It’s July and that means everyone in the comics industry is FULL SAIL FOR SAN DIEGO COMIC-CON! That’s right for the next four weeks, it’s all SDCC all the time! As we embark on this journey, a big thank you to Mad Cave Studios, which is once again sponsoring our coverage.
And let’s kick things off with a round-up of news items about the upcoming con that affect some long standing traditions.
§ ComicsPRo presents RETAILER DAY. The comics retailing organization will be presenting a FULL day of programming, and moving out of a small and hard to find room to a larger room near where Diamond used to hold their luncheon presentation. There is no more Diamond but there will be luncheon! With three distributors presenting their clients, looks like a very long, full day, but a great one for retailers. ComicsPRO continues to do with work.
The schedule:
9:30 – 10:10 Fresh Start (Networking with Snacks)
10:10 – 10:50 Eisner Spirit of Retailing Videos Panel
11:00 – 12:20 Lunar Distribution Publishers
12:20 – 12:50 Break (Plus grab your box lunch sponsored by Universal Distribution)
12:50 – 1:50 Universal Distribution (Eat your box lunch)
1:50 – 3:10 Penguin Random House Distribution
3:10 – 3:30 Break
3:30 – 4:10 Other Publishers and Vendors
4:10 – 5:00 Ending Panel
§ NO MORE EW party! Entertainment Weekly’s Saturday night party has long been the crown jewel of Hollywood socializing at the con, but Umberto Gonzalez at The Wrap reports that it will not be held this year!
“We will not host our traditional EW Comic-Con party,” an Entertainment Weekly spokesperson told TheWrap. “EW is focusing its Comic-Con presence on its usual photo, video and hospitality suite, as well as high-profile panels throughout the weekend at EW HQ at the Hard Rock Hotel.”
I don’t have any inside information on this, but my guess is the cost of throwing a bash is going up, while the income of putting out an online media entity is going down. Also, as studios pulled out of SDCC over the years, the stars at the party got less studded. In years past it was co-sponsored by the SyFy Channel (I even attended a few times back then.) I know Hollywood folks really love this party however, so this news must have been a wounder for them.
Gonzalez says Wednesday’s Fandom party is now the big bash; I think I went to that a few times back in the day and it was OK. Now, Wednesday is a big night for sleep for me.
Will some entity step in to fill the Saturday party void? Or has a long hallowed tradition of the modern con come to an end? Stay tuned!
§ SDCC might be moving to August in ’28: A now-removed story on the very reliable Unofficial San Diego Comic Con Blog did some guesswork for future SDCC dates, but as the story has been removed and other stories about it have been scrubbed, I guess it wasn’t accurate. But the dates for the 2028 con are very much in question, as the Olympics will be held in Los Angeles from July 14 – July 30, 2028, and some soccer matches will be held in San Diego. The story suggested the con would be moved to the first weekend in August, and while that is not verified, SDCC folks have been suggesting the dates would move for a while. History tells us that the con was actually held in August many times back in the 1900s, and even as recently as 2002. As the show become the biggest pop culture event of the year, and local facilities become more cooperative, the now traditional penultimate week in July became its regular slot.
Personally, I wouldn’t mind an August date. I would get to enjoy a bit more of my summer – as it is now I spend all of August just recovering from Comic-Con. The con has also been held even earlier in the month – once it was held July 4th because of a conflict with the Republican National Convention – but I feel like the big companies that promote stuff there would find that harder to deal with and the current timing is pretty set in people’s schedules.
I suppose it will be a while before we know the actual solution to the date overlap – a move has also been suggested but I think that’s pretty unlikely – so more to come on that!
§ Otherwise things seem pretty normal. While the first two items suggest the end of old traditions and beginning of new ones, I haven’t heard anything else too radical about the show this year. But I look forward to the panels announcements later this week and the release of the show floor map – you never know what surprises might pop up.
