If comic conventions were a rock concert, San Diego Comic-Con would be headlining at the Super Bowl. It started in 1970 with about 300 people in a hotel basement. Now, over 130,000 people flood the San Diego Convention Center each July.
You’ve seen the frenzy on the news: fans camp out for three days just to get a seat for a Marvel or Star Wars panel. Getting a badge? It’s famously harder than scoring Taylor Swift tickets. But even if you don’t get in, the entire city transforms—strangers in Handmaid’s Tale robes walk next to Stormtroopers at the gas station.
Why you should care
SDCC is where the future of pop culture gets announced. Remember when everyone lost their minds over the first Avengers trailer? That happened here. It’s the place where a studio reveals a new movie and the internet breaks for a week.
For everyday folks, think of it as the world’s biggest spoiler alert factory. If you want to know what you’ll be binge-watching next Christmas, pay attention to what leaks from San Diego in July.
