Report on the San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition — Just Like Old Times

Below is my report of the San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition. Click here to go straight to the photogallery. You can also take a walk-through of the convention floor at our YouTube channel!

The decision to attend the San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition, which was held the Friday through Sunday after Thanksgiving (Nov. 26–28), was made at the last minute due to a change in family plans related to the pandemic. But I’m so glad we made it—purposely smaller in scale, it turned out to be a fun, relaxed and easy-going show that felt like a throwback to earlier Comic-Cons from the early 1990s.

My original plan was to simply go down as an attendee and not exhibit. But since we were going to be there anyway, my wife suggested I do so. A little more than two weeks from the start of the show, and well past the deadline for obtaining a table, I emailed Comic-Con asking out of curiosity whether there was still space available—they responded that not only was there availability, they had a table waiting for me at my usual spot!

I’m so glad we made it. Though purposely smaller in scale given the circumstances, I had no expectations and enjoyed the more relaxed and mellow vibe that resulted from the smaller number of attendees and exhibitors. I saw many longtime friends and supporters of my series, Rob Hanes Adventures, and made new ones. Sales for me throughout the show were steady. In fact, due to the fact that this Comic-Con was much shorter (only 2-¾ versus 4-½ days), I brought what I estimated was a commensurate amount of product only to sell out of some issues and trade paperbacks by the end of the show!

The convention floor was usually busy with people, but with attendance anticipated to be a third or so of the usual 135,000–160,000, there were not the throngs of people usually seen at Comic-Con. None of the “big name” exhibitors were there, such as DC and Marvel Comics, let alone AMC/Walking Dead, Warner Brothers, Lucasfilm or others, which usually have huge footprints that feature multimedia, celebrities and exclusive giveaways that often create a frenzy on the floor. That incessant high level of energy and sensory overload—complimented by loud ambient crowd noise and music—can be draining over the normal 4-½ days of the convention, especially for small exhibitors like myself who have to be at their booth for virtually the entire show. So this was a very pleasant change of pace.

While there were some small-to-midsize exhibitors there, with Funko Pop being the most ubiquitous (the company not only had their own prominent booth on one end of the floor, but walls of their popular collectible figures could be found at many other booths), the floor otherwise consisted of artists and small publishers like myself, mom-and-pop sellers of collectibles and, of course comics, though mostly back issues, both graded and not—the lack of current comics for sale was striking to me.

Also striking was the lack of a crush of people outside the convention hall. During normal Comic-Cons, the main lobby of the venue, the upper levels, and even the outside entrance extending into the Gaslamp Quarter (where some companies have taken to creating pop-up experiences for attendees and the general public) are all packed with people and a buzz of activity. 

In contrast, when one ventured into these other areas, they were ghost towns. This included the upper floors which also were empty except for people going to meeting rooms for panels—which I heard were well attended throughout the show. 

In "normal" times, that incessant high level of energy and sensory overload—often complimented by loud ambient crowd noise, music and sounds being pumped into areas of the convention hall throughout the day—can be draining over 4-½ days, especially for small exhibitors like myself who have to be constantly at their booth.

It also was a bit disorienting to leave the convention center when it was already night outside—though the floor closed each day at 7 p.m. (5 on Sunday), during the summer, when Comic-Con is usually held, it doesn’t get dark until after 9 p.m. or so, making it feel like there's still plenty of day left after hours when the floor closes.

As I mentioned, the floor was less dense with exhibitors—only about two-thirds of the floor was used (Halls A–E)—the other end of the floor—including the infamous “Hall H”—were for registration. To the benefit of all, empty spaces in the convention hall that lacked exhibitor booths were filled in with tables and chairs for people to relax and eat, or with picture walls and media backdrops for fun photo ops.

Of course, masks and proof of vaccination (or a recent COVID negative test) were also required. The only objection and expression of protest I saw (presumably) was a gentleman who wore a mask who had handwritten “Hoax” on it. Other than that, when it came up in conversation, everyone I spoke with was fine with masks and the mandate.* (By the way, one of the advantages of the mask requirement was not having to shave lol—I did the first day but at one point as I sat there, I realized there was no need to!)

Well, that’s my quick overview of the show...it was fun to be back and a good “dry run” to ease back into the anticipated return of the San Diego Comic-Con in 2022…

For those looking for more details and observations, read on after the jump…

* I don’t know what restrictions are currently in place in San Diego, but I must say that mask-wearing rules appeared to be loose and not mandatory. My wife estimated that, when out and about, 70 percent of people were not wearing masks versus those who were; the staff at our hotel were all masked but not all guests, and there were no signs or requests as such (we stayed masked when walking through our hotel). The staff at most of the restaurants we went to were masked, but we went to at least one place where the staff were not. When I went to get some sushi at a nearby grocery store, the staff were masked but only some of the shoppers.

Comic-Con International's Jackie Estrada!

Above: Bleeding Cool's Rich Johnston, who gave 

me a nice shout out in his first-day report of the show!

Final Thoughts...

Having exhibited at Comic-Con for many years, I have the logistics and timing for setting up my booth down to a science. But given my last minute change of plans, that all went out the window. For example, I usually purchase parking on the first and last days of the show at the convention center and park virtually beneath my place on the floor in order to ensure a smooth and convenient move in and out—by the time I decided to attend, the parking was sold out.

Fortunately, it turned out most of the available hotels were within walking distance (no shuttles this year!). I made sure that all my booth items could be transported in a single trip on my trusty two-wheel dolly. Fortunately, when my son and I arrived at our hotel shortly after 7 a.m. following a fairly open two-hour drive from L.A. —the Hyatt Manchester, next door to the Marquis Marriott which adjoins the convention center—our room was ready, so we were able to check in to our room and settle in before going to the convention hall to set up (the show began at 12 noon that Friday).

Stations to show proof of vaccination and issue red wrist bands to attendees were situated outside the convention hall and were required stops before getting a badge and entering the venue. Attendees were asked to wear the wristband for the duration of the show.

Some differences from the usual show I noticed right off the bat: there was no carpeting on the floor whatsoever—usually, when I walk in before the start of the show, they’re still rolling out huge rolls of carpeting. Plus, no sponsored lanyards, just simple string ones, the only disadvantage being I couldn’t attach pin buttons to them as I usually do.

Another oddity many people noticed at the door were the number of empty booths—many had placards with the company names, so someone had purchased the space but no one showed!

Throughout the show, the PA announcements—which usually are either informational (“The convention hall will be closing in 30 minutes, please complete your purchases”) and occasionally admonishing (“There’s no running in the convention hall!”), also included droll PSAs, my favorite being along the lines of, “We are all familiar with the DC vs. Marvel debate, and Star Wars vs. Star Trek, but do you know what isn’t up for debate? Wearing a mask!”)

According to my wife, this was the first time in nearly 20 years that we had the opportunity to have dinner together alone during Comic-Con since she often had to deal with the kids and get them dinner when they were younger and the hours of the show meant I usually wasn’t ready to eat until the floor closed for the day in the evening.

Our first night was a bit of a comedy of errors—we decided to go to Little Italy but despite three tries, the hotel was unable to scare up a taxi cab for us (we discovered for some reason that our Uber apps had been uninstalled on both our mobile devices—and couldn’t get it to re-install for some reason, perhaps due to the connection). Hungry, we ended up going across the street to Kansas City Barbeque, a popular staple during Comic-Con but also incredibly crowded during the show. Fortunately, we were able to be seated right away—I had no idea that one of their claims to fame—aside from the popularity of their meals—was being the site of a scene from the film, Top Gun. As such, the restaurant featured plenty of Top Gun memorabilia, including a neon sign logo and large scale photos. (Our son was content with a pizza from the hotel’s restaurant.) As we walked back to the hotel, I joked about going to the taxi stand and asking the valets where our taxi was.

The next night we finally found our way to Little Italy. I’m familiar with the neighborhood since I usually eat at least one meal at a restaurant there each year, because it’s a little bit away from the convention center and not as packed as the Gaslamp Quarter. Like many restaurant areas, the pandemic had transformed the neighborhood with the addition of outdoor dining that spilled out into the street. While the neighborhood had gotten a little trendy in recent years, we were nevertheless surprised to see the additional re-development that has occurred since our last visit in 2019, particularly the addition of a lovely open air plaza.

Since my family left mid-afternoon to beat the holiday traffic, I was left to my lonesome to pack up at the end of the show. As I said, I had planned for being able to pack everything on one dolly trip, though it was strange pushing my cart back to the hotel precariously and in nighttime with few people around. I then hopped in the car and found that my card key fortunately still worked so I didn’t have to pay extra since check out had been much earlier in the day (I had brought up my late departure at the hotel when I checked in; they weren’t sure if it would still work, noting that parking was run by a third-party operator—I should add that the hotel staff was nothing but helpful and terrific during my stay!).

During regular Comic-Cons, I usually have an end-of-show dinner with my companions who help and hang out with me throughout the show, but since they were not attending this year, I simply headed home as soon as the car was packed. Though I was apprehensive about the end-of-Thanksgiving holiday traffic on a Sunday, the trip was surprisingly very open and I made the nearly 130-mile drive in only two-and-a-half hours—the time passed quickly with the help of a close friend who I called shortly after getting on the road. We chatted my entire ride home, so I had good company on the ride.

See you at the San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition!

Due to a change in plans, guess who's a last minute addition to the San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition being held Thanksgiving weekend, Nov. 26-28....

I'll be at my traditional spot in the Small Press, booth K1—details to come!https://t.co/MfO0wBcv2D#SDCC #CCSE21 pic.twitter.com/u8JV1pGFV5

— Randy/WCGComics • Inkpot Award 2018 SDCC (@randywcgcomics) November 19, 2021

The Real Corto Maltese

Cartoonist Frank Miller first "name checked" Corto Maltese as a fictional South American country in his seminal 1986 mini-series, The Dark Knight Returns—the "country" was subsequently referenced in the 1989 Tim Burton Batman film and, most recently and prominently, in Suicide Squad 2. It's also since been used in other DC Comics stories.

But the name is actually a direct homage and shout out to one of the great adventure comics series of the same name, Corto Maltese, by Italian cartoonist Hugo Pratt. 

Published from 1967 to 1989 (Pratt passed away in 1995) and set in the early 20th century in the years prior to and through World War I, Corto was a mysterious seafaring soldier of fortune who always found himself on the side of the underdog in remote far-away (and historical) settings like the Congo, the Russo-Japanese War, the Russian Revolution and early fascist Italy, where he often encountered rogues and historical figures like Ernest Hemingway, Jack London and others along the way. 

Pratt's writing fused high adventure with lyricism and magic realism. His black and white art is evocative, striking and powerful even today, in the same tradition as some of my favorite cartoonists like Caniff and Toth, but even more stark and expressionistic.

Hugo Pratt