Here we go! One of the biggest parties in San Diego has begun! It’s Preview Night for Comic-Con 2023. For the next four days massive crowds will descend upon downtown San Diego to celebrate popular culture!
Late this afternoon vendors and fans were converging on the San Diego Convention Center. The exhibit floor opens at 6 pm. Those with Preview Night tickets will be able to get an idea of the cool stuff they will see when Comic-Con begins in earnest tomorrow.
Meanwhile, areas around the convention center and the Gaslamp Quarter were nearly ready for the big crazy party. A few pop-ups and offsite activations are being readied at the last minute. A huge line of people was waiting to enter the Dragon Ball offsite near the Marriott Marina. The Lodge offsite by Paramount was already open, too.
Many members of the media have arrived on the scene, too, as Comic-Con 2023 will receive international coverage.
Enjoy some fun photographs from a mid-afternoon walk!
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Comic-Con 2023 officially begins tomorrow in San Diego. This evening thousands will converge on the San Diego Convention Center for Preview Night.
Is San Diego ready for the big event? Almost!
This morning I noticed how most of the outside activations are in the last stages of completion. I also saw groups of vendors and other participants streaming through the Gaslamp heading for the convention center. Walking about, I even spotted some cool cosplay!
Shops in the Gaslamp have superhero displays in windows for Comic-Con.CVS created a unique Comic-Con 23 display using soft drink boxes!The Lodge now has snowy trees around its entrance. Perhaps it snowed overnight.SpongeBob is hanging out inside The Lodge!Are those guys in black vampires from the Immortal Universe?Quantum Leap HQ is ready to transport visitors through spacetime.Before you travel through spacetime, grab some grub at the Quantum Cantina.Live shows overlooking Gaslamp Square will be held on this balcony. Watch for celebrities!Promotional graphics are everywhere.The Abbott Elementary wraps on Petco Park are finished.Another wrap promoting Abbott Elementary.The Petco Park Interactive Zone is setting up. Every year they seem to finish at the last minute.What more cool stuff is in these crates?OMG! Check out these huge Transformers: Rise of the Beasts sculptures!A big banner is being hung today on the Hilton Bayfront parking garage advertising Heart of Stone .Mario and Bowser cosplay!Last minute work at the FX offsite. That water dispenser should prove very popular!The gigantic Shogun wrap on the Hilton is completed.A big crowd will be enjoying Adult Swim on the Green starting tomorrow!Salty’s has quite a few eyeballs.The IMDb yacht has returned for Comic-Con 2023.The Voodoo Ranger “pirate ship” is now behind the San Diego Convention Center.The Dragon Ball offsite at the Marriott Marina Terrace is still setting up. Looks cool so far.That electrical lightning is making some hair stand on end!Dragon Ball graphics above the front entrance of the Marriott Marquis hotel.Some street artists are already setting up on MLK Promenade.All sorts of colorful graphics decorate Hero House.Check out this cool sculpture promoting Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon!Snoopy has arrived! Let Comic-Con 2023 begin!
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Check out the above very cool sculpture. It represents an epic battle from My Hero Academia, the “Historical Battle in Kamino.”
This sculpture is the centerpiece of a new exhibition that opened today, just in time for Comic-Con 2023!
I’m not all that familiar with this manga series, but the colorful displays definitely caught my attention this morning as I wandered about the lower level of the museum. Around the statue are action-packed graphics that depict various characters and scenes that fans love from My Hero Academia.
If you’re a fan of manga or anime, and you’re going to Comic-Con this year, jump on the shuttle from the San Diego Convention Center to Balboa Park. It stops a very short distance from the Comic-Con Museum!
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Spider-Man, Iron Man, Hulk, Thor, Scarlet Witch, Black Panther, Black Widow, Doctor Strange…
Given the immense popularity of the Marvel Cinematic Universe films in the past 15 years, who on the planet doesn’t recognize at least a few of those names?
What do these iconic superheroes all have in common? Their famous co-creator, Stan Lee.
An excellent new exhibit opened today at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego. It’s titled Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee. Those attending Comic-Con 2023 this week have the opportunity to jump onto a shuttle at the San Diego Convention Center and head to Balboa Park to enjoy this exclusive exhibition!
Visitors to the Comic-Con Museum will see how Stan Lee, over the course of his 78-year career, not only influenced the evolution of comic books, but as the creative leader of Marvel Comics, helped build the company into an international multimedia powerhouse. Fans can view rare comic books, original art and paintings that were born from his seemingly inexhaustible imagination.
Many of the used comic books on display, including dozens of superhero origin and Marvel landmark stories, come courtesy of exhibit co-curator Michael Uslan, originator and Executive Producer of the Batman movie franchise! They have been selected from his vast boyhood collection. You can tell how his comic books were well read! Michael was a good friend of Stan Lee, who was described as endlessly energetic. (I learned Michael is the one who suggested to Stan that he write alternative stories concerning DC Comics characters!)
Stan Lee‘s enormous accomplishments merited induction into the comic book industry’s Will Eisner Award Hall of Fame in 1994 and the Jack Kirby Hall of Fame in 1995. He received the NEA’s National Medal of Arts in 2008.
Personally, I loved viewing the exhibit with its many decades of artwork. It revived pleasant memories from my own past–particularly those years long ago when I collected comic books. I amassed hundreds of issues in several long boxes, which to me were vaults filled with treasure.
Fans of anime visiting the museum might also enjoy two other exhibits that opened today just in time for Comic-Con: the Cowboy Bebop 25th Anniversary Art Exhibition and an incredible sculpture inspired by My Hero Academia.
If you haven’t already experienced the Comic-Con Museum’s ongoing exhibit The Animation Academy – from Pencils to Pixels, that is also a definite must-see. From animation’s rather crude beginnings to today’s high-tech computer generated graphics, you’ll experience it all. You even have the opportunity to create your own animated stories!
Learn more about Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee and the many other wonders that await you at the Comic-Con Museum by visiting their website here!
An extensive new exhibit on the bottom floor of the Comic-Con Museum celebrates the life and legacy of legendary Stan Lee.Today’s huge Marvel Universe was co-created by Stan Lee. The name “Marvel Universe” was suggested by a fan in 1966. This year Stan Lee would have celebrated his 100th birthday.Marvel Tales Annual, No. 1, published in September 1964, features the artists and writers who comprised The Marvel Bullpen back then.Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby, co-creators of many iconic Marvel characters, pictured together at different times.Captain America, No. 3, 1941. 19-year-old Stan Lee’s first writing in comic books and first use of the pen name “Stan Lee.”The Marvel Age dawned in 1956, with the resurgence of superheroes. In an increasingly stressful modern world, readers enjoyed escapism, much as they do today. As time went on, characters became more complex and believable, displaying ordinary human emotions.One of many iconic comic books on display. The first appearance of the Fantastic Four, November 1961, created by Stan Lee and Jack Kirby.Just Imagine, by Stan Lee with Chris Bachalo. A reimagining of DC character Catwoman in 2002.A new Stan Lee Universe is soon to appear! It’s called Stan Lee’s Workforce. A major announcement is forthcoming!Kill-Switch by artist Greg Hildebrandt. Part of the upcoming Stan Lee’s Workforce!Stan Infinity, by artist Rob Prior. Very cool!Members of the media get a first look at the new Comic-Con Museum exhibit, Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee. It opens to the public today, July 18, 2023
If you’re attending Comic-Con 2023 in San Diego, you don’t dare miss this!
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Enjoy lots of photographs taken today around the San Diego Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter. It’s Monday, three days before the official start of Comic-Con 2023!
Offsite activations are rising all over the place, new building wraps continue to appear, and there’s a definite sense of excitement and anticipation in the air!
Read the photo captions!
The Jurassic Park offsite is now setting up in East Village. I wasn’t allowed to take a photo through the front door, but it looks like this might be epic!Abbott Elementary wraps are going up on the exterior of Petco Park.Some shade is ready for fans waiting in line outside the San Diego Convention Center. It should be quite warm this week!The FX offsite is now fenced with graphics promoting many shows.Is this guy screaming in anticipation of huge crowds?Outside the FX site during my midday Monday walk.Peeking into the FX offsite.The huge building wrap on the Hilton San Diego Bayfront promotes FX mini-series Shōgun.Now walking down the bayside boardwalk toward Adult Swim on the Green.Another Comic-Con, another ride on the Adult Swim hotdog!The way I felt after a vigorous summer walk in the San Diego sunshine.Now I’ve reached the Hulu Animayhem offsite. Looks like a lot of hot air.Who are all these people just standing around?You can get your selfie with a favorite character.Workers are setting up the Dragon Ball offsite behind the Marriott. Looks like the layout is much like last year.They’ve got a couple days to get ready!The Wheel of Time building wrap on a Marriott Marquis tower looks pretty cool!I believe Hero House will sell pop culture collectibles and cool stuff. They were setting up beside Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade.Walking along MLK Promenade.Looks like Camp Snoopy is getting ready! The Peanuts offsites are always fun.Spooky black waiting area for the recently announced Interview With the Vampire activation at the Hilton Gaslamp.A recreation of a New Orleans street will await fans of Interview With the Vampire.Check this out! It’s the Quantum Leap activation under construction. I’ll bet fans walk in through that circular entrance…When visitors walk through here, will they travel through spacetime?NBC show banners at Baja Rick’s Cantina, which used to be the Tin Fish.Watch out! Here’s Chucky!The huge Yellowjackets wraps on the Hard Rock Hotel are finished.Yellowjackets video wall inside the Hard Rock Hotel.Putting up Yellowjackets banners along Fifth Avenue sidewalk.Paramount’s offsite The Lodge is looking great.A sneaky peek into The Lodge.Hasbro boxes in the windows of Sparks Gallery at 530 Sixth Avenue. This will be The VAULT: A Hasbro Pulse Store!National Geographic joins the Comic-Con fun with a big wrap on the Margaritaville Hotel. It promotes Arctic Ascent.
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
There’s a cool free collectible in San Diego during Comic-Con 2023. Library cards featuring the Comic-Con logo beneath “Odi The Coyote: Defender of Books” will be available at all San Diego Public Library locations starting Thursday, July 20!
I asked a gentleman at the front desk of the Central Library if I could trade in my boring old library card from many years ago and get one of these collectible cards. Yes! While supplies last!
The Central Library, an easy walk from the San Diego Convention Center, also has a tiny exhibit near the main entrance during Comic-Con. Here’s one pic:
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Pirates must be more conscientious than we think, because the Voodoo Ranger pirate ship is being carefully painted the day before it sails for Comic-Con!
This morning I noticed a volunteer at the Maritime Museum of San Diego touching up the beautiful tall ship. It isn’t really a pirate ship. It’s far more amazing. San Salvador is a working replica of a Spanish galleon built and operated by the folks at the Maritime Museum.
The Voodoo Ranger sails are already up, ready to unfurl for all of San Diego and Comic-Con goers to see. Early tomorrow morning the make-believe pirate ship will head down San Diego Bay to its place behind the San Diego Convention Center.
Landlubbers beware! Even not-so-despicable pirates might engage in a little mischief!
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The pop-up Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe has been open several days in San Diego’s East Village! You can find it at 910 J Street.
The soft opening of the Speed Cafe is already attracting many local families and lovers of the Sonic video games, cartoons and movies. The one-of-a-kind fast food restaurant will have its official Grand Opening at the start of Comic-Con 2023 next week. I suspect the lines will be very long, so if you’re hungry speed your way into downtown San Diego in the next few days! My wait today was perhaps 5 minutes. The restaurant will remain open until mid-August.
What fun! I saw lots of kids enjoying the cool atmosphere and playing several free video games that were scattered about.
The menu includes fast food with names such as Sonic’s Classic Chilidog, The Perfect Eggdog, Knuckles Sandwich, Piko Piko Tenders and The Evil Genius. Drinks include Sonic Heroes Slush, Blue Blur, Flying Fox, Sweet Amy and Team Dark.
I learned the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe is a project of video game maker SEGA. A new restaurant concept is being tested!
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Several cool new faces have appeared outside Comic-Con 2023 since my walk around downtown San Diego yesterday!
I caught these faces with my camera this afternoon for all to enjoy.
Those two faces above–‘TIL ALL ARE ONE–are part of very cool artwork leaning up against Paramount’s coming offsite activation in the Gaslamp. The Lodge will be located inside Happy Does.
The big Star Trek wrap on the Marriott Marquis has added the face of Picard…
The Sand Land world premiere screening wrap on the Marriott now features the face of character Beelzebub…
Piccolo is pictured on a crate waiting to be unloaded in the Marriot Marina Terrace, where the Dragon Ball outdoor activation will open to the public during Comic-Con…
A deflated face up in the air above the future Adult Swim on the Green offsite activation…
Jack in the Box has a trolley wrap featuring Jack fan art, it appears! I spotted these faces in the trolley yard from the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge…
Finally, check out this cool graphic on one of the Amazon Prime Video wraps near the Gaslamp Quarter Archway. I’m afraid I don’t know the character. Leave a comment if you do!
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
There must’ve been a bizarre mix-up in the space-time continuum because the Planet Express Building has been mysteriously transported to San Diego from Futurama–I mean, the future.
I’m not sure if this strange Planet Express Building features a downstairs walrus tank, but I suppose visitors to Comic-Con 2023 will be able to find out! That’s because the time-displaced building, as well as the Planet Express spaceship itself, are now sitting in the parking lot behind the San Diego Convention Center!
It’s all part of the Hulu Animayhem offsite activation, which will be open to the public this coming week during Comic-Con!
Will you glimpse a strange alien during your visit? Look at these photos taken today…
…
I’m covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my current and past blog posts concerning Comic-Con, click here and scroll down!
I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
Cool San Diego Sights! 