A huge new San Diego Comic-Con building wrap going up on the Hilton Bayfront today is a bit of a mystery.
Less than six days to go until 2015 San Diego Comic-Con kicks off!
I walked all around downtown today, looking for signs of preparation. Nothing much has popped up in the Gaslamp yet, but a brand new huge building wrap is now being installed on the Hilton Bayfront near the San Diego Convention Center. After talking to some people, I’ve concluded the wrap will promote The Strain on FX. This would make sense, as the large grassy area in front of the Hilton will be the site of FX’s cool-sounding Fearless Arena Experience.
Stay tuned for more pics of Comic-Con stuff!
Baristas at hotel’s Starbucks and a tourist info guy in the Hilton seem to think this graphic will promote The Strain on FX.Several Game of Thrones banners were hung on trolley track fences near the Gaslamp a few days ago.Game of Thrones banners on trolley electrical poles along Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade in San Diego.The huge Conan Live from Comic-Con wrap on the Marriott Marquis is nearly finished.Swirl Girl has amazing rainbow powers of sweetness, it seems. She appears on the door of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt.San Diego Symphony ticket booth at Embarcadero Marina Park South advertises the upcoming Pokeman and Star Trek movie Summer Pops concerts.The American Comedy Co. in the Gaslamp has a funny lineup set for Comic-Con, including Jay and Silent Bob.Crown Books in Horton Plaza is where you can buy Chewbacca at a nice discount!
Several huge Minority Report banners have been hung on the Hilton parking garage for the upcoming 2015 San Diego Comic-Con.
I got off work early today, so I took the trolley down to the San Diego Convention Center and walked around looking to photograph cool 2015 Comic-Con preparations. The main thing I noticed was that several gigantic building wraps and banners are being installed at this very moment! One week to go until Comic-Con, and things should soon start getting interesting!
A gigantic orange Conan O’Brien building wrap is being applied to the side of the Marriott Hotel facing the San Diego Convention Center.A suspended platform is used to adhere panels of The Last Ship building wrap to shining windows of the Marriott Marquis.Major preparations have begun the week before 2015 San Diego Comic-Con!
Conan O’Brien Live at 2015 San Diego Comic-Con, advertised on marquee of the Spreckels Theater Building in downtown San Diego.
With this important blog post I’d like to address an astonishing rumor. It concerns popular television personality Conan O’Brien, and his impending visit to San Diego for 2015 Comic-Con. An interpretation of the strange clues and suggestive images photographed on the sign below has produced a startling rumor.
It’s rumored that Conan O’Brien, who now possesses vast powers, will once again boldly address The People of Earth from this bus stop strategically located next to the NBC building.Upon closer inspection, the orange bus stop sign appears to contain fascinating and possibly meaningful markings.Conan, it is thought, will emerge at the San Diego Comic-Con as a full fledged superhero, battling for the justice of all humankind.Fans have begun to wonder what form the nascent superhero will assume. Perhaps he’ll resemble a bat.Or perhaps Conan O’Brien will wear a Superman-style emblem that warns all troublemakers of his amazing superpowers, which include flaming hair.Odds are he’ll style himself as Conanman, as that’s generally the thing a godlike superhero will do when presented with the opportunity.All shall bow down before him. And San Diego Comic-Con, to loud and universal acclamation, will immediately be renamed Conan-Con.Hopefully the newborn superhero won’t suffer a meltdown.Or perhaps he’ll just remain plain old funny Conan. And remain happily on TBS.
…
Join me for lots of upcoming San Diego Comic-Con fun on Facebook or Twitter!
Superman has been spotted walking through the Gaslamp two weeks before San Diego Comic-Con!
Two weeks to go until 2015 San Diego Comic-Con! Signs and omens of the super popular event’s coming are popping up around downtown, especially in the Gaslamp Quarter. Here’s what I spotted in the past couple days…
MTS has Comic-Con trolley passes that can be purchased with your smartphone.Game of Thrones advertisement at a trolley station. A Conan Live at Comic-Con trolley wrap passes by.The latest Comic-Con trolley wrap promotes soon to debut The Muppets television series on ABC!Kermit drives a trolley full of Muppet fun. Naked frogs. Egotistical pigs. Welcome to Hollywood.Miss Piggy gets her own personal section, because she’s such a big star.Who attending Comic-Con wouldn’t love to have Kermit driving them on the San Diego trolley?Shops in downtown San Diego have stocked up on superhero gear for coming throngs of pop culture fans and cosplayers.Shirt in store window features Darth Vader saying: “Soy tu padre, mijo.”Here come Batman, Thor, Wonder Woman and other powerful heroes. Villains in San Diego, beware!Trust me. I’m a superhero. The San Diego Trading Company on Fifth Avenue will have lots of Comic-Con deals, so swing on by! The lady at the counter is really nice!Comic-Con Weekend at the Onyx Room is an unofficial party many will attend!The House of Blues asks whether you’re ready to rock. San Diego will be rocking big time in a couple weeks! I can’t wait!The Hulk is busting loose! He’s coming to San Diego!
People enter the Art of Comic-Con exhibit, opening today at the downtown San Diego Public Library.
Today a very special exhibition opened at the downtown library’s 9th floor gallery. The Art of Comic-Con, developed by Comic-Con International and the San Diego Public Library, contains a huge collection of original artwork used throughout the 45 year history of San Diego Comic-Con.
The exhibition runs through August 30 and should draw a crowd during Comic-Con week. During today’s two hour opening reception, super popular cartoonist Sergio Aragones was on hand to talk with fans and sign copies of his 40th anniversary Comic-Con cover. He was very friendly and spoke with everyone in line for a minute or two, always smiling and laughing and posing for the camera. He’s into his fourth decade of writing and drawing the adventures of the hilarious and very successful Groo the Wanderer!
Here are a bunch of photos! My small camera did its best in the dim light of the gallery…
Someone heading in to check out the gallery is wearing a 1997 Comic-Con International shirt.The Art of Comic-Con is a first ever museum exhibition consisting of original artwork used for past comic conventions.A cool mural composed of covers from past San Diego Comic-Con programs, plus other affiliated conventions.Past souvenir program covers feature many different superheroes and pop culture characters.A riot of fun images dazzled many visitors to the opening of this special exhibit.Close photo of part of the Comic-Con program book mural.I see Bart Simpson, a bunch of Marvel heroes, Star Wars characters, Balboa Park and much more.This part of the exhibit traces the history of the Comic-Con International logo and the development of the popular toucan mascot.Fun artwork that was used during the 40th anniversary of San Diego Comic-Con.The toucan is flapping around anticipating another Comic-Con!Someone checks out a display case containing an example of an Inkpot Award. These are presented to outstanding authors, artists and other creative luminaries every year during Comic-Con.I spotted Krypto the Superdog taking a nap among more enthusiastic human Comic-Con fans.Visitors check out original comic book art created for Comic-Con souvenir program books over the past 45 years.The Art of Comic-Con special exhibit contains original work from more than 60 notable cartoon and comic book artistsAll kinds of animals hang out in San Diego!Space alien asks Marmaduke for directions to Comics Con. It will be mere blocks from the Central Library! In a few weeks, I expect to see a few aliens walking around San Diego, too!I guess Jimmy Carter was having troubles during a past Comic-Con.Cartoonists of every stripe have contributed greetings for the Comic-Con souvenir book over the years.I spotted Conan the Librarian in downtown San Diego’s incredible new library!Commander Spock of Vulcan visited Earth back in 1974. Comic-Con then was held in the El Cortez Hotel, a couple blocks from where I’m preparing this blog!Mickey Mouse headed down to San Diego one year. I’m willing to bet he’ll be here again this year!In 1981, Peter Parker lost a game of strip poker with Mary Jane Watson!This guy is probably still looking for the San Diago Convention Center.Kid checks out a hands on exhibit showing how comic books are produced and printed.A penciled panel featuring Batgirl in action. Part of a cool display which demonstrates the processes involved in creating a comic book.Inked and finished cover of the 2015 San Diego Comic-Con souvenir book. The art celebrates the 75th Anniversary of Will Eisner’s The Spirit, by artist Michael Cho.Visitors to the San Diego’s Art of Comic-Con museum exhibit enjoy a huge mural from a 2008 book cover created by legendary cartoonist Sergio Aragones.Check this out! The mural by Sergio Aragones, of Groo the Wanderer fame, contains hundreds of characters romping about San Diego during Comic-Con!Everyone is heading toward San Diego! I bet they’ll crowd into the Gaslamp for an enormous cosplay and pop culture party!Gazillions of fans and cosplayers are assembled in front of the San Diego Convention Center!Superheroes are swinging and flying all over the place!The silly Sergio Aragones characters have materialized in San Diego from a fertile imagination.One wall in the Central Library museum contained original art used to create past Comic-Con souvenir book covers.Artwork used for the 1989 program book cover.1993 cover artwork from the legendary comic book and graphic novel artist Frank Miller.The Justice League flies into action in this original 2011 cover art from fan favorite Jim Lee.John Romita, Jr. drew some of Marvel’s Avengers for the 2012 San Diego Comic-Con souvenir book.Dave McKean cover artwork for 2013 Comic-Con.Jim Lee drew Superman for this WonderCon program book cover in 2013.Cliff Chiang’s Wonder Woman graced the cover of WonderCon’s program book in 2014.Sergio Aragones signed his covers from the 2008 book “Comic-Con 40 Years of Artists, Writers, Fans and Friends”. He’s a super friendly guy!If you’re going to 2015 San Diego Comic-Con, head to the 9th floor of the downtown library. The gallery is up there, along with some great views of the city!
Ant-Man banners in downtown San Diego decorate street lamps for 2015 Comic-Con. According to a nearby sign, the tiny Marvel superhero better not park here!
I just got home from a short walk after work through downtown San Diego. I wandered down Broadway and a bit through the Gaslamp. I noticed a bunch of new street lamp banners are up for 2015 Comic-Con. They all promoted the upcoming Marvel Ant-Man movie!
I’ve also included a couple bonus pics, just for fun!
While I walked around, I spotted this cool guitarist making music by the door of the Hard Rock Cafe.A bar called Analog in the Gaslamp had a huge (non-digital) Rubik’s Cube out on the sidewalk! The security guard said it’s there just for fun!Large Marvel Ant-Man movie banners flutter in the breeze down the center of Broadway.
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter.
A new San Diego Comic-Con trolley wrap features Conan O’Brien turned into what appear to be Funko POP! toy figures. Here he’s a blank-eyed zombie, plus his own ordinary bland self.
I spotted another 2015 San Diego Comic-Con trolley wrap in the past couple days! This one promotes Conan O’Brien’s television show on TBS. He’ll be hosting his talk show live from Comic-Con July 8-12. I’ve read that he’ll also be moderating two panels in Hall H: The Hunger Games: Mockingjay Part 2 and The Last Witch Hunter.
The images on the trolley wrap seem to show Conan turned into several Funko POP! toy figures! Cool!
Here Conan O’Brien has been transformed into Batman and a green Frankenstein monster.Here’s a wrap on an older version San Diego trolley at America Plaza. Conan will be live from Comic-Con July 8-11.Finally, here we have a commuter who’s entirely unconcerned that Frankenstein Conan is threatening him with scary outstretched monster arms.
Stay tuned for a ton more cool Comic-Con stuff in the coming few weeks!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter.
A cool San Diego trolley wrap for 2015 Comic-Con promotes Scream Queens on Fox. A killer new series from the creators of Glee and American Horror Story.
I finally got pics of the very first trolley wrap for the upcoming 2015 San Diego Comic-Con. The bold graphics promote Scream Queens, an American horror-comedy television series, which is having its world premiere at Comic-Con. The series will be televised on Fox starting in September.
I spoke to a super friendly trolley driver on Thursday (she always smiles and waves at me!) and I learned that more trolley wraps are in the process of being readied for Comic-Con. What they are, I don’t know. We’ll find out together! Stay tuned!
Keke Palmer, Diego Boneta and Lea Michele all have scary bloody hands!Faces of Scream Queens on a San Diego trolley include Ariana Grande, Lucien Laviscount and Nick Jonas.A bloody-handed Jamie Lee Curtis peers between trolley cars at me! Yikes!
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook, or follow me on Twitter.
2015 San Diego Comic-Con is less than a month away! As everyone gets ready, it’s time to remember some of the crazy fun stuff we experienced in 2014. Here’s a collection of blogs which contain numerous photos from SDCC last year.
Because I live in downtown San Diego, I’ll attempt to photograph a whole bunch of cool sights and Comic-Con craziness again this year, including trolley wraps, building wraps, special events, exhibits, cosplay and miscellaneous stuff around the Gaslamp! Stay tuned!
Photo of park construction from an upper level of downtown’s Horton Plaza shopping mall.
Today at sunrise it was already warm outside, so I began my walk extra early. Because it’s a simple thing to catch a trolley at any station downtown, I had plenty of time to get to work.
For no particular reason my legs pulled me past the Horton Plaza Park construction site. Work there appears to be full steam ahead!
Artwork on the construction fence right next to the Horton Plaza shopping mall shows how this enlarged city park will eventually appear. According to Todd Gloria, a San Diego City Councilmember, “When it is completed, it will be the new heart of our city, the central point, and a gathering place for San Diegans to come together to celebrate.”
Conceptual artwork on the construction site fence. This image shows a San Diego Comic-Con event taking place downtown at the future Horton Plaza Park.Zooming in, I spot several superheroes!Another bit of art on the temporary surrounding fence shows a Fourth of July celebration in the finished park.A good wide view of construction progress. This functional public space will be a major addition to downtown San Diego.The corner of a large plaza that will be used for concerts and special events.Early morning sunlight on the Balboa Theatre and a section of the Horton Plaza mall in the background.A fantastic area in downtown San Diego is about to become even more amazing!
UPDATE!
Here’s a pic I took in late June 2015…
Photo of Horton Plaza Park construction taken in late June 2015.
And another two months later…
Photo of Horton Plaza Park construction in late August 2015.
And another in early October…
Horton Plaza Park is making great progress by the beginning of October 2015.
And two more pics from mid-November…
Construction workers prepare the new, expanded Horton Plaza Park in downtown San Diego.Historic fountain in Horton Plaza Park being renovated in November 2015.
…
To enjoy future posts, you can “like” Cool San Diego Sights on Facebook or follow me on Twitter.
Cool San Diego Sights! 