Comic-Con made its grand return last weekend as thousands descended on San Diego to shop, party, and celebrate all things fandom. The event was filled with cosplay, tournaments, panels, celebrity appearances, big reveals, and things you'll never see anywhere else in the world. If you didn't make it out to the show, This photo series will give you a small taste of what SDCC 2022 had to offer.
Throughout the convention show floor were plenty of photo-ops with life-size (and sometimes larger-than-life) statues. Just outside of Funkoville, a corner of the convention center dedicated to Funko's brands, were giant Funko Pop Squid Games figures. At the opposite end of the show you could find a four-ton animatronic LEGO Bowser. Other popular setups included Mobile Suit Gundam, Dragon Ball Z, Iron Studio's Thanos statue, and a Studio Ghibli booth, which featured photo-ops for several of the studio's most famous films.
One of the most exciting things to see at Comic-Con are the luxury collectibles for sale. People come to SDCC from all over the world to purchase rare comics, designer toys, fine art, and convention exclusives. Bra𝔍nds like Sideshow Collectibles, Diamond Select Toys, Square Enix, and One 12 Collective were all there selling toys and collectibles. There was even a booth displaying an entire base set of first edition, Gem Mint 10 Pokemon Cards. And while a Gem MT Charizard may have been the most expensive item there, this statue of Morbius is definitely priceless.
There wereไ scattered video game booths throughout the convention, but most of them were grouped together on the east end of the show floor. Capcom had the biggest booth, showin🐻g off the new Capcom Arcade Stadium 2 Collection, as well as Monster Hunter Rise: Sunbreak, and Street Fighter 6. Asymmetric PvP game Dragonball: The Breakers also had a display where you could take a picture with Frieza, and Blizzard was there selling merch as well.
The convention extended all across downtown San Diego where restaurants and bars were transformed to promote upcoming films like Clerks 3 and Dungeons &🐬 Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, which was announced at the convention. Over at Padres stadium Petco Park, non-ticket holders couꦡld visit a carnival-style area full of game demos, food, and other attractions. Obsidian was there with a Grounded demo and a giant spider, and Nintendo brought Kirby and the Forgotten Land, Mario Strikers: Battle League, and Nintendo Switch Sports.
Apple TV's Severance took over the Hard Rock Hotel for an authentic walkthrough of Lumon Industries' mysterious offices, and Audible build a series of elaborate sandcastles to promote The Sandman Audio Adaptation. Hundreds waited several hours in line to see footage from Netflix's The Gray Man in a replica of a crashed subway car, which is a little ironic considering most of them probably won't ever see the movie.
Last but certainly not least, Nerf's first-ever mascot, Murph, made their in-person debut at SDCC this year. I touched Murph's noodly coat and can confirm that it is as unsettling as you'd imagine it would be.
