Reporting From The Floor of Comic-Con 2024

KINGDOM OF THE PLANET OF THE GREATS

Reporting From The Floor of Comic-Con 2024

Article by Justin T. Bowler and Paul Preston

PP: Alright, Justin, let’s get to what caught our eye at Comic-Con. Let’s talk about the city, then the show floor, then the cosplay.

JB: I was on a whirlwind tour of San Diego Comic-Con this year, so, I didn’t get to see nearly as much as I would have liked.

PP: It’s a whirlwind every year!

JB: Truth be told, I was only there for the day that I moderated a panel – Selling the Hit: What You Always Wanted to Know About the Stunt Industry – In Memory of Eric Cajiuat. (Look it up!)

PP: For the record, this is one of the best panels at Comic-Con, Wonder-Con and wherever you have it. I always learn something new, all the panelists genuinely like each other, the talk is frank and funny and there’s not a hard sell of anything. It really is awesome and when you get a crowd I’m geniunely thrilled.

JB: Well, it was Thursday, the same day as the Deadpool & Wolverine panel.

PP: …ouch. Then again, Hall H holds 6,000 people, so that leaves over 100,000 people to attend the stunt panel and I expect them all to show up next year.

JB: Hear more about this on the upcoming episode of the Countdown to 3: DEADPOOL podcast!

PP: Good news, I went on Friday only, so at least we’re reporting about different days and different events.

JB: As always, the city was bursting with advertisements on building-sized posters and pop-up ferris wheels.

JB: The Gaslamp district is always busy with streets closed off for 135,000 attendees who will walk the streets over the 4 day convention.

JB: There were cosplayers, there were bands, there were cosplayers in bands…

JB: There was this guy…

JB: I don’t claim to know everything that is represented at Comic-Con.

PP: A super-spreader of both joy and COVID-19, the show floor at San Diego Comic-Con is an unparalleled gathering of the faithful who love all things pop culture.

JB: The entire convention center has over 600,000 square feet of exhibit space. So, to see it all in one day is IMPOSSIBLE. Not to the mention the offsite popups in downtown San Diego like this:

JB: But, the show floor is especially awesome because every entertainment company or any company affiliated with entertainment is represented:

Marvel

LEGO

Lucasfilm

Hasbro

More Lucasfilm
And whatever this is…

JB: Plus, the show floor has booths for signings, pictures, meet and greets, etc. For example, if you watch Percy Jackson on Disney+, you may recognize Walker Scobell, Leah Jeffries, and Aryan Simhadri standing at the top of this booth overlooking the show floor doing interviews before a meet & greet.

PP: I spotted Josh Gad signing a comic he’s involved in. Who knew he had a comic? (it’s called The Writer from Dark Horse)

PP: It’s the conversations you can get involved in that are always a surprise. The Costume Designers Guild had a booth, repped here by this outfit from Furiosa:

PP: With SAG and the WGA striking last year and IATSE just squeaking through an agreement, I was curious if the costumers were getting a raw deal from the studios, too. Turns out they just ratified an agreement earlier this year! Had no idea they were in the midst of heavy negotiations over the course of this last year, too. I bonded with the booth reps about how the AMPTP heads are pretty much all Mr. Burnses and Dr. Evils at this point. Other things that prove you’re at San Diego Comic-Con? A Boomer (from the ’70s Battlestar Galactica) sighting. Literally ALWAYS here:

PP: Movie-themed pinball games. Played the HELL out of John Wick pinball. Not just fun tie-ins to the movie, but actually a really good game design going on here, too:

PP: And I always enjoy stopping by the NASA booth, reminding everyone that ACTUAL outer space is a thing and it’s fascinating as hell!

PP: The booth talent here have signs encouraging you to ask them anything and the conversations can run DEEP!

JB: Then comes the magic of cosplay in literally every direction you turn. There was obvious…

JB: Cleverly interpretive…

JB: Fun…

JB: Blasts from the past…

PP: No way that’s NOT Barbara Eden, by the way.

JB: Strikingly funny (this is actually Kevin Hart’s stunt double!)…

JB: And one or two very surprisingly appropriate cosplayers who paired nicely with my own costume…

JB: You can even find one who shares your appreciation of punching Nazis…

PP: This Wanda Maximoff knocked me out ’cause she looked great PLUS she was not only juggling those spheres impressively, but she was making them HOVER in between her hands. The sphere you see here is touching NOTHING:

PP: My favorite’s gotta be the guy who cosplayed as me! Coulda wore a hat, though. Commit, dude…

JB: On a side note, I’m sure there is a picture somewhere on the internet but, I counted no less than 37 Deadpools. In one instance, I found another Indiana Jones who was near two Deadpools. I thought “Two Indianas? Two Deadpools? This has to be a pic!” So, I politely waited for a woman who also wanted a picture with them. She got her picture and I asked if she could snap a photo for me with the other Indy and the two Deadpools. She was very surprised I asked her to be BEHIND the camera. Then, she stared at me blankly as if to say “I’m not moving”. And she didn’t. No one asked her to be in this picture, but here she is anyway. Anybody know who she is? Lol

PP: I got into the great Hall H for a couple of panels. First was a conversation with directors Antoine Fuqua and Roland Emmerich (cue The Odd Couple theme). Pretty cool addition to the panels that was included in this panel and the next one I’m going to mention – not only did the crowd get to ask their awkward questions, but pre-recorded questions from celebs were shared, too! So, Josh Brolin, for example, got to ask the directors what it was like working with actors and how you coax the best performances out of them.

PP: The Alien: Romulus panel went all out with some great clips, giveaways, experiences and an entertaining-as-hell Fede Alvarez leading the conversation. At one point, “an Alien fan” asked a question via video and it was Ridley Scott!

PP: Callie Spaeny continues her upward trajectory as a star after Priscilla and Civil War appearing in what will no doubt be a hit August movie. At one point, the lights went out in Hall H, sirens and emergency lights went nuts and face huggers ran loose all over the stage! In a huge win for 20th Century Studios, EVERYONE in Hall H went home with a face hugger of their own. Mine sits proudly in my living room until my fiancée will no doubt make me move it…

PP: Before we wrap up this quick drive-by of sights and sounds at Comic-Con, I have to shout-out to the great Mark Ellis, who opened up for Chris Hardwick at The American Comedy Co. in downtown San Diego. Mark killed with crisp, relaxed and hilarious set. I guess I never knew Hardwick’s roots were in stand-up, too, and HE killed it as well! I know him as a host of things for twenty plus years but it makes sense he would start with stand-up comedy. Here, my friend and Schmoedown-partner-in-crime Craig Gaynier, his buddy Jong, and I are laughing at Mark’s jokes, even as he’s left the stage and is posing with us!