Comic-Con at Home kicks off - are you in?

20 JULY 2020

Bespoke limited edition pin from Yesterdays, on sale Thursday, 23 July.

Today San Diego Comic-Con launched its inaugural Comic-Con @ Home - sort of. According to the programming, Wednesday seems to be the official start. But when you put out a glorious Souvenir Book chock full of fan art and exclusives and a mesmerizing EC Comics gallery, I'm going to say that Comic-Con magic has begun.

And it sounds like some traditional frustrations are also in play, like tech difficulties, overcrowded sales and an inability to get the action figure of one's dreams. Plus ca change and all that. I'm not super attracted to the offerings in play this year, but I sympathize with those of you who had your heart set on something. With SDCC 2020 open to literally anyone in the world, competition may be especially stiff this year.

If you've been dismissive of a virtual SDCC, well, I understand. No, it's not going to be as good as the real thing. But it still offers a welcome diversion from the isolation, boredom, death, illness, unemployment and fear many of us are facing this year. And I think CCI has done a fantastic job of making the best of a bad situation. I can't imagine how hard their team worked in recent months to pull all this together.

So what does SDCC look like this year?

You won't be getting squiffy in a Gaslamp bar this week but you will be able to indulge in a few other joys like...

• The Souvenir Book. I really want a print version to hold in my greedy little hands and I bet you do too. The PDF is gorgeous, with some beautiful art and interesting articles. I know many attendees ignore the Souvenir Book year after year; if this is you, but you've saved yours anyhow, maybe go back and take a look at past issues. They really are great to curl up with when SDCC is over and you have the time for a deeper dive into certain fandoms or creator histories.

• The exclusives. Just like every other year, you'll need to be wily and a bit aggressive - but this year, it's more about understanding who's selling what and how to get it. CCI's Exhibitor Hall map (which can springboard you into certain sellers/companies) only offers part of the story. As always, divide and conquer with your team if possible.

• The programming. Okay, you're not going to be in Hall H while Marvel dazzles you with glimpses of the future. But there are some compelling panels available and you don't have to line up for them! Kevin Smith, Bill and Ted, The Walking Dead, Star Trek, Archer, NASA, Nathan Fillion, etc. If you're scoffing at the idea of a satisfying virtual panel, remember that your typical past YouTube footage of an SDCC panel was just recorded from the audience. These will be produced with viewers in mind and I'm sure they'll be worth watching.

• The events. The Masquerade will go virtual; 40+ games, tournaments, demos and interviews will be held across Twitch, Facebook Live, Discord and YouTube.

• The community. We may not be stepping on each other's toes in the Exhibit Hall this year but we're commingling online and sharing praise, advice and complaints just like always. If you've been hiding out from the world like a pandemic zombie in recent months - or consumed with hospitals, layoffs and funerals - take a break to celebrate SDCC with your fellow nerds. No survivor's guilt this week.  

Now onto the real question: will this show be so successful that SDCC offers virtual badges in the future? I know many of us will yearn this week for even the worst SDCC experiences - the lines, the humidity, the shuttle bus rides, the barking of an Exhibit Hall security guard. But what about non-attendees who don't know any better? Will they offer up a lucrative new market for CCI? I would think so, but let's see how this week goes.

And let's give CCI some appreciation for their efforts. I'm sure they're taking quite the financial hit this year and having to pivot like this couldn't have been easy. Let's try to support them, exhibitors and creators in any way we can.


ETA: Several of you have asked how to buy a print Souvenir Book. CCI isn't printing a hard issue this year - unfortunately for those of us who've always dreamed of an issue dedicated to our favorite Rays. Sorry!

The Year Without a Comic-Con: SDCC is cancelled

17 APRIL 2020

We knew it was coming, but this morning's email still stung. San Diego Comic-Con is cancelled for the first time.

David Glanzer summed it up with a nice quote: "Extraordinary times require extraordinary measures and while we are saddened to take this action, we know it is the right decision."

It's easy to be blithe about the decision, which many of us have expected for a month now, but it really will have financial and emotional repercussions across all SDCC communities - the attendees, the vendors, the studios, the surrounding hotels and restaurants, everyone. I'm sure there's a sense of premature termination for cosplayers planning their outfits, gamers looking forward to tournaments, collectors anticipating specific items, etc. It may sound silly, but there's going to be a grieving process involved while everyone lets go of what is a profound annual pilgrimage for many of us.

A few notes:

• You'll have the chance to transfer your badge to 2021 or request a refund. We don't know yet how the refunds will be made, but I would imagine it'll be the buyer who's refunded, not the attendee. So get in touch now with whoever bought your badge and let them know if you're requesting a refund. They'll need to transfer that money back to you.
• If you got a partial badge and are transferring, would you still be eligible to try to upgrade to a full badge in Open Reg 2021? I hope so.
• Any Early Bird deposits will be refunded.
• However, any other deposits on hotel rooms that you booked on your own aren't impacted by this - so you'll need to negotiate with the hotel directly.
• Remember that other Cons are still scheduled - as of now - for late summer and autumn. Will they still happen? Probably not. But it's something to keep in mind if you're desperate to get some kind of Con in this year.

Finally, don't turn your back on the Comic-Con world until next year. There are plenty of digital efforts to promote and sell work, foster online parties and keep everyone connected. No, it's not the same - but it's something.

Should SDCC 2020 still happen?

2 APRIL 2020

Today the San Diego Convention Center transformed into a homeless shelter. The Exhibit Hall, which we associate with exclusives, crowds and Funko Pops, is lined up with green cots for 1500 of San Diego's most desperate residents. It's a measure of how dire the COVID-19 pandemic has become and how far city leaders are willing to go to stanch contagion; trying to put a positive spin on it, Mayor Kevin Faulconer said "If we can't fill the convention center with tourists, we'll fill it with hope."

But the mayor isn't the only one with hope. CCI tweeted yesterday, "No one is as hopeful as we are that we will be able to celebrate #SDCC2020 together come July."

That's a lot of hope. Is it reasonable? Not in my opinion, but the Yes/No question of will the show go on isn't simple. The Unites States is in a state of suspension. You can see the diversity of opinions - we need to soldier through and save the economy vs. we need to hunker down and save humanity - just by listening to different governors.

As SDCC attendees, we're intensely practical; we understand all the angles of a successful Comic-Con. Like the hotel sale looming ahead of us: How many people have the money to slap down $600 on a deposit right now? Then there are the studios and vendors and guests that bring the magic to SDCC. How many of them will come? With so many releases delayed and so much production on hold, what would they show us in Hall H? And then there are the many events and activities surrounding the Con that takes months of orchestration. Will those organizers get a solid green light in time to make arrangements?

Our pandemic rollercoaster is still inching up the highest slope - we have yet to fly down screaming into the phase where potentially hundred of thousands of people (or more) die a horrible death. We haven't yet watched NYC levels replicate in multiple cities and then roll out to rural areas where many Americans live hours from the nearest hospital. And even if COVID-19 magically shut off on 15 May, the wreckage would still take months to clean up: credit card debt, unemployment, PTSD, bereavement. Life changes that have been put off for months like family visits, elective surgeries, divorces or moving will demand attention over the summer.

I know this is ugly to read. But it will be reality for many of us. That said - it won't be reality for all of us. So is it possible that SDCC could go on? I think we're looking at 4 possibilities.

SDCC happens, but as a smaller, more local and more comics-based Con.
No doubt by late July there will be plenty of people who still want to go and feel secure in doing so - either because they've already had COVID-19 or because it's controlled. And even if studios pull out, we'll probably have many vendors eager to sell their stuff. Personally, I'd have no problem amputating the glitz and Hollywood from SDCC so this would be fine with me - but I know many of you would miss your photo ops and Hall H panels.

SDCC happens and it's business as usual.
Demand is high enough that even attendees and vendors who drop out might easily be replaced; and after being cooped up all spring, people are going to be ready to mingle. The need to eat, drink and make merry could burst into an amazingly fun Con, with people making an extra effort to befriend each other, get their nerd flirt on, and create a very social and hedonistic Con. Limited attendee finances might mean a less profitable Con for vendors, though; and god help us if COVID-19 invisibly floats down the Hall H line like an angel of death.

SDCC is cancelled.
This will be emotionally devastating for many attendees and financially destructive for San Diego and vendors. But it could also be the most cautious choice - and we will have future Cons in other summers. Well, that's assuming they let us transfer our badges to 2021. Regardless, SDCC itself will come roaring back to life unless the whole planet gets nuked by a space dragon. This pandemic isn't going to derail us permanently.

SDCC is postponed.
ECCC is doing it and so are other Cons; but SDCC is a juggernaut of an event with less agility. So I'm dubious if this would work or not. But if they were able to scoot it down the calendar a bit, that might make everyone feel safer and might coax more guests and studios to show. I would definitely give up NYCC to go to an autumn SDCC. 


I don't know CCI's inner workings, but I hope they've created a back-up plan that suspends the deadline for badge refunds and possibly holds a badge resale (remember those?) to compensate. And I hope they don't schedule the hotel sale until late April at the earliest when pandemic specialists can make a more accurate forecast. But CCI and I think very differently so they're probably planning something else.

I hope you're all staying safe, fed, healthy and entertained. Times are tough for all of us and soon to get much tougher for some. We don't know where we're headed over the coming months. But another Comic-Con is in our future - that much we know for sure.

Will the Coronavirus cancel SDCC?

11 MARCH 2020

So you're not going to Coachella. You're not going to see the Final Four. Maybe you're not going to see anyone at all for the short-term future, if you're working from home and told to stay there. But still the big question lingers: will you be going to San Diego Comic-Con?

Everyone's asking that. What if SDCC is cancelled? What if our annual orgiastic fandom rites don't take place and life loses all meaning? People keep coming to me with that question like it's some kind of worst case scenario; for them, it obviously is.

But it shouldn't be. Look, San Diego Comic-Con may be cancelled or we may get ahead of the virus and assert enough control that CCI feels comfortable going ahead. But yes or no, I think everyone should be thinking bigger picture right now.

Like the reality that some of our parents and grandparents will probably die; mass layoffs could occur while pensions and 401k funds might shrink like a puddle in the sun; overburdened healthcare systems could shortchange all patients, not just those with COVID-19. And the economic freefall could impact Hollywood, collectibles, your neighborhood comic shop, all the little joys that flow through your nerdy life. We don't know the scale of the changes yet, but some are definitely coming down the pike.

The NBA just suspended their season. Tom Hanks and Rita Wison have the virus. This is just the beginning of the stunning announcements, bad news, sacrifices and losses we're going to endure, even in a best case scenario. I'm not trying to be the Paul Revere of Pestilence here, but it's obvious that many SDCC attendees are not grasping the full magnitude of this pandemic. Maybe it's because I've written about infectious disease and pandemics and all the horrific changes they bring (collapse of raw material prices, geopolitical unrest, food and drug shortages, hindered response to natural disasters) in my non-blogger life, but I've already expelled SDCC 2020 from my mind in terms of concerns. I encourage you to do the same. If Comic-Con happens, that's great but I just don't think it's anything to get upset about now. We've all got bigger emotional and financial concerns.

Here's what I think attendees should do:

• Wait and see what CCI says first about WonderCon (which I wouldn't be surprised to see cancelled.) Even if you're not going to WonderCon, their statements may include hints about San Diego. I know CCI is not the world's most transparent communicator, but I'm hoping in this case, they'll be clear, prompt and responsive to attendee concerns.
• Don't worry about the hotel lottery for SDCC. Last year it was in April. I imagine CCI is in no hurry to hold it while the virus situation is evolving so quickly.
• If you've made a deposit on an Early Bird hotel room, and you're freaking out about losing it - just wait and see what happens with SDCC. CCI should make it right for you.
• International attendees worried about continuing travel bans should create a Plan B. If you've already booked your airfare, maybe see if you can get a refund now rather than wait months when airlines' revenue situation may be much more dire. Your call. 
• Talk to your friends and be candid about who has a chronic condition, respiratory weakness or other issue that could make a large gathering unwise for them. And be prepared for some of your friends to have financial setbacks between now and July.
• Remember that there will be future Comic-Cons and if we miss this one, it's okay. Disappointing, but small potatoes compared to what will be happening in the world.
• Save your money. If the world descends into an economic sewer, nerd toys, event tickets and Comic-Con festivities may get a little pricier.
• And finally, practice good pandemic etiquette to help make the world as healthy and contagion-free as possible.

I don't mean to trivialize the importance of SDCC in your life. But Fortune 100 companies and top governments are still figuring out their response to COVID-19 right now. I don't think we can expect a definite answer on SDCC. Let's all stay safe, be patient and keep a healthy perspective. We're a resilient community and we'll find ways to stay connected no matter what.


ETA Thursday, 12 March: 
CCI has cancelled WonderCon (as most of us expected) and has shuttered the Museum events as well, noting they are following the CA DOH recommendation to avoid gatherings of more than 250 people.

As for SDCC: "We continue to work closely with officials in San Diego and at this time no decision has been made regarding the rescheduling of Comic-Con slated to take place this summer; July 23-26, 2020."

In other words - sit tight. And try to come up with an appealing alternate plan that will work in a post-plague world.