Whether you're chasing celebrity panels or discovering comics creators, here's our guide to navigating Comic-Con's Wednesday and Thursday programming.
KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando gets caught in some Imperial entanglements at Comic-Con on July 22, 2010. Comic-Con is coming! It can be overwhelming, even for someone who has been going for more than a half-century.
To help you navigate the hundreds of hours of programming, I've organized my recommendations by category, making it easier to find panels that match your interests.. I have tried to include as diverse a sampling as possible, from Hall H blockbuster celebrity panels to smaller hands-on, interactive sessions. Comic-Con is a nonprofit"dedicated to creating the general public’s awareness of and appreciation for comics and related popular art forms," while celebrating their"historic and ongoing contribution of comics to art and culture.
" It also works hard to highlight diversity in its programming and on the exhibit floor, where attendees canAnd if you're complaining that Comic-Con isn't about comics anymore, remember that Hall H and Ballroom 20 — where studios often hold celebrity-filled panels — make up only a tiny fraction of the programming. Below is a wealth of panels celebrating the breadth of work and creators in the comics industry.
Peter Carlson and Susan Kirtley lead an interactive workshop where educators explore how to teach about, with and through comics. The panel offers hands-on activities that show educators how to engage students through powerful lessons and thematic units rooted in the comic arts. An afternoon Wednesday panel at the library is the perfect way to ease into Comic-Con madness.
Independent publishing is where original characters are being created, owned and brought directly to audiences without traditional gatekeepers. Michael Stradford , writer David F. Walker, designer Jason Medley and Milestone Media's co-founder Denys Cowan offer a working look at how independent comics are being developed, financed and released today. Because when David F. Walker is on a panel, you should just go. Denys Cowan is a Comic-Con special guest, and you can also find him at Booth #4601.
From left: Pamela Jackson, Elizabeth Pollard, Grace deVega, Fawaz Qashat, Neil Kendricks, Bradley Medina and Breanna “Nana” Rohde speak at the Shiley Special Events Suite at the San Diego Central Library during Comic-Con, International on Thursday, July 20, 2023. The panel was titled"Comics Pedagogy: Teaching Outside the Panel.
" Comics Arts Conference Session #1: Panels, Pages, and the Past: Using a Comics Archive to Teach Cultural and Historical Inquiry Centered on San Diego State University's Comic Arts Collection, this panel explores how a comics archive can serve as a unifying framework for interdisciplinary teaching, collaborative scholarship and innovative pedagogy. Support panels with local experts like Pamela Jackson and Elizabeth Pollard and learn about an amazing collection right here in our backyard!
Bud Plant talks about his career, iconic catalogs, his lifelong passion for collecting comics and original art, and the sales of Comics & Comix in 1988 and Bud Plant Art Books in 2026. For anyone who attended Comic-Con back in the day, Bud Plant’s booths were legendary, and his presence on the show floor has been missed.
This is a great opportunity to hear his stories and pay tribute to him. The First Amendment protects freedom of speech, so why are books being banned? Censorship is more commonplace in the U.S. than you may think. Learn about tools for fighting censorship and how comics can be an effective tool for education, entertainment, enlightenment and civil discourse.
"Vampires" is a San Diego-curated anthology funded through Kickstarter. Creators Attiba Royter and Jennifer Cooksey will be on a Comic-Con panel this year. World-renowned comic book artist, writer DC Comics President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee talks about his more than 35 years in the comics industry and sketches your favorite characters live. An all-star panel of Peanuts experts discuss the enduring legacy of Charles M. Schulz's beloved comic strip.
Plus, be among the first to hear a special Peanuts announcement. Mark Evanier is another person who, if you see his name, you should just go because you will learn something and likely be entertained. Gene Luen Yang talks with Eisner Award winner and Caldecott Honor winner LeUyen Pham . A Q&A follows.
These two won multiple Eisner Awards last year, and it’s your chance to hear from them and ask questions. Is there anything better than a six-panel page? What about it lends itself so well to setting up a joke and landing a punchline? Find out.
Get the answers from some of the funniest people in comics, Peter Bagge , Nathan Gelgud , Mimi Pond , Marc Torices , and Julia Wertz . William Stout has worked with Kurtzman, Elder, Eisner, Kirby, Moebius, Harlan Ellison, and Russ Manning, and has attended every single San Diego Comic-Con.
He has painted 14 murals at the San Diego Natural History Museum and the San Diego Zoo, and a three-volume box set collecting all of Stout's comics-related work debuts at this year's Comic-Con. Peter Bagge , one of the primary architects of the alternative comics scene that exploded in the 1980s and 1990s, discusses his enduring chronicle of the grunge era with Colin Blanchette .
You should probably put all the Spotlight panels on your list because they highlight the Comic-Con special guests, who all have booths in Artist Alley. Find Bagge at Booth II-09. Celebrate the legacy of Jack"The King" Kirby, co-creator of the Marvel Universe, mythmaker of DC's New Gods and pop art pioneer. An SDCC 2026 panel-exclusive Marvel comic will be distributed to attendees.
These industry superstars, Tom King, Mark Waid, Phillip Kennedy Johnson and Nick Dragotta, along with Tracy Kirby, Jeremy Kirby and pop culture historian Roy Schwartz, will be there, and it’s always great to get a freebie at a panel. If you don’t know who Kirby is, you should — and this is a perfect place to begin.
Scott Williams discusses his 40-year career in comics as an artist and inker and his evolution as a creator over the decades. There will be a Q&A, and Williams offers a chance to learn about the less-well-known craft of inking a comics. Stories have always been one of society's most powerful tools for challenging assumptions, questioning authority and exposing uncomfortable truths.
Can satire, speculative fiction and graphic novels still provoke meaningful conversation in a culture increasingly divided by competing narratives? We just need more subversive storytelling right now. I also love the work of Lalo Alcaraz , who is one of many talented panelists. You can learn about color theory and the coloring process, then about final production techniques to get your work looking the way you want it in print or on the web.
I love diving into a single aspect of comics creation. This panel examines the continued and intertwined impact of both the writings of Hunter S. Thompson and the Chicano Movement on comics. KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando poses with professor, artist and comics creator John Jennings, a frequent panelist at Comic-Con. July 22, 2022.
John Jennings , Dr. Ebony Toussaint , Stacey Robinson , Dr. Christian Hines and Dr. Stanford Carpenter discuss Black vampires across comic books and popular culture, including works like"Sinners" and"Blade.
"C’mon — it’s vampires in the aftermath of “Sinners. ” Plus, these panelists are excellent. I have attended many panels with Jennings and Carpenter, and they are always people you want to hear talk. An introduction to getting started with building droids and robots, featuring a panel of droid and robot builders with more than 50 years of combined experience.
These guys are just the nerdiest fun you can have at a panel, and they will help you build a droid if you want to. Then visit them at their booth on the mezzanine near the 501st fan table. Tony B. Kim turned his geeky passions into a career by creating Hero Within, a pop culture fashion for modern fans. You can find him at Booth 1943 on the exhibit floor.
Aug. 20, 2025. Founded at Comic-Con 10 years ago, Hero Within has grown and evolved with each subsequent Comic-Con. Founder and"Chief Nerd" Tony B. Kim shares stories, soul-crushing defeats and inspirational moments from the past 10 years. Limited anniversary exclusives and giveaways are planned for attendees, while supplies last.
This is such a geeky success story. Kim loved Comic-Con, volunteered, worked there and then decided to launch a company tapping into his geeky love of pop culture. He found success and a new career path. Check out the company’s booth at Booth 1943.
: An exclusive sneak peek inside the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art, featuring the museum's senior curator and head of film programs, Ryan Linkof, DC Comics President, Publisher and Chief Creative Officer Jim Lee and more. George Lucas attends a panel for the Lucas Museum of Narrative Art during Comic-Con International on Sunday, July 27, 2025, in San Diego.
A panel of judges and lawyers examine legal issues from the Star Trek"Genesis Trilogy," including the legality of the Genesis Device and whether the insanity defense applies to someone with a Ceti Alpha V eel wrapped around the cerebral cortex. The panel is organized by The Legal Geeks. A great opportunity for students, young or independent filmmakers to learn about filmmaking and for anyone to enjoy some great films at the festival.
Horror history takes center stage with “Night of the Living Dead: The Official Story of the Film,” from Titan Books. Original cast member Judith O'Dea will be there to share behind-the-scenes stories from the making of the 1968 classic. And it’s George A. Romero’s first zombie film, the one that redefined zombies in cinema.
From the forests of Middle-earth to the oceans of Pandora to the nightmarish beauty of “Alien: Earth,” Wētā Workshop has spent decades creating creatures and ecosystems that feel impossible but somehow real. A great opportunity to get a behind-the-scenes look at how Wētā Workshop's designs are inspired by the real world. I had a chance to visit Wētā in New Zealand, and it was an amazing company run in a unique way.
Costa Dillon, co-creator of"Attack of the Killer Tomatoes," and KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando, who was as an editor on three of the film's sequels, will be on a panel about San Diego on screen. Dillon will also be on a panel dedicated to the new"Killer Tomatoes" sequel,"Organic Intelligence," on Friday. July 25, 2024. Shameless self-promotion, I am on the panel.
But the fun part is that I will be joined by J. Stephen Peace and Costa Dillon, who not only co-created, co-wrote and acted in the “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes” but will also reveal the latest film, “Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence. ” Namit Malhotra, filmmaker, founder of Prime Focus, and global CEO of the Academy Award–winning visual effects powerhouse DNEG, is joined by international superstars Ranbir Kapoor , Yash and acclaimed director Nitesh Tiwari for an exclusive first look at “Ramayana: The Epic Begins,” the largest cinematic undertaking in Indian film history and a sweeping new retelling of one of the world's oldest and most enduring epics.
Na Hong-jin presents “Hope,” one of the most talked-about films from this year's Cannes Film Festival. It’s a back-to-back international film panel, with Na Hong-jin presenting exclusive footage from “Hope,” a South Korean action film that looks epic. Just camp out at Ballroom 20 on Thursday afternoon.
A new film is coming, Content Republic's “Fencer” from writer-director Rob Edwards , and the panel will explore why the sport has been popular in film. I just love swordplay!
There may even be a little swordplay demonstration, and if not, check out the Society for Creative Anachronism, which will have Martial arts movie consultant Ric Meyers is back with the best fight scenes and sneak peeks from action films A screening of “Stan Lee: The Final Chapter,” which uses never-before-seen footage and firsthand accounts to pull back the curtain on the life of this icon. Julian David Stone and Antonia Carlotta celebrate the 95th anniversary of “Dracula” and “Frankenstein” with a presentation and discussion about the making of and the remarkable influence of the first two Universal Monster films. I saw these folks present this panel at Monsterpalooza, and it was fascinating. If you are a horror fan, this is a great piece of history.
Judges Emma Larkins , Jonathan Grothe , and Marcus Chin take on a live game design challenge hosted by Kevin Hamano . Attendees will form small teams and use a mystery kit of random game components in a race to design and pitch an original game. You don’t get this kind of interaction at most panels.
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