San Diego Comic-Con

San Diego Comic-Con International
StatusActive
GenreMultigenre
VenueSan Diego Convention Center (main)
Downtown San Diego (various)
Location(s)San Diego, California, U.S.
Coordinates32°42′23″N 117°09′41″W / 32.70639°N 117.16139°W / 32.70639; -117.16139
CountryUnited States
InauguratedMarch 21, 1970 (1970-03-21) (as Golden State Comic Book Convention)
Most recentJuly 20, 2023 (2023-07-20)
Next eventJuly 25, 2024 (2024-07-25)
Attendance>135,000 (2022) [1]
Organized byComic-Con International
Filing statusNonprofit
Websitecomic-con.org Edit this at Wikidata

San Diego Comic-Con International is a comic book convention and nonprofit[2] multi-genre entertainment event held annually in San Diego, California, since 1970. The event's official name, as given on its website, is Comic-Con International: San Diego, but is more commonly known as Comic-Con, the San Diego Comic-Con, or the abbreviation SDCC.[3][4]

The convention was founded as the Golden State Comic Book Convention in 1970 by a group of San Diegans that included Shel Dorf, Richard Alf, Ken Krueger, Ron Graf, and Mike Towry;[5][6][7][8][9] later, it was called the "San Diego Comic Book Convention", Dorf said during an interview that he hoped the first Con would bring in 500 attendees.[10] It is a four-day event (Thursday–Sunday) held during the summer (in July since 2003) at the San Diego Convention Center in San Diego. On the Wednesday evening prior to the official opening, professionals, exhibitors, and pre-registered guests for all four days can attend a pre-event "Preview Night" to give attendees the opportunity to walk the exhibit hall and see what will be available during the convention.

Comic-Con International also produces WonderCon, held in Anaheim, and SAM: Storytelling Across Media, a conference held in 2016 in San Francisco and beginning in 2018 annually at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego. Since 1974, Comic-Con has bestowed its annual Inkpot Award on guests and persons of interest in the popular arts industries, as well as on members of Comic-Con's board of directors and the Convention committee. It is also the home of the Will Eisner Awards.

Originally showcasing primarily comic books and science fiction/fantasy related film, television, and similar popular arts, the convention has since included a larger range of pop culture and entertainment elements across virtually all genres, including horror, Western animation, anime, comics, manga, toys, collectible card games, video games, webcomics, and fantasy novels. In 2010 and each year subsequently, it filled the San Diego Convention Center to capacity with more than 130,000 attendees.[11] In addition to drawing huge crowds, the event holds several Guinness World Records including the largest annual comic and pop culture festival in the world.[12]

SDCC was cancelled in 2020 and 2021 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A smaller-scale "special edition" event was held in November 2021, followed by the return of the main show in 2022 with strong health restrictions. The following Comic-Con on July 20, 2023 attempted to return to normal, but many of the larger panels were abruptly canceled or heavily affected due to the 2023 Writers Guild of America strike and 2023 SAG-AFTRA strike. The next show is planned for July 25, 2024.

  1. ^ Cite error: The named reference San Diego Comic-Con 2022 Confirms Dates for Return was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  2. ^ "About Comic-Con International". Comic-Con International: San Diego. May 28, 2012. Archived from the original on May 4, 2019. Retrieved April 18, 2019.
  3. ^ "Patent and Trademark Office Petition for Cancellation for Comic-Con". Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved July 16, 2017.
  4. ^ Whitehurst, Lindsay (June 27, 2017). "Judge to decide who gets comic con naming rights". Associated Press. Archived from the original on August 16, 2017. Retrieved July 15, 2017.
  5. ^ "Comic-Con co-creator Ken Krueger dies". BBC News. November 25, 2009. Archived from the original on March 4, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  6. ^ Rowe, Peter (January 5, 2012). "Richard Alf, 59, one of Comic-Con's founders". The San Diego Union-Tribune. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  7. ^ "Shel Dorf Tribute — A tribute to Shel Dorf, founder of San Diego's Comic-Con International". Archived from the original on July 16, 2011. Retrieved October 12, 2009.
  8. ^ "Ken Krueger Tribute — A Tribute to Ken Krueger, Chairman of Comic-Con International #1, member of First Fandom, beloved friend and mentor". Archived from the original on July 13, 2011. Retrieved November 30, 2009.
  9. ^ Gonzalez, Blanca (April 13, 2009). "Ronald Graf; retired police officer known for love of comics; 64". San Diego Union-Tribune. Retrieved June 20, 2022.
  10. ^ "COMIC-CON BEGINS". comic-con-begins.simplecast.com. Archived from the original on January 16, 2021. Retrieved January 20, 2021.
  11. ^ Weisberg, Lori (November 22, 2010). "Comic-Con registration crashes for second time". San Diego Union-Tribune. San Diego, California. Archived from the original on November 25, 2010. Retrieved November 24, 2010.
  12. ^ Glenday, Craig (July 18, 2013). "San Diego Comic-Con – a geeky hotbed of record breaking". London, England: Guinness World Records. Archived from the original on January 9, 2018. Retrieved July 6, 2017.