SAN DIEGO (KGTV) – Thousands patiently waited for the pinnacle of fandom on Wednesday night: Comic-Con 2023.
“Super stoked! I haven’t been in five years,” Fraga Boom said.
“It’s been five for you?” JJ Kirby, Boom’s friend, asked.
“It’s been five years. I moved to Georgia, man!” Boom said. “So I’m very excited. You’re going to see things here tonight that you’re not going to see any other night.”
“The biggest part of Preview Night is getting the exclusives you can possibly get. You know, It’s going to be chaos over the weekend; Friday, Saturday and Sunday. This is the best opportunity to get what you want and need,” said Steven Sarte, who is visiting from New Jersey
The wants and needs of what attendees are looking for are aplenty at Comic-Con.
“For some it can be the costuming sessions, for some it can be a presentation or a tease on a movie or television show, or the latest novel or comic book. So, it’s really hard to say,” said David Glanzer, the Chief Communications and Strategy Officer of Comic-Con.
Glanzer said clearly there won’t be some of the big panels with the actors and writers strikes. But he added that not every studio comes to Comic-Con every year.
“It’s not just one aspect of popular art that they come to it’s the totality of it all. In addition to that, it really is community. It’s all of us getting together enjoying what it is that we love in an environment that is safe and nurturing and educational,” Glanzer said.
Some people coming to Comic-Con feel this year will still be a page turner regardless of the strikes.
“So it’s going to be the first year in a long time that Hollywood hasn’t had a presence that it’s going back to a comic book show and I’m very interested to see how that turns out,” Boom said.
Kirby said that it’s like Comic-Con is getting back to basics with 2023’s event.
“When Hollywood came and plug in, it changed the vibe. It became more of a trade show. And Comic Con has always been like we’re going to geek together and have a good time in solidarity,” Kirby said.
The convention kicks off at 9:30 a.m. Thursday.
