The costumed masses have dissipated from the San Diego Convention Center. Where once there were hallways cluttered with the latest pop culture extravaganza, now there only the anticipations from what transpired at this years San Diego Comic Con. A consistent staple in entertainment, 2018’s SDCC is just as popular as ever, celebrating 48 years of nerd orgasms by welcoming nearly 200,000 people through its doors. I have broken down the very best (and very worst) moments at the mecca of entertainment:
Best
That Godzilla Trailer
The 2014 Godzilla flick was underwhelming to say the least (really, Walter White is in the movie for five minutes. Wait, what?). However, God help me if the latest addition to the Kaiju myth didn’t give me Mothra sized chills all over my body.
Accompanied by an orchestra rendition of Clair de Lune, Godzilla: King of the Monsters looks like everything the Toho giant lizard should be: a colossal sized, mutated reptile bruhaha that treats the characters as insignificant flesh flies. Every former Japanese guy in a monster suit character looks beautifully rendered in the latest and greatest CGI.
And I don’t mind Eleven as the main protagonist, just as long as she has a shred of personality — something Aaron Taylor-Johnson couldn’t manage in the original.
The Mondo Booth
For years now, Austin based Mondo have been at the pinnacle of high-end screen print movie artwork. This year, fans cluttered around the booth, eager to snag limited edition film posters only available at the convention. Most impressive amongst the offering: a blue Dark Crystal rendition with the Gelflings straddling Landstriders; a body composed of budding flowers for Annihilation; The Shape Of Water capturing Elisa and Amphibian Man locked in an underwater embrace within a flooded movie theater.
The turnout was so vast, that Mondo and various company artists released PSAs, pleading for fans to be patient and act in a respectful manner if they failed to nab the print they wanted.
INFINITY WAR (Variant) by @MattTaylorDraws is SOLD OUT at our booth, but you can pick up the timed-edition version online NOW! https://t.co/vySKgdvPCd pic.twitter.com/GSWtSyUj8F
— Mondo (@MondoNews) July 22, 2018
Quantity was limited, and they went quick, for good reason.
The 13th Female Doctor
No other event had more fanfare than Jodie Whittakers first Comic-Con appearance as the new star of Doctor Who. After Peter Capaldi’s stale take on the character, Whovians were desperate for some kind of creative upheaval. Those lofty expectations seem to have come to a head with Whittaker’s take on the character.
Anticipation hasn’t been this high since David Tennant was wielding the sonic screwdriver. Apparently, Hall H can only fit 1,600 people, but 6,000 plus fans were on hand to cheer on the 13th Doctor — the first woman to ever operate the TARDIS. A trailer didn’t reveal much, but new baddies and beasties will reportedly make their debut this fall.
Worst
DC Forced Humor
Marvel Comics had a history of stealing most of their characters from DC. Now, with the domination of the MCU at the multiplex, the DCU is tearing pages out of the Stan Lee Entertainment Bible.
While Zack Snyder bogged down most of the past flicks with a sense of seriousness that would put Schindler’s List to shame, upcoming DC offerings Aquaman and Shazam! have attempted to copy and pasted Marvel’s trademark, tongue-in-cheek humor into their projects. The results look forced, like a kid trying to do standup at a junior high talent show, with the only laughs coming from his parents seated in the front row.
The movie’s trailers were bogged down with overkill special effects and forced jokes that could appeal to the under 12 crowd who have forced their family to take them to the movies. Instead of finding a mixture of the somber and silly, DC has crossed the void of the emotional spectrum, forcing their fans to participate in a Semantic differential scale that no one wanted to fill out.
Marvel And HBO Absence
Like the popular kids invited to a party by nerdy yet ambitious geeks, Marvel and HBO acted as though they were in a league better than the SDCC crowd. Disney owns Marvel and has decided to scale back convention appearances in favor of their own Star Wars Celebration and D23 to market new projects. Because of this, there was nothing in terms of promoting upcoming sequels “Avengers IV” and “Episode IX” this year. HBO pulled the same move, refusing to drum up any publicity for Game of Thrones, True Detective, or Westworld Season 3 — the latter failed to make an appearance because the last season was such a rusty and dated piece of robotics.
Of course, that wasn’t all Comic-Con had to offer this year. If you want a rundown at what some of our crew did while attending the con, check out the latest episode of Los Fanboys, which you can see below!
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