San Diego Comic-Con 2023- Less Film, More Comics, And No One Minded

Posted in: Comics, Conventions, Current News, san diego comic con | Tagged: frank cho, san diego, sdcc

I didn’t get to go to San Diego Comic-Con this year, but from reports back, I really wish I had. Sales, business, engagement was up, up, up!

I didn’t get to go to San Diego Comic-Con this year, but from most reports back, I really wish I had. The consensus varies from people I talked to but in general, the lack of content from Hall H and Ballroom 20, took people out of spending the days in long lines and out onto the showfloor. So comic book creators, exhibitors and vendors made more money and had much more engagement than in comparable years past. Attending the show has gotten more expensive, but this year that was more than made up for the business that they did.

Certainly, the reduction in film and television content didn’t put attendees off or reduce their enjoyment factor. The show was, naturally, sold out but could have sold out five times over. And eBay resales for San Diego Comic-Con tickets the week before the show, however unofficial and dodgy that may be, were selling rapidly for up to $650, twice the cover price. There are reports of in-person sales on the day of the show hitting four figures. I’m sure some folks who had planned to attend just for film and TV content sold their tickets, but there were ready buyers willing to help them turn an instant profit.

A few comments directly from San Diego Comic-Con creators and vendors.

Frank Cho wrote “It was one of the best Comicons I’ve attended in recent years. I felt everyone was in a festive mood and everyone had a good time. It was great hanging out with old friends and new. I can’t wait next year. *Harley Quinn with hammer. One of the rare convention sketches I did at San Diego Comicon.”

Michael Kingston wrote “Last year, was my worst SDCC… I don’t know if I’ve ever really processed how bad it was until this week. And that’s bc this week was definitively my best SDCC ever. From a sales standpoint, we crushed it. But, honestly, that wasn’t even the best part. The best part was all the love and energy that everyone brought to the space. The feedback from everyone on the new layout was overwhelming in the best possible way. I reconnected with a bunch of folks I hadn’t seen since before the pandemic. And all the guests really brought fun and good vibes to the booth. I’m so grateful to everyone that came out to the booth to show support and the people who reached out privately or just boosted our posts. Those vibes definitely helped me through an exhausting weekend. I feel incredibly grateful to have so many good people in my life. Three months ago, I felt like I had been irrevocably broken. Today, the only thing that’s broken is our SDCC sales records.”

Storm King Comics tweeted “We outdid ourselves at #SDCC & we expect to really cross the line at #NYCC. Thanks to you, we posted a sales record, our biggest ever in 10 years of #StormKingComics! See you in New York!”

Tony B Kim posted on his first day at the show,”After months, weeks, days & hours, on Thursday at Comic-Con, @HeroWithinInc smashed our single day sales record. I am overwhelmed and so grateful” and adding the following day “I shared yesterday that we shattered our @HeroWithinInc single day sales record. While we didn’t hit yesterday’s numbers, we still broke our previous record, making today our officially second highest day in con history. Incredible. What a show and still two days to go!”

Michael Calero wrote “I can’t even express how incredible an experience it was doing sdcc this year. Huge Thank you to all the amazing creators who took the time to do signings at our booth . Even bigger thank you to all the amazing friends and fans who came by to show their support. We worked 18-20 hour days each day and barely ate but it was well worth it to get to have some a positive time representing the work we’ve been doing.”

Camilla d’Errico posted “SDCC is now done! I want to take a moment to express my heartfelt gratitude to all of you who stopped by and visited my booth, making my 25th Conniversary at SDCC truly unforgettable! It was an incredible experience, and your support and enthusiasm made it even more special. Thank you for being a part of my journey and celebrating with me. Here’s to many more exciting adventures ahead!”

Corey Brotherson tweeted “So that’s that. Another SDCC done. Sales were excellent (Clockwork Watch omnibus 1, Deadlier Than and all versions of Magic of Myths sold out entirely ) – thanks to all the wonderful friends and peeps who visited our table, making the trip as amazing and successful as it was”

Attendee Matt Conant summed up a lot of the feeling, saying “I heard several folks in Artists Alley and the Small Press areas of the show floor claim this year’s SDCC resulted in their strongest sales in recent memory. Maybe not having the huge studios gobbling up all the attention has its advantages…”

And the San Diego Comic-ConUnofficial Blog confirmed “Everyone we spoke to seemed to be having a GREAT sales year”

Rob Salkowitz reported for ICV2 “New publisher DSTLRY sold out mass quantities of their debut anthology including many in Con-exclusive deluxe format, despite hefty cover prices. Independent creator Eric Dean Seaton (The Legend of the Mantmaji), in the back of Hall B, had to reorder inventory of his graphic novels after selling out by Thursday afternoon…. Collectible comic dealer tables I spoke to also reported brisk business and thick crowds, with several saying this was their best SDCC in recent memory. There were more new publishers and first-time exhibitors set up throughout the hall, taking advantage of the absence of longtime exhibit hall staples like Sideshow Collectibles and Amazon’s comiXology.”

As the rest of the show, Rob added “One byproduct of fewer panels in the big rooms like Hall H, Ballroom 20 and the Indigo Ballroom is that fans sought out other programming (and places to sit down and relax).  As a result, a lot of special-interest panels filled up and creators, publishers, experts and smaller companies got to reach a new audience.  Even the academically-oriented panels, held offsite at the San Diego Public Library that is unfortunately the site of a lot of tents and encampments, pulled more people than usual.”

And he also reports on the true indicator of fan response to the show with the San Diego Comic-Con talkback panel that closed out the show and “which is usually the place the most vocal critics of the show go to complain to the organizers, was a virtual lovefest… One programming official observed afterward that Hall H and line management is usually the biggest sore point for attendees. This year, for better or worse, it was a non-issue.”

One issue that was raised was disability access, and the increased crowds on the show floor did have an impact. One of the founders of San Diego Comic-Con and eternal guest and panel host of the show, Scott Shaw! had his own experience to share. “If you were at SDCCI 2023, you probably noted that this year’s con looked very different — there was absolutely NO SPACE in the aisles and intersections were even worse. This year, trying to travel from my tables to the nearest bathroom in a scooter was like entering in a demolition derby. I’ve NEVER seen Comic-Con this congested nor so difficult to traverse. Even worse, many of those in the mobs seemed to think that each of them was the only person on the planet.” After detailing a number of such experiences, he added “Some have mentioned that many of the less-than-cooperative visitors who were Hall H regulars but unfamiliar with the etiquette of the Exhibit Hall. One thing’s for certain, it sure wasn’t this cruelly hellacious on the floor last year. One jerk refused to move so my wife could get her scooter past him. He told Judy “No one’s gonna tell me what to do!” If I was there, I would have been arrested as SDCCI’s first murderer”. But he does conclude saying “…BUT OTHER THAN THAT, I HAD A WONDERFUL TIME AT SDCCI 2023.”

It is certainly true that San Diego Comic-Con got fewer headlines in the mass media as a result of big film and TV announcements made at the show. But those who went – and didn’t catch COVID  – seem to overall have a better time than usual. I understand the show organisers may be having a rethink regarding how the balance may best be represented next year when no doubt Hollywood will come back en masse. Basically, due to the writer and actor strikes, San Diego Comic-Con got to run a “What If?” experience this year and, overall, may be in a better position to make certain demands and decisions, without fearing a lack of business at the show, or in the hotels and down around whose business taxes go a long way to supporting the show as well. And maybe, just maybe, I might make it out again next year. I really wish I’d been this year…

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