The Junji Ito Exhibit is Coming to San Diego Comic Con

With the Writers and Actors of Hollywood now on strike, San Diego Comic-Con has had to cancel a number of events that were originally announced. Despite this fact, the comic convention is still making announcements when it comes to certain elements of pop culture. With horror manga artist Junji Ito set to appear at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con, the convention has announced that a new exhibit honoring the creator will be a part of the event. 

Earlier this year, Netflix released a new anime adaptation that gathered a number of Ito’s short stories and breathed new life into them. Junji Ito’s Maniac: Japanese Tales of The Macabre portrayed some of the mangaka’s biggest stories that had yet to be brought to the small screen, including Hanging Balloons, Mold, The Sandman, and Bully to name a few. Unfortunately, the most highly anticipated anime adaptation in Ito’s career has yet to pin down a release date for horror fans. Adult Swim’s Uzumaki has been seen by anime fans as an adaptation that truly captures the artist’s aesthetic, but has been mired by delays thanks in part to the coronavirus pandemic. While not officially confirmed, an Adult Swim producer has confirmed that Uzumaki might have some big news for this year’s San Diego Comic-Con.

The Ito-Verse Exhibit

Viz Media shared the big news that “Welcome to The Ito-Verse: The Junji Ito Experience” is making its way to San Diego Comic-Con. The event will be held at the Marriott Marquis San Diego Marina, held from Thursday, July 20th to Saturday, July 23rd. 

@vizmedia

Welcome to the Ito-verse: The Junji Ito Experience. This massive exhibition will feature renowned horror mangaka junjiito’s artwork at #sdcc2023 #sdcc #sandiegocomiccon

♬ original sound – VIZ

The worlds of anime and manga aren’t the only platforms that will house some of Ito’s creepy stories, as a live-action series of films are slated to be released in the future from Fangoria Studios. Slated as three feature-length films, the first outing has been confirmed as Bloodsuck Darkness, a vampiric tale from Junji Ito that puts a serious twist on the creatures of the night. Written by Jeff Howard of The Haunting of Hill House fame, a release date has yet to be revealed for the Fangoria Studios production. 

Do you want to see the Junji Ito Experience tour across North America? Which Ito project are you most looking forward to? Feel free to let us know in the comments or hit me up directly on Twitter @EVComedy to talk all things comics, anime, and the world of Junji Ito.