I'm back home, unpacking while listening to the Shangi-Chi soundtrack (SDCC exclusive color edition, purchased at Mondo booth.
)
I had a great time at this year's SDCC. I still have to think about whether it's up there with one of my top tier years (2012/2018) or one notch behind, but I really enjoyed myself. I had a little bit of trepidation at first because the panel schedule did seem a lot lighter than usual with some very glaring omissions (CW/WB) and no Preview Night screenings, I wasn't thrilled about the lack of the Souvenir Book, the lack of carpet in the exhibit hall was concerning, and while most conventions are doing away with the hassle of vaccine checks, CCI not only holds onto them but decides to put additional resources into them (i.e. clear app) this late in the game.
But, none of those turned out to be dealbreakers. There were still enough great panels to fill up my schedule, the Rocketeer design that should have been on the Souvenir Book made it to the back of the quick guide, my feet didn't hurt from walking the exhibit hall, and getting the wristband didn't take too long, although being stuck with a wristband for 5 days--let alone a paper one--was problematic. (I realize I could have gotten new ones, but having to replace it every day is also problematic.)
But the main reason I enjoyed myself so much was how relaxed it was. (That was also one of the reasons why 2018 was my favorite year.) The vast majority of panels were walk-ins or close to it, even many that normally aren't. With the obvious exception of Hall H on Saturday, there was next to no camping out which made for a far less sleep-deprived and less aggro crowd.
But I did get caught in one complete fail this year, and that was the Ozzy signing on Friday. I won the lottery and got in line at 7:30 to get the wristband, which was barely moving. Then they separated out the "non-Ozzy people" and there were still a ton of people left for Ozzy. It took over an hour to get the wristband, and seeing how many people were there, I didn't see how they'd get through that anywhere near that many people in two one-hour signing sessions. I was right. My signing session was at 12. I skipped out of Indigo at 11:45 and got there at 12 and the line was capped. Nothing that requires winning a drawing that you have to pick up a wristband for in the morning should ever be capped. But not only was it capped, there were at least three huge overflow lines, and no one knew which one was official until they arbitrarily designated one of them as the official one at around 12:30 and then told people from the other ones to go to the back of that one. By that point, I hadn't noticed any movement in the official line, so I guessed it would be at least a few hours, and that's if I even were to get in. By that point I figured that I probably wouldn't make it back to Indigo Ballroom if I stayed, so I just cut my losses and went back to Indigo.
But aside from that, the convention was great. There may have been fewer big name exclusives, but the Exhibit Hall was very manageable every day (even Saturday) and I got nearly everything that I was interested in. Some highlights: the hand-cast Ultramayan (an Ultraman spinoff) from DKE Toys, both the 100% Soft Dumpster Fire exclusives, 1953-style Snoopy figure from Peanuts, Shang-Chi vinyl from Mondo, Space Usagi foil cover (signed by Stan Sakai) and Chibi Usagi Yojimbo plush, and handmade "Avocadog" plush from Furry Feline Creatives. Also I walked up to Hallmark at the end of the day and picked up the Spider Gwen ornament which was pretty cool (and reminiscent of 2018 when I was able to get the Iron Giant from Ready Player One ornament at the very end with zero line.)
The panels did not disappoint. Even though there were much fewer hard choices, nearly everything I saw was top-notch. The new animated shows Koala Man and Little Demon were hilarious. Genndy T talking about Primal was great and so was the Gremlins prequel. It was nice to see an actual DC Animated Movie this time, Green Lantern: Beware My Power. And I thought panel swag was just as good this year as any year. Got T-shirts from Little Demon and Archer. And, of course, the Funko panel (which I walked right into at 2:45) had the greatest swag ever.
During CCSE, it didn't sound like the studios would come but I had hoped that they'd have screenings without panels. They didn't. But during SDCC 2022, they actually had a lot of these. While I'd prefer a screening with panel, if a studio doesn't want to send its people there for any reason then it seems like a no brainer to at least give us a screening. We got these with Bob's Burgers, Family Guy, and the Lightyear movie. It still is fun to see things before everyone else does (at least for the former two.)
I attended a couple of offsite evening events this year. Stone w00t X was alright (great beer and I enjoyed talking to the brewers, although I found the attendees to be a bit cliquish and I really was annoyed that Stone ran out of all the meat empanadas by 8:20 when the event was supposed to be until 11...and I also just realized that they gave us glasses that were dated 2019). But, I also went to the Crunchyroll-sponsored Dragon Ball Z Experience with the San Diego Symphony at the Rady Shell, and that was truly epic. That had to be my favorite off-site event at any SDCC, ever, period. The orchestra sounded flawless, they brought in a Japanese singer for some of the songs, and then all of that against a beautiful venue with views of the harbor on all sides made for an evening I won't ever forget.
Before the convention I was questioning if it would feel like an actual SDCC with the restrictions and reduced content, but by the time I walked out the door on Sunday evening there was absolutely zero doubt that the SDCC we know and love is back.
