San Diego Comic-Con 2025 - Days 1 & 2 Recap: Panels, Signatures, and a Little Eisner Magic
After the electric energy of Preview Night, I rolled into Thursday morning of San Diego Comic-Con 2025 with a buzz of excitement and maybe a little anxiety. Why? Because I was about to cross a major bucket list item off: being a panelist at San Diego Comic-Con.
Day 1 – Thursday: Going Live, Going Big
The day began in truly epic fashion. I’ve been a member of the WildSpace actual play cast for a while now - mostly doing games over Discord or Twitch - but SDCC 2025 gave us our first opportunity to bring our intergalactic hijinks to a live audience. The timing couldn’t have been better, as game master Andres Cooper is preparing to kick off the WildSpace Kickstarter campaign, and this panel was the perfect way to showcase our story, our cast dynamic, and the wild sci-fi flavor of our game. The audience was larger than we expected, and their energy helped make it one of the most fun sessions we've ever done. You can find more on WildSpace here!
From there, I switched from panelist to audience member to check out Robert Kirkman’s spotlight - and let me tell you, the man does not disappoint. Between updates on Invincible, Transformers, and Battle Beast (who’s now joining Invincible VS, by the way!), Kirkman also gave us a glimpse into his upcoming series Skinbreaker with David Finch. The cherry on top? Two exclusive signed comics, right from Kirkman himself. He proudly informed us he signed 5,400 books - and he had the photo evidence to back it up.
The rest of the day was a whirlwind of con favorites. I headed back to the Felix Comic Art booth - a yearly tradition for me - to scoop up more signatures (Daniel Warren Johnson again!) and snag a limited edition Wolverine print and art book. If you’re ever wondering where the most stacked lineup of comic talent is at a convention, just find Felix.
Later, I caught up with Patrick Horvath, whose twisted-yet-cozy murder series Beneath the Trees Where Nobody Sees is still living rent-free in my brain. We talked a bit about his upcoming sequel, Rite of Spring, and I left even more excited to see how deep the rabbit hole goes. Another creative highlight was chatting with Tradd Moore, the visionary behind Silver Surfer Black and Doctor Strange: Fall Sunrise. His style remains unmatched: pure, unfiltered imagination on the page.
Oh, and speaking of artists: Eamon Winkle, who I wandered the floor with on Preview Night, handed me an absolute masterpiece of a custom sketch cover - Absolute Batman doing the Akira slide. It was a piece I had commissioned from him at last year’s LA Comic Con, and it was well worth the wait. It's bold, kinetic, and going straight on display in my office.
The day wrapped up with a dinner hosted by PSA Grading, who’ve now officially entered the comic book grading game. Lance, Chris and I all got a first look at their slabs - and while the cases are impressively sturdy (seriously, they thunk when you set them down), I’m still on the fence about the font choice. It matches their trading card style, but doesn’t quite have the same elegance that CGC’s cases bring. Still, it’s early days, and the competition might push innovation in the space.
And just when you’d think the day would wind down… nope. We capped things off with a 10 PM screening of Fantastic Four: First Steps. It was a blast to see how the MCU handled Marvel’s First Family this time around. No spoilers here - but it definitely gave us plenty to talk about over late-night snacks.
Day 2 – Friday: Magic, Comics, and Eisner Gold
Friday started strong and a little sentimental. First thing on my list was finding Scott Snyder to sign one very special piece: Eamon’s custom cover I had acquired the day before. He was just as stoked about the cover as I was - mission accomplished!
Next stop: David Finch. I made my way to his booth to get my Skinbreaker exclusive signed, fresh off the Kirkman panel the day before. Finch is not only a top-tier artist, but incredibly friendly. Now I’ve got a double-signed exclusive that I’m seriously considering sending in for grading (PSA or CGC? Decisions, decisions).
After that, it was time to switch gears and head to one of the panels I was most excited for - Magic: The Gathering x Spider-Man Universes Beyond. This set, launching in September, looks like it’s going to shake things up in the best way. New mechanics like “web-slinging,” which lets you reduce spell costs using tapped creatures, are an inspired fit for the wall-crawler’s agile, reactive style. Each color identity is matched with fitting characters (such as Venom’s affinity for Black), and the alternate border treatments are ahem amazing. This set is going to be huge for both Magic fans and Marvel heads alike.
Back on the floor, I made my way over to another superstar lineup: Tom King, Bilquis Evely, and Matheus Lopes - the dream team behind Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow and Helen of Wyndhorn. The Supergirl series is the foundation for James Gunn’s upcoming DCU take on Kara Zor-El, and it was a joy to tell Evely how much her work meant to fans. I even wished her luck for the Eisner Awards that evening…maybe that good luck paid off…
The Eisners are always a highlight of the weekend, and this year was no exception. After grabbing sushi for dinner, I joined an awesome group of friends and colleagues - Brad and Lisa from Comic Book Couples Counseling, Chris from Oblivion Bar Pod, Lance, and Eamon - and settled in for a night of celebration, surprises, and comic shop wishlist expansion.
There were a few groan-worthy jokes (as is tradition), but overall it was a great showcase of the industry’s best. Some of the most exciting wins included:
Gene Luen Yang for Lunar New Year Love Story
Bilquis Evely for Best Penciler/Inker (called it!)
Santos Sisters winning Best Continuing Series - a surprise hit that’s now moving to the top of my reading stack.
With two days down and two more to go, Comic-Con 2025 was already shaping up to be one of the most memorable years yet. Between hitting the panel stage, connecting with incredible creators, and watching the industry celebrate its best and brightest, it’s hard not to fall in love with this weekend all over again.
Stay tuned for my Day 3 and Day 4 recap - coming soon!
