Everywhere you looked at San Diego Comic-Con 2024, everyone was talking about what a “normal” year it was — which is no small feat, given the challenges of the last few years (which include everything from a pandemic to the SAG-AFTRA and WGA strikes). But this year felt like it had even more awesome things than usual, including panels, exclusives, offsites, and so much more.
For this year’s The Shruggie Awards (which, despite the name, is not celebrating the “wtf-ness” of the convention, though there’s plenty of that to go around as well!), you picked the best of (and one of the worst) things about this year’s con. And now, after letting you vote, we’re excited to announce the winners.
The Best Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2024: Deadpool & Wolverine
There was possibly no bigger or better surprise at this year’s convention than a late addition panel: Deadpool & Wolverine. Stars Ryan Reynolds and Hugh Jackman were on-site (along with a slew of special guests) to present fans with a full screening of the new film, in what feels like it’s going to be one of the top talked about events in Hall H ever. Plus, the drone show afterwards was nothing short of amazing.
When you walk out of Hall H to THIS#DeadpoolAndWolverine took over the night skies of San Diego with a special drone show to cap off the Ultimate Celebration of Life at #SDCC2024.
— Marvel Entertainment (@Marvel) July 26, 2024
Now in theaters everywhere. Get tickets now: https://t.co/xAxXGfjs1G
pic.twitter.com/Q7ZKBWsy3G
The Best Panelist at San Diego Comic-Con 2024: Ryan Reynolds
If San Diego Comic-Con 2024 was highlighted by one thing, it was surely Deadpool — everywhere you looked, there were exclusives, drone shows, and more celebrating the character and the Deadpool & Wolverine film. So it only makes sense that the panelist that attendees were most excited to see was the man underneath the mask, Ryan Reynolds himself. It truly felt like the ultimate victory lap for Reynolds, as stood there with thousands of excited fans, sharing the film he’d spent years making. It was a night those in attendance won’t soon forget.
The Best Offsite at San Diego Comic-Con 2024: Hulu Animayhem
Hulu Animayhem went bigger and better for their 2024 iteration of their offsite, and it showed. The overall experience was more cohesive than last year, offering tons of quick, fun experiences and interactions for fans of their animated series (we were big fans in particular of the American Dad! Roger Operation-like game), as well as some of the best swag of the week (fanny packs! A box shaped like a katana of Hit-Monkey pins! More pins!). Plus, add in more shade than last year, snacks (all offsites should have donuts!), and even a few places to sit — and it made for the best offsite of the year. Hulu, we truly hope that this becomes an annual staple at the con.
The Best Party at San Diego Comic-Con 2024: XLE Parties
When it comes to parties at the con, XLE Productions has one of the most valuable offerings: An awesome party that fans can actually get into. And not only can they actually get into the event, but it’s a great overall experience. XLE consistently ups their game when it comes to theming, photo ops, entertainment, and special guests, spread out across three distinct nights. This year’s iterations celebrated everything from apocalyptic wastelands to 80’s fantasy films, and we can’t wait to see what the company has in store for 2025.
The Best Booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2024: Toddland
Toddland went big this year, with more booths than ever — their home base of Toddland itself (with their exclusives for Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, American Dad!, Futurama, King of the Hill, and more), FOX Animation Domination (which focused on Krapopolis and Universal Basic Guys) across the aisle, and (new this year!), a Minecraft booth. And yet, they did it all with a smile. At Toddland, they know you care about their properties — because they care too, and are as deeply passionate about providing a great fan experience as you are about being excited about that show. Their pre-order system and line management helps simplify the overall experience, and their exclusives are some of the hottest on the show floor (we loved the open editions this year for the plush items).
Every other booth on the show floor could stand to learn a thing or two from Toddland and their passion for what they do. There’s a reason they’ve won this category every single year.
The Best Exclusive at San Diego Comic-Con 2024: Toddland Tees & Pins
Toddland wouldn’t consistently win best booth if they didn’t also have the goods to back it up — and they definitely do. For the fourth time, Toddland has claimed the honor of having the Best Exclusive at the con, for this year’s stellar line-up of new tees and pins (as well as plush) across their properties, including Bob’s Burgers, Family Guy, American Dad!, Futurama, King of the Hill, The Great North, and Solar Opposites. Some of the standout designs this year included their Bob’s Burgers Skyscraper design (a fun take on the Omni takeover of the last few years), their Family Guy 25th anniversary 18k Gold pin set, a Futurama “Shut Up and Take My Money” tee and a Matt Groening and 18k Gold Bender pin set, and more.
What really pushed Toddland over the top this year though was their plush, available as timed editions for both Family Guy‘s Rupert and Bob’s Burgers Little King Trashmouth. By making them timed editions, they ensured that everyone who wanted one had the opportunity to purchase (not just flippers).
At Toddland, they truly care about their fans, and it’s evident in everything they do. We can’t wait to see what they dish up for the con next year.
The Best Free Swag at San Diego Comic-Con 2024: Alien: Romulus Face Huggers
Look, this was genius.
What do you do to promote the upcoming entry in your already-iconic sci-fi franchise? Why, give attendees the most iconic item from the film series — and ensure that it’s the perfect accessory for some seriously hilarious photos. I didn’t attend the panel, but seeing first one, and then dozens, of attendees walking through the Gaslamp with Face Huggers from Alien: Romulus was an experience in and of itself, as we slowly realized that yes, they had given out something that amazing at the panel.
We had so much fun just looking at the photos all week long, and seeing how attendees used their new, poseable Face Huggers. And these were nice items too, not cheap — but it’s something that attendees will be talking about for years to come (the same way that attendees still breathlessly speak of the time The Ringer gave out pop-up chairs).
Seriously, just kudos here. Great marketing, and a well-deserved win.
The Most ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ Thing About San Diego Comic-Con 2024: Deadpool & Wolverine Hall H Line Management
If it seems odd that the best panel of the week was also marked by the worst line management of the con (and maybe ever at San Diego Comic-Con? Debatable, sure, but it’s definitely up there!) — well, then, welcome to Comic-Con.
The entire process of getting into the panel was a disaster so bad that Comic-Con International themselves made the rare public apology at Talk Back, and said that while there were multiple breakdowns in the process, ultimately the blame fell on them. Fans who were so excited to have won lottery entry for the panel followed the rules and lined up in the sweltering sun (as the tents weren’t being fully loaded, for reasons that we still don’t understand). Then, eventually, when they did start to load lottery-winners in, it was an incredibly slow-moving process — as Comic-Con, security, Marvel, or whoever else was involved seemed to realize shortly before the panel was about to start, when the process seemed to switch to, “Just let everyone in line in that we can, and then close the doors.” At a certain point, we personally witnessed them not checking if attendees were eligible to be there, and even waving through people whose badges turned red. Then, just before the panel, they closed the doors and wouldn’t let anyone else in, even with empty seats still left in Hall H.
Hundreds of lottery winners were left standing outside, shut out of the panel they had “won”.
It was an embarrassment for all involved, and while Hall H security was a mess all weekend (seriously, why weren’t the tents being used except early in the mornings almost all week? Why were we making attendees line up by the marina in the sun when there was shade? Why did attendees have to go the long way around instead of walking in front of the tents as they have for basically ever? Who the hell was in charge of this mess?!) — Thursday’s Deadpool & Wolverine panel load-in process was the worst of the worst.
While Marvel and Comic-Con ultimately provided a great experience for the attendees able to get into the panel, the process of load-in felt like complete amateur hour, and frankly, beneath all involved. Do better, guys.
