities have changed, but it's still required if your eyes are on the prize. I don't see this changing, so find your own group of warlords to join or make your peace with the intensely competitive nature of this Con.
Hopefully this wasn't too harsh. I just hate seeing bitterness spread like a cloud over what should be a month of excitement and anticipation. I understand being disappointed - a little failure rains down on all of us on Planet Con. But don't let it ruin your Con because once you're there, everything will look very different.
