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!
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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!
With one week to go in San Diego until the start of Comic-Con 2023, preparations around downtown are accelerating!
More building wraps are appearing in the Gaslamp Quarter and near the San Diego Convention Center. Glimpses of outside pop ups and other fun stuff can now be observed, such as the above smiling chicken . . . or is that someone trying out a Cluckin’ Bell costume?
You might remember Cluckin’ Bell from the Grand Theft Auto video games. You’ll be able to visit a living replica of the fast food joint during Comic-Con. Cluckin’ Bell will be taking over Smokin J’s barbeque restaurant at 751 Fourth Avenue.
Please enjoy photographs I took today during a very long walk around Comic-Con’s outdoor “campus” in San Diego.
First up, I learned that internationally renowned graffiti artist RISK will be showing his artwork at Exclusive Collections Gallery in the Gaslamp at 621 Fifth Avenue. You can meet the artist the Friday and Saturday of Comic-Con week, from 5-9 pm. Here’s a photo of RISK’s Taz…
Posters advertising Twisted Metal on peacock are now all over the Gaslamp Quarter…
The Super Mario Bros. Movie art on the windows of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt becomes ever more colorful…
Workers getting ready for Comic-Con 2023 clean up trash near the trolley tracks along Harbor Drive…
So many San Diego Trolley cars now have Comic-Con wraps that entire 3-car trains often display the same fun graphics…
Multiple building wraps can now be viewed in the Gaslamp…
The stylish Interview With The Vampire building wrap on the Hilton Gaslamp is pretty awesome…
A big wrap promoting Paramount+ show Yellowjackets is being applied to one side of the Hard Rock Hotel…
Look what has appeared on the Omni Hotel! That looks like Stewie of Family Guy!
And on another side of the Omni, I see Lisa of The Simpsons playing sax!
The Good Omens 2 building wrap I blogged about yesterday appears about done…
Right next to it another wrap is going up. Probably another Amazon Prime Video show…
Finally, here’s a new building wrap being applied to the Pendry San Diego hotel…
What show is this?
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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!
A second San Diego Trolley wrap that promotes entertainment available on Paramount+ has appeared for Comic-Con 2023!
I photographed one side of a trolley car with the first Paramount design yesterday. You can see those photos here.
The new trolley wrap that I discovered today features many more shows available on Paramount+. Graphics on one side promote iCarly, Yellowjackets, School Spirits, Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves, and 1923. The other side includes Star Trek: Lower Decks, Bumblebee, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, Evil, and Tulsa King.
I added a little contrast to some of these photos.
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I’ll be 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!
I was about to enter the building for an Our Walls Speak event (celebrating outdoor murals!) when my attention was grabbed by this spray painted artwork. It’s by Encinitas artist Skye Walker. Apparently the mural, filled with ocean surf and images from nature, promotes Strainge Beast Hard Kombucha. It was painted in 2022.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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!
Do you love the movies Top Gun and Top Gun: Maverick? Here’s an incredible opportunity for fans that will take place this May in San Diego!
Sign up for Top Gun Days San Diego 2023 and you’ll meet a veteran Blue Angel pilot, who flew the F-18 during scenes in Top Gun: Maverick. You’ll meet a TOPGUN graduate and former instructor, who played a vital role in making Top Gun. You’ll rub shoulders with other pilots from the movies, and get the inside scoop on the filming of these two epic blockbusters!
The three day Top Gun Days San Diego event ends at the USS Midway Museum, then Kansas City Barbeque, the nearby restaurant where the “sleazy bar” scene in the original Top Gun was filmed!
How cool is this?
I ran into the group while they toured the USS Midway last year, and it was apparent everyone was having a great time!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
I post new blogs pretty often. If you like discovering new things, bookmark coolsandiegosights.com and swing on by occasionally!
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!
As we get ever closer to the opening of 2022 Comic-Con, more and more cool stuff is popping up in San Diego, particularly near the convention center!
For the past several days I’ve been documenting Comic-Con preparations downtown. Well, today, Saturday, I walked around again and found more stuff to share!
The distinctive Comic-Con logo now appears all over the San Diego Convention Center!Workers are setting up the outdoor canopies near the convention center. There will be huge crowds for Comic-Con as usual. Fortunately, the weather is forecast to be quite comfortable.That huge Star Trek wrap on the Marriott Marquis is looking really awesome. (I had to add contrast to my hazy zoom photo.)FX continues to set up their large offsite activation by the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. I believe those artificial hedge sections will form the walls of a simple labyrinth.Local artist Shirish Villaseñor works on the Starbucks windows graphics. They show scenes from Shrek. Her painted windows on Sweet Things Frozen Yogurts next door are the Faces of Comic-Con.The rear of the FX offsite for Comic-Con under construction.The big American Horror Stories wrap on the Hilton is getting bigger…Almost done with the cool Dragon Ball Super: Super Hero wrap decorating the Marriott.The other day I was informed correctly! FOX will have a small offsite with a Super Slide and photo opportunity on the grass opposite The New Childrens Museum.Cool trolleys all over!Sand artists have begun carving the three Audible sand sculptures.The big TREK building wrap seen from MLK Promenade across Harbor Drive.Looks like a Beavis and Butt-Head wrap on one side of the Hilton Gaslamp!House of the Dragon offsite looks ominous. I’m now told there won’t be a maze inside, but something. Looks exciting, whatever it might be!More graphics have appeared at the Hilton Gaslamp for The Walking Dead special event.The Krapopolis wrap grows on the Omni hotel. NBC hasn’t begun their offsite construction by the Tin Fish yet, nor is there anything on the grass by the Omni…The cool Severance wrap on the Hard Rock Hotel is nearing completion.That banner on the Gaslamp trolley station fence is left over from the recent ESRI conference at the convention center.Here comes another wrap on the Hilton Gaslamp! This one promotes Interview With The Vampire.Nerdy stuff is popping up all over downtown San Diego with less than a week to go before Comic-Con!
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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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!
As Comic-Con fast approaches, lots of super cool stuff continues to pop up in San Diego’s Gaslamp, including more wraps and some very early offsite construction.
An awesome span of building wraps promoting Amazon Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power can now be enjoyed near the Gaslamp Quarter archway, at the south end of Fifth Avenue. They wrap right around to the north side of the Hilton Gaslamp.
You’ll see lots of photos coming up.
First, I spotted a large platform being built in the grassy area by the Hilton Gaslamp. I learned it’s going to support a huge indoor maze! It’s HBO’s House of the Dragon offsite for Comic-Con. House of the Dragon is a 300 year prequel to the hugely popular Game of Thrones.
Next, I noticed the beginning of a huge wrap on the Omni hotel!
Looks like an animated mythical creature. A satyr, perhaps? Anyone out there hazard a guess? Leave a comment, and then we’ll see in a day or two!
I then snapped this photo of the Apple TV+ Severance wrap which is being applied on the south side of the Hard Rock Hotel…
Finally, here come the awesome Rings of Power wraps, which are still being applied!
Pretty cool, huh?
UPDATE!
Look what’s up a day later!
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
Look at all the cool stuff appearing in downtown San Diego as everyone prepares for the huge event!
All along Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade, banners have been hung promoting The CW superhero shows The Flash and Superman & Lois.
Dozens of trolley cars have been wrapped and are now seen cruising all over San Diego.
Here’s one that looks like a school bus. This was the first design to appear a few weeks ago. It promotes ABC television’s show Abbott Elementary.
Special trolley service will be offered by MTS during Comic-Con.
A Special Event Line will run between the Balboa Avenue station and 12th and Imperial. Needless to say, all the trolley lines will be quite busy! Read the notice. They can be obtained on the trolleys.
Fences now surround areas along MLK Promenade where offsite activations will be.
I was told by someone who appeared knowledgable that FOX will have an offsite near The New Children’s Museum. (I’m assuming it will be where FOX had their Ferris wheel one year.)
Childrens Park with its fountains is presently being renovated and won’t be used this year for Comic-Con.
The next photo is the grassy area by the Hilton Gaslamp. I look forward to seeing what pops up here!
On the convention center side of the Hard Rock Hotel, a wrap is being applied that promotes Apple TV+ show Severance.
San Diego artist and muralist Shirish Villaseñor (@shirishtheartist) has been adding color to her figures on the windows of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt, at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront…
That huge Teen Wolf the Movie wrap on the Park 12 high-rise now has a second side! The pack is back!
And look what I spotted from the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge. Another new trolley wrap! This one promotes The Gray Man in select theaters from NETFLIX.
I was then able to get a quick ground level photo as it went by…
Check out these super cool wraps in the Gaslamp Quarter that went up today. They promote Amazon Prime Video’s new series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Awesome! Looks like a third wrap is still going up…
Finally, the Fifth Avenue side of the Pendry San Diego hotel is almost done being wrapped. It promotes AMC’s new show Interview With The Vampire.
The friendly workers who were nearby gave my camera a thumbs up!
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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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!
You can easily explore Cool San Diego Sights by using the search box on my blog’s sidebar. Or click a tag! There are thousands upon thousands of photos for you to enjoy!
A vampire and a werewolf were spotted today in downtown San Diego!
The building wraps for 2022 Comic-Con are now going up, with a little over a week to go until Wednesday’s Preview Night. Multiple cherry pickers used by workers to apply the promotional wraps are now stationed around the Gaslamp Quarter!
This afternoon I noticed a new wrap that advertises AMC’s upcoming show Interview With The Vampire, based on the popular novels by Anne Rice…
Also, the very first wrap up, that I first noticed yesterday, is now finished. It promotes the Paramount+ upcoming werewolf feature Teen Wolf the Movie, as I surmised…
Preparations for Comic-Con are picking up, even as the big Esri User Conference occupies the convention center. Stay tuned!
UPDATE!
I figured I’d post a photograph of the finished vampire wrap that I took several days later, as seen from Fifth Avenue…
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
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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!