Omni San Diego Hotel, Omni Grand Ballroom DE, 4th Floor

In April of this year, the current administration imposed a series of steep tariffs on all overseas manufacturing. We are told the reason for this was an attempt to bring jobs and manufacturing back stateside. Some of the tariffs were rolled back or paused, but the tariffs on China stayed in place longer. We are starting to see the fallout and repercussions of those decisions. Companies were pausing shipments, some items were canceled, and many medium and small toy makers were scrambling to stay afloat and weather this storm. Is it feasible for toy and collectible manufacturing to come back to the U.S. on any significant scale? Are there other regions that offer viable alternatives? If this is resolved, what are toy companies doing to prepare if it happens again? What will the industry learn from this?

Daniel Pickett (ActionFigureInsider.com, History Channel's The Toys That Built America) talks to Bryan Flynn (owner and principal, Super7), Jonathan Cathey (CEO/founder, The Loyal Subjects), and Blake Wright (editor-in-chief,ToyCollectr magazine, The Toys that Time Forgot) about all of this and more.

Room 4

Celebrate the work of legendary cartoonist and San Diego local Shawn Kerri as panelists aim to shine a spotlight on her artistic legacy as a female cartoonist and larger-than-life figure of the 1980s underground art scene. Featuring Keith Morris (lead singer of Black Flag, Circle Jerks), Greg Hetson (guitarist of the Circle Jerks, Bad Religion), Scott Shaw! (cartoonist, animator), Brian Flynn (founder and owner of Hybrid Design and Super7), Monty Messexx (the Atoms, DFL, Grand Royal magazine), Big Toe (Southern California–based Pop surrealism artist), Thomas Fernandez (Southern California artist for Santa Cruz Skateboard and tattooer), and Joyce Rooks (guitarist, The Cockpits, The Dinettes). Moderated by Brad Niemann (founder of Friends of Shawn Kerri). An exhibit of art by Shawn Kerri and artists' renditions of Skank Man can be seen at the Art Show in the Manchester Grand Hyatt Ballroom.

Room 6DE

Godzilla takes center stage for a celebration of the King of the Monsters in collectibles, comics, and film. First, Brian Flynn (founder, Super7), Hector Arce (senior director of creative and product development, Mondo), Peter Santa Maria (senior creative director, Mondo), and Jeff Gordon (director, franchise and retail brand development, Bandai) share the latest on Godzilla collectibles. Next, Brian Buccellato (writer, DC), Tim Seeley (writer, IDW), Jake Williams (editor, IDW), and Sean Conrad (VFX supervisor, Monarch: Legacy of Monsters) discuss Godzilla beyond film. Finally, Shinji Higuchi (director, Shin Godzilla) reveals more about the upcoming 4k release and bringing Godzilla to the big screen again. Featuring reveals, giveaways, and surprise guests, the panel will be moderated by Drew Taylor of TheWrap.

Grand 12 & 13, Marriot Marquis San Diego Marina

Indie companies and creators are making, crowdfunding, and selling their own action figures. Do you want to be one of them? Creators who are producing and marketing their own independent toys and making their mark on the collectible community focus on the creative “how to” of toy making. Moderators Jordan Q Hammer and Richard Mayerik are joined by Brian Flynn of Super7, Bill Murphy of BigBadWorkShop, Chris Scott of Grindhouse Toys, toy designers Sarah Lynn Reynolds and Quang Le, Trevor Zammit of NECA, Doc Wyatt, and Gavin Hignight of Wandering Planet Toys.