San Diego Comic-Con returns to the San Diego Convention Center July 23–27, when visitors can expect the pop culture jamboree to provide a few days of costume-clad respite from an increasingly troubled outside world. While few comics publishers have announced programming plans as of press time, the guest list for this year’s event is shaping up to be as impressive as ever, with early entries including such industry luminaries as Alison Bechdel, Eddie Campbell, Michael Cho, Emil Ferris, Chip Kidd, Frank Miller, and others.

What new tricks does SDCC have up its sleeve? “I always like to say we’ll know on the Monday after the show,” says David Glanzer, the con’s chief communications and strategy officer. Despite what he calls “angst in different industries,” SDCC 2025 aims to provide something of a return to normalcy after years impacted by Covid and Hollywood strikes.

“I’m basking in being able to do a show like we used to do,” Glanzer adds. “We’re all hyped up for what’s going to happen.”

It’s true that no massive changes in conference rules or setup are expected at this year’s event. Nonetheless, attendees and exhibitors alike cite a myriad of concerns, including consolidation in the entertainment sector, immigration crackdowns, and uncertainty surrounding distribution, inflation, and tariffs.

The comics business continues to deal with the effects of the messy and protracted Diamond Comic Distributors bankruptcy proceedings, which prompted one longtime industry expert to note that he had “never seen such a fucked up Chapter 11.” While the situation is unlikely to affect the show directly, it should prove a hot topic at the post-convention barside gatherings referred to affectionately by old hands as Bar Con. Diamond—or its new owners, Ad Populum and Universal Distribution—will keep its usual booth in the front of the main hall, though what will be on display there remains a mystery.

Over at Warner Bros. Discovery, which announced plans earlier this month to split back up into two companies, the streaming and studios arm will get custody of the DC Comics Extended Universe. A new era for the studio kicks off on July 11 with the latest Superman film reboot, but director James Gunn insists that WBD won’t be coming to Hall H, which holds 6,000 seats and the con’s main stage, to spotlight its 10-year plan beyond Superman. That means fans who have waited for news of a cinematic reboot for DC’s other flagship properties will be left in the dark for at least a little longer.

Marvel, on the other hand, will skip its traditional Hall H presentation entirely, meaning at least one signature event will be missing from this year’s con. With the popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe waning—and with fewer films on the schedule as a result—Marvel is sitting 2025 out, at least in one respect. But all is not lost: insiders told the Hollywood Reporter that Marvel plans to roll out an immersive experience at a redesigned booth spotlighting this summer’s cinematic reboot of one of the comics giant’s tentpole properties, the Fantastic Four.

Political Problems

An increasingly tumultuous economy is taking a toll on other traditions. Funko, maker of the once ubiquitous Pop figurines, will host its Funko Fun Days event at its retail store in Hollywood rather than at the con itself. While comics and books have escaped the storm of new tariffs thus far, toy makers—which rely heavily on Chinese production—have been hugely impacted. Companies that have long used cheap tchotchke giveaways as marketing stunts are unlikely to be as freehanded with the freebies this year.

The Trump administration’s immigration crackdowns are having an effect too—especially after British cartoonist R.E. Burke was detained by Immigration and Customs Enforcement for 19 days over visa issues during her vacation to the Pacific Northwest earlier this year. While SDCC representatives said none of its featured international guests have pulled out of the show yet, many cartoonists from overseas have taken to social media to declare that they won’t set up shop in Artist Alley this year amid fears of detention and deportation. As one foreign talent manager tells PW, “More creators are worried about their safety, saying, ‘I’m not doing it—not while Trump is president.’ ”

The issue is a matter of enforcement, not the law, says Comic Book Legal Defense Fund’s interim director Jeff Trexler, who has been monitoring the situation and informing the industry via a series of blog posts. The rules for foreign nationals coming to U.S. trade shows have been established for years, and are usually covered by a business visa or other legal precedents. But foreign artists who bring work with them—or do work on commission at their booths—might need to secure further paperwork ahead of time, just in case enforcement becomes an issue. At past cons, some artists were denied admittance to the U.S. after they arrived at customs packing paper and pencils.

“We’ve received so many questions about visas and tariffs,” says Trexler, who notes that the CBLDF has been involved in mediating such incidents before. “From the immigration services perspective, anybody who is here doing paid work, that’s a problem.” He adds that, while sketching on commission at the con could be covered by O visas, they are more expensive and harder to acquire than typical tourist visas.

Fixer-Upper

More mundane concerns also loom. After years in legal limbo, the expansion of the San Diego Convention Center is back on the table—a move the con would support, Glanzer says. With the number of exhibitors and attendees at the show long capped, the event has relied on price increases to keep revenue in line with inflation. But that strategy won’t be effective forever.

The expansion is controversial, with local groups arguing over how to fund it for more than a decade. A recent court decision struck down objections to a 2020 ballot measure that approved a tax hike to fund the project. In May, a hotel room tax will take effect in San Diego, and it seems the expansion—which will now cost much more than originally budgeted—is finally in the works.

On top of it all, the convention center needs major repairs: roof leaks and temperature control failures have plagued the facility, which was built in the late 1980s. Local officials say more than $200 million in work is required over the next five years, including replacing the power for the cooling and heating systems. (The AC has failed during SDCC in the past, with less than pleasant results.)

Glanzer calls choosing between immediate repairs and planned expansion an impossible decision. “It’s like saying your kids are drowning, and which one do you want to save first? I hope that there will be an expansion, and I hope they have the revenue to be able to fix the things that they need to fix at the convention center.”

Another perennial source of concern for organizers is the dearth of available hotel rooms in San Diego—and that was before some of the major hotels shrank their blocks for conference-goers this year. Hotel room rates during the con are $1,000 per night on average at desirable locations, so those who missed out on the harrowing hotel room lottery nicknamed Hotelpocalypse could very well be priced out.

While it’s understandable that hotels are trying to make money, Glanzer worries that this is a case of “killing the goose that laid the golden egg,” he says. “We have a huge group of attendees in our key demo of 17–34—can they afford $600–$800 a night? If attendees stop coming to our show and start going to other conventions, we could start losing programming, and the people the hotels are counting on could stop coming.

Beyond the Halls

Despite the center’s confines, SDCC continues to grow, especially through licensing. Comic-Con: The Cruise, featuring celebrities and a few cartoonists, landed well with passengers on its maiden voyage in January. And later this year, Comic-Con Málaga will come to the seaside Spanish town, marking the first international expansion for the con.

Comic-Con International, the nonprofit that runs both SDCC and WonderCon, has looked at licensed expansion in the past, and came close in one location about a decade ago before local politics made it unfeasible. But the Málaga event, which is supported by the local Andalusian government, is an exciting opportunity, Glazer says, adding that CCI is open to further opportunities but will wait for potential partners to come to them.

“It just has to make sense for any number of reasons,” Glazer says. “Will the community support it? Do they have the infrastructure to actually create something that the fans will enjoy?”

Despite all the potential risks, from broken air conditioning to potential ICE actions, SDCC remains committed to expanding the tent. “In the end, we do what we do because we have a mission to promote these areas of popular art,” Glanzer says. “We do this because we really love it.”