Since the announcement of Comic-Con Special Edition the other day, I've been receiving e-mails that ask one or both of two questions. I shall do my level best to answer each of those questions…
Question #1: Are you, Mark Evanier, willing to attend an event like this in November? My answer to this is a firm "I dunno." I have found it helpful during the Pandemic to regard all predictions involving time to be wild guesses. The predictions of a few folks — like, say, actual experts on epidemics and immunization — are probably worth a little more than the ones from non-specialists and anyone on cable news or in government…but they're all still guesses about a situation with almost zero precedents.
Sometimes, they've been too optimistic; sometimes, too pessimistic. In the latter category, we seem to have most predictions about how many people would get vaccinations and how long it would take to jab 'em all.
But when will it be safe to gather and with what caveats? Again, a firm "I dunno." It would not surprise me if it seemed reasonably safe by Thanksgiving or even Labor Day. Then again, with all the folks who think mask-wearing is over and it's time to gather in what could turn out to be super-spreader events, it wouldn't surprise me if we were in for another surge of hospitalizations and deaths. So ask me in a few months when I might have a somewhat less-firm "I dunno." I gather that the folks staging this Special Edition still aren't 100% certain they won't have to call it off due to some as-yet-unpredictable worse case scenario. Which brings us to the other question…
Question #2: Are they outta their minds having this thing on Thanksgiving Weekend? I don't think so but I certainly understand why that's a bad time for a lot of people. They want to spend that holiday time with family, especially since they probably couldn't do that last year. It's an expensive time to travel and it might be especially so in a post-Pandemic America.
The convention proprietors have responded to some immediate objections by issuing the following announcement…
Our decision to hold an in-person event in 2021 was driven by a number of factors. Our primary hope was to be able to gather in-person as a community, something we have not been able to do since early last year. Another was to try to determine how best to effectively and safely produce events in light of current health concerns with the least negative impact on attendees.
As conventions and events have had to cancel their in-person shows or have converted to virtual formats during the pandemic, some have been postponed to later years while others have been rescheduled to the later part of 2021, resulting in a very packed Convention Center calendar. When reviewing dates for an in-person event, it was clear that available meeting and exhibit space would limit our options. Of the dates presented with the fewest restrictions, Friday through Sunday of Thanksgiving weekend seemed to be the best balance of available space and our envisioned event. As longtime fans ourselves, we have attended many conventions over that holiday weekend, opting to spend Thanksgiving day with family and the rest of the weekend with friends and our families of choice. While this is not unusual in the convention trade, we understand this choice is not optimal for everyone.
Comic-Con Special Edition was never intended to be the large gathering reflective of the summer event. As a shorter event, it was our attempt to start slowly and cautiously while at the same time addressing the desire from fans to have an in-person show. There are still many factors that are unknown to us at this time, including space accommodations, travel restrictions, capacity restrictions, and required safety protocols. While open to all and with the hope that we will be able to accommodate fans from all over, we understand that due to potential travel-based restrictions and challenges, Comic-Con Special Edition may be an event attended mostly by fans more easily able to travel to San Diego.
Currently we do not know whether having this event in November is even feasible as we are still in the midst of the pandemic and while we are optimistic about Q4, we have not been privy to any specific information on large gatherings. However, it was our desire to have something in place for our fans who have longed for an in-person event. We truly hope that you will join us for this entry back into the world of in-person celebrations of the community we so love.
Reading between the lines, I think they're saying these were the best dates they could get. That wouldn't surprise me. Groups that want to convene at the San Diego Convention Center have been canceling and postponing events for more than a year now. With the announcement that they expect to begin welcoming such events in August, they're probably deluged with bookings, many of which may be contractual.
It's clear that the Comic-Con folks still don't know how large a convention they'll be able to have there in November. The line about how it "may be an event attended mostly by fans more easily able to travel to San Diego" should not be overlooked. It may indeed be relatively small and may even serve as a kind of test kitchen for how cons will have to adapt for the foreseeable future.
I think some of those complaining that they may not be able to attend are imagining one of those big 130,000-people-and-every-big-superstar festivals that you don't want to miss…and that ain't what this is going to be. It may not even be at all. Wait and see if it's something you would even want to attend before you get angry that you might not be able to attend.
And by the way, there have been big comic conventions on Thanksgiving Weekends. The Creation people used to do a hugely successful one that weekend in Manhattan every year, which I believe was attended mostly by people who could take the subway in for a day, spend money and take the subway home. This may be more like one of those conventions…if it even happens at all.