San Diego Comic Con 2022
The Return of the Nerds
San Diego Comic Con 2022 was wild. From start to finish, crammed in every exhibit booth and across all the panels— it was a fevered frenzy of excitement and anxiety to be out and about, exploring the SD Convention Center as we always have, with the looming shadow of the pandemic showing up as masks on every single person.
This was so fun.
The vendors, the artists’ alley, the comics and anime and movies and games set up across the hall for the week of July 23-24. Niche shows and mainstream heroes mingling desegregated on the floor because at the end of every tiring day, we are all fans of something and more likely than not, Comic Con has it.
The most intricate of cosplayers jostled shoulders with starry-eyed, T-shirt clad fans. Artists and creators so far removed from their audience thanks to the 2020 global panini finally getting a chance to thank their supporters. Friends were found and bonded over that special shared something that made adult insecurity fizzle out briefly to be replaced with childlike joy.
Moving anywhere was a test of patience and clandestine maneuvering.
The Starbucks lines were never less than an hour.
The warmth in the convention center was mildly annoying at times and downright miserable at others.
It was loud, it was noisy, it was crowded, and personal space was something you had to give up at the door.
But I would absolutely do it all over again.
There’s something beautiful and magical about gathering with a bunch of other nerds/fans/artists/creatives/writers/people who just get it.
No judgement. Just excitement. Palpable excitement that added to the internal temperature coasting at a cool 80 and such raw happiness to see all the sights and be where it all happens.
More than anything, seeing how happy people were to be with one another again in spite of all our shortcomings as a nation reminded me of how important us humans are to each other.
We love to love, and yeah sometimes that’s directed to fictional characters or imaginary worlds filled with greater and more fantastical possibilities than our own, but love is love.
And I really love seeing people be happy :)