Tag: comic-con museum

Creating the beloved Luanniverse!

When I was a kid, one of the best things about Sunday morning was opening up the newspaper to find the funny pages. Lying there on the carpet, going through the comic strips, was like falling through two-dimensional doors into so many magical universes.

I must admit that as a boy I often skipped over the comic strip Luann. But now I have a new appreciation for the Luanniverse, because yesterday I enjoyed an exhibit at San Diego’s Comic-Con Museum: Growing Up Luann.

I hadn’t realized Luann’s universe was so vast and complex. Luann herself, and the strip’s large cast of characters, experience evolving relationships, lifelike troubles and humorous situations that stimulate in the reader a range of emotions. But Luann’s essential happiness is never far away.

The award-winning strip was launched in 1985 and continues to this very day. That’s forty years of living. Fortunately, time in Luann’s universe unfolds very slowly!

What interests me most about the comic strip is its evolution–both the art and Luann’s story. By reading the displays, one can follow the creative process undertaken by Luann’s creator, writer and artist Greg Evans.

Visitors to the exhibit learn how fleshing out a beloved character and her universe took years of dreaming, experimentation and work. And how the effort has resulted in worldwide popularity and the National Cartoonist Society’s ultimate award, a Reuben.

Are you fascinated by the creative process? Do you love art? Do you love Luann?

Pay this exhibit a visit!

A bit of what you’ll discover…

…

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.

Feel free to share!

Students speed paint at Comic-Con Museum!

Super cool! These great comic book paintings at the Comic-Con Museum were created by students from Westview High School!

Students of Westview art teacher Keith Opstad produced these speed paintings during the San Diego Comic-Con Museum’s First Annual Educator’s Night in 2024.

These really are speed paintings? Made while teachers from around San Diego watched? Wow–that’s truly amazing!

Iron Man, Poison Ivy, Harley Quinn and Batman make a splash on a wall inside the museum’s second floor Makerspace.

I noticed that today, in the Makerspace, guests could use beads to create a starry sky and constellation, then tell a story about it! The activity is called Constellations Across the WHOniverse. Why? An epic Doctor Who exhibition is now showing at the Comic-Con Museum!

UPDATE!

During my next visit to the Comic-Con Museum, I noticed Superman had appeared, too!

…

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.

Feel free to share!

Star Wars prop auction at Comic-Con Museum!

How would you like to own an original Stormtrooper stunt helmet that was screen-used in Star Wars: Episode IV – A New Hope? It’s one of six known.

Or how would you like to own an original lightsaber hilt prop used for the portrayal of Darth Maul in Star Wars: Episode I – The Phantom Menace? Yes, that double-bladed lightsaber that impaled Qui-Gon Jinn.

Or how would you like to own an original prop droid hand worn by Anthony Davis in his portrayal of C-3PO in Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back? That would be undeniably cool!

These and other rare Star Wars props can be bid upon between now and July 27th, 2025.

The auction items are now on display at the Comic-Con Museum in San Diego’s Balboa Park. They’re part of an exhibition titled Echoes From the Galaxy.

Even if you have no intention to place a bid, Star Wars fans need to visit the museum just to see some important bits of cinematic history!

Want to learn more? Perhaps place your own bid? Here’s the Julien’s Auctions webpage concerning this special auction.

You’ll see a very wide variety of Star Wars memorabilia, from posters to patches to signed photos. And, of course, some amazing one-of-a-kind collectibles!

The live auction will take place at 10 am on July 27th, 2025, which is the final day of San Diego Comic-Con.

Some of the cool things on display…

…

If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!

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.

Feel free to share!

Super fun Lucha Libre exhibit opens in San Diego!

A super fun exhibition opened in San Diego today at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park. It’s all about Mexican lucha libre wrestling!

Sangre, Sudor, y Mito: The Art and Tradition of Mexican Lucha Libre features so much cool stuff, I hardly know how to describe it all!

Young and old, lucha libre fans and those who are merely curious–all will enjoy seeing actual masks and costumes worn by wrestling stars, not to mention artwork, posters, comic books, championship belts, collectibles and more.

Fans of Chula Vista’s own legendary Rey Mysterio, popular favorite and many-time international champion who continues to work for WWE, will love seeing how he is generously represented in the exhibit, too!

I was fortunate to get a sneak preview this morning. The exhibition is substantial, taking up the entire second level of the Comic-Con Museum. It has been assembled with the help of Museo de Lucha Libre Tijuana Mexicana.

Topics explored in the exhibition include lucha libre’s origin in Mexico; its impact on the popular culture through many generations; its mythic qualities; the varieties of male luchador and female luchadora characters; luchadora pioneers and their ongoing struggle for recognition and equality; how lucha libre has become increasingly influencial around the world . . .

Yes, anything and everything concerning lucha libre is celebrated!

In essence, lucha libre performers are living, breathing superheroes (or villains). Certain legendary luchadores are revered by millions of fans throughout Mexico. How formidable are these masked wrestlers? Movie posters have them battling gangsters and even vampires!

Lots of fun! Bring the kids!

…

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.

Feel free to share!

Lucha Fest kicks off Comic-Con Museum exhibit!

The Comic-Con Museum will be opening an exhibit celebrating Mexican lucha libre wrestling on May 22, 2025. The exhibition is titled Sangre, Sudor y Mito and will feature masks and costumes worn by legendary luchadores, collectibles, original art, video and much more.

To kick things off, Lucha Fest is being held in San Diego at the Soap Factory this afternoon.

The free, family-friendly event features food, music, art, lowriders and live lucha libre wrestling! Lucha Fest is supported by the Comic-Con Museum, Museo de Lucha Libre Tijuana Mexicana, and the Office of the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego.

I arrived as it opened, which turned out to be much too early. The wrestling, I learned wouldn’t begin for a couple hours, so I walked around checking things out for a short while.

A highlight of Lucha Fest is the official unveiling of a huge mural across the street, which features legendary luchadores, including Chula Vista’s own Rey Mysterio. It was created by prolific local artist Dentlok. I had photographed the mural in early April, not knowing anything about it. See those photographs here.

The Soap Factory is a mostly outdoor venue east of downtown San Diego. It has many cool murals. I’ve focused my few photos today on the fun event as it barely got started. (Yes, I neglected to photograph the ring–there was nothing going on at the time.)

…

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.

Feel free to share!

Star Wars blood drive at Comic-Con Museum!

“May the Fourth” be with blood donors in San Diego!

The Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park will be hosting a May the 4th Blood Drive, in partnership with the San Diego Blood Bank. The event will take place at the museum from 10 am to 4 pm.

Not only will this event include awesome Star Wars cosplay by local fan groups, but donors will get a free Comic-Con Museum ticket and a coupon for a complimentary Soapy Joe’s car wash!

The San Diego Blood Bank could really use your life-saving donation. You can schedule an appointment here. Walk-ins are also welcome!

…

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.

Feel free to share!

The amazing Doctor Who exhibit in San Diego!

How do I convey how awesome the Doctor Who exhibition is at the Comic-Con Museum?

If you’re a Doctor Who fan or anyone in San Diego who loves science fiction, it’s an absolute, positive must see!

I haven’t been a regular watcher of the long-running BBC show, but when I visited the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park today, I was blown away. The museum has hosted epic exhibitions in the past, but this one, Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction, might have the most wow moments.

The exhibition celebrates all fifteen Doctors and displays their distinctive costumes. A variety of props can be viewed up close. Best of all, visitors come face to face with dozens of life-size robots and creatures that have been used in the making of Doctor Who!

Most of the alien creatures are utterly bizarre. Some appear to have been hatched in a nightmare. (See my previous blog post about the exhibition’s awesome Monster Vault by clicking here.)

As fans know, scary-looking creatures in the show can actually be allies of the Doctor. When you travel by TARDIS across time and space, you never know who or what you’ll meet!

The exhibition, like the show, is mostly about wonder. Displays explain how Doctor Who story ideas are often based on actual scientific and technological advancements. Concepts like artificial intelligence, evolution and multidimensional reality are utilized in fantastic ways. Indeed, the show began in 1963 as an educational program. Curiosity is an essential element of Doctor Who.

I took a few sample photos. There’s so much to see, you could spend a good hour exploring Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction.

Visitors begin by stepping through a TARDIS…

…

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.

Feel free to share!

Deadly monsters of Doctor Who in San Diego!

Should we all be worried? Many of Doctor Who’s most dangerous adversaries have materialized in San Diego!

Fortunately, most are confined inside the Monster Vault at the Comic-Con Museum. People can safely observe the deadly creatures and robots while moving through the museum’s epic exhibition Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction.

A huge collection of props from Doctor Who, the world’s longest running science fiction television show, is possibly the coolest part of the exhibition.

Today, as I visited the Comic-Con Museum, I noticed many Doctor Who fans entering the Monster Vault and remembering some of the show’s most terrifying episodes. Some of the detailed, life-size props are super scary. I wouldn’t care to meet real-life versions!

There are menacing Daleks–the Doctor’s arch-enemy: a hateful, genetically-modified species bent on conquest. There is mad scientist Davros, creator of the Daleks. There are different versions of the deadly cyborg Cybermen.

There is a mutated Dreg, a Sea Devil and a Silurian (both evolved reptiles), an armored Sontaran warrior, an Ice Warrior, a parasitic Weeping Angel that moves when you’re not looking, a bug-eyed Wrath Warrior, and more!

As a nearby sign explains: When designing monsters, sometimes the show’s creators explore different options that don’t make it to the screen… The possibilities of alien life are only as limited as our imagination.

The Monster Vault is one of my favorite parts of Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction. But there’s a lot more to see!

I’ll be blogging more about the Comic-Con Museum’s fantastic (and educational) Doctor Who exhibit in my next post!

…

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.

Feel free to share!

Doctor Who exhibition coming to San Diego!

Doctor Who and science fiction fans, take note! The exhibition Doctor Who Worlds of Wonder: Where Science Meets Fiction is coming soon to San Diego!

Both fun and educational, the world-class exhibit will open at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park on March 15, 2025.

The museum will be overflowing with iconic props, sets, and behind-the-scenes materials from Doctor Who, the world’s longest-running science fiction television show!

BBC Studios and scientific advisors will help produce an interactive experience that will inspire Comic-Con Museum visitors, as they learn about scientific topics touched upon in episodes of Doctor Who. As a promotional flyer explains: It is a must-see for families, school groups, Doctor Who fans, curious minds and future scientists, whether or not they have seen the TV show.

People I spoke to at the museum today are super excited to be hosting this epic exhibition.

Mark it down on your calendars! I can’t wait!

…

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.

Thank you for sharing!

Comic-Con Museum inspires real life heroes!

One cool thing about San Diego’s Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park is that it can inspire heroism. Sure, we ordinary mortals might not possess superpowers, but we do have the power to do great good in this world.

After museum visitors check out the current, very extensive The Myth of Superheroes exhibit, they pass a display concerning real life heroes. Three boards indicate that Heroes are windows to our PAST, PRESENT, FUTURE.

What have Comic-Con Museum visitors–young and old–contributed?

How can you aspire to be a HERO?

Practice kindness…
Passion… Be inspired…
I spread joy to people…

Who has been a HERO in your life?

Family… Friend…
My grandfather…
My Dad…

…

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.

Thank you for sharing!