SDConCast - The Official Podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog

Welcome to Season 15 of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. We're kicking off this season in our new annual tradition with two special guests… and can you believe it's our fifteenth season?! Moderator extraordinaire and writer, Mark Evanier (Groo, Garfield), and Gary Sassaman, former Director of multiple departments at Comic-Con International, including Director of Programming (2000-2007), Director of Print and Publications (2007-2012), and Director of Print and Digital Media (2012-2021), will both be joining us. We'll discuss their memories from past cons, what their plans are for this year, and more. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we return to a weekly schedule leading up to SDCC 2026!

WonderCon has come and gone for 2026 and the UBlog team is here to wrap it up. We'll discuss the good, the bad, and the surprising. Plus a heaping helping of what we thought of the exhibit floor, panels, and everything in between. Join us for an informative show!

Join the SDConCast for the first special edition podcast of 2026. We're breaking down the WonderCon panel schedule with highlights of the big rooms, what panels you might have overlooked, and of course, our dark horse picks.

It's that time again, the second half of the annual ritual of anxiety. It's the San Diego Comic-Con badge sale for everyone with a member ID. How did it go? Tune in and find out. We discussed the sale as it happened. Come join the SDCC UBlog team as we cover the final badge sale for San Diego Comic-Con 2026!

It's that time again, the annual ritual of anxiety. It's the San Diego Comic-Con badge sale for returning attendees. How did it go? Tune in and find out. We discuss the sale as it happens. Come join the SDCC UBlog team as we kick off the first event for San Diego Comic-Con 2026!

Another San Diego Comic-Con is over and we're doing one more SDConCast to wrap up the 2025 season. We'll go over the highlights, regular lights, surprises, and possibly some lowlights from SDCC. Join us for a fun show with 100% not half asleep hosts.

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week is the final episode before SDCC and we're joined by two special guests. First up from 15/40, the event company behind Paramount Plus' The Lodge, is Marissa Kiersch (Vice President of Brand & Experiential) and Annie McAllister (Executive Producer). Then we'll be joined by Crunchyroll's Josellie Rios Lopez (Director, Marketing, UCANZ) to discuss this year's Crunchyroll Anime FanFest at Rady Shell. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This episode is Part Two of our annual "Breaking Down the SDCC Schedule" podcasts. Join the team as we look at the 2025 schedule for the main panel rooms on Saturday and Sunday; give insight and analysis on room flow and when to line up; and give our dark horse picks you can use as your back-up choices – or even your main one! Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This episode is Part One of our annual "Breaking Down the SDCC Schedule" podcasts. Join the team as we look at the 2025 schedule for the main panel rooms on Preview Night, Thursday, and Friday; give insight and analysis on room flow and when to line up; and give our dark horse picks you can use as your back-up choices – or even your main one! Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by two special guests. First up is returning guest, television critic Eric Goldman, to talk about the TV shows of San Diego Comic-Con, and what we might see at the convention. Then we'll be joined by Alexa Criscuolo, Director of Production at Creative Riff, to discuss the agency's long history of providing fan-favorite offsites at Comic-Con, from FX to AVA Fest and beyond. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by returning guest Germain Lussier, Senior Reporter covering entertainment for Gizmodo & io9, to talk about the movies of San Diego Comic-Con. We'll find out what we will see, might see, or won't see at SDCC this year. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by two special guests. First we'll chat with actress Shelby Young (Star Wars: Forces of Destiny, LEGO Star Wars, Persona 3 Reload) about her work over the years and what Comic-Con means to her. Then Alexis Belway from 360x Events & Promotions — who have helped put together some of our favorite street teams over the years, including the Sharknado parade and the costumed Laika characters — will join us to talk about what it takes to manage street teams at SDCC, booth staffing, and more. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by Mark Olson, Director of Marketing & Communications at the San Diego Metropolitan Transit System (MTS). We'll talk about all those trolley wraps, how MTS gets you where you want to go during the con, and more. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by Peter Lugo, CEO and Founder of Honey Badger Fabrication — the fabricators for some of our favorite offsites over the last few years, including AMC's Streets of Immortality (Interview with the Vampire and Mayfair Witches offsite from 2023) and last year's Those About to Die. We'll talk about building offsites, helping to create immersive worlds, and more. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by the owner of Cat Cafe, Tony Wang. We'll talk about what it takes to run a cat cafe and its mission, how Comic-Con attendees help support local Gaslamp businesses, and why it's the best break you can take from the con. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by artist and designer Alex Pardee. We'll talk about his years of exhibiting at the con, his Brightmares, his latest Return of the Doppelgangers book, and what it feels like to have James Gunn walk onto the Hall H stage in your shirt. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome to SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by multiple special guests! First up we have Patty Everett (Marketing Director) and Brandon Lively (Creative Director) from Adult Swim joining us, along with GDX Studios' Seth Bardacke (President) to discuss what it takes to create the zany world of Adult Swim's Festival on the Green at San Diego Comic-Con each year. Then we'll be joined by artist Val Hochberg for a conversation about being an independent artist at SDCC, what goes into having a table in Small Press, and what's so great about Gary. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we lead up to SDCC 2025!

Welcome SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week our special guest is Paul Turner, General Manager for the San Diego Convention Center. We'll discuss what it takes to host a massive event like Comic-Con, from the trash to everyone's favorite topic — carpet. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show!

Welcome to Season 14 of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. We're kicking off this season in our annual tradition with special guest, moderator extraordinaire, and writer, Mark Evanier. But there's a twist! Also joining us will be returning guest Gary Sassaman, former Director of multiple departments at Comic-Con International, including Director of Programming (2000-2007), Director of Print and Publications (2007-2012), and Director of Print and Digital Media (2012-2021) — though these days you can find Gary recounting Comic-Con and comics history over at his Innocent Bystander blog. We'll discuss their memories from past cons, what their plans are for this year, and more. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we return to a weekly schedule leading up to SDCC 2025!

WonderCon has come and gone for 2025 and the UBlog team is here to wrap it up. We'll discuss the good, the bad, and the surprising. Plus a heaping helping of what we thought of the exhibit floor, panels, and everything in between. Join us for an informative show!

Join the SDConCast for the first special edition podcast of 2025. We're breaking down the WonderCon panel schedule with highlights of the big rooms, what panels you might have overlooked, and of course, our dark horse picks.  Tune in for an information-packed show.

Let's try this again! After last month's Open Registration had issues and ended early, it's time for the San Diego Comic-Con 2025 Open Registration sale…Part 2, where anyone with a member ID can participate. Will the problems resurface? Will it run smoothly? Tune in and find out. We'll be discussing the sale as it happens. Come join the SDCC UBlog team as we cover the third and (hopefully) final badge sale for San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

Hot off the heels of Returning Registration last month, it's time for the San Diego Comic-Con 2025 Open Registration sale, where anyone with a member ID can participate. How did it go? Tune in and find out. We discuss the sale as it happens... or doesn't. Come join the SDCC UBlog team as we cover the second and (no longer) final badge sale for San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

It's that time again, the annual ritual of anxiety. It's the San Diego Comic-Con badge sale for returning attendees. How will it go? Tune in and find out. We'll be discussing the sale as it happens. Come join the SDCC UBlog team as we kick off the first event for San Diego Comic-Con 2025!

Another San Diego Comic-Con is over and we're doing one more SDConCast to wrap up the 2024 season. We'll go over the highlights, regular lights, surprises, and possibly some lowlights from SDCC. Join us for a fun and marginally coherent show.

The time has come! Welcome to the final episode of SDConCast before we head to San Diego Comic-Con next week. We're going to cover the latest SDCC news and exclusives as well as answer common questions. Join us for a fun and informative show.

Welcome to a special episode of the 2024 season of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week is Part Two of our annual "Breaking Down the SDCC Schedule" podcasts. Join the team as we look at what's scheduled for the main panel rooms on Saturday and Sunday; give insight and analysis on room flow and when to line up; and give our dark horse picks you can use as your back-up choices – or even your main one! Join us for a fun and informative show.

Welcome to a special episode of the 2024 season of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week is Part One of our annual "Breaking Down the SDCC Schedule" podcasts. Join the team as we look at what's scheduled for the main panel rooms on Preview Night, Thursday, and Friday; give insight and analysis on room flow and when to line up; and give our dark horse picks you can use as your back-up choices – or even your main one! Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on the show we are welcoming back television critic Eric Goldman to talk about the TV shows of San Diego Comic-Con; which ones may or may not show up, the likelihood of a return to normal, and more. We'll also cover all the latest SDCC news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on the show we are joined by two returning special guests. First up we will welcome back Germain Lussier, Senior Reporter covering entertainment for Gizmodo and io9. We'll talk about the movies of San Diego Comic-Con; which ones may show up, or won't, and more. Then Tom Vargas from Factory Entertainment will join us to talk about their exclusives, exhibiting at SDCC over the years, and more. We'll also cover all the latest SDCC news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on SDConCast we are joined by Ryan Coan, CEO and Founder of Creative Riff, the company that has put together wonderful offsites at San Diego Comic-Con, including Abbott Elementary, Disney Plus, and many years of FX. We'll talk with him about what it takes to create these activations and events. We'll also cover all the latest news, exclusives, and more. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on SDConCast we are joined by two special guests. Up first will be Rick Geary, award-winning artist and illustrator and creator of the Toucan ("Stan"), the San Diego Comic-Con mascot. Then we'll be joined by Experience Level Entertainment (XLE Productions), the company behind last year's "Best Party at SDCC", to discuss this year's themed events. We'll also cover all the latest news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on SDConCast we are joined by Maija Gates, current Event Director at ReedPop and former CCI Chief Experience Officer who also worked in Industry Registration, Talent Relations, and more in her 22 years with Comic-Con International. We'll talk with her about what it's like working for, and growing up in, the world of conventions. We'll also cover all the latest news, exclusives, and more. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on SDConCast we are joined by Steve Coulson and Mike Monello of Campfire, the company that has helped bring so many amazing and immersive offsites to life at San Diego Comic-Con, including last year's The Street of Immortality for AMC and Animayhem for Hulu. We'll talk with them about what it takes to create these activations and events. We'll also cover all the latest news, exclusives, and more. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on SDConCast we are joined by Jonah Keel of 42West Fandom & Franchises, the full service public relations firm who have helped put together and promote many of your favorite offsites (including Fandom), panels, and exhibitors at San Diego Comic-Con. We'll talk with him about what it's like creating these for such a massive pop culture event. We'll also cover all the latest news, exclusives, and more. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on SDConCast we are joined by artist Priscilla Wilson, creator of Soonay and Toratai, as well as a wide range of art, figures, pins, and more. We'll talk about creating her art and experiences at San Diego Comic-Con and more. We'll also cover all the latest news, exclusives, and more. Join us for a fun and informative show.

Welcome to week two of the 2024 season of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week we're joined by returning guest Gary Sassaman, former Director of multiple departments at Comic-Con International, including Director of Programming (2000-2007), Director of Print and Publications (2007-2012), and Director of Print and Digital Media (2012-2021), to talk about his time at SDCC. We'll talk what's new with him over the last year, his Tales From My Spinner Rack panel series at both SDCC and WonderCon, as well as look back at Gary's time at Comic-Con. We'll discuss all of that and more, as well as the latest SDCC news and exclusives. You can find Gary's My Life in Comics series on his blog, Innocent Bystander, which covers his time at Comic-Con International, his career as a small press comics creator and publisher, and more. It's a great read, with an in-depth look at the world of Comic-Con behind the curtain. Join us for a fun and informative show!

Welcome to Season 13 of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog, and it's also our 15th anniversary. We're kicking off this season in our now annual tradition with special guest Mark Evanier. We'll discuss what he has in store for SDCC in addition to memories from past cons. We'll also cover the latest SDCC news. Join us for a fun and informative show as we return to a weekly schedule leading up to SDCC 2024!

WonderCon has come and gone for 2024 and the UBlog team is here to wrap it up. We'll discuss the good, the bad, and the weather. Plus a heaping helping of what we thought of the exhibit floor, panels, and everything in between. Join us for an informative show!

Join the SDConCast for the first special edition podcast of 2024. We're breaking down the WonderCon panel schedule with highlights of the big rooms, what panels you might have overlooked, and of course, our dark horse picks. Tune in for an information-packed show. (This is a new version of this episode with fixed audio.)

It's that time again, the annual ritual of anxiety. It's the San Diego Comic-Con badge sale for returning attendees. This year will hopefully go better than last with the new system. How will it go? Tune in and find out.

Another San Diego Comic-Con is over and we're doing one more SDConCast to wrap up the 2023 season. We'll go over the highlights, regular lights, surprises, and possibly some lowlights from SDCC. Join us for a fun and hopefully coherent show.

Welcome to the final episode of SDConCast before we head to San Diego Comic-Con next week. We're going to cover the latest SDCC news and exclusives as well as answer common questions. Join us for a fun and informative show.

Welcome to a special episode of the 2023 season of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week is Part Two of our annual "Breaking Down the SDCC Schedule" podcasts. Join the team as we look at what's scheduled for the main panel rooms on Saturday and Sunday; give insight and analysis on room flow and when to line up; and give our dark horse picks you can use as your back-up choices – or even your main one! Join us for a fun and informative show.

Welcome to a special episode of the 2023 season of SDConCast, the official podcast of the San Diego Comic-Con Unofficial Blog. This week is Part One of our annual "Breaking Down the SDCC Schedule" podcasts. Join the team as we look at what's scheduled for the main panel rooms on Preview Night, Thursday, and Friday; give insight and analysis on room flow and when to line up; and give our dark horse picks you can use as your back-up choices – or even your main one! Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on the show we are welcoming back Eric Goldman, Managing Editor for Fandom. We'll talk about the TV shows of San Diego Comic-Con; which ones may show up, or won't, how the strike may affect the con, and more. We'll also cover all the latest SDCC news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week on the show we are welcoming back Germain Lussier, Senior Reporter covering entertainment for Gizmodo and io9. We'll talk about the movies of San Diego Comic-Con; which ones may show up, or won't, how the strike will affect the con, and more. We'll also cover all the latest SDCC news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week we are welcoming KAP Media Group to the show, who have put wraps all over the Gaslamp during San Diego Comic-Con over the years, including 18 locations in 2022 featuring The Rings of Power, Star Trek, Teen Wolf, Krapopolis, and more. We're joined by Lori Brabant (Founder and CEO), and Kelly Reynolds (Partner, Strategic Business Development) to talk all aspects of wrapping up San Diego Comic-Con, from designing and producing to installing and removing wraps. We'll also cover all the latest news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week we are welcoming multiple guests to the show. First up we have Daniel Shaughnessy, Director of Sales & Marketing for Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina to discuss preparing and running a hotel during San Diego Comic-Con. Then, in a pre-recorded interview, we have writer Paul Cornell and Tom Peyer, Editor-In-Chief at Ahoy Comics, to discuss Paul's upcoming comic Con and On, their experiences at SDCC, and more. We'll also cover all the latest news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.

This week we are welcoming the award-winning NVE Experience Agency, who has put on several of your favorite offsites at San Diego Comic-Con over the years, including last year's Dungeons & Dragons, as well as previous activations for Amazon Fire, IMDboat, The Tick, and more. We're joined by Brett Hyman (President), and Florencia Sadler (Director of Production) to talk producing and running offsites/activations at San Diego Comic-Con, from what makes a good offsite to how to run an effective line management system. We'll also cover all the latest news and exclusives. Join us for a fun and informative show.