By Gabriel Neeb
The 2024 San Diego Comic-Con has been considered the first “real” San Diego Comic-Con since 2019 as it was thought to be unburdened by COVID restrictions or strikes by Hollywood writers and artists. However, such a condition also meant a return to “real” concerns for an event as large as the Con.
At a packed Comic-Con Talkback in Room 25ABC on Sunday, July 28, 2024, many convention goers gathered to express their concerns about many things that occurred in the months leading to the Con and events at the Con itself.
Convention representatives were Eddie Ibrahim (Senior Programming Director), David Glanzer (Chief Communications And Strategy), Craig Fellows (VP Operations), and Robin Donlan (President- San Diego Comic Convention). On a personal note, I’ve been attending the Talkback panel off and on for most of a decade, and usually, it’s one representative.
This one had four.
One of the biggest areas of concern was the problems the screening of Deadpool & Wolverine had caused. This was supposed to be the first big, public screening of the movie and there was a lot of preparation involved, including online ticketing and the first time Hall H had ever been cleared of people in Con history (Glanzer: “…don’t know if we’ll do [that] again.”).
One of the most prominent complaints was from people who had legitimate tickets and didn’t get in. There were accounts of people who didn’t even have Con badges- using screenshots of tickets to gain access and reports that scans of tickets registering as false were granted access anyway. What was even more disturbing was the poor line management by contract security. Somehow, the front of the line managed to swell in the time before the doors opened, and there was a very real threat of stampedes by the thousands in that line.
The Convention staff was well aware of the issues and stated that they had plans for the screening, but circumstances overwhelmed even those plans. In the words of David Glanzer, “There was a line. There was a plan and there was failure on many levels.” The Convention intends to launch an investigation into the breakdowns and asks that the speakers send their accounts to the Con via the website (https://www.comic-con.org/contact/).
Another issue of concern was that of hotel rooms and ‘Hotelpocalypse’ – the annual event when attendees try to secure lodging for the Con and sometimes fail to do so. This led to a very extensive discussion by Con personnel about problems between hotels and the Convention. The biggest one was that hotels have been scaling back available rooms offered to the Convention at affordable prices. The Convention negotiates for rooms three years out (the plans and negotiations for 2026 are currently being finalized), but the Con staff was clear that their continued stay in San Diego was dependent on hotels keeping rooms available at affordable prices. The Con doesn’t want to “price out” the attendees, and if fans of the Con wrote to the tourist board of San Diego expressing their concerns, that wouldn’t be unappreciated (https://www.sandiego.org/meeting-planners/services-resources.aspx).
Perhaps one of the most “humorous” issues brought up was the horrible website. As in, it’s not very useful and finding anything on it is, at best, difficult. One commenter offered to do free consulting to build a better website so long as he would never have to deal with Hotelpocalypse. Glanzer stated that changes are still being made to the website and any suggestions would be welcome through San Diego Comic-Con’s website (https://www.comic-con.org/contact/).
Then there was security. The quality of security this year was inconsistent. I don’t suppose you can hire five different companies and expect seamless service and a smooth flow of information because that didn’t happen. There was at least one instance of security claiming there was no ADA (Americans with Disabilities Act) line for the Masquerade by “Lester” before “Maryam” was able to direct the commenter and their friends to the correct area. This is of course in addition to the numerous problems already reported with the Deadpool & Wolverine line. Glanzer did ask that if security screws up, take note of the time and place, and report it to the Convention (https://www.comic-con.org/contact/). There were a few security guys commended though, particularly “Ronnie” from 2023 was cool.
One commenter was concerned with the price of a badge: he remembered paying $105 years ago and now, in 2023/4, ended up paying over $300 for a badge. Could there be a price freeze? Glanzer responded, “We’d love to not have to raise prices” and added that the Convention does get a percentage of the signage fees paid to hotels during the Convention for the gigantic banners that decorated the Marriott, the Hard Rock Hotel, and the Bayside Hilton, among others.
A comment about food and serving food in the lines for Hall H at times when there is no service (i.e. overnight) in hopes that somehow a coffee cart or breakfast burrito sales might emerge for future Cons. The Convention reps stated that they did not get a portion of food sales from the Convention Center and even sponsorship deals that could emerge would likely be subject to restrictions made by the Convention Center.
Some interesting bits also emerged from the panel. One commenter suggesting verification measures for Hall H happening in the Sails upstairs was informed that the Con could no longer put lines on stairs due to Coastal Commission regulations.
Finally, the last question was about a ring that had been found in the room- if anyone had lost a ring they were to make contact and correctly identify the writing on it. Alas, when I said that the writing ended with the phrase, “…and in the darkness bind them,” I was informed it was not that ring. Which is sad as that ring is so precious to me.
For more SDCC ’24, including what we covered pre-show, click here.
