“It is our hope that by fall, conditions will permit larger public gatherings,” a statement announcing the event said. “Comic-Con Special Edition will be the first in-person convention produced by the organization since Comic-Con 2019, and the first since the onset of the global pandemic COVID-19. The fall event will allow the organization to highlight all the great elements that make Comic-Con such a popular event each year, as well as generate much needed revenue not only for the organization but also for local businesses and the community.”
Whether or not the in-person event will actually take place is another thing. Spokesperson David Glanzer said, “Hopefully this event will shore up our financial reserves and mark a slow return to larger in-person gatherings in 2022.” The large-scale, massive Comic-Con event of yore won’t be returning to San Diego until 2022. A virtual event will be taking place, similar to last year’s, July 23 through 25. Comic-Con annually attracts around 130,000 a year and brings in an estimated $166 million in revenue for the region. There is no news yet on the programming for the event or cost of attendance. Those who purchased badges for the 2020 convention that were rolled over to 2021 will have their badges transferred automatically to the 2022 convention, which organizers are expecting to be in-person and at the scale that audiences have come to expect from the beloved five-decade-old superhero event. Comic-Con@Home, which was held last July, got mixed reviews from fans and attendees. Some were disappointed in the virtual program that unfolded mostly via pre-recorded YouTube videos. The following month, Warner Bros. held its own virtual convention for DC fans, the DC FanDome, that included discussions with talent behind upcoming superhero films like “The Batman” and “Suicide Squad.” Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
