Comic-Con fans know one thing to be true: Where there is fun, there's usually a line that precedes it. And hours before the annual pop culture convention officially kicked off Wednesday night in San Diego, there were lines everywhere — to get onto the convention floor to buy merchandise at the stroke of 6 pm, to have the life scared out of them at the DC Universe Swamp Thing "experience," to gaze at pretty Laika characters, to get into a Hall H panel Thursday morning and even to take a photo with an Andrew Lincoln lookalike.
Over 130,000 pop culture devotees will come to San Diego's Gaslamp District for the annual four-day comic book convention Comic-Con, the big, bright and very heavily branded confab of costumed superfans and the corporate sponsors vying for their attention — and dollars.
Here's what you can expect
Interested in dining at a working replica of the Demolition Man Taco Bell for the movie's 25th anniversary? Or witness a mock court-martial of Star Wars' Poe Dameron for leading a mutiny in Star Wars: The Last Jedi? How about a tasting with Neil deGrasse Tyson? Or a Ready Player One experience with retro gaming stations and recreation of Room 237 from The Shining? If you like pop culture, it's highly likely there is something tailor-made for you at Comic-Con 2018.
"I'm blown away by everyone, everything," said first-time attendee Jeffrey Potts, of Los Angeles. "It's like an amusement park in the middle of town."
Right outside the convention center, across the train tracks, DC Universe has set up a massive space with props and costumes from various movies and TV shows in DC history, like the giant rubber ducky cart from Batman Begins, and some elaborately-staged "experiences" like a menacing Harley Quinn-themed escape room in a paint-splattered asylum.
What started as a 300-person event in 1970 has evolved into a massive operation with events year-round. But San Diego Comic-Con is the marquee occasion. Tickets for four-day access plus preview night can set attendees back $276 (Dh713), before hotel, travel costs, food and any souvenirs.
Loicia Ware, a San Diego resident who has been coming to Comic-Confor at least 10 years, likes to venture onto the convention center floor right when it opens Wednesday evening for preview night, heading straight for Artists Alley and Small Collections on the 460,000 square foot space. It allows her to focus on panels for the rest of the week.
As it has grown, attendees have come to expect a lot from Comic-Con, like exclusive merchandise on the convention center floor, newsy announcements from some of Hollywood's biggest studios, and screenings of anticipated films and television shows.
Could Warner Bros steal the show?
This year Warner Bros is coming armed with stars and footage from Aquaman, Shazam!, Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald and The LEGO Movie 2; Sony is hyping its Spider-Man spinoff Venom; and Universal Pictures will be teasing Halloween and M Night Shyamalan's Glass. On the television side, fans will get a glimpse of new Doctor Who star Jodie Whittaker and have a chance to check out Star Trek: Discovery and Riverdale. And streaming services like Netflix and Hulu will be back with properties like Marvel's Iron Fist and the new JJ Abrams-produced Castle Rock, based on Stephen King stories.
But a few of the major players are conspicuously absent from Hall H, the 6,500-seat room in the San Diego Convention Center that boasts the highest-profile presentations and attracts an enthusiastic fan base willing to camp out overnight in line to secure a coveted seat — as of mid-day Wednesday there were at least 300 people already in line for panels that don't begin until Thursday morning. Those skipping this year include Marvel Studios, HBO (Game of Thrones) and Star Wars.
Who won't be there
"It's a huge deal when major properties like Marvel, Star Wars or HBO don't show up," says Germain Lussier, an entertainment reporter for io9/Gizmodo who has been attending the convention for 15 years. "For the past decade, Marvel Studios panels have consistently been the No 1 most anticipated thing for movie fans at Comic-Con. Their panels never failed to disappoint with exclusive footage, huge news and big surprises."
Production schedules are more to blame than anything else, however. Lussier notes that each of the absent brands has a big (and intensely secretive) installment coming in 2019, including Avengers 4, 'Star Wars: Episode IX and the final season of Game of Thrones.
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"Instead of showing up and disappointing fans, they're simply bowing out to not bolster expectations," he says.
Also, other brands and properties could benefit from an unusually open runway.
"Every year, there's always one or two things everyone is talking about. And if it's not Avengers 4 or Star Wars, what's it going to be?" says Lussier. "I think this is a huge opportunity for Warner Bros. to steal every headline with major news and exciting footage."
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
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Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
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The biog
Name: Dhabia Khalifa AlQubaisi
Age: 23
How she spends spare time: Playing with cats at the clinic and feeding them
Inspiration: My father. He’s a hard working man who has been through a lot to provide us with everything we need
Favourite book: Attitude, emotions and the psychology of cats by Dr Nicholes Dodman
Favourit film: 101 Dalmatians - it remind me of my childhood and began my love of dogs
Word of advice: By being patient, good things will come and by staying positive you’ll have the will to continue to love what you're doing
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
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APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
Display: 21cm Liquid Retina Display, 2266 x 1488, 326ppi, 500 nits
Chip: Apple A17 Pro, 6-core CPU, 5-core GPU, 16-core Neural Engine
Storage: 128/256/512GB
Main camera: 12MP wide, f/1.8, digital zoom up to 5x, Smart HDR 4
Front camera: 12MP ultra-wide, f/2.4, Smart HDR 4, full-HD @ 25/30/60fps
Biometrics: Touch ID, Face ID
Colours: Blue, purple, space grey, starlight
In the box: iPad mini, USB-C cable, 20W USB-C power adapter
Price: From Dh2,099
Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
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The Way It Was: My Life with Frank Sinatra by Eliot Weisman and Jennifer Valoppi
Hachette Books
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Tree of Hell
Starring: Raed Zeno, Hadi Awada, Dr Mohammad Abdalla
Director: Raed Zeno
Rating: 4/5
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Day 1, Dubai Test: At a glance
Moment of the day Sadeera Samarawickrama set pulses racing with his strokeplay on his introduction to Test cricket. It reached a feverish peak when he stepped down the wicket and launched Yasir Shah, who many regard as the world’s leading spinner, back over his head for six. No matter that he was out soon after: it felt as though the future had arrived.
Stat of the day - 5 The last time Sri Lanka played a Test in Dubai – they won here in 2013 – they had four players in their XI who were known as wicketkeepers. This time they have gone one better. Each of Dinesh Chandimal, Kaushal Silva, Samarawickrama, Kusal Mendis, and Niroshan Dickwella – the nominated gloveman here – can keep wicket.
The verdict Sri Lanka want to make history by becoming the first team to beat Pakistan in a full Test series in the UAE. They could not have made a better start, first by winning the toss, then by scoring freely on an easy-paced pitch. The fact Yasir Shah found some turn on Day 1, too, will have interested their own spin bowlers.