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Under the Tents 2026: Crochet Drops, Lumpia Con, Collider, Ignition Press, Chris Maze

While this may be the first Under the Tents of May 2026, please look somewhere else for your “It’s Gonna Be May” and “May the 4th Be with You” content! Here’s the latest roundup of news that’s fit to print post on social media, as we have fully breached the “less than 3 months to go until SDCC 2026” barrier.

As always, if you knew about everything below already, please consider joining our team:

  • In his most recent newsletter, artist Chris Maze revealed that he’s been hard at work prepping for San Diego Comic-Con this year, including hitting a major milestone — he’s now finished 50 of his 3″x3″ framed originals, including the Captain America pictured below (and based on the iconic Bill Sienkiewicz artwork). For those hoping to score one of his framed originals, he’ll be doing a staggered release across each day of the con, with more details still to be announced.

  • Additionally, Chris will be debuting some new work at the con… including this sneak peek. He’s currently planning for 14 new products, including one SDCC exclusive.

  • One of the more popular SDCC “side quests” are the crocheted critter drops, where you always have to keep your eyes peeled outside the Convention Center for a chance to take one home. This quadfecta of teasers comes from Heather (@PWFiberarts on Twitter), who is promising at least 10 drops this year. The lineup so far includes a couple of plumber brothers, a caped crusader, and a baby tree.

  • Also joining the #critterdrop fray is @vs4as with Oishi the Sushi, if anthropomorphic food is more up your alley.

  • California-based game company Whim Independent Studios announced on Bluesky that they will be heading to SDCC. Curiously, in contrast to their name, an announcement this far in advance indicates this decision was not made on a whim.

Thank you to everyone who stopped by our booth at LvlUp Expo!We hope everyone had fun! Our next convention is San Diego Comic Con! #LvlUpExpo2026 #Indiegamedev

— Whim Independent Studios (Whim Indie) (@whimindie.com) 2026-04-27T19:01:02.304Z

  • Not much of a surprise here, but you’ll be able to catch artist extraordinaire Terry Dodson at Comic-Con, per the appearances page on comic artist collective Helioscope’s website.

Helioscope

  • Friend of the UBlog Martin Hsu will have a run of his latest Bridgerton Cat prints, which originally released in March, available for pickup at his usual SDCC booth #4530.

  • No dedicated SDCC booth this year for author Benjamin Percy (Ninth Metal, Wolverine), but you can still count on seeing a lot of him in July in the form of panels (we think) and signings.

  • If it’s SDCC, it must be time for the Gaslamp Lumpia Factory (423 F Street) to once again be taken over by Kid Heroes and the LUMPIA Deep Fried Universe. This year, Lumpia Con will run for three days (Thursday-Saturday). If it’s anything like previous Lumpia pop-ups, expect artist appearances, signings, vendors and, of course, FOOD, celebrating Filipino American creativity and fandom. We’ll share additional details as they’re available.

  • The Underworld universe isn’t going anywhere. No, not the Kate Beckinsale-led film franchise, but the series from Mark London and Mad Cave Studios. With Underworld: The Complete Collection Vol. 1, hitting bookshelves last week, London and the other Underworld creators will be signing and talking about what’s next at, among other events, San Diego Comic-Con. (I mean, they’ll be talking ALA Annual in June, too, but this is not the ALA Annual Unofficial Blog.)

  • We’re delighted to hear that Collider (and, specifically, its editor-in-chief Steven Weintraub) will be hosting SDCC panels again this year. Can we expect a fifth straight year of a “Directors on Directing” Hall H panel?

  • Con season is indeed in full swing for the design studio and brand Furry Feline Creatives. They gave us a sneak peek of some of the figurines that they’re prepping for July.

  • On Threads, it looks like we can look forward to some weekly teases every Friday from writer David M. Booher. They’re not saying Boo, they’re saying Boooooooooooooher. Tick-tock, tick-tock….

  • Veteran Hasbro and Marvel Legends marketer Dan Yun “thinks” we’re getting some SDCC exclusive reveals this month. A quick look at the announcement timing of reveals from recent years indicates this would be earlier than normal. We like the way you “think”, Dan…

  • No, JYK All Day, we don’t think you’ve got enough on your SDCC plate. In fact, we think you should plan (or in this case, sketch some thumbnails) even harder!

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jin Yung Kim (@jyk_allday)

  • Great to see Breanna Rose, Director of Marketing for Ignition Press, for her work on the Ignition Press Room, which made its debut at SDCC 2025. Along with a professional life update came the revelation that Ignition Press will have a presence again at SDCC. Our anticipation is “ignited” by what they’ll come up with for the sequel to a successful debut.

 

  • Artist Patrick Ballesteros is well caffeinated… which is good, because he’s going to need that extra fuel for all the San Diego Comic-Con work he’s doing. He teased some pieces during some recent coffee runs.

Anything we missed? Let us know by dropping us a line, or tweet us at @SD_Comic_Con.

If you missed our previous Under the Tents posts, you can find them HERE.

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