Tag: SDCC

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 20, 20269:40 pm

A Shot in the Dark

San Diego Comic-Con 2016, I was functionally blind—and the realization how much came during Preview Night 10 years ago this evening. My daughter accompanied me to the Convention Center, where she received a complimentary companion full-event pass as the helper for a disabled attendee—a status I never imagined myself as being.

Crippling cataracts clouded my eyesight, and I saw how severely when scanning the show floor and realizing I couldn’t read any of the large numerical signs hanging from the ceiling. Disheartened, I walked into the crowd, blindly pointed iPhone 6s, and shot the Featured Image, which essentially is the only photographic record I have of the event. Vitals: f/2.2, ISO 80, 1/15 sec, 29mm; 6:41 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 15, 20269:27 pm

The Trekkers

Fourteen years ago today, San Diego Comic-Con wrapped up for another annual gathering. Sunday is my favorite day of the entire event. Locals, particularly families, dominate attendance. Most of the Hollywood crowd has left the building, so to speak.

But pulp media presence is full-force present by way of brands. Star Trek is one of the biggest, considerably more so currently than 2012. One booth used to sell authentic sci-fi uniforms from several prominent TV series—I’m partial to those from Battlestar Galactica, thank-you. Star Trek was among them, but Anovos, the company producing the uniforms, no longer exists.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 14, 20268:35 pm

Day Three Crowd, Comic-Con 2012

Saturday at San Diego Comic-Con is by far the busiest day and most jam-packed, whether measured by attendance size or number of panels featuring actors, content creators, showrunners, and more.

Fourteen years ago today, a throng of people pushed past the G4 booth—as you can see from the Featured Image. Vitals: f/2.8, ISO 125, 1/17 sec, 3.4mm; 1:43 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 13, 20269:52 pm

Stormtrooper in a Kilt

Ho-ho, the on-this-date review from San Diego Comic-Con continues—reaching back to July 13, 2012. My attendance started in 2009, although I had a press pass for 2008—about nine months after the Wilcox family moved to Southern California. My return for two days next week will be my first appearance since 2017.

The Featured Image is intriguing for a couple of reasons. The kilt is obvious. You can see that. You have to wonder what impression a brigade of like-adorned stormtroopers would make. Would rebel forces laugh and not take their adversaries seriously enough, ending up even more dead?

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 12, 202610:57 pm

I Wonder, Woman, Who Is Super, Man?

Like eleven years ago, July 12 is a Sunday. While the dates and days sync up, something else doesn’t: San Diego Comic-Con concluded on this date in 2015. The 2026 gathering won’t start for another 10 days, with Preview Night. I will be there on Thursday and Sunday, my first dalliance since 2017.

The Featured Image is among the last dozen photos taken using Fujifilm X-T1 and XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens on this date 11 years ago. Vitals: f/3.2, ISO 250, 1/60 sec, 18mm; 1:49 p.m. PDT.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 10, 20267:58 pm

Line Monks

Don’t bother asking. Joe has no idea what are Link Monks–—if he ever knew. I used Fujifilm X-T1 and XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens to shoot the Featured Image, eleven years ago today during San Diego Comic-Con 2015.

Vitals: f/3.2, ISO 200, 1/2500 sec, 18.8mm; 10:44 a.m. PDT. The portrait is a horizontal crop from a vertical original. See how sharp the shot still is? I loved the X-T1, BTW.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 9, 20268:24 pm

Decisions, Decisions

Eleven years ago today, I stomped about San Diego Convention Center shooting photos of Comic-Con 2015. Next week, I return for two days—Thursday and Sunday—marking my first attendance since (gasp) 2017. Oh, I tried but failed to secure passes.

During 2015 Con, I purchased the Fujifilm X-T1, bundled with two lenses, from Best Buy and made good use of the kit during most of the four full days. I used the X-T1 and XF18-55mmF2.8-4 R LM OIS lens to capture the Featured Image. Vitals: f/4, ISO 2500, 1/60 sec, 18mm; 4:31 p.m. PDT, July 9, 2015.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJul 8, 20269:57 pm

I Want That One

Let’s play memories like Facebook or your favorite photo app might do by presenting posts or pics from that day over the years. On July 9, 2015, San Diego Comic-Con commenced with Preview Night, and I was there.

In no way could I guess that the year would be my last with full attendance to the event over the full four days and evening. I did possess an entire Con pass for 2016, but I underwent cataract surgery that limited going to Saturday and Sunday; handicapped, I made no meaningful pictorial record.

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?

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 19, 20249:02 pm

Uglydoll to the Stars

For no particular reason, we spend another day looking back on San Diego Comic-Con 2015, where Star Trek-themed Uglydolls went where no plushie has gone before—sold out, if I rightly recall, before the convention ended.

In the Featured Image, Power Ice-Bat rises above a sea of OX. The companion capture presents Ice-Bat as Scotty—and the Red Shirt who defied the odds episode after episode during the three seasons. Red Shirt has become a euphemism for a pulp-media character who is killed soon after his or her introduction. On Star Trek the Original Series, they dressed in a specific color.

Living by Joe WilcoxJan 18, 202410:26 pm

When Comic-Con was Fun

San Diego Comic-Con is still six months away (July 25-28). Late last year, I missed the first chance for a 2024 pass and skipped the second opportunity. My attendance days long ago ended when the convention chose not to renew my press credentials (and when I was still a working journalist). Subsequently, I wasn’t (supposedly) randomly chosen to purchase a pass.

On this fine Thursday evening, for no particular reason, let’s peek at what was SDCC before the culturally woke put to sleep my interests in participating. The Con is gone, or at least as I remember it.

Photo by Joe WilcoxJan 6, 202411:04 pm

Fatman Returns

In February 2014, a researcher from The Graham Norton Show contacted me about licensing one of my costumed portraits from San Diego Comic-Con 2010. She explained: “Our terms are all media worldwide for 5 years, and we would normally pay £175 (about $285) for these. We would pay upon usage of the image, and I would be able to let you know on Monday whether it has made the final cut of the show. If it is included, then we will arrange payment. Would you be happy with this?”

My reply: “I love the show, and, of course, you have my permission to use the photo—and the terms are agreeable. Can you let me know if the pic makes the cut and, if so, when the show will air?” The photo did indeed make the “final cut”, and I was paid for the privilege.