Creative fun at San Diego Comic-Con!

San Diego Comic-Con in 2025 is just as fun and amazing as ever. Everywhere you go, unbounded creativity. That’s probably what I love most about it.

Human creativity absolutely blooms at Comic-Con. Cosplayers imagine what they can be and become it. Actors play roles that can be utterly crazy. Visitors easily step into fantastic, imaginary worlds. Artists imagine what might be and make it real, right before our eyes.

Walk around downtown San Diego during Comic-Con and expect the unexpected!

I really get excited when I encounter artists who are striving to make their mark in the world. They put their art out there fearlessly. And the cool thing is, everyone loves it.

Local San Diego anime and digital artist Phil produces Umbridled Ambition!

Check out his cool comic by clicking here! Check out his Instagram here!

Manga and anime artist Thomas Fates is a Sketchin Hero! His goal is to have a career as an artist, to create and tell stories full time to give people something to look forward to!

Check out his work by clicking here!

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!

Unified Intelligence Taskforce’s Black Archive in San Diego!

Would you like to help defend Earth from paranormal and extraterrestrial threats? UNIT’s (Unified Intelligence Taskforce) Black Archive has arrived in San Diego, where you can join forces with Doctor Who to investigate all things weird and terrifying!

The Doctor Who UNIT Black Archive is open free to the public in San Diego through this Sunday during Comic-Con. The super cool offsite is located on MLK Promenade, across Harbor Drive from the San Diego Convention Center. It’s open 10 am until 8 pm each day, except Sunday when it closes at 5 pm. When I visited the activation on Thursday afternoon, the wait was perhaps 15 minutes.

In addition to the exploration of Black Archive relics, visitors can take an outdoor photo op with Doctor Who props and purchase exclusive Doctor Who merchandise.

My photos provide a hint of what you’ll experience.

Doctor Who fans will go crazy. There are references to every sort of Doctor Who monster, creature and alien, and Easter Eggs concerning past and future shows abound.

The atmosphere inside the Black Archive is indeed creepy. It feels real!

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!

Cosplay everywhere outside Comic-Con!

It’s Thursday evening. Comic-Con 2025 has barely begun. Even so, cosplay is now appearing all over downtown San Diego– particularly in the Gaslamp Quarter and outside the San Diego Convention Center!

Most of these cosplay photos were taken today as I walked all around. A few were taken on Wednesday, the day of Preview Night.

Enjoy!

Captain America.
Team Boba Fett!
Hatsune Miku.
Winter Soldier.
Jurassic Park.
Hazbin Hotel.
Joker and Harley.
I asked what version of Spider-Man, but failed to write it down.
Another Harley, with Beetlejuice!
Galactus without giant headgear about to devour the Earth.
Star Wars.
Anakin Skywalker, before going to the Dark Side.
Han Solo and Rey.
Tinker Bell and Pirate Fairy.
One Piece and Doctor Who.
Come on. Everyone knows this is Batman!
Peacemaker has had it with me.
Joker, Thor and Harley. Um, I think Thor might be a smidgeon more powerful.
Sandtrooper with a big gun that doesn’t miss.
The Wicked Witch. Stay away from water!
A cool Star-Lord cosplay.
And here’s good ol’ Spidey.
Wolverine has adamantium claws out for action.
G.I. Robot!
Drax.
Uh, oh. Cobra is here! (Where’s G.I. Robot when you need him?)
Invisible Woman and Human Torch seem to be missing Mister Fantastic and Thing.
An awesome Doctor Octopus cosplay!

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!

Fun activities at Comic-Con’s Interactive Zone!

As it turned out, the Comic-Con Interactive Zone at Petco Park has a fair number of cool activities for 2025. When I looked down at the parking lot yesterday, I was wondering what all might appear.

Well, apart from the great food trucks and a first aid station (where you can get free water), there are several activations that will thrill kids (and adults) and those who love collectibles.

I visited the free to the public Interactive Zone in the afternoon, and there was no wait to get in. Lining up in the morning and waiting in my opinion is a waste of time. Once that initial line goes away, it’s a breeze to walk in.

So what did I see?

I had camera, phone, keys, etc. and I passed right through the metal detectors without removing them, no problem…

The various sides of this activation promote video games by ARC System Works…

People at the ARC System Works activation loved playing Hunter × Hunter: Nen × Impact. It appeared one could grab cool swag, too…

I see Marge Simpson at one picnic bench!

(I bought a pulled pork dish but found nowhere to sit, so I took it outside and sat in some shade at nearby quiet Petco Park.)

Check out this awesome Winx Club chalk art!

Pose with cabbages for a fun photo at the Magic: The Gathering x Avatar activation! I believe I saw those who participated getting a swag bag…

Kids will love this Winx Club photo op…

eBay has a large activation with different activities and winnable stuff…

eBay Live podcast concerning collectibles was drawing a lot of attention…

This photo op aimed to get people across the street to The Labu’Tique Pop-Up Shop…

Food, fun and fascination for your family!

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!

Doctor Who cosplay at Comic-Con 2025!

An awesome Doctor Who cosplay photoshoot was held today in San Diego at Comic-Con 2025!

A whole host of Time Lords, companions and other Doctor Who characters posed on the grass in front of the Marriott Marquis San Diego for photographs.

I must admit, it has been years since I watched any Doctor Who episodes, so my knowledge is extremely sketchy. How many of these characters do you recognize?

Leave a comment! I’m sure my Doctor Who blogging friend Paul Bowler over in the UK, who is an expert on the very-long-running television series, will know exactly who’s Who!

By the way, check out the Van Gogh Starry Night TARDIS shirt!

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!

Peanuts pop-up shop at Comic-Con!

Peanuts has returned to San Diego for Comic-Con 2025 with a fun pop-up shop on MLK Promenade, across Harbor Drive from the San Diego Convention Center.

This Comic-Con offsite celebrates the 75th anniversary of Peanuts, the legendary, highly influential comic strip created by Charles M. Schulz back in 1950. If you love Charlie Brown, Lucy, Linus, Snoopy and the entire Peanuts gang, this is where you need to be!

Entering the family-friendly pop-up shop is free. On Thursday afternoon of Comic-Con, I had only to wait in line for about five minutes. I was watching for a surprise visit by Snoopy, but my timing was off. The Peanuts pop-up shop opens every morning during Comic-Con at 10 am. It closes at 6 pm, except on Sunday when it closes at 4 pm.

In addition to tons of merchandise, including a wide variety of exclusive collectibles, there is plenty of nostalgia and several photo opportunities inside the offsite. Here are a few photos I took…

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!

Thursday fun begins at Comic-Con 2025!

The fun has officially begun this Thursday morning at Comic-Con 2025!

Fans are streaming into the San Diego Convention Center, long lines have formed at the many offsite activations, and cosplay has appeared everywhere downtown!

That’s Mario and Donkey Kong in the above photograph riding through the Gaslamp Quarter!

There was a Thursday morning line at the Pendry Hotel for the Donut Bar’s special donuts…

A line outside the Hard Rock Hotel for Spider-Man Magic: the Gathering.

People head toward the San Diego Convention Center past the Percy Jackson offsite in Gaslamp Square.

Check out this cool Code Vein II motorcycle!

Hot dogs!

Friendly masked Green Lantern had some cool comic books on a table along MLK Promenade.

A line of Abbott Elementary fans wait for the Block Party to open!

The line ends way over here!

Super Toucan chalk art on the bayside boardwalk!

The center of excitement: the San Diego Convention Center.

A steady stream of fans were arriving from their hotels by bus.

Get your 2025 San Diego Comic-Con shirt near the Interactive Zone at Petco Park.

Yes, there will be lots of trash.

The Thunderbolts ice cream truck would begin serving at 10 am.

A fun Phineas and Ferb photo op tucked away near the Percy Jackson offsite.

On the other side…

The Gray Sisters taxi outside the Percy Jackson offsite…

An example of cool cosplay on Thursday morning, back on MLK Promenade…

San Diego Comic-Con sights everywhere you turn! I love it!

C-3PO occupies the Coca Cola Star Wars box office!

Now that’s scary!

Heading back up Fifth Avenue. Another long offsite line. This is for The Lodge, promoting Paramount+ shows.

Hello there. This must be San Diego Comic-Con!

King of the Hill graphic at BAIT in the Gaslamp Quarter. Drinking in public gets one behind bars…

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!

Marvel’s Savage Land cosplay at Comic-Con!

A cool cosplay photoshoot was held this evening at San Diego Comic-Con 2025. Marvel comic book characters who’ve appeared in the Savage Land posed in front of the Marriott Marquis San Diego’s outdoor fountain!

Which cosplays can you recognize?

I see a cyberpunk Black Widow, Wolverine, Squirrel Girl, Storm, Wild Child, Professor X, Sabretooth, Wiccan, Gambit, Rogue and another Wolverine!

The photoshoot was titled Resistance in the Savage Lands.

Perhaps the hidden Savage Land was suddenly transported from Antarctica to sunny San Diego. If that’s the case, be on the lookout for dinosaurs!

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!

Afternoon walk before Comic-Con Preview Night!

Comic-Con 2025 is about ready to begin in earnest! Fans are streaming into downtown San Diego for Preview Night!

My walk around the San Diego Convention Center and through the Gaslamp Quarter in the mid-afternoon kept my camera very busy.

Enjoy another collection of photos!

House of Blues has cool programming during Comic-Con 2025.
These guys used lightsabers to remove a Predator’s head.
All sorts of merch on display outside the Doctor Who offsite!
Twisted activity expected here.
Twisted Metal on Peacock graphic.
Red Sonja is wanted by order of Emperor Draygan.
Hot Wheels is back!
Friendly sign spinner directs fans to the Comic-Con Blood Drive at the Manchester Grand Hyatt.
Look at the line of buses!
ABC will lift Abbott Elementary fans high into the San Diego sky.
Graphics near entrance of the Voodoo Ranger offsite.
Ramp down to Voodoo Ranger “pirate ship” has these cool graphics.
Ahoy there, matey! Voodoo Ranger returns to Comic-Con.
Looking south down the bayside boardwalk past King of the Hill’s offsite.
Indiana Jones is here! Drinking from the Holy Grail has seemingly preserved his youth.
Must Be This Crazy to Ride at Starr Park!
Is that a cat mermaid at Adult Swim?
Find two Smiling Friends at the Adult Swim activation behind the San Diego Convention Center.
This way to Indigo Ballroom in the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.
A view of offsites behind the convention center from the Hilton.
Down there is the Superman offsite, a production of DC Comics and Old Spice. Does Superman sweat?
This smiling guy wants you to ask questions!
The Interactive Zone at Petco Park seems a bit sparse this year. At least, so far.
The Labu-Tique Pop Up Shop at Petco Park!
Lots of stuff has shown up near the Omni.
That Thunderbolts graphic kind of looks like a cereal box.
Yes, Stitch has huge ears.
How adorable.
Stitch surfs in San Diego!
Spead ’em Nerds! I didn’t realize Liam Neeson can do the splits.
A Triple Chocolate Feast sounds good right now.
Fifth Avenue is going to be crazy the next four days!
Cool sculpture at entrance to the Predator: Badlands activation.
I’m not sure I’d want to be a friend of Frendo.
Cheetos mascot on a bicycle!
Coca Cola presents Holocreator starring you!
Would you like to become a Sith?
Fantastic Rewards can be grabbed by fans who enjoy the Google Play offsite.
Mitchell, didgeridoo player from Balboa Park, has beamed down!
Yikes! The Joker has arrived!

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!

Action on the morning of Comic-Con Preview Night!

Lots of action in downtown San Diego this morning! Wednesday has finally arrived, the day of Comic-Con 2025 Preview Night!

Comic-Con’s many offsite activations are in a big hurry to have everything ready to open tomorrow.

Some offsites have appeared almost overnight, including the Twisted Metal Bumper Battle and the Petco Park Interactive Zone. The Rady Shell has begun decorating for their big two day Crunchyroll Anime FanFest. The grassy strip between the Omni San Diego hotel and Harbor Drive is seeing several pop-ups now materializing, including Thunderbolts and Lilo & Stitch.

I enjoyed my usual morning walk through the Gaslamp Quarter and around the San Diego Convention Center. You can imagine how anticipation for Comic-Con is growing!

I saw only one instance of full cosplay, and the guy was in a big hurry. Exhibitors were streaming in from every direction to get their stuff ready. For some independent publishers and specialized vendors, Comic-Con with its nearly 140,000 attendees can be the biggest few days of the year.

Yes, every year, Comic-Con is one of San Diego’s most epic events! The world is watching!

Here’s a photographic taste of the Preview Night morning action…

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!