Chariots, Barbies, Funny Vampires: The Highlights of Comic-Con 2024

That’s a wrap for Comic-Con 2024. And here’s a look back at some of the sights and sounds from the crazy week that was.

Fans Talk Back — “If you call Upper Deck, you can actually get somebody on the phone,” said Jason Masherah, president of the Carlsbad-based Upper Deck company, talking about providing customer service for their passionate fans.

Vampires in Daylight — Television networks like to promote their shows at Comic-Con with recreations of sets that fans can take photos of. Such was the case with FX, which erected a facade from their vampire comedy, “What we do in the Shadows.” 

But on Thursday, fans were surprised when some of the stars of the show popped up unannounced at the installation across from the bayfront Hilton hotel. The stars wandered casually around the site, allowing fans and media photographers to take plenty of photos. And what do you know, these vampires were out in the daylight without a problem.

Mr. T’s Favorite — “The trick to making Mr. T happy is making sure you have good ice cream,” said Canadian animator Michael Hirsch talking about the time he and his wife cooked dinner for Mr. T, who likes to have dessert before the meal.

Chariot Races — The Peacock network had promised to recreate chariot race in an activation for its ancient Rome series, “For Those About to Die.”  But how were they going to do that in downtown San Diego?

They took a cue from Las Vegas casinos and had an arcade game-like setting with horse-drawn chariots racing around an oval track in Circus Maximus. Fans raced each other by snapping the reins of the horses they were assigned. Sadly, the Times of San Diego horses didn’t run very fast and failed to win, place or show.

Last Call — “I get all my good ideas in a pub,” said British writer Cavan Scott.

Camp Snoopy — Longtime fans know attending Comic-Con can be exhausting, what with all the walking and standing in line. The best place to rest was the Peanuts store on the MLK Promenade across from the Convention Center. Outside the store was Camp Snoopy, which had several lounge chairs facing a giant screen showing “Peanuts” cartoons. All that was missing were the smores.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles — “It is the fans that have supported us from the very first issue when we printed 3,000 copies that we never thought would sell out,” said Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles co-creator Kevin Eastman. On Thursday, it was announced that 300,000 copies have already been pre-ordered for the first issue in a new series marking the 40th anniversary of the pizza-loving, crime-fighting turtles.

Best Swag — Freebies are highly sought after at Comic-Con. The most popular item might have been white umbrellas from the F/X network, which people were using to help ward off the sun. 

Barbie Dolls — Meanwhile, barbie dolls were handed out at one of the most popular events at the Con each year, the “Her Universe Fashion Show” put on by actress/entrepreneur Ashley Eckstein. This year’s show on Thursday was attended by thousands of screaming and cheering fans rooting for designers who modeled their creations. Two San Diego candidates in the competition did not win but everyone  seemingly had a good time.

 Ferris Wheel — Sometimes it seems that Comic-Con is like a carnival and this year’s edition definitely gave off that vibe. To promote a new Google Play online video game, the company erected a giant ferris wheel in the Gaslamp to give riders and bird’s eye view of the Con.

Meanwhile, ABC’s hit television show “Abbott Elementary” had a fun off-site that included a giant slide into a ball pit, cotton candy, chair swing rides and more. It was all in celebration of A.V.A Fest (A Very Abbott Festival), a celebration made up by one of the characters in the show.

Comics Endure — And finally, comic book creator Tom Waltz talking about the virtues of good, old-fashioned printed comics versus movies and television: “If all the power goes down tomorrow, you’ll still have comics.”