Are you going to Comic-Con this year? If so, prepare to have lots of fun!
I walked around downtown San Diego this morning, Wednesday, the day of Comic-Con Preview Night. Most of the following photos were taken in the vicinity of the San Diego Convention Center or Petco Park.
Most offsites are approaching completion, but it looks like a few are still just setting up in the Interactive Zone at Petco Park. It’s impressive how quickly various activations are assembled and readied for the public with just hours to go.
I’ve already photographed tons of stuff on walks during the past few days. Here’s some new discoveries I noticed this morning…
Krapopolis graphics are now all over the place at the FOX offsite, which includes a big slide!The Bandai offsite near the Marriott Marina now has lots of huge action figures providing awesome Dragon Ball photo opportunities!Comic-Con attendees will be soon be lining up along the bayfront, even camping overnight to get good spots for favorite panels and exclusives.The IMDb boat has returned to Comic-Con. A good place to watch for Hollywood celebrities crossing over from the convention center for interviews.Willard R. Abbott Public School has appeared at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront’s Promenade Plaza! The offsite promotes the ABC mockumentary television series Abbott Elementary.Someone has a swag bag, walking by the big FX offsite. Most offsite activations open tomorrow, Thursday.Here I am walking over the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge.The Lexus Premier Lot by Petco Park is filling up with activations for the Interactive Zone. Those campsite tents below are Pinecone Trooper Pete’s Friend Zone. It promotes the CBS show Ghosts.Nintendo Switch will have a lot of cool video games and stuff, too.A cool graphic. Mario Strikers: Battle League.And here’s Kirby and the Forgotten Land.These friendly guys set up by the sidewalk early with great comic books! I got a few!
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!
Cosplayers converged in the Gaslamp this morning, the day of Comic-Con Preview Night, to take part in an MTS press conference.
2022 Comic-Con is right around the corner, and downtown San Diego is abuzz. My camera is now in high gear.
Check out these cosplaying members of the Science Fiction Coalition!
Dude Vader has become a San Diego and Comic-Con fixture over the years. Christopher Canole is a super nice guy, too!It’s Ms. Marvel and Alvin, here to save the day!Arwen Evenstar is joined by an elf friend from Middle Earth.Spider-Man and Moon Knight join forces for a photograph!Supervillains in San Diego better make your escape now.Here comes Ms. Marvel again with a steampunky character.A classic Spidey pose!
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!
If you’re walking up Fifth Avenue during Comic-Con, and you’re wondering what happened to the Chuck Jones Gallery, fear not!
Even though the gallery itself moved some time ago to San Diego’s Little Italy neighborhood, a pop-up Chuck Jones activation can be found in the Gaslamp Quarter at 530 Sixth Avenue! (A few steps north of the Dungeons & Dragons offsite, inside the Sparks Gallery.)
I previewed The Chuck Jones Comic-Con Pop Up Gallery this afternoon as pieces by popular artists were being arranged for public display and sale. There’s something for everyone, including Star Wars, Marvel, and DC Comics art by well known artists, like Alex Ross.
For 2022 Comic-Con, the Chuck Jones pop up will also present several artists and animators that the public can meet. You can see the lineup at their website here.
The Chuck Jones Gallery Pop Up opens up tomorrow, Wednesday, July 20 during Comic-Con Preview Night!
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!
An exhibit at San Diego’s Central Library, on display during 2022 Comic-Con, traces the history of dime novels, pulp fiction, comics and graphic novels.
The fascinating display can be enjoyed on the Central Library’s 9th floor, in the Rare Books room containing their Special Collections.
Some important and rare works are on view, and descriptions provide insight into the history of each popular medium.
If you happen to be passing by the Central Library with its lattice metal dome during Comic-Con, head up the elevator to the rooftop! And go through the door you see in the next photograph!
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!
The extraordinary exhibition, which occupies nearly all of the Comic-Con Museum’s large first floor, celebrates the history of Spider-Man.
Visitors can see dozens of pieces of original art used in the creation of the comic books, and important props from many of Spider-Man’s immensely popular movies. The superhero’s appearance on television and in video games is also documented.
I spent a full hour today just reading the many displays and viewing incredible, historic artwork.
Originally drawn from the imaginations of Stan Lee and Steve Ditko, Spider-Man has evolved over time, as new writers and artists have built on Spidey’s complex story. Societal norms and comic book sensibilities have shifted over the decades, but one thing has been fairly consistent. Spider-Man represents a youthful, optimistic “everyman” hero, who copes with life’s ordinary problems while battling fantastic villains.
A good crowd had already arrived as the museum opened at ten o’clock this morning, and I saw numerous families and excited kids–many wearing Spider-Man shirts and costumes. There are many opportunities to take selfies, and the atmosphere created inside the dynamic exhibition is truly exciting.
Walking through, I felt my old passion for Spider-Man flaring again. The exhibition makes it obvious why the wall-crawler remains one of the all-time favorite pop culture icons!
During Comic-Con, a shuttle bus will run between the San Diego Convention Center and the Comic-Con Museum. I encourage Comic-Con attendees to come up to Balboa Park and check out the exhibition. It’s well worth the time and effort!
Spider-Man: Beyond Amazing will continue at the Comic-Con Museum through the end of 2022.
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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!
Ready to see some awesome Batman street art? Check this out!
A long fence and gate in Logan Heights was painted earlier this year with characters from the Batman Family and with assorted members of the Batman Rogues Gallery.
The spray painted artwork is by prolific San Diego muralist Fizix (@alexfizix), whose more ordinary name is Alex Julian.
You can see this great comic book inspired street art on 33rd Street, just south of Broad Avenue.
The long mural by Fizix actually continues up the fence and onto Broad Avenue, but the subject becomes something quite different, so I figured I’d post those photographs on a separate blog, which will be coming up shortly.
If you like this comic book-style street art, you’ll like another mural painted by Fizix several years ago with even more superhero and pop culture characters. You can enjoy photos of that amazing mural by clicking here!
Looking from left to right along the long Batman-themed mural by San Diego artist Fizix.Penguin by artist Fizix.Catwoman by artist Fizix.Batman by artist Fizix.Bane by artist Fizix.Batwoman by artist Fizix.Poison Ivy by artist Fizix.Continuing left to right…Robin by artist Fizix.Joker by artist Fizix.Harley Quinn by artist Fizix.Red Hood by artist Fizix.
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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!
Comic books and graphic novels can be used in schools to stir excitement for reading, and to explore and teach a variety of subjects.
Today a panel of educators shared their thoughts about Words and Pictures Together. The hour-long panel was part of a Will Eisner Week event at the San Diego Comic-Con Museum.
Will Eisner was a pioneering cartoonist and writer whose work both inspired and influenced almost every comic artist that followed him. He practically invented the graphic novel. His amazing artwork is legendary. His stories are often complex, surprising, challenging and philosophical. Not unlike great literature.
The panelists at the Comic-Con Museum yesterday discussed how they have used Eisner’s work and other comics in the classroom.
As I sat in the audience listening, I learned there are many benefits to using certain comic books or graphic novels as educational tools.
Perhaps most importantly, they are accessible to young people. Particularly kids who struggle with reading. Those who resist reading or have limited language skills will often turn the pages of a comic, greedily devouring both words and pictures. After all, most comic books and graphic novels are written to engage and excite.
Another benefit can be the development of critical thinking. There are plots to analyze and characters to understand. Allusions and themes can provide subject matter for discussion. Stories that involve historical events or contemporary issues can open a young mind to interesting ideas and questions.
And there is the graphic art itself. Why did the artist make certain choices? The page layout, typography, style, visual point of view . . .
What I found most inspiring was that students can be encouraged to make their own comic art. To tell their own stories. Express their own thoughts and feelings. When you’re a young person, secretly unsure of many things and trying to figure out life, personal expression can help you grow.
By producing their own comic or graphic novel, students also learn how to plan a creative project and execute it. And they write!
What’s more, the opportunity to show their finished art provides a sense of accomplishment!
The panelists mentioned a few works and web pages that you can use or peruse:
Years ago I described how high school students in San Diego were creating their own graphic novel. Their amazing Jasper and the Spirit Skies was launched last year at Comic-Con@Home! You can revisit that past blog post here.
There’s another reason why I found this panel of educators so interesting. Classrooms around the world are reading my short story One Thousand Likes. This small work of fiction (no pictures!) concerns the use of social media and human isolation. Read the story here.
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I live in downtown San Diego and love to walk around with my camera (and write)! You can follow Cool San Diego Sights via Facebook or Twitter!
The first reviews of Spider-Man: No Way Home are coming in and it’s going to be awesome! By all accounts the movie is going to be an epic multiversal thrill ride that brings laughs, tears, fond memories and cheers! Are you stoked, too?
Did you know that Spider-Man makes his home in San Diego? It sure seems that way. Because I see him in the city frequently. At least, I see a lot of him when Comic-Con comes around!
Enjoy this collection of Spider-Man cosplay photos that I’ve taken over many years of walking around downtown during San Diego Comic-Con. If you’d like to see hundreds of cool photographs of Comic-Con related stuff, just 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!
Comic-Con Special Edition is happening this weekend in San Diego, and I walked around San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter and convention center today with my camera.
By the early afternoon I was surprised to see a good crowd forming, and there was more cosplay than I expected. The La Brea and Peacemaker offsites were pretty busy, too!
The Freak Brothers bus behind the convention center near the Hilton Bayfront seemed a bit lonely, but that made it easier to snag three cool posters and some collectible mints!
Enjoy these photos of cosplay and fun during Comic-Con Special Edition on a sunny Saturday!
Rick and Morty cosplay on Fifth Avenue in the early morning.When I returned to the Gaslamp around midday, people were lined up at NBC’s La Brea offsite activation.Flash stopped running for a moment to smile for a photo!Not nearly as busy as a normal Comic-Con, but still a fair amount of activity.Pikachu and friends!A good crowd at the Peacemaker Proving Ground.Spaceballs cosplay!Inside the Peacekeeper Proving Ground, participants had to help rescue a hostage.Another tactical group enters the dangerous obstacle course.Working my way back, going to head toward the Hilton Bayfront.The X-Men are poised for action! Is Magneto nearby? Great cosplay!It’s “Bat” Girl! Very cool!Spider-Man cosplay. I saw many kids out having fun.Uh, oh! It’s Cheetah! Is Wonder Woman going to save me?Freaking out at The Freak Brothers bus!A future Superman!A little Marvel, a little DC. Lots of fun!Even more creative cosplay in the Gaslamp!Deadly Crimson is a comic created by Melissa LeEllen. Learn more at DeadlyCrimson.com!More cosplay on Fifth Avenue. But now I’m heading home.Hogwarts cosplay!
Today I also checked out the brand new Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park. It’s amazing. Stay tuned for that!
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 