It’s Here: 2024 San Diego Comic-Con International Officially Kicks Off Wednesday

City leaders will officially kick off the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con International Wednesday at the San Diego Convention Center, ushering in five days of comics, games, movies, and art.

The 2024 edition seeks to improve on a more pared down 2023 version, owing to a strike between studios and screenwriters and actors. As a result of the SAG-AFTRA strike, Comic-Con in 2023 had no HBO, Netflix, Marvel, DC, Sony or other big studio representation.

Not so in 2024, where the big presenters will again fill the San Diego Convention Center’s largest stages for the 55th running of one of San Diego’s largest events.

The convention encompasses a wide array of activities and events, including panel discussions, celebrity appearances, art exhibits, merchandise exhibitions and more.

On Wednesday, Mayor Todd Gloria will be joined by City Councilman Stephen Whitburn, Convention Center President and CEO Rip Rippetoe, San Diego Tourism Authority President and CEO Julie Coker and Comic-Con’s Fae Desmond and David Glanzer to officially welcome members of the media to Comic-Con’s Preview Night.

Diego, the “first dog” of San Diego, will also join the event in costume to help kick off the annual convention.

“Comic-Con has been a celebrated fixture for decades, and we are so proud that this international phenomenon was homegrown right here in San Diego,” Gloria told the crowd last year. “This much-anticipated annual event not only draws thousands of tourists and generates hundreds of millions in economic activity in our city, but it’s also a true source of civic pride. We are grateful for their continued presence here.”

In 2022, Comic-Con welcomed more than 135,000 attendees and generated $3 million in hotel and sales tax revenue for the city, according to city documents.

The convention shuttered for two years during the coronavirus pandemic and Comic-Con International received more than $2.5 million in Payment Protection Plan loans, all of which have been forgiven.

Wednesday will be a quieter preview, with the exhibition hall and Artist’s Alley at the SDCC open from 6-9 p.m., allowing merchandise purchases from nearly every strain of superhero, science-fiction, fantasy and pop culture. The exhibition hall will be open at 9:30 a.m. Thursday through Sunday.

The San Diego Public Library will hold one of Wednesday’s only public events, an interactive workshop for teachers who wish to use comics in their lesson plans. Peter Carlson of Green Dot Public Schools, Susan Kirtley from Portland State University and Antero Garcia from Stanford University will “guide educators in curating powerful classroom curricula, from mini-lessons to complete units, that incorporate the medium of comics” at the Central Library, Shiley Special Events Suite, 330 Park Blvd.

Getting to the Convention Center can be easier said than done. Parking can be expensive and frustrating. The Metropolitan Transit System will offer a special event line of the trolley between the Balboa Avenue Transit Center and 12th & Imperial Transit Center every 15 minutes, Thursday through Saturday to accommodate large crowds starting at 6:55 a.m. and ending at 10:35 p.m. at Gaslamp Quarter Station.

Trolley lines will run increased service throughout the convention. One caveat to cosplayers: No weapons — real or simulated — are allowed on MTS transportation.

Additionally, both MTS and the North County Transit District just last week added a contactless payment option, meaning no Pronto card is necessary.

San Diego’s police and fire-rescue departments have committed additional resources to ensure the safety of visitors both inside and outside of the Convention Center, officials said.