Superheroes and supervillains and other pop culture characters gathered this morning in San Diego to participate in the big annual St. Patrick’s Day Parade!
Members from several San Diego and Southern California cosplay groups gathered on Fifth Avenue before the start of the parade and posed for fun photographs! How many costumed characters do you recognize?
Hmm… I believe I see some sort of Green Lantern America, Alvin, Hermione, Spidey, Link, Elves from Middle Earth, Ghostbusters battling Stay Puft Marshmallow Man, good old Cap, a Black Widow, Obi-Wan Kenobi (and his apparent clone), Superman well-dressed in kryptonite armor, a bright green Irish Wookiee, Princess Peach, Batgirl, Gambit, the Jolly Green Giant (villains eat your vegetables or else!), a Tusken Raider, Dude Vader, and…
Super cool!
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Comic book artists and writers of African decent gathered in Balboa Park at the WorldBeat Cultural Center. They greeted fans and sold their work during a very cool Black History Month event!
So many creators arrived from Southern California and across the United States that the WorldBeat Center was packed wall to wall, with exhibitor tables spilling outside onto the patio. I was amazed at the size of this event, and excited by the unbounded creativity.
Black Comix Day is organized by local artist Keithan Jones, the writer and artist behind KID Comics. His philosophy is the Kid In you never Dies. He conceived of The Power Knights when he was himself a kid, and has gone on to publish mind-blowing professional art.
Yesterday I walked past the exhibitor tables and spoke to many of the comic book and graphic novel creators. You can see the positive energy and enthusiasm simply from my photos!
Check it out!
Poster for Black Comix Day at front door of the WorldBeat Center in San Diego.Marcus D. Newsome is a comic book artist, animator, illustrator and creator of Lightning Strike. Check out his website here.Eugene Randolph Young is an artist, illustrator, graphic designer and educator. He is inspired by indigenous lore, cyberpunk and Afrofuturism. He’s fascinated by artificial intelligence, too! Check out his website here.Some cool comic artwork by Eugene Randolph Young!The Surge Series is full of great Afrofuturistic cyberpunk artwork by Mike Haynes-Pitts. Check out his Instagram here.JSPR BLVK Entertainment’s table at Black Comix Day. Lil Red is a cool coloring book for kids that teaches safety! The website is http://www.jsprblvk.comJamaal A. Harley is the writer/creator of Royal Oak Comics. Check out his website here!Cool artwork displayed at the Royal Oak Comics table.A look inside the colorful WorldBeat Center during Black Comix Day 2024.Andre Owens is a creator/writer who produced Force Galaxia–Cosmic Tales of Adventure! See his Hiro Unlimited website here.Andre Owens told me that creating The Bovine League has been a lot of fun. Super-powered cows from Switzerland, The Bovine League, must go on a global quest to find the stolen Cosmic Udder and the Four Teats of Matter.KolaNut Productions has produced all sorts of cool content, including animation, that is filled with African magic, ancient folklore, and the NeoAfrican Universe. Check out their website here.Cool artwork everywhere you turn at Black Comix Day 2024!These three friends are bursting with smiles and creativity. They represent Thingamajig Studios! I love their groovy artwork. Check out their website here!UjuBeam displayed by creator Jared Lipscomb. amateur entomologist and founder of Hud Bug Comics. Super-powered insects! Check out his website here!The awesome smile of an artist creating her first comic book! I learned of her page on Facebook: mind of madness art, but could not find it! I wish I had asked more questions! (If anyone has more info, leave a comment!)Fun artwork at Black Comix Day 2024.David Phillips is the creator of Agents of S.O.U.L. As a kid, David was inspired by his Mom! Why don’t you draw some superheroes that look like you? Check out his website here!In Agents of S.O.U.L, non-super-powered heroes battle super-powered villains! Technology and science provide Black and Brown empowerment.Jason Reeves of 133art has produced many comic book titles full of Black heroes. There are comics for both kids and adults! Check out the website here!Keithan Jones works on commissioned artwork during Black Comix Day 2024.Creativity unites lovers of life and art.
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
The world of Batman features crazy, mad characters. So it’s not surprising that superheroes Batman, Batgirl and the supervillain Mad Hatter are lurking in one of Balboa Park’s most crazily creative corners: the San Diego Sculptors Guild courtyard in Spanish Village!
Batman and Batgirl together form a bench on which anybody can sit. Snap a selfie with two legendary heroes! The artwork, titled Bats United, was built by artist Kim Ogburn.
Across the courtyard of sculptures, a Mad Hatter chair invites fans of DC Comics supervillains. It’s the Mad Hatter Chatterchair!
Are you an Alice in Wonderland fan? Perhaps this Mad Hatter isn’t part of Batman’s rogues gallery, but merely mad. The chair might make the perfect accessory for a Mad Tea Party!
Both fun seats are for sale outside Studio 36, home of the San Diego Sculptors Guild!
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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 X (formerly known as Twitter)!
A formidable Captain America army formed today in San Diego. The call went out to assemble, and superheroes converged on the Marriot Marquis hotel from every direction!
Just as the army of superheroes seemed ready to defeat evil, more heroes arrived, swelling the ranks!
Those who would dabble in villainy beware!
As I walked through the Gaslamp up Fifth Avenue, returning home from Comic-Con, I noticed reinforcements were on the way!
Thank you for visiting Cool San Diego Sights during Comic-Con 2023!
I’ve enjoyed walking about all week, absorbing the amazing atmosphere and people watching. But I’m spent. It’s back to work tomorrow. And so this will be my final Comic-Con blog post this year.
In a couple days I’ll resume my more normal blogging. There will be posts about a fantastic exhibit at the San Diego Museum of Art, hidden public art in Mission Hills, and a historical building in Coronado. And much, much more!
Until then!
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I had fun covering Comic-Con again this year. To see all my 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!
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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!
The Comic-Con Museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park will be opening several new exhibits during the week of Comic-Con 2023!
The exhibit I’m most excited about is titled Excelsior! The Life and Legacy of Stan Lee. The Comic-Con Museum and Kartoon Studios will celebrate 100 amazing years of Stan Lee’s legacy by showcasing rare comic books, original art, and paintings, including some never-seen-before items! One part of the exhibit will feature other co-creators of the Marvel Universe, including legendary artists Jack Kirby and Steve Ditko. You know it’s going to be awesome. ‘Nuff said!
Those attending Comic-Con who love anime and manga shouldn’t miss the Comic-Con Museum’s coming Cowboy Bebop 25th Anniversary Art Exhibition, presented in partnership with Crunchyroll and Mondo, and a special My Hero Academia installation: a Historical Battle in Kamino statue that depicts the epic fight between All Might and All For One.
All three of these new exhibits will open Tuesday, July 18.
By the way, visitors to the museum will also enjoy the currently running Animation Academy – from Pencils to Pixels interactive exhibit. I blogged about it here!
A shuttle bus will be running during Comic-Con between the San Diego Convention Center and the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park, much as it has in recent years. For your ride, you’ll need a museum ticket and Comic-Con badge.
Courtesy Crunchyroll.Courtesy Crunchyroll.
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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!
The powerful Scarlet Witch has begun to materialize in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter! Is it the heroic Scarlet Witch, member of the Avengers, or the terrifying one who wants to dominate the multiverse?
Well, to find out, one must step inside the Bards and Cards game store on Fifth Avenue. A cool mural is now being created behind the front counter!
I learned there will be three parts to the mural, including imagery that pertains to Dungeons & Dragons.
The artist is Robert Turner (@thewaterthief).
I’ll drop by again on a future walk to photograph the artwork’s progress!
UPDATE!
A couple weeks later I saw a Dungeons & Dragons creature appearing. It’s a beholder…
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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!
Today, May 6, was annual national Free Comic Book Day!
Southern California Comics in Kearny Mesa held a big event celebrating the day, and I dropped by to see what I might see. (And to pick up a big bag of free comic books! Later arrivals were allowed to grab 15 comics. I have some reading to do!)
In the parking lot outside the store a number of small vendors were selling all sorts of pop culture collectibles, and independent artists were showcasing their original creations.
I wandered a bit and spoke to some of the friendly artists.
One thing that was obvious is these people are driven by dreams and ambition and a relentless passion to create. As an author of short fiction, I can relate.
No matter what level of success any artist might achieve, it’s good to remember these words by Frida Kahlo: “I paint flowers so they will not die.”
Every artist has the ability to work that magic.
I really like the work of Ruben Rosas. He does illustration and digital art. See some of his stuff here.
I learned there’s a group of artists who call themselves the Comicbook Artists of San Diego. The two guys who greeted me were super friendly. According to their website: CASD was founded with the intention of building a local community of comicbook artists to foster artistic growth and to showcase their artwork. They want to put San Diego on the artistic map!
More cool artists! These smiling humans are two of the creators of Accidental Aliens, a local comic art studio! Check them out here. A description of their 2nd Shift Volume 1 includes: When evil incarnate tears through San Diego, four fledgling superheroes band together…
Oh, look! It’s Horrorgasm! I once saw an exhibition of their art at the Comic-Con Museum here.
It appears Ronald McDonald has traveled to Free Comic Book Day from a galaxy far, far away.
Great cosplay. And an earnest pitch to check out the 60 Pages 14 Creative Teams 1 Big Punk Rock Comic Kickstarter page here!
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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!
It’s Sunday, the last day of Comic-Con 2022. Things are beginning to wind down a little bit, but thousands are still enjoying the annual pop culture convention.
In the morning fans were heading to the San Diego Convention Center, and many families had driven in from around the city on what is typically a more family-oriented day.
The offsite lines aren’t as bad as Saturday, but they’re still fairly long. I’m afraid I didn’t have the patience to wait. I like to keep moving. Perhaps I’ll go on one more walk around Comic-Con this afternoon and analyze the situation again.
This is what I saw…
People head in toward the San Diego Convention Center on Sunday, the last day of Comic-Con.Congratulations Rachel Smythe! Eisner Award winner for best webcomic.Cool cosplay!The IMDboat has already wrapped up. Or, I should say, is unwrapping.These friendly folks are launching JAM. It’s a spoken word app for your phone. You can record or listen to mini-podcasts about a minute long! “Your story. Your voice.” Brilliant idea!
Here comes Batman. He forgot to use a grappling wire.Creative steampunk and flames cosplay!UH OH! Looks like the dragon escaped from the House of the Dragon’s castle.No, it’s just friendly T. rex and his buddy.As the morning progressed, the crowd heading toward the convention center grew.Walking during Comic-Con, a few minutes before some of the outdoor activations open.A somewhat longish line at the Abbott Elementary offsite.Minimalist cosplay. Nezuko’s box.Another smaller box, with a head poking out of it.The Dragon Ball offsite gave away lots of great swag!Hela and her small red sidekick.I was tossed a tiny rubber ducky that squeaks!
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 usual, there’s a whole lot of cosplay to enjoy during Comic-Con this year!
Every imaginable character from popular entertainment (movies, television, comic books, video games…) can be seen roaming the streets and sidewalks in downtown San Diego. Most of the outdoor cosplay is found in the Gaslamp or around the convention center.
I passed hundreds of awesome costumes yesterday and this morning. Every so often poses were struck and my camera shutter clicked!
Star Wars cosplay at Comic-Con.Mighty Thor.Maleficent.Good old Captain America.Sailor Moon.Scarlet Witch and Quicksilver.Spider-Gwen.Zenitsu Agatsuma of Demon Slayer.A cool Spider-Man family at Comic-Con!Another Cap and Spidey. Two very popular cosplay characters.Chun-Li from Street Fighter.Who ya gonna call? Ghostbusters!Black Widow and Hawkeye.Princess Peach.Iron Patriot.A very scary Batman.Captain Marvel.MTV astronaut!The second Indiana Jones I’ve seen this year at Comic-Con.Riddler has a diabolical scheme.It isn’t every day you see flappers at a con.Ciel Phantomhive.Squid Game.Dr. Artemus Peepers.The Umbrella Academy cosplay.Uh, oh. I didn’t catch who these folks are. Mad Max? Leave a comment if you know please!Old school Hawkeye.Here’s another one where I need help. Everyone knows Captain Marvel on the right. Who’s that on the left?Jedi and his young Padawan practice using the Force on me. I’m an easy target.How many Lokis are there in the multiverse, anyway?Doctor Strange has been stripped of magic. He’s gonna use his fists.Butterfly Lady of Children International uses her smile superpower to help kids in poverty.Chainsaw Man looking for devils to saw.Cloud Strife.Vision.Doctor Strange casts a magic spell!
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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 