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[Amaia Novara]

SanDiego Comic-Con (also referred to as Comic-Con or SDCC) is a comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, since 1970. It is held at the San Diego Convention Center. Originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fantasy media, Comic-Con has grown to include a large range of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres.

According to Forbes, Comic-Con is the "largest convention of its kind in the world."[2] Since 2010, Comic-Con has filled the San Diego Convention Center to capacity with over 130,000 attendees.[3] Comic-Con is home to the Eisner Awards, which recognizes creative achievement in American comic books, often referred to as the comic industry's equivalent to the Academy Awards.[4]

San Diego Comic Convention, doing business as Comic-Con International, is the corporate name of the public-benefit nonprofit corporation behind Comic-Con. The corporation also organizes WonderCon, an annual convention held in Anaheim, California, and SAM: Storytelling Across Media, a symposium held at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park.

The convention was founded in 1970 by Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Mike Towry, Ron Graf, Barry Alfonso, Bob Sourk, and Greg Bear.[5][6][7] Initial comic book and sci-fi club meetings would be held at Krueger's Alert Books in Ocean Beach, where much of the foundation of the early Cons coalesced.[8] In the mid-1960s, Dorf, a Detroit-born comics fan, had mounted the Detroit Triple-Fan Fairs, one of the first commercial comics-fan conventions. When he moved to San Diego, California, in 1970,[9] he organized a one-day convention known as San Diego's Golden State Comic-Minicon on March 21, 1970, "as a kind of 'dry run' for the larger convention he hoped to stage." Dorf went on to be associated with the convention as president or manager, variously, for years until becoming estranged from the organization.[10] Alf co-chaired the first convention with Krueger and became chairman in 1971.[6]

According to Forbes, the convention is the "largest convention of its kind in the world;"[2] Publishers Weekly wrote "Comic-Con International: San Diego is the largest show in North America;"[18] it is also the largest convention held in San Diego.[19] The convention has an estimated annual regional economic impact of more than $140 million.[20] Yet, in 2009, the estimated economic impact was criticized for allegedly negatively impacting seasonal businesses outside of Comic-Con, low individual spending estimates of attendees, that a large number of attendees live in San Diego, and that the impact of the convention was more cultural than financial.[21]

The estimated economic impact of that year's convention was $180 million.[22] In 2014, the estimated impact of that year's convention was $177.8 million.[23] In 2016, the estimated impact of that year's convention was down to $150 million.[24] By 2018, San Diego Comic-Con saw increasing competition from other comic conventions in places such as New York City, and Washington, D.C., which caused it to compete for attendees and companies time and budget; yet San Diego Comic-Con was described by Publishers Weekly as "a must-do".[25]

The convention is organized by a panel of 13 board members, 16 to 20 full-time and part-time workers, and 80 volunteers who assist via committees. Comic-Con International is a non-profit organization, and proceeds of the event go to funding it, as well as SAM: Storytelling Across Media and WonderCon.[13] The convention logo was designed by Richard Bruning and Josh Beatman in 1995. In 2015, working with Lionsgate, a video channel was created to host Comic-Con related content.[26] In 2015, through a limited liability company, Comic-Con International purchased three buildings in Barrio Logan.[27] In 2018 Comic-Con International purchased a 29,000-square-foot (2,700 m2) office in San Diego's Little Italy neighborhood.[28]

In 2017, the organization acquired a lease to the Federal Building in Balboa Park, originally built for the California Pacific International Exposition and previously occupied by the San Diego Hall of Champions, with the intention of opening a Comic-Con Museum.[29] By October 2017, the organization began to hire staff for the museum.[30] Nearly a year after acquiring the lease, the museum was not yet open.[31] During the 2018 Comic-Con, one reason stated for why the museum had not yet opened was the need for additional funds.[32] Organizers are hoping to raise $25 million with a target opening date of late 2020 or 2022.[28]

On April 17, 2020, the 53rd convention was cancelled due to the COVID-19 pandemic in California. It was originally scheduled to occur from July 23 to 26, 2020, to coincide with the 2020 Summer Olympics in Tokyo, Japan, which was postponed to 2021 due to the pandemic.[33] An "SDCC@Home" digital streaming event was held during the same time period as a replacement for the 2020 event.[34]

Although plans were made for the convention to possibly return in 2021 (with 2020 badge holders given the option to receive a full refund or to roll over their badge to 2021),[33] it was announced on March 1, 2021, that the convention would be cancelled once again. Despite availability of COVID-19 vaccines, the organizers assessed that it was still premature and unsafe to hold an in-person event at Comic-Con's full scale on the originally-scheduled dates, and that Comic-Con International was exploring the possibility of holding a smaller in-person spin-off event later in the year. SDCC@Home would again be held, but in a downsized form.[35] A smaller in-person event, "San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition" was hosted in November 2021, with proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test required for admission, and face masks being mandatory.[36] The full-scale convention returned in July 2022; once again, face masks and proof of full COVID-19 vaccination was required.[37][38]

On July 13, 2023, SAG-AFTRA approved a strike after failing to renew its contract with the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), marking the first time that both actors and writers have concurrently been on strike since 1960.[39][40] As SAG-AFTRA members would be prohibited from participating in promotional work such as panels,[41][42] multiple major media companies pre-emptively pulled out of Comic-Con as early as June, including Disney (including subsidiaries Marvel and Lucasfilm), Netflix, Inc., Sony Pictures, and Universal Pictures.[43]

On the Wednesday evening prior to the official opening, professionals, exhibitors, and pre-registered guests for all four days can attend a pre-event, dubbed "Preview Night," to give attendees the opportunity to walk the exhibit hall and see what will be available during the convention.

Along with panels, seminars, and workshops with comic book professionals, there are previews of upcoming feature films and portfolio review sessions with top comic book and video game companies. The evenings include events such as awards ceremonies, the annual Masquerade costume contest, and the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival, which showcases shorts and feature-length movies that do not have distribution or distribution deals.

Traditional events include an eclectic film program, screening rooms devoted to Japanese animation, gaming, programs such as cartoonist Scott Shaw!'s "Oddball Comics" slide show, Quick Draw! hosted by Mark Evanier with Shaw!, Sergio Aragones and a guest cartoonist responding to improvisational prompts and games (a la Whose Line Is It Anyway?) and animation expert Jerry Beck's program featuring TV's "worst cartoons ever", as well as over 350 hours of other programming on all aspects of comic books and pop culture.

Like most comic book conventions, Comic-Con features a large floorspace for exhibitors. These include media companies such as movie studios and TV networks, as well as comic-book dealers and collectibles merchants. And like most comics conventions, Comic-Con includes an autograph area, as well as the Artists' Alley where comics artists can sign autographs and sell or do free sketches. Despite the name, artists' alleys can include writers and even models.

In recent years, the number of television shows that are promoted far outnumber films. During the 2011 convention, at least 80 TV shows were represented, compared to about 35 films.[44] The shows not only promote in the exhibit halls, but also use screenings and panels of various actors, writers, producers, and others from their shows.

Premium cable channels HBO and Showtime have used the con to promote programs like Game of Thrones (HBO), Dexter (Showtime), Shameless (Showtime) and True Blood (HBO).[44][45][46] Streaming services, including Netflix and Amazon Prime Video, have also had an increased presence at Comic-Con since the late-2010s.[43]

There are at least 17 separate rooms in the convention center used for panels and screenings, ranging in size from 280 seats to 6,100 seats. The two biggest are Ballroom 20, which seats approximately 4,900;[48] and Hall H, which seats just over 6,100.[49]

The neighboring Hilton Bayfront is also used, with its main ballroom (Indigo) seating up to 2,600.[50][51] The other neighboring hotel, the Marriott Marquis & Marina, also hosts a lot of Comic-Con activity. Among other things, the hotel serves as the anime headquarters and is where the nighttime films are shown.[50]

Comic-Con has served as the setting for Mark Hamill's Comic Book: The Movie, and for an episode of the HBO television series Entourage, the latter of which, while set at the event, was not filmed there. Comic-Con also served as an excuse for the fictional characters Seth Cohen and Ryan Atwood's trip to Tijuana, Mexico in episode 7 ("The Escape") of the first season of TV series The O.C. The convention also featured prominently as a setting for the Numb3rs episode "Graphic". In season 4 of Beauty and the Geek, an episode was featured where the contestants traveled to Comic-Con 07 and were given a challenge to create their own superheroes. In an episode of Punk'd, Hilary Swank gets Punk'd after an "attack from talking robot". In season 5, episode six, of the Showtime show Weeds, attendees from Comic-Con 2009 are seen in Silas and Doug's medicinal marijuana club.

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