On March 21, 1970, a small comic book fan convention took place in San Diego, where a rather tiny group gathered to chat, meet their favorite artists, and perhaps share comics and wisdom. Back then, the comic book world was very small and mainly aimed at children, and there was barely any information available, beyond “pen pals” and newsstands, as specialized stores hardly existed at that time. 55 years later, that small convention has turned into Comic-Con, a massive event that brings together over 135,000 people over four days and becomes the nerve center of everything related to the geek culture. Well, at least until this year.
San Diego Comic-Flop
Yesterday, Comic-Con closed its doors, but you may not have noticed: after Robert Downey Jr. showed his Doctor Doom mask last year and announced his presence in Avengers: Doomsday, everything feels a bit underwhelming. There have been some announcements and trailers, of course, from the prequel to It for HBO Max to season 2 of The Peacemaker, including movies like The Long Walk, Five Nights at Freddy’s, or the confirmation of the release date for Coyote vs ACME. Yes. But.
After the bombshell that was Superman, one would expect that at least James Gunn would announce some new movie, or that Kevin Feige would clarify the future of Marvel when Avengers: Secret Wars premieres in 2027. However, both studios, true classics and icons, have decided to completely skip Comic-Con, leaving Hall H (the place where the big panels are held) filled with people, but at the same time, totally desolate, with no surprises or unexpected gigantic news, focusing only on niche products. Part of it is a pleasure to return to a quieter film world, yes, but… will it always be this way?
I would like to say no, and that next year, when they have something new to share, they will return to the top of Hall H, but the truth is that it has as many chances of happening… as Comic-Con following the path of E3, with each producer holding their own separate event. Nintendo has Nintendo Direct and Disney has D23, an exhibition that takes place every two years where all the company’s news is presented: Why waste Marvel’s bullet at Comic-Con, letting it get lost among other news, when they could completely dominate the conversation in August next year? There is no longer a need to fight for the best spot in the news of the day: if you set the agenda, you don’t need to depend on anyone.
What’s important is outside
This is just one possibility, of course. The other is that the two giants return when they have something to share, just like they did last year. Perhaps the best place to showcase it is, in classic style, at the top of Comic-Con. Why not? It has been this way for decades, after all.
The problem is that even Netflix has abandoned the big conventions to announce its hits at Tudum, its own event, and everything points to the fact that this is the path that other producers will follow in an Internet that needs an event every weekend to stay alive and have conversation. There’s no point in releasing the trailer for Five Nights At Freddy’s 2 if it gets lost in a jumble of conversations, trailers, and various announcements: in the end, it’s the smartest move from a business perspective, even if it means losing that moment of great global anticipation where one feels anything can happen.
Perhaps, after all, Comic-Con would benefit from returning to its roots, to those moments when a hundred people gathered to trade comics and discuss whether Aquaman or Doctor Doom was stronger, and forget the parentheses in which, for a few years, it became the center of the world.
