There’s few people who wouldn’t have heard of San Diego’s International Comic-Con event.
A five-day, pop culture summer extravaganza almost as famous as the city it inhabits, exploding with cosplayers, activations and celebrity panels.
It’s fair to assume not a whole lot of Australians have taken the near 17-hour flight from Sydney to actually witness the spectacle, which has been proudly running since 1970.
I arrived in San Diego the day prior and the main drag, Gaslamp Quarter, was practically a ghost town.
A few short hours later, on day one of Comic-Con, that same street was fanning with colour, music, retro cars and event-goers bursting with delirium.
Up to 150,000 people flock to Comic-Con each year, travelling from across the world to share in all things entertainment.
In the heart of the action on day one, there’s a man holding a giant black-and-yellow sign reading, ‘Know the God of the Bible.’
He’s shouting hate speech into a megaphone, calling the buzzing attendees “confused” and “depressed”.
He then begins endorsing the overturning of Roe v Wade and says he hopes same-sex marriage is next. There were worse statements, but he doesn’t deserve any more airtime.
There are a flurry of people rightly getting emotional about the vile protest. They’re begging police to make him leave, with one officer arguing, “I can’t, it’s his belief.”
But they needn’t have wasted their energy, because just a stone’s throw away inside the downtown Convention Centre there’s an army of like-minded people who share their spirit.
As a Western Sydney native who grew up in a town where dressing up was considered pulling on an NRL jersey, I was eager to figure out why Comic-Con was such a phenomenon.
Many want to be the first in the world to hear exclusive news about buzzy new shows and movies. Some wanted just a glimpse of Ozzy Osbourne, who made his debut this year to promote his new comic book. Others simply relish the opportunity to transform into the characters that have added such richness to their lives.
But everyone agreed on at least one factor.
“It’s the people, hands down, this is a community,” Brian White, from Illinois, says.
Brian is dressed as the almighty Thor. He travelled a full day in his car to be here.
“It’s a very empowering costume, you just feel like you could do anything in this thing,” he adds.
“The atmosphere, the people, obviously the guys yelling hate are not part of Comic-Con.
“But there’s so many people that just vibe and get who you are. And it’s so refreshing to be around those kinds of people.”
The behemoth-sized, three-level San Diego Convention Centre is brimming with art stalls from vendors who have worked with Lucasfilm, while on the other side of the hall there’s major merchandise setups from the likes of Disney, Netflix and HBO.
The costumes are beyond considered, right down to individually coloured eyelashes.
I spot a man dressed as the Joker, who looks remarkably like Heath Ledger’s Oscar-winning character in The Dark Knight.
His name is Jean Markus. He’s travelled by himself from his home country of Brazil to be around people that appreciate his creativity.
“I took like four or five months to create this costume,” he says.
“I spent a lot of time on this. I love the crowds I love everyone here, they’re nerds like me. People understand what I did here. The difference between here and my country is people don’t get it (in Brazil). But here, I feel like everyone is just like me and they understand me.”
Elsewhere, there’s an elderly couple holding hands navigating the crowds with ease.
Chester Widomski, 64, who is from New York where he lives with his wife of 24 years, Linda, 65, is walking with a cane after undergoing five surgeries for back problems.
But they weren’t going to miss Comic-Con’s triumphant return after the Covid hiatus, and have made it to their fourth one together.
“We come for the people, and their costumes,” says Chester, who is an electronic technician with dreams to design his own game.
“I introduced Linda to it all those years ago, and she’s loved it ever since.”
Just outside the centre, HBO have set up an elaborate Westeros world where diehard Game of Thrones fans can sit on the brand new Iron Throne, featured in the upcoming prequel House of the Dragon, which premieres on Binge and Foxtel August 22.
Waiting outside the activation is a woman named Tori Finley, who hails from Canada. She’s dressed as Rhaenys Velaryon nee Targaryen, and has crafted her outfit based off four seconds of a HotD teaser trailer which dropped earlier this year.
“Rhaenys is my favourite character in the books,” she says.
“My friend Nicole made it for me. It took almost two months to do to get everything ordered and matched up. We had no full reference to this outfit, we only had the screengrab from four seconds and we did our very best based off of that.”
She added: “I’m very excited to see House of the Dragon, from what it sounds like George R.R. Martin is working very closely with the new showrunners. It looks incredible.”
Tori has been a mainstay at Comic-Con since 2011, only missing out on two years due to the Covid pandemic.
She’s had some of the best moments of her life here, most notably, when GoT actress Sophie Turner remembered their encounter and sought Tori out in subsequent years.
“I’ve been very lucky, I do social work for fun, and I’ve been able to meet Sophie Turner many times,” she says.
“She’s so lovely, she made time to come see me offstage, or at the screenings and that was such a highlight because she remembered me, that was always my favourite highlight.
“And the people you meet here. It’s just an honour to be around these people.”
All up, I spent three days surfing through the chaos of Comic-Con, but it took all of three minutes to feel its force.
Originally published as Comic-Con San Diego 2022: Vile protester trolls event-goers
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