Saturday is a big day for Comic-Con. For some, that means staying away from the floor to avoid crowds, but others may be camping out from the night before, waiting to get into a Hall H panel. As I always say, Comic-Con is whatever you want to make it. So, to help with that, here are some panel recommendations for an intense Saturday.
As your Cinema Junkie, I will always suggest at least stopping by the Comic-Con International Independent Film Festival (CCI-IFF), the anime rooms and the movie rooms.
This list is arranged by fandoms, but I urge you to sometimes step out of your fandom and seek something new. Maybe you've never read a manga or never thought much about what a set dresser does, so check out a panel that might open your eyes to something new.
Also, check the online schedule (which has tabs for canceled and updated events) and Comic-Con's Toucan blog for last-minute information on changes and additions, because the one constant of Comic-Con is that things can change.
Perspective | Creators | Literary Arts | Behind-the-Scenes | Horror | Representation | TV + Film | Masquerade
More picks are coming for Sunday, so stay tuned. You can also find the full official Comic-Con schedule here.
All panels listed below are on Saturday, July 26.
If you're into comics that challenge how we think:
- Teaching Literary Analysis and Social Justice with Comics | 10 a.m., Shiley Special Events Suite, San Diego Central Library
* Comics Under Fire | 11 a.m., Shiley Special Events Suite, San Diego Central Library
Censorship issues are so important, that I always like to recommend panels that try to raise awareness about the limits being placed on our freedom of speech.
- Comics, Culture, and the Classroom | 12 p.m., Shiley Special Events Suite, San Diego Central Library
* Congress and Comics: A Conversation | 12:30 p.m., Room 24ABC
Congressman Robert Garcia is chair of the Congressional Popular Arts Caucus, which I had no idea even existed, so I'm curious to find out more.
- Beyond the Panels: The Interdisciplinary Power of Comics Studies | 1 p.m., Room 26AB
- Coming of Age: Punks in Comics | 3 p.m., Room 4
* See You in the Funny Papers: Humor and Social Critique in Comics | 3 p.m., Room 29AB
Humor as a tool for social criticism — we can all use some of that now.
* The Science of Science Fiction: All Your Questions Answered | 8 p.m., Room 28DE
When you have a chance to hear NASA scientists talk, it's usually fun and enlightening.
If you want to meet the legends behind your favorite stories:
* Usagi Yojimbo: Past, Present, and Future |10 a.m., Room 23ABC
One of my favorite comics creators, Stan Sakai, is just an absolute joy and treasure.
* The World According to Macanudo | 11 a.m., Room 25ABC
I am unfamiliar with Argentine cartoonist Liniers, the Eisner Award-winning creator of the beloved comic strip "Macanudo," so I'm hoping to find out more.
- Spotlight on Terry Kavanagh | 11:30 a.m., Room 29CD
- Spotlight on Emil Ferris | 12 p.m., Room 25ABC
- Top Cow: The New Universe | 12 p.m., Room 4
- Spotlight on J.M. DeMatteis | 12:30 p.m., Room 29CD
* Todd McFarlane: In Conversation–Spawn, Image Comics, and More | 12:30 p.m., Room 6A
I am a longtime fan of "Spawn"!
- Spotlight on Nick Dragotta | 2 p.m., Room 7AB
- Spotlight on Frank Miller | 3 p.m., Room 6DE
- Spotlight on Janice Shapiro | 4 p.m., Room 4
* Jim Lee and Friends | 5:15 p.m., Room 6BCF
I always enjoy Jim Lee's panels.
- Peter David: A Celebration of His Life, Work, and Legacy | 7 p.m., Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
If you're here for books, art and literary fandom:
* Blind Date with a Book, Chapter 4: Always and 4ever | 10 a.m., Neil Morgan Auditorium, San Diego Central Library
I am not into romance, but I'm totally down for a blind date with a book arranged by a librarian.
- Books and K-Pop: Fictional Boyfriends and Idol Obsessions | 10 a.m., Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
* Roundtable on My Favorite Thing Is Monsters Book 2 | 10:30 a.m., Room 26AB
This book is simply stunning! The artwork is bold, innovative and draws on horror in the most imaginative ways. It is also up for an Eisner.
* Scott Shaw!’s Oddball Comics Live *| 3 p.m., Room 7AB
Scott Shaw! is a treasure.
- The Essential Peanuts by Charles M. Schulz: The Greatest Comic Strip of All Time | 4:30 p.m., Room 7AB
- Writing for Weird Tales Magazine | 5 p.m., Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
If you love a behind-the-scenes deep dive:
* Doug Chiang: A Conversation About Star Wars and Beyond | 10:30 a.m., Room 29CD
Doug Chiang is not just wildly talented, he is great at panels and has such a deep history with "Star Wars."
- Drawing with Dustin Nguyen and Peter Nguyen | 11 a.m., Room 3
* Quick Draw | 11:45 a.m., Room 6BF
I discovered Quick Draw decades ago when I was in a panel next door, and I felt the wall vibrate with laughter. Although the great Sergio Aragonés has not been attending, Mark Evanier keeps this improv cartooning panel one of the best things at Comic-Con.
- In Conversation with Scott Sigler and Jonathan Maberry | 12:30 p.m., Room 5AB
- In Sync: Directors and Composers | 12:30 p.m., Room 10
* Moderated by Matt: The Art of Editing | 1 p.m., Omni San Diego Hotel, Omni Grand Ballroom DE, 4th Floor
I cannot praise film editors enough — their work usually goes unnoticed unless people complain that a film is too long. I have interviewed the brilliant Tatiana S. Riegel, and since she is on the panel, I can highly recommend going.
* Cartoon Voices | 1 p.m., Room 6BF
Another great tradition at Comic-Con thanks to Mark Evanier — I promise your sides will ache from laughing.
- The A-to-Z of Action Animation | 1 p.m., Room 9
- Scott Pilgrim EX with Bryan Lee O’Malley | 1:30 p.m., Room 5AB
* Building New Worlds with DSTLRY | 1:30 p.m., Room 24ABC
I have yet to read any DSTLRY comics, but I keep getting drawn to them on the shelf and want to find out more.
- The Forgotten Trio: Letterers, Inkers, and Colorists | 2 p.m., Room 28DE
- DSTLRY: The Art of the Cover | 3:30 p.m., Room 5AB
- Image Comics: Artists Unleashed | 3:30 p.m., Room 24ABC
* A Comic Book Lettering Conversation | 6:30 p.m., Room 3
Lettering is an overlooked art form in comics, so check this out.
If you like your fandom a little dark and creepy (and who doesn't?!):
- From Dracula to Demogorgon: The Secrets Behind Crafting Iconic Creatures | 12 p.m., Omni San Diego Hotel, Omni Grand Ballroom DE, 4th Floor
- Beneath the Covers: The Sinister World of IDW Dark | 2 p.m., Room 4
- Comixology: Your Horror Comix Fix | 2:30 p.m., Room 5AB
* Dread the Hall H: Fictional Comic Convention Horror Stories | 5 p.m., Room 23ABC
Chris Ryall, Keithan Jones and horror? Yes, please.
- Fangs, Fur, and Frank: Frazetta’s Influence on Modern Horror | 6 p.m., Room 9
- PANICK Entertainment Spills New Blood | 7 p.m., Room 25ABC
* Unholy Trinity: Vampires, Witches, and Ghosts in Comics | 8 p.m., Room 29AB
Pamela Jackson and Elizabeth Pollard are great, and so is this topic.
* Celebrate Toxic Mess Summer with AHOY Comics and Troma | 8 p.m., Room 25ABC
Any panel with Troma present is bound to go off the rails.
- Sound of Fear | 8:30 p.m., Room 29CD
* It’s Troma Time! | 9 p.m., Room 25ABC
I never miss a Troma panel. Lloyd Kaufman has been disrupting media for more than half a century!
If you care about who gets to tell the story:
* Middle Eastern/North African Representation in Media | 11 a.m., Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
I'm interested in North African representation because I rarely hear that talked about.
- Immigrants Changing the Face of Pop Culture | 12 p.m., Grand 10 & 11, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
- Comic Books for the Blind | 12:30 p.m., Room 3
- Building Authenticity/Changing Culture with Comics | 1 p.m., Grand 12 & 13, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
* Women in Concept Art | 2 p.m., Room 9
This panel highlights an underappreciated craft and an underrepresented group in the field!
- Trans Masculine Representation in Entertainment | 3:30 p.m., Room 26AB
- Hispanic Creators and Artists Discuss the Comic Book Industry | 4 p.m., Room 9
- Hip-Hop and Comics: Cultures Combining | 4:30 p.m., Room 24ABC
* Trina Robbins’s Herstorian Legacy | 5 p.m., Room 4
If you don't know who Trina Robbins is, then this is a good opportunity to brush up on your comics history with a trailblazing female creator.
- Small Voices, Big Stories | 5 p.m., Room 25ABC
- Honoring the Kumeyaay Nation’s Past, Present, and Future Through Visual Storytelling | 5 p.m., Room 29AB
* Out in Comics: Year 38 | 6 p.m., Room 4
Thirty-eight years is an impressive record, and it is always a panel worth checking out.
- Salaam Fandom! Muslim Gamers, Creators, and Cosplayers | 6 p.m., Room 29AB
* Creating India’s Superheroes for the World | 7 p.m., Room 28DE
I love Indian pop culture cinema (and its arthouse cinema, but my heart belongs to Bollywood and Tollywood films), so I'm very curious about Indian superheroes and a new animated series about Hanuman. And if we're on the topic of Indian superheroes, go check out the film "Superboys of Malegaon."
- Enter the Latina Superhero: Rewriting the Script in Hollywood | 7:30 p.m., Room 10
If your fandom started on screen:
- Coyote vs. Acme | 10 a.m., Room Hall H
- Futurama | 11 a.m., Ballroom 20
- The Simpsons | 11:45 a.m., Ballroom 20
* “I Want to Play a Game”: A Deep Dive into Squid Game: Is it Survival of the Fittest or Class Warfare? | 1 p.m., Room 23ABC
I loved "Squid Game" and appreciate a deep discussion about it.
* The Anthropology of Kung Fu Cinema | 2 p.m., Grand 6, Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina
This just sounds fun: Stuntman Eric Jacobus shines an anthropological lens on your favorite kung fu films to discuss the ritual origins of animal kung fu styles, the agriculture system that birthed the 18 weapons and the unique kinship system behind master-student, father-son and emperor-subject hierarchies.
* Peacemaker Sneak Peek and Panel | 3:30 p.m., Hall H
This show just brings me joy every time I watch it. John Cena truly found his niche as Peacemaker.
* 25th Anniversary of X-Men with Tom DeSanto | 4 p.m., Room 6BCF
My son grew up with the badly animated but brilliantly scripted "X-Men" cartoons, and I love how the cartoons and comics reflected what was going on in the real world.
* 70 Years of Godzilla | 4 p.m., Room 23ABC
Big G. 'Nuff said.
- 40th Anniversary Studio Ghibli | 4:15 p.m., Room 6DE
* Attack of the Killer Tomatoes: Organic Intelligence | 5:30 p.m., Room 6A
OMG! They are back! I worked on all the "Killer Tomato" sequels as an editor, so I am excited to where these squishy vegetables (or are they fruit?) go next.
- Spider-Man: The Animated Series 30th Anniversary | 5:30 p.m., Room 5AB
- Demon Slayer: Kimetsu no Yaiba Infinity Castle | 5:45 p.m., Hall H
* Rise of the Renegades: The Underground Comix Movie | 6 p.m., Room 25ABC
Underground comix deserve a panel and a movie — another opportunity to see how the past influenced the future of comics.
* An Evening with Kevin Smith | 7:15 p.m., Room Hall H
Kevin Smith at Comic-Con is just a tradition.
- MeTV’s Svengoolie and the Sven Squad Make Their Comic-Con Debut! | 7:30 p.m., Room 7AB
If you want to end your night in style:
* Comic-Con International 2025 Masquerade | 8:30 p.m., Ballroom 20
If you have never gone, let me just say: It is not just people parading around in costumes. Each entrant generally prepares some kind of skit or performance that reveals added creativity to the artistry of the costumes. You can go watch in person or on the live feed. Definitely a fun time, and some of the costumes are just spectacular and even unexpected.
