Comic-Con International: San Diego 2023 shut their doors Sunday night.
I always need a little reflection time before writing my wrap-up story.
Last Wednesday, Comic-Con kicked off with media attention focused on the dual writers and actors’ strike, and how the lack of a Hollywood presence might impact the pop culture convention.
Comic-Con spokesperson David Glanzer said, "People who haven't been to the show really thought that the impact would be monumental. One person had even asked, would we cancel the show? And I think what that tells me there's a lot of people that don't realize there are so many different elements to Comic-Con."
One attendee who did appreciate those diverse elements is Philadelphia librarian Matthew Catron. He’s been attending since 2006 and said the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strike is the best thing that could have happened to Comic-Con because it forced the 6,500 people who make it inside Hall H to change their plans.
"The fact that all of those folks who had already gotten their tickets, who had already made their plans ... and there are no big studios, no HBO, there's no Marvel, now they're going to the smaller scale educational panels," Catron said. "I've never been to the Comics Arts Conference and seen it as populated as it is now. I have never been to panels on the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund and seen that many people in there. So all this stuff that was not getting the eyeballs that it deserved is like, suddenly getting it. And my hope is that in 2024, when the writers are presumably not on strike and the actors are presumably not on strike, the people who are here today will remember the value of the discussions and the people and the exhibits that are not the massive multimillion dollar blockbuster presentations."
I totally agree. As someone who has been attending since the late 70s before Hall H was even a thing, I did not miss having celebrities and studios hosting big panels. Their absence made me think back on when movie panels could be Guillermo Del Toro or Terry Gilliam or Hayao Mizaki onstage talking for an hour and taking questions. It was not about seeing the entire cast of a Marvel film or getting a first look at a trailer. It was about hearing what these great artists had to say and having an opportunity to ask them questions.
Recently studios have complained that not just Comic-Con, but all pop culture conventions are not giving them the same bump and buzz as they used to. I think part of the problem is that they do not understand how to tap into the geekdom of something like Comic-Con. They dilute the value of getting to a Hall H panel by immediately releasing the exclusive clips and panel video. People are far less eager and far less enthusiastic about sharing posts about panels when everyone in the world has access to the same thing.
And then there isn't that sense of anticipation from the outside world of watching for news to come out of what's been revealed. In its early days, Hall H was like the epicenter for studio reveals because fans were the ones sharing their reactions and being looked to for information.
That said, I hope studios will return, but maybe with a little more thoughtfulness of how they put panels together and how quickly they share information. And of course there are still those unique Hall H panels, like the "Star Wars: Force Awakens" one in 2015 that took 6,500 attendees to an outdoor concert with Harrison Ford, Mark Hamill, Carrie Fisher, J.J. Abrams, Kathleen Kennedy and then newest addition to the "Star Wars" universe John Boyega. That was how to do Hall H right — giving fans a unique experience they could treasure. It wasn't about promoting a specific product, but rather it was about feeding fandom and reminding people why they loved something.
Hollywood may not have had a presence at Comic-Con's Hall H, but that left room for international pop culture to take center stage. On Thursday, "Project K" became the first Indian movie to be showcased at the pop culture convention. The Nag Ashwin directed and written sci-fi epic draws on Hindu mythology as well as "Star Wars." The panel revealed its new teaser trailer and the actual name of the film as "Kalki 2898 AD."
The stage was cleared so that the panel could open with a ceremonial dance. Then Rana Daggubati, the unofficial moderator for the panel (because the real one obviously had no knowledge of Indian cinema), referenced the Oscar-winning Indian film "RRR" and addressed the popularity of Indian cinema.
“Six or seven years ago a film called ‘Baahubali’ came out and really brought Indian cinema and India onto the world stage. We understood what global fandom means,” Daggubati said. “And we’re like, okay, now we need to be right in the middle of where fandom is. And Comic-Con it is.”
The panel brought out stars that might be unknown to mainstream American audiences, but who are cinematic royalty in India. In addition to director Ashwin, the panel featured stars Prabhas ("Baahubali: The Beginning"), Kamal Haasan ("Vikram"), Amitabh Bachchan (via Zoom) as well as veteran producer C. Aswani Dutt. Eighty-year-old Bachchan represents a half century of Indian cinema including classics such as "Sholay" and "Deewaar."
I hope this panel signals a willingness of Indian filmmakers and studios to tap into the pop culture convention and start bringing more films to Hall H. India makes films like old school Hollywood in the sense of having glamorous stars, glossy productions, and a flair for creating a big event around their films. The Project K panel makes me excited about the potential of Hall H for global pop culture cinema.
You could walk into Hall H for the Project K panel and the room was not at full capacity, but the crowd was enthusiastic to see more global representation on the stage.
Glanzer noted, "When we changed our name to include 'International' in our title back in 1994, it's because we really did want people to realize that we always invited international guests."
In keeping with that tradition, Comic-Con highlighted Japanese superstar Junji Ito. Kudos to Viz Media for bringing the artist and manga creator to the convention for two panels and showcasing his original art in the stunning exhibit "Welcome to the Ito-Verse" at the Marriott. His horror-themed art and mangas display a fascination for how the mundane can turn horrific. His art finds humor, beauty and terror in the most amazing ways.
Fans showed their adoration for the artist and Ito, speaking through a translator, expressed his impression of Comic-Con.
"I've been to many cons around the world, but San Diego Comic-Con definitely is probably the biggest," Ito said. "There are so many booths. The attendees, they're not only here, but they are such fans of what they are fans of. And I also enjoyed looking at all the exhibits. I really understood why SDCC has such a worldwide reputation."
Again referencing the lack of a Hollywood presence, Glanzer said, "I think what this allowed was for others to actually get more of the publicity, because without that big Hollywood celebrity aspect this year, I think it allowed attendees to explore and discover all the very cool stuff that happens at Comic-Con."
For the vendors in Artist Alley, many saw an increase in traffic on the exhibit floor. Eighteen-year-old Ethan Castillo has been selling his art at Comic-Con for eight years.
"Hall H isn't really rumbling too much this year. So we have a lot of Artist Alley support, which we love," Castillo said. "It's been amazing. We sold out of some prints. That's never happened before. So we had to get some new ones delivered overnight. And it's been a whirlwind. So, we're having a great time out here."
Another person having a great time was Dylan Soper, an 11-year-old attending Comic-Con for the first time as part of Little Fish Comic Book Studio.
"I'm just, like, insanely excited about Comic-Con. It's just like everything I've ever dreamed of, and I'm so excited for it. I really hope it's going to live up to all my expectations." Soper said early Thursday morning as he waited to get his badge to enter the convention.
After a full day on the floor Soper’s expectations were fully met.
"It's so awesome," Soper said. "It's just like, the shops have so much cool stuff in them, and the cosplay was awesome, and it's just like everything. I just like enjoying all of it with one of my best friends. It's so awesome."
Sometimes it’s good to see Comic-Con through fresh, young eyes and remember that the show was designed by and for people who love pop culture in all its various and glorious forms whether it’s a star-studded Marvel panel or just walking the exhibit floor.
Does Comic-Con need Hollywood? Not really. Hollywood and celebrities can be a treat, but for me and for many who have been attending for decades, Hollywood does not and has never defined the convention. If the people who were disappointed by the lack of Hollywood celebrities at Hall H this year skip coming next year, then that just means other fans finally have a chance to get in.
Highlights for me were seeing Junji Ito's art up close, feeling the buzz of energy from the Project K panel, hanging out with the true rebels of Troma at their late night panel, and getting to sit next to Usagi Yojimbo creator Stan Sakai at the Eisner Awards, where I received the lovely honor of accepting the Bob Clampett Humanitarian Award.
Yeah, it was a very good year.
