{"id":989472,"date":"2026-08-08T18:27:35","date_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:27:35","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/989472\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T18:27:35","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T18:27:35","slug":"the-shruggie-awards-of-san-diego-comic-con-2026-the-winners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/us\/989472\/","title":{"rendered":"The Shruggie Awards of San Diego Comic-Con 2026 \u2014 The Winners"},"content":{"rendered":"

San Diego Comic-Con 2026 was a bit of an odd one. The convention was plagued by more issues than we\u2019ve seen in recent years, and there were certainly some frustrations along the way (wristbands!).<\/p>\n

But even with its rough edges, for most of us, Comic-Con still delivered plenty of that familiar magic, with fantastic panels, memorable offsites, coveted exclusives, and experiences we\u2019ll be talking about for years to come.<\/p>\n

That brings us to this year\u2019s The Shruggie Awards, which, despite the name, aren\u2019t actually celebrating the \u201cwtf-ness\u201d of the convention (though there was certainly plenty of that to go around). Instead, we asked you to vote for the very best of San Diego Comic-Con 2026, along with one category honoring something we\u2019d probably all rather leave behind. You voted for your favorite panels, offsites, exclusives, and more, and now the results are in. We\u2019ve tallied the votes, crunched the numbers, and are excited to reveal the winners of the 2026 Shruggie Awards.<\/p>\n

The Best Booth at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: Butts on Things<\/strong><\/p>\n

This truly felt like Brian Cook\u2019s year. Over the last several years, we\u2019ve watched his cartoon butts grow from a cute booth tucked away down an aisle at SDCC, into a global brand that\u2019s now stocked in major chain stores and has even entered into a partnership with Hasbro. This year, that growth felt especially visible, from signs throughout the Gaslamp promoting his cheeky new collaboration to a show floor presence that now rivals some of the biggest names at the convention. Maybe not in square footage, but certainly in the size of his lines, the popularity of his exclusives, and the enthusiasm surrounding the booth.<\/p>\n

Brian celebrated \u201c10 Years of Rears\u201d at the con this year, and he marked the milestone with some of his best exclusives yet (more on those in a minute), solid line management, and fun surprises for fans, including daily secret password pins. It was a fitting celebration of just how far Brian Cook\u2019s Butts on Things has come, and a reminder that yes, at San Diego Comic-Con, the fun artist booth can absolutely become one of the hottest stops on the show floor.<\/p>\n

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The Best Exclusive at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: Butts on Things Pins<\/strong><\/p>\n

And speaking of those exclusives, Brian Cook\u2019s Butts on Things also took home Best Exclusive this year. Their \u201cBootyland\u201d pin was already the talk of the internet well before the convention began. But I\u2019m also a huge fan of the \u201cRear End of Line\u201d pin (seriously, how had no one done this before?!). Artist Brian Cook really brought his A-game for some of his best concepts yet to celebrate the brand\u2019s 10th anniversary, and brought SDCC crowds the kind of exclusives people actually wanted to hunt down.<\/p>\n

People like butts, man.<\/p>\n

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The Best Panel at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: Spaceballs<\/strong><\/p>\n

Spaceballs came to have fun. The upcoming Spaceballs: The New One brought one of the most joyous panels we\u2019ve ever had at the convention, as it gleefully lampooned the Marvel Cinematic Universe with their own phase plans for what they were dubbing \u201cThe Almighty Schwartz Saga\u201d (or, Asswhole). Nearly the entire cast was on hand, including Josh Gad, Keke Palmer, Lewis Pullman, and Daphne Zuniga, with only Bill Pullman and 100-year-old Mel Brooks sitting this one out (though Pullman sent in a video message).<\/p>\n

But the biggest moment came when the panel decided to \u201ccomb\u201d the Hall H crowd for Rick Moranis. The fan-favorite actor stepped away from onscreen acting roles in 1991, and this was a moment worthy of fanfare and some hijinks. When he lifted his big helmet to reveal it was him, the crowd went wild. In the excellent behind-the-scenes look at the making of the panel<\/a>, Esquire spoke with producer Jeb Brody, who explained part of the reason to even do the panel was \u201cto make sure that Rick knew we weren\u2019t the only people who love him. We wanted that moment at Comic-Con. We\u2019ve been talking about it forever: Rick walking in and feeling the house come down and embrace him for all that he gave them.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is how you do Hall H.<\/p>\n

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The Best Panelist at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: Kevin Smith<\/strong><\/p>\n

Kevin Smith is so beloved at San Diego Comic-Con that he essentially has a standing gig.<\/p>\n

No one ever has to wonder when his annual solo panel will be: Saturday night, Hall H. It\u2019s been his slot for years, and there\u2019s a reason he keeps getting invited back. Smith is also basically the only person at the convention allowed to have the panel go as late as he wants \u2014 he can take audience questions, wander off on wildly entertaining tangents, and generally do whatever he wants for as long as he wants, while keeping a Hall H crowd completely along for the ride.<\/p>\n

Year after year, he closes out the convention\u2019s biggest day in its biggest room, but his SDCC presence extends well beyond his own panel. Smith is also one of the convention\u2019s go-to moderators, and this year he helped steer several panels, including Spaceballs: The New One and A24\u2019s Onslaught. It\u2019s always clear that Smith genuinely loves this convention, and we love him right back.<\/p>\n

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The Best Offsite at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: HBO Max\u2019s \u201cLanterns\u201d Training Headquarters<\/strong><\/p>\n

HBO Max\u2019s Lanterns Training Headquarters did what the very best Comic-Con activations do: It made you feel like you had actually stepped into the story. Attendees were recruited to become Lanterns, but first they had to prove their worth, which meant everything from sneaking through the darkened Macon Ranch maze to investigating a dive bar, searching a sheriff\u2019s office, testing your aim, or taking a simulated flight from the rooftop.<\/p>\n

The committed performers elevated it even further, keeping recruits immersed in the story while making the puzzles and challenges genuinely fun (and you can read our behind-the-scenes making of the activation with NVE<\/a> here). But what really pushed Lanterns over the top was how well everything worked together, to tell a cohesive story\u2026 that just so happened to end in the best giveaway item of the entire week, a high-quality Green Lantern ring.<\/p>\n

We may have had to prove we were worthy of taking the oath, but in a year where it felt like many offsites were scaling back, HBO Max and the team at NVE proved they still know that Comic-Con demands only the best.<\/p>\n

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The Best Free Swag at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: Lanterns Ring<\/strong><\/p>\n

One of the easiest ways to be the best offsite\u2026 is to offer some of the best swag.<\/p>\n

Lanterns delivered in a big way on that, with a high-quality ring, that attendees at the offsite could even choose their own size of (a very nice touch that elevated the entire experience)! But it wasn\u2019t just those lucky enough to make it into the offsite who were able to score one. HBO Max also partnered with local area bars to give away rings, meaning that more attendees at the convention were able to join the ranks of the Green Lantern Corps. This feels like the type of giveaway we\u2019re going to be talking about for years to come, as an all-time best.<\/p>\n

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The Best Party at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: <\/strong>Funko Fundays<\/strong><\/p>\n

Funko Fundays was definitely not without its issues. Last-minute venue changes! Lack of entertainment (we saw multiple people sleeping because they were so bored)! But while this year\u2019s event may be a shell of its former self (pun not intended), when it comes to delivering high-quality exclusives to its attendees, Funko remains hard to beat.<\/p>\n

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The Best Wrap at San Diego Comic-Con 2026: Avengers: Doomsday Gaslamp Arch<\/strong><\/p>\n

Look, is this technically a wrap? Well, no. But it served the same purpose \u2014 decorating the Gaslamp for San Diego Comic-Con \u2014 and so\u00a0spiritually, we\u2019re considering this a wrap.<\/p>\n

Last year marked the first time we\u2019d seen the iconic Gaslamp Arch used to promote an upcoming film, with The Bad Guys 2 delivering a few character moments positioned on the arch. This year, one of the biggest and most exciting surprises in the days leading up to the convention was watching the arch slowly transform into something much bigger. And we do mean slowly. While it may have taken them ages to finish (seriously, it felt like they were only working from 5pm-8pm each day), the finished Avengers: Doomsday Gaslamp Arch absolutely ruled the Gaslamp.<\/p>\n

It truly felt like Comic-Con had taken over downtown San Diego, in a way I\u2019m not sure it ever has before. I\u00a0really hope this becomes an annual trend, because few things say \u201cSDCC is here\u201d quite like transforming one of the Gaslamp\u2019s most recognizable landmarks along with it.<\/p>\n

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The Most \u00af\\_(\u30c4)_\/\u00af Thing About San Diego Comic-Con 2026: Hall H Wristbands\/Other Issues<\/strong><\/p>\n

I always hate when the convention has major issues, because I know how much love, care, and planning goes into San Diego Comic-Con behind the scenes. So it\u2019s disappointing for both fans and attendees when things go awry on a much larger scale, and nowhere was that more prevalent than with Saturday\u2019s Hall H kerfuffle.<\/p>\n

Attendees had waited for days to make it into Hall H for the biggest panel of the week, Saturday\u2019s Marvel Studios. For those not in line by Friday mid-day, there was basically no way you were making it in at all, to give you some idea of just how long that wait really is. Then on Friday night, attendees were wristbanded, and while not \u201cguaranteed\u201d, the general idea is that if you get a wristband, you know you\u2019re making it inside Hall H the next day so long as you return by 7:30am. You can even go sleep in that hotel room you\u2019re paying thousands of dollars for, so long as you\u2019re back in time!<\/p>\n

Only that isn\u2019t quite how it worked out this year. Cut to Saturday morning, when they let attendees into Hall H, and when they declared it was full\u2026 there were still several hundred wristbanded attendees waiting under the tents.<\/p>\n

So how exactly did this happen? No one seems quite sure, including Comic-Con International. We spoke with San Diego Comic Convention Chief Communications and Strategy Officer David Glanzer after the convention<\/a>, who told us that they were still in the process of investigating, but as of that time, there was no evidence that fake wristbands had been made. So did they simply print too many wristbands and not count correctly? Were there somehow less seats in Hall H, due to Marvel\u2019s \u201cthe back row is the front row\u201d stunt? Was it something else entirely?<\/p>\n

Comic-Con did issue a statement<\/a> at the time, declaring \u201con Saturday, those who were in line by 7:30am were admitted\u201d. Those under the tents argued they had been in line in time, with some providing timestamped screenshots.<\/p>\n

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You can see when this photo was taken to provide information to one person who was still walking up to meet us. Again we were near the front of shoot 2 when they stopped allowing people with wristbands in. We were the group that was next to go in. pic.twitter.com\/ELscaOoGqy<\/a><\/p>\n

\u2014 GeekHeather (@GeekHeather) July 27, 2026<\/a><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

That statement from CCI has since been amended completely<\/a> (though you can still read the original by clicking that link above \u2014 the internet lives forever), and now reads in full, \u201cWe are taking a ground-up approach to address issues that occurred with lines at Hall H this year. The process will take time as we meet with multiple departments and explore all options available.\u201d<\/p>\n

They did eventually let some of those shut-out wristbanded individuals into Hall H for standing-room only in time for the Marvel panel, but not everyone made it in even then \u2014 and it doesn\u2019t change the fact that attendees followed the process, jumped through all of the hoops, and were ultimately not rewarded with what they felt they were promised.<\/p>\n

So whatever the reason, it still happened, and that\u00a0sucks for all involved. I genuinely hope Comic-Con is forthcoming about their findings, because I\u2019m a firm believer that information is empowering (hey, it\u2019s why this site still exists!) \u2014 and CCI claims they want to empower us.<\/p>\n

So we understand you\u2019re human and mistakes can happen. Just tell us how things went wrong, and then prove you\u2019ll do better next year.<\/p>\n

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