Tag: Comic-Con 2026

Photo by Joe WilcoxAug 2, 202610:45 pm

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Day Four, Part Three

The greatest pop culture event concluded one week ago today—and I was there for the second time in four days and for the first Sunday since 2017. I had been perennially unlucky gaining access to buy passes during one of two public registration sessions. After long hiatus, I purchased passes for Thursday and Sunday.

Quick recap: Day One (July 23, 2026); Day Four (July 26) Part One and Part Two. I primarily used Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens, supported by Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra for my first SDCC expedition. For the other day, I used the camera exclusively with NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 (SE) lens, which proved to be exceptional choice.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 29, 202610:52 pm

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Day Four, Part One

Sunday, July 26, 2026, may be my last Comic-Con sojourn. I suffered a nine-year gap in attendance for inability to secure passes. Even then, the one-day, ah, golden ticket for 2017 was acquired indirectly. Twenty-sixteen marks my last participation from passes purchased through one of the official registration days. People enter the online purchase queue randomly, and I had been unquestionably unlucky. That is until November 2025 Open Registration, when I luckily secured Thursday and Sunday passes for this year’s SDCC. I can’t be sure to get any again.

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 was a last chance to brandish a camera during the, arguably, greatest pop culture event on Earth. I did okay shooting Day One, using Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens. However, overall, I was dissatisfied with the photos. For Day 4, I attached the NIKKOR Z 28mm f/2.8 (SE) lens, which I had never before used. The simple, and affordable (currently $309.95 direct from Nikon USA), lens delivered. Take that, pricey Leica Summilux!

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 24, 202610:33 pm

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 Day One

For my sojourn to the country’s premiere pop-culture event, I returned following a nine-year hiatus—and not by choice. Every attempt to secure passes failed until finally I had opportunity to buy two—for Thursday and Sunday—during Open Registration, November 2025. SDCC runs for four full days plus the Preview Night. As I write, Day Two wraps up at San Diego Convention Center.

I had considered several options for documenting the event, including video interviews. That was a strategy more workable for full event attendance. I chose instead to keep things simple and shoot photos. My SDCC EDC: Nikon Zf and NIKKOR Z 40mm f/2 lens; Samsung Galaxy S26 Ultra.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 23, 20269:50 pm

Return to Comic-Con

What surprises me about San Diego Comic-Con is how little—and yet how much—has changed since my last attendance for a single day in 2017. Virtually every venue was where I remember: Disability services in area A. Major celebrity panels in Ballroom 20 and Hall H. Layout of the exhibitor floor, with artists at the end nearest Hall H and smaller seller booths and gameplay nearer to area A. Everything in the middle, from big Hollywood studios to booksellers, all where they have been previously.

The same can be said for the upstairs pavilion and meeting rooms. In the Mezzanine, nothing really changed. Board games are in the same meeting rooms, and the Medieval fighters gather and joust where they always have, for example.

Living by Joe WilcoxJun 23, 20264:29 pm

They’re Here, But Where’s the Lanyard?

The mailman, whose last day delivering to my street is tomorrow, delivered not one but two golden tickets: Thursday and Sunday passes to San Diego Comic-Con 2026. The annual pulp media pilgrimage starts one month from today, July 23, and runs through the 26th. Additionally, the lucky—or the chosen—can attend Preview Night on the 22nd.

Thursday is official first day. Friday tends to be busier. Saturday often is busiest because of the masquerade ball that evening. You will see more cosplayers strutting about than on any other day. I call Sunday “family day”; locals predominantly fill the convention center. Meanwhile, the majority of celebrities have gone. (Should I say good riddance?)

Photo by Joe WilcoxNov 15, 20259:43 pm

Comic-Con: The Return

On Oct. 14, 2025, Comic-Con International sent email that Open Registration for the 2026 San Diego event would commence today, at 9 a.m. PST. It’s a wickedly wet day here in Southern California, which put me uncharacteristically inside. So, I pulled out the laptop, meandered over to the badge sale webpage, and joined the queue—where I was warned my wait would be more than an hour.

I puttered about my office, while waiting to see if maybe my chance for a Golden Ticket would come. The passes sell out fast, and I haven’t attended the Con since 2017, I did secure a pass for San Diego Comic-Can Special Edition during Thanksgiving 2021. But I couldn’t attend, for not meeting SARS-CoV-2 (severe acute respiratory syndrome Coronavirus 2)/COVID-19 requirements. Seriously?