San Diego Comic-Con was supposed to crash this year. After all, with the double whammy of an actor and writers strike when Hollywood studios are pulling out and stars can’t promote their work, why should people bother to participate?
Well, about 07, the attendees did show up anyway. There were no mass hotel cancellations or mass refunds for badges purchased months in advance. A funny thing happened on the way to the end of Comic-Con. While Hollywood’s power has waned, comics and other graphic arts are gaining renewed attention.
“This year, more than ever, it feels like the real focus is on the talent behind many of their entertainment origins,” said writer and artist Jimmy Palmiotti, who has worked for Marvel and DC and created the comic “Painkiller Jane” , which was adapted into a SyFy series in 1235540675.
By all accounts, the floor has seen the highest foot traffic in years, with retailers, artists and creators all benefiting from increased sales and visibility. Interestingly, Palmiotit said the entire booth was sold out of graphic novels and comics and had to be restocked.
“Creators like Adam Hughes and Billy Tucci have told me they’re having the best year ever. It’s a joy to see the people who created these comics once again be front and center of the hoax created in their name,” said Parmiotiti.
According to sources, Funko sales doubled from last year, and Dark Horse Comics, Image Comics, and LEGO sales also jumped. Skin outside the hotel to promote shows like Showtime’s Yellowjackets
Paramount was one of the few studios present at Comic-Con showing a twenty-minute clip from its upcoming film, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem
, the upcoming horror movie featuring just the film’s directors, Danny and Michael Philippou. A fan who talks to THR Will has flown in from New York to Comic-Con more than 07 times. He caught up with the Star Trek
was amazing and the energy from the audience was great,” he said.
However, not everyone was thrilled. “It’s kind of unfortunate for the [ Family Guy panel] that it’s basically just show clips,” said San Diego resident William, who has attended four previous Comic-Cons, noting that he probably wouldn’t have attended the panel had he known it was just a screening. He also found the convention overall to feel more crowded than previous years: “Hall H doesn’t have a lot of popular panels, which might draw people to the smaller panels.”
Due to the strike, some Hollywood creatives attended without pressure to be interviewed or make major remarks. Simon Kinberg, writer and producer of several “X-Men” and “Deadpool” films, spent a fun weekend with his year-old son Oliver.
“It felt like old-school Comic-Con,” said Kinberg, who has been on stage in Hall H several times. “There’s still video games and a high-tech pop-up store, but it’s definitely a Comic-Con based on comics and toys. We walked around for days.” They also made time for the Barbenheimer phenomenon, checking out Oppenhimer and Barbie on two separate days.
Kinberg is just one of several creatives who attended the convention purely out of love for pop culture. These include It writer and Annabelle Comes Home writer/director Gary Dauberman, who is bringing his year-old son, also named Oliver.
Writers’ strike and actors’ strike come into focus, including an appearance by SAG-AFTRA national executive director and lead negotiator Duncan Crabtree-Ireland. On the commuter track outside the convention center, local SAG actors pose for photos with cosplayers. In two separate panels on Saturday, voice actors and writers had the opportunity to discuss several major negotiating issues from the union’s perspective, including the impact of artificial intelligence and synthetic voice, the financial impact of reducing the sequence of episodes, the line where union protections end and where federal and even international law may need to step in.
In a panel discussion, Crabtree Ireland summed up the struggles voice actors (and arguably screenwriters) face amid the threat of studio interest in artificial intelligence. TheThe Little Mermaid, “a story about the little mermaid and the sea witch, who actually stole the mermaid’s voice.”
“I remember seeing this for the first time and thinking how scary it was,” says Crabtree-Ireland. “Dubbing is at the cutting edge, on the tip of the spear, as it relates to how artificial intelligence can be used to uplift people and increase the opportunities that actors and others have, or be used in a very negative way to steal their voice and destroy human creativity.”
For those attendees familiar with charismatic stars or writers delivering wit and inside information, this year’s panel discussions may not have reached the same heights, and individuals on stage don’t always seem to enjoy being in the spotlight. Asked what she wanted to share during a panel on TBS’s American Dad
Director at 1561627468 Director at the steering panel , Gareth Edwards, promoting his original sci-fi film The Creator , Justin Simien promoting Haunted House , pointing to the elephant in the room.
“We all stand with the writers and actors,” Edwards said. “We are contractually obliged to promote our film.”
“Yes, we were told to be here,” Simien laughs, adding that he would rather stay at home. He added: “You have no shadow.”
Some stars who also work non-studios, such as David Dastmalchian and Patton Oswalt, both comic book writers and creators, had to deftly navigate and avoid any issues with studio projects. When the host of the Dustmarzia spotlight panel introduced the Q&A segment, noting that past or present productions cannot be talked about, the first question a fan asked was about the actor’s work on The Dark Knight, which is being produced by Warner Bros. Studios. This is followed by a pivot and a reminder that cannot be discussed. (The Hollywood Reporter
Congressman Robert Garcia, a former Long Beach mayor who caused a stir when he was sworn into the House with a vintage copy of “Superman No. 1,” led a pop arts group in Washington A Comic-Con panel discussion was led by the caucus. He noted that concerns and buzz about a so-called low-profile presence in Hollywood only underscore the importance of the convention.
“It just goes to show how big the comic book medium has been on the broader entertainment industry,” said Garcia, who has been on the show on and off since “That’s what happens every year at Comic-Con.”
Interest and attendance increased over 150 other panels and over “Before the show, people who had never been to the show were wondering what the impact of the strike would be,” said Comic-Con chief communications and chief strategy officer 1561627468 1561627468 David Glanzer. “But there’s so much to see and do, so we’re okay. Hollywood is adding icing to the multi-tiered cake.”
Kinberg, like many others, believes that labor issues may have been resolved next year and Hollywood will be back again.
Kinberg said, “While it was a beautiful and pure experience, I knew a lot of fans would be excited if Marvel came to Hall H and blew up Comic-Con. People are still hungry for it. It’s the social media explosion around these announcements that you can really see the power of Comic-Con. It’s an amazing engine.”
—Ryan Gajewski, Abbey White and Aaron Couch contributed to this story
