The world has waited long enough: here are some pictures from the 2024 Comic-Con International

I've had this blog since 2008, which is a long time in blog years, and also, I guess, the last time the Steelers won the Super Bowl. Sometimes I post a bunch of pictures from Comic-Con in San Diego, and I wonder what kind of Google Image search results they show up in, and if they make any sense without the context of this wonderful blog. I guess we'll never know, but here are 22 more pictures for Google to sort through. Here are some of the things I saw in San Diego this past July!

DOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!!!

This year's offsite events were as big and immersive as they've ever been, especially along the harbor, behind the convention center. ABC's Abbot Elementary had a carnival with rides and a drum line and a line to get in that went for hours each day.

This must have been fun for two people to go as Batman and Alfred in tandem. Did they ever separate over the weekend? Would it have made sense just to see a guy with a phone and an umbrella? Did they feel the pressure to stay in character the whole time?

Comic-Con is fun for a lot of reasons. One of those reasons is that you can walk down an aisle and see a to-scale Mechagodzilla walking toward you.

You can also see the Statue of Liberty with a chicken man, but I guess you can see that anywhere.

The Hulu booth had a number of signings on the floor over the course of the weekend. Here's the cast of What We Do In The Shadows!

Hulu's offsite event was also a big deal throughout the weekend. I'm not sure why Bender is being shuttled along this conveyor belt, but I am apparently very concerned about it.

My friend Jennie Wood had a panel and a rooftop book signing at the San Diego Public Library one afternoon during the show!

The Young Avengers!

Just don't...don't turn around, Hank.

This might be the best costume I saw all weekend. Kudos to this guy for pulling it off expertly.

I was lucky enough to get a ticket to Paramount's offsite Lodge event, and this is the best picture I took inside. They had a TMNT arcade machine and free pizza, too.

I'm not sure if this vehicle is street legal, or if you are allowed to drive it wearing a Muppet mask, but we'll make an exception for Comic-Con.

If it's a mashup, I like it. These were great.

I was somehow able to get into the Futurama cast signing on Saturday at the Hulu booth.

I recently watched both Avatar: The Last Airbender and The Legend of Korra for the first time, and suddenly these costumes make sense.

A new issue of Sister Powers came out for the show, and I got to spend some time with my friend and series artist Mario Wytch signing over the weekend.

The show isn't limited to the convention floor. These poor souls died, presumably, waiting in line for something.

At some point, it's time to go home.

Public transit has its perils, but it's cheaper than Uber and sometimes you've just got to make do.

This felt like the first "normal" Comic-Con since 2019. It was expansive and intense and I slept very little. I'll be back next year.

pictures from the 2021 Rhode Island Comic Con

The Rhode Island Comic Con was the last show I attended in 2019. I wrapped up the convention year with a table and, of course, not knowing that I wouldn't attend any show in 2020. RICC was back at its regular dates this year, and I was able to get a table once again, so it had many full-circle moments as I ventured back into the world of selling stuff at conventions. 

So how was it? It was weird. But here are some pictures, in the spirit of the grand tradition of this damn blog, which I have been using for like 13 years at this point. That is also weird. Anyway, let's look at some pictures!

The eerie glow of the wheels on Ghost Rider's bike really sells this costume. The lights are a perfect touch.

Low-key Philip J Fry is a nice go-to if you've got red hair. It also works as a James Dean costume outside of convention center grounds.

Here's a look at the main show floor hallway, traveling down the escalator. It's hard to compare attendance at this show to that in 2019. Saturday felt busy at times. It was pretty sparse at moments on Friday and Sunday. I don't blame anyone for not feeling comfortable getting back to regular conventions just yet. I suppose that the crowds came in waves, and in between those waves, the attendance was light.

Okay. So. William Shatner announced that 2019 would be his last year for convention appearances. At NYCC in October, I paid (a lot) for an autograph. At RICC, my pal Ian and I went for one of the photo ops. The plastic divider in the picture is distracting, and these celebrity photo ops are pretty cheesy in general. But I couldn't pass up what will probably be my last chance to get a photo with Captain Kirk.

I posted the picture online, and some random kind soul quickly came back with this edited version. Bless the person who did this. Maybe this will be my Christmas card this year.

I don't know what this costume is! But it is impressive!

This Predator costume was probably the most popular at the show, and this guy paid the price for having a good outfit at a small convention. I often saw him surrounded by crowds for 30 minutes at a time, and he'd eventually have to ask people to let him leave. It's a double-edged sword, my friend.

Some Bat-Family characters.

One of the photo booths on the floor allowed you to take a picture with this really huge Battle Cat. You could sit on it, hold He-Man's sword, the whole thing. I know that this isn't a licensed thing, and I wonder who was in charge of spray painting the tiger model green, but it was still fun to see.

Sometimes at shows, especially small shows, the things I enjoy seeing most of all are the old and very expensive comics. Here's a hefty run of the Fantastic Four that includes issues 1, 2, 4, 5, 52 and others.

I'm here for this Skeletor.

This Little Shop of Horrors Audrey II prop was roped off on the show floor. It looks like someone could get in it and operate it? But every time I saw it, it was just there for display.

Lower Decks is the best Star Trek show currently airing. I absolutely love it. 

I saw more than one couple dressed as Laszlo and Nadja from What We Do In The Shadows, which is also a wonderful show that I've just recently finished watching. It's a great idea if there's more than one person if your group.

I was kind of bummed when shows shut down for 2020 - I was also sad for other, more important reasons, I guess - so I decided that I would get unnecessarily dressed up the next time I was able to get a table. It took two years, but I was finally able to get back to exhibiting a convention in November of 2021. So here's the table...

...and here I am, resplendent as always, at the 2021 Rhode Island Comic Con. Everything about this is ridiculous. 

Also here's Godzilla.

Here's another Laszlo and Nadja. Laszlo is wearing his cursed hat.

Well, now I know who in Pennsylvania has this variation on the Pac Man license plate.

I was able to be on a panel, see some friends, and be bored at a comic convention again for the first time in a while. I'm happy about it all.

My Disenchantment pitch comic - "Baby Trail Fairy Tale" with Dani Grew

Following up on the previous Disenchantment post, I thought I'd offer up a look at a pitch comic that artist Dani Grew and I made for Comic-Con 2019. My intention was to use this as a pitch to Bongo Comics, which published Simpsons Comics, Futurama Comics, and was overseen (in a broad sense) by Matt Groening.

I knew some folks with the company and I felt pretty good about the quality of the story, but when I got to Comic-Con and made my way to the Bongo booth, I found out that the company in the process of closing up shop, at least for the time being. The lack of a Disenchantment comic is a big oversight in the licensed comic game, and I have to believe that several companies would leap to publish it if it were available. Maybe it'll happen one day!

This comic takes place during the first season, of course, but I think that I got the characters' voices right despite only having a few episodes to work from. I hope you enjoy this Disenchantment comic!

Executive producer Josh Weinstein posted this on Twitter a few days ago. The bottle of mermaid mead was apparently given to some of the folks who worked on the show. Maybe one will (quietly?) show up on eBay one day!

Bean & Mora, together forever on my shelf (or at least 'til an earthquake.) pic.twitter.com/QyJ8dL90oW

— Josh Weinstein (@Joshstrangehill) January 17, 2021

My Disenchantment fan kit for season three

We're all watching the newest season of Disenchantment on Netflix, right? I love this series and I think that the newly-released season three is really compelling, funny and exciting. For all of the obvious reasons, this show feels like an extension of Futurama, which is one of my all-time favorite programs.

For reasons unknown to me, a marketing company contacted me a few weeks back about sending me a press kit-like "watch party" box in anticipation of the new season. I, of course, hastily accepted, and just a few days ago, a package arrived with a box of Disenchantment-branded items. I thought I'd show them off, with many thanks to ChizComm Media and the folks at the show!

Any collector knows that the box is a big part of any presentation. This one was simple but I really love the logo sticker on the lid. This is why I will be keeping the box forever.

The stuff inside the box was also pretty exciting. Here's how it looked, packed with black and gold confetti.

First up! Here's a fleece throw featuring the demon Luci.

Next, here's a Funko Pop! figure of King Zøg, voiced by John DiMaggio, Futurama's Bender. Zøg goes through some really harrowing stuff this season, and DiMaggio does an absolutely incredible job with his voice, as he wrings every last drop of emotion from this character. He's also the voice of the talking horse!

Next up is a Luci plush figure. These were on sale at Comic-Con in 2019, and it's the only Disenchantment merchandise I didn't buy at the time. Since then, they've jumped quite a bit in value and have been hard to find in general, so getting one here, for free, was a huge treat. 

Next is also an item I saw - and bought - at Comic-Con 2019. It's the Disenchantment "Untold Tales" book. This oversized book is part comic, part activity magazine, and was the last thing put together by the old Bongo Comics team before they unfortunately shut down the imprint. Now I've got a second copy! I'll give it to one of my nephews when they're a little older.

Also in the box was a Disenchantment 2021 calendar!

Lastly, there's a cup - and this might be the only item that isn't available elsewhere. But look! There's something inside the cup:

It's a bag of carmel corn, with a Disenchantment sticker on the front. I'm kind of grateful that there was a small tear in the bag, because it means that I'll have to actually eat it, rather than agonizing about whether I should try and save a bag of popcorn for the rest of my life. I, uh, will keep the bag, but at least one decision was taken out of my hands.

I also...made a video of me taking these things out of the box, and I put it on Twitter! You can watch it here, if you'd like, I guess:

The fine folks at @Disenchantment HQ sent me a box of stuff in anticipation of tonight’s season 3 premiere on @Netflix! For your enjoyment, I unbox it before your very eyes: pic.twitter.com/sm74VoOPDd

— Jeff McClelland (@JeffMcClelland) January 14, 2021

I'm not entirely sure why the folks at the show decided to send me this box, but I'm extremely grateful for it. I would no doubt be watching this show in any case, but I guess it gets me to try and spread the word a little more than I otherwise would have. If you're not watching this show - and especially if you like Futurama - then you absolutely need to! Check it out on Netflix!