SAN DIEGO COMIC CON 2026 DATES

Wednesday, July 22 (Preview Night)
Thursday July 23
Friday July 24
Saturday July 25
Sunday July 26

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Celebrating a full quarter century, Planet Comicon Kansas City celebrated their 26th year as the region’s largest and longest-running comic and pop culture event celebrating comic books, science fiction, superheroes and fantasy….

The best-known gathering for all things comics and pop culture has just wrapped for another year–

Comic-Con International: San Diego (aka SDCC) is the marquee US comic book convention and multi-genre entertainment event held annually at the San Diego Convention Center that focuses not only on comic books and science fiction/fantasy but encompassed a broad spectrum of pop culture and entertainment, including films, television shows, video games, interactive multimedia, and more.

Over its four-and-a half-days, the convention features panel discussions, guest programs, an artist’s alley, tabletop gaming, cosplay, steampunk, and an exhibitor hall with comics, books, toys, and other merchandise and brings together comics creators, science fiction and fantasy authors, film and television professionals (directors, producers, writers, and actors), and creators from various popular art forms.

SDCC brings in 130,000+ people to attend, and generates over $165 million in overall spending to the local economy and over $3.2 million in hotel and sales tax revenue, so is massive all around with registrations and lodging booked a year in advance.

There’s over 1000 dealers and almost 1100 panels within the convention center’s 2.6mil sq ft. and guests and fans fly in from all over the world to attend annually.

And even though a lot of talk was Marvel not having a big presence (blame their studios’ film delays), there was still plenty to announce, see, do and purchase during the long weekend.

WHM boots on the ground was courtesy of our good friend Fearless Frank K. who kindly provided the photos and helped with the coverage.

Major Panels and Announcements

South Park: Trey Parker and Matt Stone deadpanned an apology to Trump after skewering him in the S27 premiere, with appearances from Mike Judge and Andy Samberg.
Predator: Badlands: a weapon-baring Predator appeared and scanned the audience with its laser vision before the first fifteen minutes of the film (out Nov 7) shown. Look out for the Killer of Killers animated anthology too.
Percy Jackson and the Olympians Season 2: A new trailer and December 10th release date were revealed, with casting news for Season 3, including Levi Chrisopulos as Nico and Olive Abercrombie as Bianca.
Alien: Earth: The world premiere of the pilot episode of the new FX prequel series (debuts on 8/12) was screened, taking place two years before the original film.
Tron: Ares: Exclusive footage and details about the film’s cast and score were shared at a panel. We’re thrilled for the NIN soundtrack, maybe less so for A.I. Jared Leto but we all still love Jeff Bridges, who was also there. A light show and video for NIN’s “As Alive As You Need Me to Be” closed it out with flair.
Star Trek Universe: the panel provided updates on upcoming Star Trek projects, including Starfleet Academy and Strange New Worlds, and a Muppets version.
The Long Walk: A panel featuring the cast and crew discussed the upcoming film adaptation (out 8/12) of the Stephen King novel with Mark Hamill appearing.
Five Nights at Freddy’s 2: The trailer premiered ahead of the Hall H panel, teasing Skeet Ulrich‘s new role. (the first film was zzzz, so anything should be better)
Coyote vs. Acme: The film, back to life after its cancellation, had exclusive sketches and a teaser shared at a panel featuring John Cena and Will Forte (out next August 28th).
Lucas Museum of Narrative Art: George Lucas, in his first ever SDCC appearance, joined Guillermo del Toro and Doug Chiang for a sneak peek of the upcoming museum (opens next year) moderated by Queen Latifah.
Eisner Awards: Kudos to Tula (Lisa Wood) Lotay for Best Cover Artist, Bilquis Evely as Best Penciller, Gene Luen Yang for Best Writer, and Charles Burns for Best Writer/Artist, among the many winners.

Other Notable Events

Cosplay: As always, elaborate and creative cosplay was a major part of the convention, with fans showcasing characters from Marvel, Star Wars, anime, and more. A towering fourteen-foot-tall Galactus (see pic below) was particularly noteworthy.
Activations: Several studios created immersive experiences, including HBO, Disney, Paramount+, Shudder, Peacock, and Crunchyroll’s Anime Fanfest. The Google Play site activation promoting the new Fantastic Four movie and the FX activation for Alien: Earth seemed most popular.
Star Wars Publishing Panel: Lucasfilm shared updates about upcoming Star Wars books and comics, including the finale of The High Republic series and a look back at 50 years of in-house sfx innovators, ILM- Industrial Light & Magic.

DC Comics/Studios Highlights

DC Booth: Featured a retro 1940s-style Daily Planet newsstand, offering exclusive content, vintage ads, and sneak peeks at upcoming stories and events.

Peacemaker Season 2: James Gunn confirmed that the show takes place two months after the movie Superman, with the return of the Justice Gang and interactions between Peacemaker and Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl. A new trailer for the season was unveiled at a Hall H panel, where John Cena (in costume, of course) and Gunn made an appearance. Gunn later crashed the Jim Lee panel to rave applause as well.
Aztec Batman: Clash of Empires: The panel provided a deep dive into the animated film, featuring cast and creators sharing footage and behind-the-scenes insights. The movie is described as featuring a Mesoamerican Batman battling a conquistador Two-Face and other time-period-appropriate villains. (Elseworlds, obviously…)

DC Comics

Absolute Universe Expansions:
- Absolute Green Arrow: Six-issue series from Pornsak Pichetshote and Rafael Albuquerque launching in Spring 2026.
- Absolute Batman: Series to include upcoming appearances by Catwoman, Scarecrow, and Dick Grayson, along with potential introductions of other Bat-family.
- Absolute Wonder Woman: Won Best New Series at the Eisner Awards.
DC K.O.: Limited series featuring a 32-fighter tournament, with the winner to fight Darkseid in his King Omega form. Fighters include Superman (using sun-powered brass knuckles), Wonder Woman, and Supergirl. but no Bats (hmmm…).
DC All In: What’s Next: Featured writers Scott Snyder, Josh Williamson, and Mark Waid discussing upcoming arcs, new directions, and the fallout of the Evil event.

Marvel Comics Highlights

Ultimate Endgame: Five-part event series in the Ultimate Universe marking the return of the Maker.
One World Under Doom Finale: Conclusion to the “One World Under Doom” storyline and the reveal of the next Sorcerer Supreme (meh).
Alien vs. Captain America: A crossover between the Alien franchise and the Marvel Universe in a four-issue limited series. Frank Tieri writes, Stefano Raffaele draws (might be good, but Marvel is spreading the Alien franchise thin).
Deadpool/Batman #1: Further details about the upcoming Marvel/DC crossover now up for preorder, including the million variant covers by artists Russell Dauterman, Daniel Warren Johnson, J Scott Campbell and Frank Miller, among others.
Imperial and the New Cosmic Order: Writer Jonathan Hickman and artists Iban Coello and Federico Vicentini redefine the cosmic landscape with five new ongoing titles, including “Planet She-Hulk” and “Nova: Centurion” (sounds good but overkill).
Ultimate Spider-Man #24: The final issue of Jonathan Hickman and Marco Checchetto’s run, promising a dramatic conclusion to the saga (a fun and solid run here).