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Wizards, superheroes, villains and … whatever that is.
They were all at the San Diego Convention Center on Friday for the first day of the Comic-Con Special Edition, a pandemic-delayed and pandemic-shortened version of the summer classic that typically draws more than 100,000 people to San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter.
“It feels amazing. It doesn’t feel like it was a couple of years ago, ”said Kelly Orazi, manager of Mysterious Galaxy bookstore, which has a booth on the convention floor.
“That’s us. All the nerdy stuff. All the things with magic and dragons and unicorns,” she smiled from behind a face mask.
Smaller private providers like Mysterious Galaxy are heavily dependent on sales from Comic-Con visitors. It is fair that the Friday of the special edition Comic-Con coincides with Black Friday across the country.
“It’s extremely powerful. It was an integral part of our business, ”said Orazi.
The pandemic was particularly unfriendly for small businesses that lost two full conventions in 2020 and 2021. Orazi said they rely heavily on online sales to stay afloat.
“It’s been tough in some ways, but we have an amazing, loyal customer base,” she said.
Other than that, Orazi was glad to be back on the conference room floor.
“A little relieved. A little excited. “
The special edition of Comic-Con is at the San Diego Convention Center through Sunday.
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