Conventions – SMASH PAGES

SDCC Slugfest | The morning after edition

With SDCC 2026 in the books, we round up news from DC, Mad Cave, Marvel and more.

Slugfest is a roundup of cool announcements about projects coming to a shelf near you. With the 2026 San Diego Comic Con wrapped up, this edition covers news and tidbits from the weekend I haven’t already covered. Hit the links for more information.

Following several DC Next Level reveals and their big Eisner wins on Friday night, DC continued to roll out announcements and previews over the weekend. Here’s a rundown of what they shared …

The Metropolis & Beyond Panel held on Saturday brought news of the October debuting DC All In Saga: Darkseid vs. the World. This one is by Scott Snyder, Joshua Williamson, Sanford Greene and Yasmine Putri, and will “present the hidden past of the being called Uxus, his descent into Darkseid, and his plans for the fate of all creation.” Yes, it is a Darkseid origin story, and we’re getting a pre-teen Darkseid out of it:

Jeff Smith, Colleen Doran, Chris Ware + Akira Toriyama join the Eisner Hall of Fame

Congrats to the Eisner Hall of Fame class of 2026.

In a ceremony held earlier today at the San Diego Comic-Con, the Will Eisner Comic Awards Hall of Fame added 23 new inductees into their ranks.

The Hall of Fame committee chose most of those inductees earlier this year, while voters chose four to join them from a field of 16.

The four who were voted in are:

SDCC Slugfest | Comic-Con renews with San Diego through 2030

Plus: Anniversary specials for Archie and Captain Britain, Halloween specials for Spider-Man and Terrorbytes, and more!

With the San Diego Comic-Con kicking off tonight, we have news and announcements dropping left and right, starting with one about the convention itself.

Comic-Con International and San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria announced earlier today that the San Diego Comic-Con will stay in the city through 2030, a year that will mark 60 years of the pop culture convention.

Gloria made the announcement before preview night kicked off alongside officials from Comic-Con, the San Diego Convention Center and the San Diego Tourism Authority.

“Comic-Con belongs in San Diego, and today’s announcement ensures this incredible tradition will continue here through 2030,” Gloria said. “This agreement is the result of years of partnership and reflects our shared commitment to the fans, creators, businesses and workers who make Comic-Con unlike anything else in the world. We’re proud to welcome everyone back to San Diego for another unforgettable year and excited about the future we’re building together.”

Rumors have circulated for years that the convention could move to another city, for reasons that include the price and availability of hotels, as well as the convention center size. As San Diego’s largest convention, it is of course a huge money maker for the city, with the 2026 event expected to attract more than 135,000 attendees and generate more than $160 million in regional economic impact and $3 million in hotel and sales tax revenue for the city.

SDCC Slugfest | Chef José Andrés helps the Avengers to take on Ultron in ‘Meals to Astonish: Avengers’ #1

Plus: Archie gets bigger, Christian Ward makes his Oni and more news on the eve of Comic-Con!

With the San Diego Comic-Con coming up on July 23-26, we have news and announcements dropping left and right, so here’s an attempt to keep up with it all. Hit the links for more info.

Chef José Andrés is teaming up with the Avengers this October in Meals to Astonish: Avengers #1, the second one-shot from Marvel to highlight World Central Kitchen’s disaster-relief work.

Following his debut earlier this year in Spider-Man: Meals to Astonish #1, Andrés teams with Tony Stark as they travel to Vegas to unveil new disaster relief technology, only for Ultron to interrupt. Steve Orlando and Roi Mercado return for the main story, joined by a new “Jeff’s Table” installment from Paul Eschbach and E.J. Su, plus the debut of Jacob Chabot’s “VenomNom” backup.

SDCC Slugfest | Oni Press brings a can to the con

As Comic-Con International approaches, here’s more news on the show from Marvel, Skybound, IDW and more. Plus: Rascal Randy roams the streets of San Diego!

With the San Diego Comic-Con coming up on July 23-26, we have news and announcements dropping left and right, so here’s an attempt to keep up with it all. Hit the links for more info.

Matt Kindt’s Flux House imprint is known for doing things a little differently, so it’s not surprising that they’ve come up with something unique and fun for San Diego this year as they’re relaunching at Oni Press. So here’s one of the show’s more unusual exclusives: the Fort Psycho “Comic in a Can.” Limited to just 250 copies and priced at $25, the resealable can includes an exclusive 16-page mini-comic by Matt Kindt and Brian Hurtt, a bumper sticker, toy army men and even a brand-new prose story printed directly on the can’s label.

SDCC Slugfest | News from DC, 2000 AD, Fantagraphics + more

As San Diego Comic-Con looms, we round up news on the show, recent comic announcements and more. Plus: comics at the G1 Climax opener!

With the San Diego Comic-Con coming up on July 23-26, we have news and announcements dropping left and right, so here’s an attempt to keep up with it all. Hit the links for more info.

DC has unveiled its plans for San Diego Comic-Con, which includes a continuation of their decade-long plan to spotlight a different era of the company in their booth, building toward their 100th anniversary in 2035. Last year the spotlight fell on the 1940s, so, given how numbers work, this year will focus on the 1950s — the decade that brought us Supergirl, Legion of Super- Heroes, Barry Allen, Hal Jordan and MAD Magazine.

Their booth will feature a 1950s-style Daily Planet newsstand, and they plan to give away free copies of MAD Magazine #1 facsimile edition, based on the original that debuted in 1952.

Here’s a video DC released spotlighting the comics and characters of that decade:

SDCC | Scott Morse plans to draw 24 one-page comics at Comic-Con

The creator of ‘Soulwind’ will draw live on the show floor and then collect the stories in an anthology, ‘This Ink Runs Cold.’

Scott Morse, creator of Soulwind, Magic Pickle and more, has come up with a fun way to spend his time in San Diego — he’s going to draw one-page comics for an anthology called This Ink Runs Cold.

Morse will be at the Allen Spiegel Fine Arts booth (#4701) during the show, and earlier this month he started talking about the idea on social media. He asked for “simple” but “epic” stories from writers. “Like, the best thing you’ve ever written. In one page. Maybe less than 6 panels. Go.”

Vancouver Comic Arts Festival apologizes for banning a Jewish artist from future festivals

Following the controversy where the festival banned Miriam Libicki, a “vast majority” of the board has resigned.

The Vancouver Comic Arts Festival has issued an apology on social media after coming under scrutiny for an earlier statement about banning cartoonist Miriam Libicki, creator of the autobiographical comic Jobnik! and a contributor to the 2020 Eisner Award nominee But I Live, from attending future shows.

Libicki, a citizen of both the United States and Israel who currently lives in Canada, served in the Israeli military ~~— which is mandatory for all Israeli citizens over the age of 18~~*. Since then, Libicki has recounted her experiences in the military in her comic Jobnik! and also contributed to But I Live, a collection of nonfiction comics that draw from the experiences of Holocaust survivors.

Libicki has been a regular attendee of the festival since its inception in 2012, and at the 2022 show, she was met with protestors who “caused a scene” because of her prior military experience, according to a post from her husband, Mike Yoshioka. After missing the deadline for the 2023 show, he said she applied to return in 2024 but was rejected by the show’s organizers, which led to a meeting. According to Yoshioka, Libicki agreed not to display issues of Jobnik! or Toward A Hot Jew, a collection of graphic essays published by Fantagraphics in 2016. She would only feature But I Live.

“In recent years, I have been working closely with Holocaust survivors to tell their own stories,” Libicki told The Canadian Jewish News. “I consider this urgent and timely work. The award-winning anthology of Holocaust memoirs, But I Live, was the only graphic novel I was selling at VanCAF 2024.”

Canadian comic creator festival returns today with new vigor

Canadian-made comics are celebrated at the Panel One Comic Creator Festival.

In an era of Hollywood-infested comic cons, the Panel One Comic Creator Festival in Calgary, Alberta offers a show that puts all the attention on comic creators in Canada. I spoke with Joey Gruszecki, President of Panel One.

What is Panel One?

Panel One is a non-profit organization dedicated to the promotion and advancement of Canadian comic book creators and artists at all stages of professional development, from hobbyists to professionals. In addition to our various programming and community building activities throughout the year, our primary focus is on the annual Panel One Comic Creator Festival.

TCAF un-invites special guest Pink Cat after social media backlash

“We made a mistake.”

Three days after announcing “viral artist” Pink Cat would attend as a special guest, the Toronto Comic Arts Festival has “rescinding its invitation” to the Instagram cartoonist, citing code of conduct violations and “concerns expressed by the comics community.”

Those concerns were raised almost instantly when TCAF announced its second round of guests for their 2022 show, which is scheduled for June 17-19. Their tweet announcing Pink Cat received more than 460 responses, compared to the two or three their tweets about other guests received at the same time.

Much of the backlash centered on Pink Cat’s involvement with NFTs, while others pointed out transphobic and racist remarks made in the past. There were also allegations of plagiarism and tracing other people’s art.

TCAF will return as an in-person event next June

The Toronto Comics Arts Festival will host both an in-person and virtual event June 17-19.

The Toronto Comics Arts Festival have announced their 2022 dates, as well as their intention to return as an in-person event. TCAF 2022 is planned for June 17-19, offering “a unique combination of both real-life and virtual events.”

Like most conventions, TCAF cancelled their live event in 2020 when the pandemic struck. Last year they held a completely virtual event.

“Following on the success of last year’s extensive range of virtual programming, TCAF will bring together the best of both worlds for 2022, offering one-of-a-kind virtual events alongside a new and improved online marketplace for global visitors, as well as the triumphant return of in-person programming, events and creator exhibition for local attendees,” their statement reads.

Fan Expo HQ acquires Wizard World’s six remaining events

Wizard gets out of the convention game as Fan Expo becomes ‘the largest producer of fan events in the world.’

Fan Expo HQ has announced they’ve acquired Wizard World’s six remaining conventions, including Chicago, Philadelphia, New Orleans, Portland, St. Louis and Cleveland, effectively taking Wizard out of the convention business and expanding Fan Expo’s portfolio to 17 conventions in North America.

The six shows will be rebranded in 2022 as Fan Expo events. The 2021 Chicago show, scheduled for Oct. 15-17, will continue on under the Wizard World brand.

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