What often gets lost in the hoopla around Comic-Con is that it’s run by a nonprofit. It’s important to organizers that the event do well so that, frankly, they can do more events, but it doesn’t need to make money, and as long as fans are pleased—whether by Hall H panels or just picking up a Todd McFarlane autograph—the show is a success. Comic-Con International, the organization behind Comic-Con, went into 2020 with roughly $25 million in reserves, and that money got them through the lean years. Perhaps even less than the studios, the organization could use a hit, Salkowitz notes, but it may not need it.
Going into this year, organizers were “looking forward to having a normal year—normal being relative, of course,” says David Glanzer, Comic-Con’s chief communications and strategy officer. I’d asked him whether organizers were looking to make a bigger splash this year to recover from a couple of wobbly years at the start of the decade—a notion he pushed back on. The event features some 2,000 hours of programming, he noted, and each year includes a range of offerings from big Hall H movie cast announcements to exclusives from toy manufacturers. This one would continue those traditions, he said.
“There are often surprises at Comic-Con and this year will be no different,” Glanzer says. “We are fans ourselves. We put on the type of convention that we would like to attend.”
That’s all well and good, but it also might make Comic-Con the last of a struggling, if not dying, breed. Fan conventions were finding it tough to stay juiced even before the pandemic. In the years after, events like the video game expo E3 fell by the wayside. Other gatherings, like Summer Game Fest, have picked up some of the slack, but now that companies can stream their own announcements on platforms like YouTube and Twitch, the need to go to industry events is smaller. Disney, home to Marvel and Star Wars, also has its own in-person convention—D23—and when Covid-19 derailed Comic-Con, DC launched its own virtual event: DC FanDome. (It petered out once in-person gatherings reemerged, though.)
There are also persistent rumors that Comic-Con could one day not be San Diego Comic-Con at all. Talk circulates frequently that the event could move 120 miles north to Los Angeles, closer to the studios that host the big panels. Earlier this month, Forbes reported that while the convention is likely to stay in San Diego at least through 2025, the high rates that hotels charge attendees could lead organizers to reconsider. “If attendees opt not to come because they can’t afford to stay at a hotel here, they’ll go to another convention,” Glanzer told Forbes. “If that starts to happen, the studios won’t be able to make as big an impact, and it becomes a downward spiral.”
Which brings us back to what kind of impact the studios might make this year. Marvel is reportedly coming back and planning to trot out Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman to celebrate the release of Deadpool & Wolverine. They could also shake things up by making almost any announcement about next year’s Fantastic Four movie, starring Pedro Pascal. The Boys and Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power will be in Hall H. Max’s The Penguin is getting a panel. So is Doctor Who. Right now, it’s the studios themselves that need the reboot, Copic says, and “this is a great year for a reset.”
Ultimately, it’s about whether or not fans continue to want what Comic-Con offers. The Gen Xers and beyond who still remember the good old days won’t be going forever. Organizers have been smart in their ability to offer programming for those who grew up in online forums rather than comics shops, but both groups need reasons for repeat visits. Without the buzz of years past, the event may never again go viral.
