What to expect from Marvel at San Diego Comic-Con 2023

It’s one of the biggest conventions in North America, so it’s no surprise that Marvel is expected to show up to San Diego Comic-Con 2023 in style — but what should fans of the House of Ideas be looking forward to from Southern California mid-July? Here's what we've put together so far.

The Marvel booth

As with every San Diego Comic-Con, expect the Marvel booth to be a major destination for the entire show, with creator signings, giveaways, and games planned for the entire five day stretch of the con. Marvel has announced its booth schedule for the show, and it is… busy. There’s far more than just signings going on, although they have those, as well:

Thursday, July 20

• 10:30 – 10:45am – Welcome to San Diego Comic-Con
• 11:15 – 11:45am – David Pepose Signing (Moon Knight: City of the Dead)
• 12:00 – 12:15pm – Marvel Giveaway Special Event
• 1:00 – 1:30pm – Avengers: Beyond Earth's Mightiest Speed-Coloring Challenge | In partnership with Happy Color
• 1:45 – 2:00pm – X-Men '97 Hasbro Showcase
• 2:00 – 2:30pm – X-Men: 60 Uncanny Years — Cosplay Event
• 3:00 – 3:15pm – Marvel Digital Collectibles & Comics on VeVe | In partnership with VeVe
• 4:15– 5:00pm – Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Signing | In partnership with PlayStation
• 5:45 – 6:00pm – Trivia Time with Marvel Insider & Marvel Unlimited
• 6:00 – 6:45pm – Marvel Giveaway Spectacular

• 10:30 – 10:45am – Welcome to San Diego Comic-Con Day 2
• 11:15 – 11:45am – Zeb Wells Signing (Amazing Spider-Man)
• 12:00 – 12:15pm – Marvel Giveaway Special Event
• 12:30 – 12:45pm – Interview with Kith Founder & CEO Ronnie Fieg
• 1:00 – 1:15pm – Spider-Man Zentai Suit Showcase | In partnership with Jazwares
• 1:30 – 1:45pm – Marvel's Spider-Man 2 Interview | In partnership with PlayStation
• 2:00 – 2:30pm – Avengers: Beyond Earth's Mightiest — Cosplay Event
• 3:00 – 3:15pm – Marvel Digital Collectibles & Comics on VeVe | In partnership with VeVe
• 3:30 – 3:45pm – Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Showcase
• 4:00 – 4:30pm – Rob Liefeld Signing (Deadpool: Badder Blood)
• 4:45 – 5:15pm – J. Michael Straczynski Signing (Captain America)
• 5:45 – 6:00pm – Trivia Time with Marvel Insider & Marvel Unlimited
• 6:00 – 6:45pm – Marvel Giveaway Spectacular

• 10:30– 10:45am – Welcome to San Diego Comic-Con Day 3
• 11:00 – 11:30am - Marvel Studios' Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3 Cosmo The Spacedog Meet & Greet
• 12:45 – 1:30pm – Marvel Studios' The Marvels Signing with Andy Park, Director of Visual Development
• 2:30 – 3:00pm – Marvel Mystery Game
• 3:30 – 3:45pm – Marvel & Semmel Exhibitions Showcase
• 5:15 – 5:30pm – Trivia Time with Marvel Insider & Marvel Unlimited
• 5:30 – 6:30pm – Marvel Cosplay Competition

• 10:30– 10:45am – Welcome to San Diego Comic-Con Day 4
• 11:15 – 11:45am – Collin Kelly, Jackson Lanzing, Marco Checchetto Signing (Guardians of the Galaxy)
• 12:00 – 12:30pm – Gerry Duggan, Joshua Cassara, Pepe Larraz Signing (X-Men)
• 1:15 – 1:45pm – Marvel Live Draw! | In partnership with BIC
• 2:00 – 2:15pm – Marvel Giveaway Special Event
• 2:30 – 3:30pm – Marvel HQ: Kids Costume Event
• 3:45 – 4:00pm – Trivia Time with Marvel Insider & Marvel Unlimited
• 4:00 – 4:45pm – Marvel Giveaway Spectacular

Panels

While we’ve been able to confirm that Marvel Studios won’t host a Hall H panel this year, Marvel as a whole is hosting number of panels for its comic books and other projects. Here's what to look forward to:

• Marvel’s Spider-Man 2: Symbiotic Relationships (Thursday July 20 2:30pm - 3:30pm in Hall H): Insomniac Games’ creative director Bryan Intihar, game director Ryan Smith, narrative director Jon Paquette, and senior art director Jacinda Chew are joined by actors Yuri Lowenthal (Peter Parker), Nadji Jeter (Miles Morales), Laura Bailey (Mary Jane Watson), and Tony Todd (Venom), along with VO and creative director Bill Rosemann from Marvel Games, to discuss the upcoming PlayStation 5 game. Get a behind-the-scenes look at Insomniac Games’ take on the monstrous Venom and how the symbiote plays a role in the sequel to the hit PlayStation games Marvel’s Spider-Man and Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.
• Designing the X-Men: A This Week in Marvel Special Event (Thursday, July 20 from 4-5pm PST in Room 7AB): Agent M himself, AKA Ryan Penagos (VP & Creative Executive), is here to host a can’t-miss live edition of the This Week in Marvel podcast! Joining him are Krakoan Gardeners Jordan D. White (Senior Editor) and Sarah Brunstad (Editor), Graphic Designer eXtraordinaire Tom Muller, superstar artist Joshua Cassara (X-Force, X-Men) and more. From logos to data pages, new costumes to Hellfire Gala ensembles, Krakoan topography to the layout of the Green Lagoon, get the inside scoop about the creative process behind the modern era of X-Men along with hints of what is coming with the Fall of X. And don’t miss an exclusive giveaway at the end of the panel!
• Marvel and Proko Teach “The Art of Storytelling” (Thursday, July 20 from 5-6pm PST in Room 11): Learn the art of comic book storytelling with Marvel and Proko! Join our panel of industry veterans as they share their expertise on creating compelling stories, developing memorable characters, and mastering the art of visual storytelling. We’ll be covering several topics from Proko’s latest course on making comics with Marvel featuring instructors from the course! Whether you're an aspiring artist or a seasoned professional, this panel will offer valuable insights and practical advice to help you hone your craft and break into the competitive world of comics.
• Marvel: Heroes, Hulks, and Super-Soldiers (Friday, July 21 from 3-4pm PST in Room 6DE): Marvel Editor-in-Chief C.B. Cebulski leads a panel featuring Marvel’s superlative solo Super Hero series! J. Michael Straczynski takes Captain America to the streets of Manhattan, while Moon Knight roams the roads of Egyptian lore in David Pepose’s Moon Knight: City of the Dead. Meanwhile the Hulk takes control of Bruce Banner as Phillip Kennedy Johnson continues his new Hulk run, and the hits coming in across the rest of the action-packed Marvel Universe. Be sure to stay until the end of the panel to find out what other heroes will be joining their ranks in their own new titles!
• Marvel Fanfare with C.B. Cebulski (Friday, July 21 from 4:15 - 5:15pm PT in ROom 6DE): Past and present Marvel Editors-in-Chief reunite for a panel unlike any other! Listen in on a conversation about anything and everything you wanted to know about the House of Ideas when current head honcho C.B. Cebulski is joined by Marvel Legend Joe Quesada. Never before has so much comic-making mastery been crammed into one panel! But that’s not all - fans who stay until the end will receive an exclusive giveaway comic!
• Marvel Multiverse Role-Playing Game Live Play with Glass Cannon Network (Friday, July 21 from 5:30pm - 8:30pm in Omni Hotel's Grand Ballroom ABC 4th floor): A brand new group of Super Heroes is making its San Diego Comic Con debut as your favorite personalities from the Glass Cannon Network bring their unique brand of unhinged role-playing madness to the Multiverse! Join Gamemaster Troy Lavallee along with Joe O'Brien, Skid Maher, Matthew Capodicasa, Noura Ibrahim, Alicia Marie, and Marvel's own Nick Lowe (VP, Marvel Executive Editor) as they create a Super Hero story that makes the Avengers look like a knitting club. Don't miss the action-packed, laugh-inducing mayhem that will leave you wondering if spandex suits come with built-in comedic timing!
• Rob Liefeld: Deadpool Badder Blood (Friday July 21 2:30pm - 3:30pm in Room 5AB): Deadpool creator Rob Liefeld discusses his return to Marvel Comics with the new five-issue series Deadpool: Badder Blood and its successful sold-out launch in June 2023.
• Marvel: Next Big Thing (Saturday, July 22 from 3-4pm in Room 6a): This is the one you’ve been waiting for – the absolute can’t-miss event featuring shocking announcements about the future of the Marvel Universe! Spider-Man’s never had it easy, but what’s coming for him next will shake the wallcrawler to his core. Plus - things are heating up for Guardians of the Galaxy in the throes of the catastrophic Grootfall. And just what is happening in Jonathan Hickman’s all-new Ultimate Universe? On hand to discuss all this and more are C.B. Cebulski (Editor-in-Chief), Nick Lowe (Executive Editor), Zeb Wells (Amazing Spider-Man), Collin Kelly & Jackson Lanzing (Guardians of the Galaxy) and more. Also, attendees will receive an exclusive giveaway!
• Women of Marvel: Sunday, July 23 from 10:30-11:30am PST in room 6a): The Women of Marvel return to San Diego! Join us for a lively discussion with Marvel talent across publishing, digital media and studios including Editor Sarah Brunstad, Executive Producer Sana Amanat (Marvel Studios’ Ms. Marvel), VP of Digital Media Marketing Jessica Malloy, Charlie Jane Anders (New Mutants: Lethal Legion), Jody Houser (Star Wars: Obi-Wan Kenobi) and more! What is it like for women working in the industry today, and what is next for Marvel’s woman-led projects? Plus, stay until the end of the panel for an exclusive giveaway!

The Hellfire Gala

Always wished you could be part of the fictional big event of the Marvel Universe's year? SDCC attendees will be in luck, with Marvel hosting a real-life version of the party Saturday, July 22 at PARQ Nightclub (615 Broadway, San Diego, CA 92101) from 8 p.m. to 11 p.m. According to Marvel, attendees for the ticketed event can expect the following:

• The Green Lagoon: Inspired by the watering hole on Karkoa, strut down the green carpet to enter the event surrounded by lush greenery inspired by the location. Here, guests will enter the event and once inside grab a seat to survey the environment — between dance sessions out on the floor.
• Hellfire Ballroom: Worlds collide in the grandiose Hellfire Ballroom. Home to the event’s main offerings, guests will find themselves transported through a Karkoan Gateway to enter a space where looks are served and justice is brought. The dazzling dance floor comes to life with heroes, villains, and everyone in-between, with booths on the edge of the dance floor to catch your breath after you’ve assembled your own Hellfire Inner Circle.
• Lair X: Head to the underground lair dedicated to the X-Men and take a look back over the last 60 years of Mutant history. Lair X will have its own activities — and a dance floor — along with a bar, seating area, and photo opportunities perfect for immortalizing all magnificent cosplay.

Exclusive comic books

While Marvel has made it clear that the following are all while supplies last, the company has announced what exclusive giveaways fans will get for attending its SDCC 2023 panels:

• New Mutants: Lethal Legion # 5 Color Focus Sketch Variant by Javier Ferndandez and Matt Milla (Designing the X-Men: A This Week in Marvel Special Event on Thursday)
• Captain America #750 Joe Quesada Variant (Marvel Fanfare with C.B. Cebulski on Friday)
• Amazing Spider-Man #29 Lenil Yu and Sunny Gho Variant (Marvel: Next Big Thing on Saturday)
• Captain Marvel: Dark Tempest #1 Mike McKone and Java Tartaglia Variant (Women of Marvel on Sunday)

Exclusive merch

The Marvel merch store can be found at booth 2519 for the entirety of the show, and Marvel has released the following graphics showing just what fans will be able to pick up:

Wondering what to expect from this year’s SDCC? We’ve got some answers for you.