SDCC 2021: Highlights of a Virtual Festival | Festivals & Awards

So, I was ready to get up extra early and line up to get eggs at the beginning of the pandemic and when the store was out of things on my grocery list, I remembered the words of the Dread Pirate Roberts: Get used to disappointment. 

Although I never watched the “The Walking Dead” after being traumatized at the imagery of a horse being eaten, I came to look forward to their activations at SDCC. “The Walking Dead” really were there for their fans. I was an “iZombie” gal, and I did see their panel at another con, what is now Los Angeles Comic-Con. First known as Comikaze, this was the first con my husband and I attended together.

More than vampires, zombies taught us how to handle COVID-19 living. “Twilight” and “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” would have you falling in love and inviting the vampires in. “The Walking Dead” and “iZombie” taught us to view other people with suspicion, keep our distance from the infected and how to go into survival mode by banding together in a trusted pod of uninfected people. “iZombie” also dealt with anger management. If COVID-19 has made you fear the air you breathe, the “Fear of the Walking Dead” has something for you (returning on October 17, 2021). 

“The Walking Dead” activation at the last live SDCC allowed people to test the virtual reality game which revealed another way of managing anger—killing zombies using guns, swords and other implements. Both zombies, vampire, Marvel and DC films teach us how to deal with disaster and despair. We really do have choices. Be a hero or be a zero. And, if you have cool gemstones, wear them on a gauntlet. For those who’ve taken to pandemic baking, that can even be an oven mitt. 

Early in the pandemic, I recalled that “The Princess Bride” predicted the future of mask wear: “It’s just they’re terribly comfortable. I think everyone will be wearing them in the future.” Although, I’m not thinking about becoming a female version of the Dread Pirate Roberts. Instead, I was thinking of putting my sewing machine to work on a Demon Slayer called Obanai Iguro.