Comic-Con Commercials (ization)

Today's the big opening. But the opening is only a wee part of it.

... [Comic-Con launches today, but] promo-wise the San Diego confab is already in full swing with The Walking Dead, Conan O’Brien, Marvel’s Doctor Strange and Designated Survivor dominating.

Also coming in strong on the skyline and streets of SDCC 2016 are Mr. Robot, which is splayed across buses and bicycle taxis, History’s Vikings, the Amazon Village featuring The Man in the High Castle and Thunderbirds Are Go exhibits, South Park’s 20th anniversary park, Adult Swim and FX’s The Strain. ...

Once upon a long ago, Comic-Con was a couple of rooms inside the El Cortez hotel with comic book enthusiasts buying and selling the old time magazines off of card tables. And there were a few other geeks wandering around in movie costumes.

But then the entertainment conglomerates discovered the convention was a spiffy way to promote summer blockbusters, animation, and various t.v. shows, and the hawkers of comic books got shouldered aside. And now it's all about the newest Marvel product on large or small screen, and panels with actors and directors, plus a generous dollop of animation since that is the other hot category of movie these days.

Oh yeah. And late night talk shows broadcast from San Diego, because the interlocking of promotion platforms needs to be total and complete.



Comic-Con has long-since stopped being a comic book convention. Now it's a venue for large companies to tub-thump for their big-budget summer tent poles, be they live-action or animated.