SDCC 2022 scene report: What worked and what didn’t

For comic book — and, in recent years, film and TV — fans around the world, San Diego Comic-Con marks the ultimate pop culture pilgrimage, something akin to a celebration smashed into a trade show that also happens to be the industry’s biggest gift shop. As studios announce their immense Hollywood slates, comic creators fill artists’ alley and passionate readers, thinkers, and artists program panels, filling each and every ballroom in the San Diego Convention Center. 2022 marks the return of the full convention, after a small “Special Edition” last November, for the first time since 2019. While the city of San Diego is “operating normally,” COVID-19 and the monkeypox outbreak — which was designated a global health emergency during the weekend the convention took place — are still a real threat. What will San Diego Comic-Con 2022 look like? It was worth it! It depends on who you ask and what brought them to pop culture’s most famous gathering.

If you’ve ever been to SDCC in the last 10 years then you’ll know that just walking around the city can be a feat. This year, it was much easier to navigate the normally crowded areas like Fifth Avenue or J Street. The SDCC was a hugely popular event that attracted over 130,000 visitors each year. However, it felt much less busy than in previous years. It made it a decidedly more pleasant and less stressful version of pop culture’s busiest weekend.

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That doesn’t mean SDCC didn’t feel overwhelming in the face of COVID-19 and three years of social distancing. Cosplayer Brenden Keller — who’d crafted a very impressive Qrow costume including a huge scythe that only weighed four pounds — appreciated the convention’s “COVID consciousness” but would have preferred it to be more like last year’s Special Edition, which was attended by around 40,000 people and took place almost completely in the convention center.

“I actually preferred that! I mean, we got lucky this time because it’s not too crowded,” he said, noting the apparent dip in SDCC attendance. Keller stated that it was certainly better than LA’s Anime Expo, which he’d attended in early July. “That was a little too crowded. It’s not nice, you get tired, and it’s not as fun.” He also had some great tips for people thinking about attending a convention: “It’s really a matter of figuring out and really properly organizing your time,” he shared. “Bring enough food and water! Water is really important!”

This year, the five-day event was characterized by high humidity levels and temperatures up to 80 F. Historically, Wednesday’s Preview Night has always been slow, but by SDCC standards the city felt almost like a ghost town. The streets became busier, but the city was still walkable by Thursday. The trend continued on Friday morning, but it was packed outside of the convention by afternoon. Saturday is traditionally the busiest day of the show, but even then it was possible to walk the floor without bumping into people or getting stuck in human traffic, something that can’t be said of years past. Multiple attendees felt that the event was more quiet than it used to be, some even feeling like attendance was 20% or less.

While official attendance numbers haven’t been released, David Glanzer, chief communication and strategy officer for SDCC, spoke to Forbes in the days leading up to the convention, saying, “People bought their tickets in 2019, and there have been some refunds and exchanges, but I expect it to be crowded. We are pretty close to a full house.”

Rebecca Ann, a Mysterious Galaxy comic artist and bookseller, had interesting comments about why the hall was easier to navigate. “A lot of the bigger vendors in the exhibit hall weren’t there this year, so it allowed for these wider aisles and for it to accidentally have safer protocols.” Rebecca also found it to be far more COVID safety-focused than Comic-Con International’s own WonderCon earlier in the year. At that show “there were exhibitors that were not masking even after being told to, and people just casually walking around on the floor without masks.” As an immunocompromised person, the improved COVID protocols were key to Rebecca’s ability to enjoy SDCC, as they were working on the show floor every day. For them, the changes that the convention made along with the extra space meant “it was the best con that [they’ve] had in a while.”

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Face coverings as well as proof of vaccination or a recent negative test were a condition of attending this year’s show, with Comic-Con International verifying everyone’s status at approved locations. To gain access to the convention center, everyone was issued orange wristbands once they were approved. While there were six sites to get your wristband — some with little to no wait — a lot of people ended up waiting at the “center” right outside of the convention, which at times had a line that was hundreds of people long and an hour-plus wait in the hot midday heat.

In the mind of indie comic creator Johnny Parker II, SDCC’s COVID protocols were a step up from some other recent conventions. “I think they did a good job. “I liked the SDCC’s approach to this after going to Emerald City Comic Con. They had some similar policies. Multiple. [vaccination verification] stations. The COVID stations at other cons were far from the exhibitor center. It was a smart move by them. Your badge station and COVID station for exhibitors were located in the exact same location. Now you can get on with your day. And then having multiple stations around and introducing the Clear app was just a smarter way to approach it.”

Exhibiting in the Small Press section of the convention, which he’s done for a number of years now, Parker also noticed the lower attendance of the show. “This was the first year in a long time where I could just sit and literally see through the crowd,” he shared. “When you walked into Comic-Con in the morning, it used to be hard to make it to our table. This time, it was easy. You could see that it was not going well, although the mood was still positive. It was still a good year for me as a creator. People were still buying my products. A lot of us agreed that it wasn’t our best year, but it definitely wasn’t the worst. It was a nice return to form.”

Photograph by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

Theresa from Calimesa, California, has been attending SDCC for years, but this year’s show didn’t live up to her expectations. Waiting in her wheelchair in line for a Kevin Smith panel in Hall H, she explained that things just don’t feel the same. “Back in the day you used to go to your panel, buy your Funko, and just participate.” But the introduction of lotteries, pre-booked e-tickets for collectibles, and wristbanded events have taken away that spontaneity. “It’s just really sad that not everybody gets to experience those things. I was really bummed to find that out.” Another big change she wasn’t happy with was in regard to Hall H. “They’re not letting people stay inside, so you see your panel, you leave, and if you want to see another one you get in another line.” To Theresa it feels like another thing that makes it harder to participate in the con.

The Hall H lines looked much more reasonable from the outside. New rules appeared to have an impact on the number of people who are willing to wait, and many high-profile panels still allow people to enter within minutes of their start time. The change was significant and will hopefully allow more people the chance to see one of the best parts of SDCC.

Photograph by Daniel Knighton/Getty Images

In contrast to Theresa’s experience, Hall H was a generally great part of the convention for RJ Perry, a writer/artist and first-time SDCC attendee. “Hall H was fun, and not just the big media launches: Marvel, Disney, Paramount. I waited in line but didn’t get a Hall H wristband.” That meant Perry had to queue up for each panel he wanted to attend, which sometimes meant a line farther than the eye could see: “I was told the ‘Hall H line begins here’ and ‘could be seen in the distance.’ I didn’t see it, lol!” In the end RJ, like a lot of SDCC visitors, found joy in the less high-profile moments of the convention. “The attendees, fans, and pros were all fabulous. Especially the small independent publishers.” And, of course, he got to experience that very special thing that only comic conventions offer: “Meeting pros I grew up idolizing was the best.”

Jules Chin Greene also experienced that Comic-Con moment. “It was very surreal,” the writer shared. “When I was walking to get COVID verified, I saw Rob Liefeld walking in the opposite direction. It’s like, ‘Oh my god! This is what Comic-Con is, I suppose.’” In that way, SDCC absolutely delivered on the hype. “Meeting so many creators that I admired and just getting to see Scott Snyder and Jim Lee and Bruce Campbell, it definitely lived up to my expectations.” It was Greene’s first time attending, as a fan or journalist, and they found that a press pass gave them direction that helped with how overwhelming it can all be. “I’m glad that I went as a journalist because it focused my experience of the convention. I got to have the Comic-Con experience, but for the most part I felt better — with COVID going around — being there for a specific purpose and having a separate space I could be in that was closed from the general public.”

SDCC couldn’t exist without the legions of volunteers, security guards, and hotel workers that make it possible. In fact, workers at the Bayfront Hilton — where many high-profile studio press events take place — went on strike on Wednesday night, with their demands quickly being met by Thursday. Danny was a Canadian security guard stationed at the hotel’s waterfront. The show was fun, but it wasn’t without its difficulties. “It’s pretty cool. There’s a lot of people… I try to get them to use the crosswalk but they don’t listen, they just cross anyway.” A highlight of the convention was working by the elevators and getting to see Danny DeVito (who was on site to promote Little Demon). But if he returns, Danny hopes that it’s as an attendee. “I’d like to come here just to be here. That would be a lot better.”