Comic-Con and Strikes

Comic-Con International convenes in San Diego in 40 days. The Writers Guild (the WGA) is on strike. The Actors' union may go on strike. How might these strikes affect the con? The show biz news site Deadline has an article up that says, among other things…

The most immediate place where a possible SAG-AFTRA strike will be felt is at San Diego Comic-Con, which runs July 19-23. Already, the WGA strike is preventing TV creators from heading there and sitting on panels. The prospect of a starless geek fest would gut a conference that annually attracts 135,000 attendees and which fully returned to an in-person event only last year after a two-year Covid hiatus. Many studios and networks are in a wait-and-see-mode as to how they'll trumpet shows and movies. Some such as HBO are skipping because there aren't any immediate fanboy series on the horizon. At the bare minimum, a filmmaker or producer can venture down to Hall H with footage in hand to show off.

A Comic-Con spokesperson tells Deadline: "With regard to the strike and its possible effects on Comic-Con, we tend to refrain from speculation or forecasting. I will say, our hope is for a speedy resolution that will prove beneficial to all parties and allow everyone to continue the work they love. Until then, we continue to diligently work on our summer event in the hopes of making it as fun, educational, and celebratory as in years past."

Okay, first off: SAG-AFTRA may not strike or a strike could easily be settled by July 19. I'm not sure if a strike matters if the studios are opting out of presenting at Comic-Con for the promotional value. So maybe there could be very few appearances at the con by superstars of TV and the movies. So what? The badges are sold. They'll be used. Some of the folks who camp out in Hall H for most of the con might just wander over to other parts of the building and discover other things that merit their attention. A few of them might even go into the Exhibit Hall and buy stuff.

And no one who is disappointed that their favorite celebs aren't there this time is going to hold it against the convention. Nor will they hesitate to buy badges next year when all this will (presumably) be long-settled.

Remember: 135,000+ people flock to Comic-Con each year. Hall H only holds 6,000 of them and the other big rooms wherein Hollywood panels take place hold less. That may be the only part of the whole shebang that interests Deadline but the sheer numbers tell you that most people who go to Comic-Con don't go to those presentations. The star-fueled promotions make headlines but the con is and always has been about so much more than just the hyping of new movies and new TV shows.

I know it doesn't feel that way because that's all the press cares about. But we shouldn't let that spoil our fun.

Remember too that if there is a SAG-AFTRA strike, it will be about the contract that doesn't cover animation or videogames. There will be no strike this summer in those areas. There may be some WGA-covered projects that won't have actors at the con to promote the product but there will be plenty of cartoons 'n' games that are unaffected. I may be missing something but I don't see the problem with maybe not having stellar media celebrities on the premises this one time. I even think the con would remain at capacity if they left and never came back.