Planning for San Diego Comic-Con 2022 – the first in person show in three years – kicked into full throttle last week as programming was released, party invites went out and the exhibitor map was posted on the CCI website.
Click to access CCI22_SDCC_ExhibitHall_Map.pdf
And as we’ve been telling you, the pandemic shift has led to many changes in who is exhibiting this year. Here’s the main publisher area from 2019:
And the 2022 version.
Lots of traditional booths will no longer be there, including Dark Horse, Graphitti, D&Q and, sadly, Matt Groening’s long running space taken up by Bongo Comics and then Bapper Books – its spot has been taken over by Marvel.
Some booths are smaller, including Image and Sideshow.
But, you know, things change, new blood comes in. First time exhibitors include Mad Cave, Z2, Tapas, Storm King, Immortal Studios and more.
And returning exhibitors: Disney+ and Disney TV are back in the media area (not shown on the excerpts above.) And BAndai is back in the toy area.
But lots of Comic-Con traditions will be around, like Lego, Hasbro and Mattel, the Star Wars pavillion, and Artist Alley.
Marvel is now the biggest publisher on the floor, followed by IDW and Viz. Boom and Oni will also have their traditional layouts – although expect a lot of questions to be asked at the latter.
Offsites are also back in force! The Unofficial SDCC Blog has an exhaustive (and exhausting) listing. For those who are wondering if live events are back, I would say yes based on this list. Way too much to plow through – I stopped after the Cat Cafe coffee klatsch and Star Trek Ice Cream.
Of course there will be one other new participant at SDCC: Covid. Masks will be required on the show floor, and attendees but show proof of vaccination or a negative test, but with a big outbreak of the most transmissible version of the virus yet hitting California, walking through the crowd will take on a certain daredevil quality.
It’s all coming at you in a few days! Keep it locked on The Beat for all the latest coverage.
