We have some good news and bad news for fans of conventions. The bad news is that this summer's San Diego Comic-Con is going digital, with the in-person event being postponed. The good news is that the organizers are currently planning an additional in-person event that will take place in San Diego in November.

Last year, SDCC was forced to go with a Comic-Con@Home event due to health and safety concerns. Even though vaccines are rolling out all around the world, it is not believed that the situation will be safe enough by July for an event the size of San Diego Comic-Con. In an update shared to the organization's social media pages, it was revealed, for that reason, that they have decided to once again go digital for this summer's event.

"It appears that July will still be too early to safely hold an in-person event of the magnitude of Comic-Con. For this reason, we have made the challenging decision to postpone Comic-Con 2021 as an in-person gathering until our 2022 dates, and once again hold this year's celebration as the free online Comic-Con@Home. Unfortunately, the challenges of this past year and the multiple postponements of our two largest events have left us with limited financial resources, so this year the online experience will be reduced to a three-day event, spanning July 23-25, 2021."

San Diego Comic-Con is one of the biggest pop culture events around, drawing thousands of people from all over the world. Holding such an event with health and safety concerns present is nearly impossible. But the situation is likely to be far better by November. As such, the plan is to bring the in-person event back later this year. Speaking further, the organization said the following.

"While we lament the postponement of the in-person Comic-Con, our commitment to this community of fans and our celebration of comics and the related popular arts endures as an important part of who we are. As the timing and scope of our larger event factored greatly into our decision to postpone, we believe that launching a smaller in-person event at a later time may be a safe alternative. For this reason, we are happy to announce that San Diego Comic Convention is planning to present a three-day in-person convention in San Diego in November. At this time, we are still working on specific details as to attendance capacity, badge cost, and related information, and those details will be forthcoming."

Much remains unclear. For one, it is hard to know how many studios will present at the November convention. Assuming the box office prospects look better for 2022, it could provide a good opportunity for studios to promote upcoming blockbusters. Regardless, if the SDCC 2021 event does happen in November, it would be a huge sign that things are truly beginning to return to normal.

As was the case with last year, Comic-Con@Home this summer will be free. Individuals who have purchased badges that were rolled over to the 2021 convention will have those badges automatically transferred to the 2022 event unless a refund is requested. You can check out the statement in full from the San Diego Comic-Con Twitter account.