SDCC 2023: The Weekend Ahead
By: Mithrandiel
The time has come once again, fellow geeks - San Diego Comic Con is upon us!
Seems like it was only yesterday that we were covering SDCC 2022 - the convention’s triumphant return after a two year forced hibernation, courtesy of COVID-19. It had it all: a huge Marvel panel, Funko exclusives that people were going crazy for, and some of the biggest names in the comics industry.
This year there is still plenty to be hyped about, but it’s hard to step out of the shadow of the WGA-SAG strike. With Hollywood writers and actors actively striking, many of the activations that had been planned are now either greatly scaled back, or canceled altogether.
We hope that WGA and SAG are successful in their efforts to secure fair pay for the writers and actors that bring our favorite shows and movies to life. In the meantime, we’ve still got quite a busy weekend ahead of us! Here’s some of the highlights:
Wednesday 7/19 (hey, that’s today!)
Adult Swim Festival Preview: Adult Swim, The Cartoon Netowrk’s iconic programming block that has been running for over 20 years, will be hosting a festival on the green outside of the convention center. We’ll be taking a sneak peek at the activation this afternoon before it goes live tomorrow, so look forward to pictures on our Twitter feed!
Preview Night at The Exhibit Hall: The doors will be opening at 6 PM tonight so that fans can try to round up some exclusives and get their bearings on the vendors present this year. We’ll be sure to spotlight any interesting booths and shine a spotlight on the most sought-after exclusives from the show.
Thursday 7/20
TMNT: Mutant Mayhem in Hall H: With the majority of the major studios out of the picture, the upcoming TMNT film from Seth Rogen is sure to draw a hearty crowd! Our very own Roguesymbiote (Lance from Comic Book Keepers) will be covering the panel, sharing insights, reveals and more (well…as much as he can anyways…)
Oni Press/Tokyo Pop Panels: While Comic Con is traditionally the celebration of western comics, we’ll be spending some time catching up with the Manga industry - sitting in on Oni Press and Tokyo Pop’s respective panels to get a peek at upcoming titles.
Crunchyroll Industry Panel: The anime industry is staying busy, and Crunchyroll, the premiere anime and manga streaming platform, has news for us!
Funko games rooftop tabletop event: We’ll be checking out the latest from Funko games in a rooftop activation, seeing the plan for upcoming tabletop games and maybe trying out some new ones!
Friday 7/21
Bandai Booth Tour: Stocked with figures and toys from some of our favorite IPs, the Bandai booth is always a great time. We’ll be spending some time with Justin Cavender, Senior Marketing Manager for Bandai Namco Toys & Collectibles, seeing what’s on display this year, and probably making some recommendations!
The Geekly Grind attends The Eisners: Considered the Oscars of the comic world, the Eisners are being hosted Friday night and we are very excited to be attending for the first time. We’ll be sharing awards live as they’re presented on our Twitter feed.
Saturday 7/22
AI in Entertainment (panel): A hot topic in the midst of the ongoing strike, this is an important conversation that we want to be a part of. Hosted by the National Association of Voice Actors, it will discuss “…how existing legal structures can be used in some areas and how new standards need to be built for performers and producers to collaborate on great products while still protecting individual rights to performance and publicity.”
Energon Universe (panel): One of the biggest surprises this year in comics was Kirkman’s Void Rivals and the revival of the Transformers franchise, coming later this year from one of our favorite creators: Daniel Warren Johnson! This panel will highlight the partnership between the Transformers and GI Joe properties and feature Kirkman, DWJ, Joshua Williamson and Skybound SVP Sean Mackiewicz. We will follow the panel coverage with roundtable interviews with the talent as well.
Sunday 7/23
TBD! Nothing on our calendar yet for Sunday, but we’re looking forward to connecting with small press creators and spotlighting otherwise unseen stories and titles.
Overall, we’re very excited for the weekend ahead! Are you in town for SDCC? Make sure to hit us up on Twitter or leave a comment below!
