The old adage "The more things change, the more they stay the same" does not apply to Comic-Con International, the annual pop-culture convention that attracts some 130,000 fans to San Diego each year. Although the event—held from July 21 to 24 in and around the San Diego Convention Center—still has the spectacle of over-the-top exhibits and enthusiastic, costumed fans, it has also undergone some big changes.
More TV and New Media, Fewer Movie Studios
Comic-Con used to be able to count on all the major movie studios to host the biggest events and have the highest-attended panel showcases at the convention center's 6,500-seat Hall H. However, over the past few years, several movie studios have declined to host panels and parties to promote their upcoming films—while television and new media brands have stepped in with sponsorship and programming. This year, Sony Pictures Entertainment, Paramount Pictures, Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Walt Disney Company, and Disney subsidiary Lucasfilm opted not to showcase any upcoming movies at Comic-Con panels, although many of these companies still had some kind of presence through exhibits. Meanwhile, TV and Internet companies such as NBCUniversal, Turner Broadcasting System, MTV Networks, Amazon, IMDb, AMC Networks, and Fox Entertainment Group's TV subsidiaries all increased their presence at the convention.
More Standalone Programming Hubs
Several new standalone programming hubs debuted at this year's Comic-Con, including Syfy Presents Live From Comic-Con, hosted by Will Arnett; Entertainment Weekly's Con-X; and Comic-Con's own Comic-Con HQ, a web channel that launched in June. IMDb, Warner Bros. Television, Turner Broadcasting System, and AMC Networks each had yachts parked at the Fifth Avenue Pier to entertain guests and host visiting talent. And Nerdist Industries (owned by Legendary Entertainment) and Nerd HQ (owned by the Nerd Machine) returned with programming hubs that served as a lounge area for attendees, a place to interview celebrities, and a setting for activations and promotions.
More Waivers and Demographic Gathering at Events
Simply having your name on a guest list wasn't enough to get through the door this year. Several events had electronic kiosks requiring attendees to sign waivers and provide personal information, such as an email address and date of birth, in order to enter; Nerd HQ and Square Enix both used this tactic at their convention parties. In addition, this year's Comic-Con installed a "tap in, tap out" electronic detector system for badge-holders arriving at and leaving the convention center, to prevent multiple people from using one badge.
Here are the most interesting and interactive moments from the convention and surrounding events.
Fox's most high-profile promotion was for the new comedy series Son of Zorn. At Bayfront Park, fans could scale a three-story rock wall and then freefall from the top. Other promotions included a mural adorning the side of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront's parking garage, as well as life-size replicas of the show's characters that attracted photo ops from attendees, including stars such as Cheryl Hines and Tim Meadows. Creative Riff was the experiential agency behind the Son of Zorn activation.
Amazon Village, with creative and production led by NVE: The Experience Agency, took over the corner of First Avenue and Bayshore Drive with activations for the shows The Man in The High Castle and Thunderbirds Are Go. The Man in the High Castle experience had a pop-up museum and a virtual-reality experience using Samsung Vive VR headset technology that immersed fans in the show's world, which imagines that the Nazis had won World War II. The 4-D virtual-reality experience included recreations of scenes from the show, an atomizer for scent, and a rigged trail that moved. Participants could also take 360-degree photos to share on social media.
Also at Amazon Village, to promote the new series Thunderbirds Are Go, fans could interact with custom-built, life-size characters in a spaceship designed by New Zealand-based Weta Workshop. The spaceship model was seen flying over a miniature build of downtown San Diego. There was also a green-screen photo opportunity with a twist: The camera was rigged to the ceiling and the green screen was on the floor. Participants could grab the arm of a life-size character, and the finished photo showed them being pulled to safety after almost falling off a building.
Fans of USA Network's award-winning Mr. Robot series got to experience a virtual-reality prequel written and directed by the show's creator, Sam Esmail. The 12-minute fully scripted piece, created with Chris Milk’s virtual-reality production company Here Be Dragons in partnership with Universal Cable Productions, provided viewers with one of the first extended narrative pieces of television content in the VR medium. Mr. Robot stars Rami Malek, Christian Slater, Portia Doubleday, Carly Chaikin, and Grace Gummer checked out the experience at Petco Park on July 21.
In the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego, Mr. Robot also had a pop-up storefront experience that was an authentic replica of the Mr. Robot Computer Repair Shop from the series.
The American Horror Story: Fearless virtual-reality experience, built to promote the show's upcoming sixth season, gave some clues as to what's to come for the FX show. Participants were placed on a hospital-like exam table and covered in a white sheet. The experience then had a nightmarish first-person view of a hospital patient being transported through a maze of dangerous situations, including plunging several feet and being buried alive, all while being provoked by characters such as a nurse with bleeding eyes and a creepy clown.
NBC promoted three of the network's upcoming series—Timeless, Emerald City, and The Good Place—with activations in the Gaslamp Quarter downtown. For the time-traveling show Timeless, fans got to ride on a Gravitron and take a shareable motion graphic photo that captured their time-travel experience. The fantasy drama Emerald City took over Tin Fish restaurant, where fans could take an animated shareable photo as a character from the show. And the fantasy sitcom The Good Place had a pop-up frozen yogurt shop that gave free scoops to attendees.
Syfy Presents Live From Comic-Con was a three-day event hosted by actor Will Arnett, who interviewed celebrities, interacted with fans, and engaged in stunts for programming that was televised on the Syfy channel. On July 22, Arnett and The Walking Dead stars Norman Reedus and Steven Yeun broke piñatas shaped like robots.
Wired magazine's Wired Cafe returned to Comic-Con for a ninth year, and was held July 21 at the Omni San Diego Hotel. This year's lounge for talent and other V.I.P. guests included Best Buy’s Geek Squad charging area, Don Julio cocktails, a Mars 2030 virtual-reality experience that took guests on a Mars Rover using Oculus Rifts headsets, and IBM Watson IoT that allowed guests to use an Emotic headset to control Star Wars BB-8 toys.
It wouldn't be Comic-Con without zombies. Fans at Petco Park Interactive Zone could give themselves a scare at AMC's The Walking Dead activation, sponsored by Jack in the Box, which had zombies lunging at people from inside a mock fast-food restaurant.
The Walking Dead also had one of the most popular exhibits on the convention floor. The realistic display of wax figures depicting the show's sixth season finale drew long lines of fans wanting to take photos.
TBS and Snickers had a Satisfaction Station activation (from Creative Riff) at the Petco Park Interactive Zone to promote Conan, the talk show hosted by Conan O'Brien. Within the station, fans had the opportunity to dress up as fictional superheroes created specifically for a branded content video. Photos taken within the station could be used to create comic-book covers starring fans in costume. TBS also collaborated with Snickers to create a video called "Hungry Heroes," which features a comic-book writer whose creativity humorously fails him when hungry.
The Comedy Central animated series South Park celebrated its 20th season this year with several activations and experiences. The South Park 20 Experience, a Pop2Life-created activation at Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade Park, had components including 20 life-size scenes that allowed fans to jump into some of the most memorable moments in South Park history and share the results on social media. There was also the Coon & Friends Experience from Ubisoft to promote the launch of the new video game South Park: The Fractured But Whole. In addition, a photo booth allowed fans to create an animated GIF with various characters and share it across social media. The cartoon also hosted a Hulu viewing lounge screening a marathon with episodes from all 19 seasons, and there was a South Park art gallery with pieces from 20 artists.
DC Entertainment's booth in the convention center had a demo for Batman: Arkham VR (from Rocksteady Studios), the first virtual-reality experience that allows players to put on the cape and cowl of the Dark Knight. Comic-Con attendees got to preview the video game before it is released in October.
The 50th anniversary of the original Star Trek series was celebrated with many experiences, including the California premiere of Star Trek Beyond at Embarcadero Marina Park South on July 20, during Comic-Con's preview night. According to Paramount Pictures, the event was the world's first outdoor IMAX premiere, and the San Diego Symphony Orchestra presented a live performance of Michael Giacchino’s Star Trek Beyond film score. The movie's cast and crew used phones with Google’s DoubleClick app to capture footage on the red carpet; Paramount Pictures then created instant ads from the content.
Another standout was a preview of the Star Trek makeup collection from M.A.C. at an experiential station in the Gaslamp Quarter. Fans could jump aboard a “transporter” to explore strange new worlds for photo ops.
Book publisher Scholastic held a party July 21 at Hotel Palomar, where a green-screen photo studio from Graphix allowed guests to create their own photo souvenirs. The event also had a station for comic-style makeovers, and decor with artwork from Scholastic books.
The third annual MTV Fandom Awards, held at Petco Park on July 21, celebrated entertainment that has passionate fans; the public could vote for the awards on the Internet. The outdoor ceremony had carnival-like games, including a sledgehammer challenge, as well as an autograph session with stars from MTV's Teen Wolf and a DJ to entertain the crowd before the show. Dave Franco, Emma Roberts, and the stars of the 2017 Power Rangers movie were among the event's celebrity presenters.
To promote the Starz horror-comedy series Ash vs. Evil Dead, the network had several actors dressed as the show's main character, Ash Williams, with the signature chainsaw he uses to battle undead demons. The actors traveled as a group near the convention center, and rallied crowds to cheer them on in their hunt for evil creatures.
Several Suicide Squad stars attended the film's Samsung Experience activation at the Hard Rock Hotel on July 23. DC Entertainment, Warner Bros. Pictures, the Visionary Group, White Walls Fabrication, PMK-BNC, and Brightline Interactive worked with Samsung on the activation. The experience included a virtual-reality fight with characters from the movie, and a recreation of the Suicide Squad Belle Reve penitentiary—the high-security prison that housed the film's characters. Fans could also “Join the Squad” by taking a personality quiz to create their own character, and generating a short video of themselves to share on social media.
Also at Samsung Experience's Suicide Squad activation, fans lined up for a real, custom tattoo in Harley Quinn’s tattoo parlor. There was also a makeover station exclusively for Samsung users, who could transform themselves into looking like a Suicide Squad character.
The X-Men Tomb of Apocalypse X-perience on the convention floor was built out as a 3-D tomb structure and loaded with interactive games, special effects, and virtual-reality elements. Fans could enter the tomb and solve a series of challenges to defeat the villain Apocalypse. At the exhibit, from 20th Century Fox Home Entertainment, attendees could also pre-order the home-video release of X-Men: Apocalypse and receive a “Dazzler” album cover with their purchase.
Crowds flocked to Lucasfilm's Star Wars exhibit that displayed costumes from the movie Rogue One: A Star Wars Story, which hits theaters in December. Cosplayers dressed as Star Wars characters attracted attention to the exhibit at the convention center.
To promote the Fox TV series The Exorcist, stunt actors staged surprise exorcisms in the Gaslamp Quarter of downtown San Diego. Stars from The Exorcist, including Geena Davis, also attended a panel discussion about the show.
The third annual Her Universe Fashion Show, held July 21 at the Manchester Grand Hyatt's Harbor Ballroom, showcased several designs inspired by pop culture. Her Universe founder Ashley Eckstein, who hosted the show, wore an original "little block dress" made of Lego and designed by 2014 Her Universe Fashion Show Audience Award winner Andrew MacLaine and brick artist Nathan Sawaya. This year's fashion show was also the subject of a docuseries on Comic-Con HQ. Winners were chosen by judges, the audience at the show, and Comic-Con HQ viewers.
Square Enix Experience was an outdoor play area in downtown San Diego that was open during the day and at night. Activities included a Tomb Raider wall climb, Final Fantasy XV go-karts, a Deus Ex bungee dash, and several Final Fantasy XV playable kiosks.
TruTv's Impractical Jokers held a block party at Petco Park on July 23. The event included games such as mock sumo wrestling, as well as life-size inflatable cartoon-like replicas of the show's hosts, Brian "Q" Quinn, James "Murr" Murray, Joe Gatto, and Sal Vulcano.
