I’m sure many would concur. Saturday during Comic-Con is the most magical day of the year in San Diego.
It’s definitely one of the craziest, must surreal and weirdly wonderful days!
In the afternoon and into the evening the crowds grow and become ever more colorful. Strange worlds of imagination–perhaps summoned by magic–fill the streets and sidewalks of San Diego.
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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!
As one might imagine, cosplay can be seen everywhere near the San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con 2023. There are lots of great costumes this year.
Enjoy a bunch of fun photos!
Rey and friends have lightsabers at the ready.Mario must have put bleach in the laundry.Indiana Jones substitutes coffee cup for the Holy Grail.Luna Lovegood and friends smile. Gryffindor must’ve won.I assume this is hatless Spider-Man Noir and not the black symbiote suit.Batman is in San Diego for Comic-Con, so he might as well go surfing. He brought his bat-board.The Wanderer cosplay from Genshin Impact.Storm uses her power to bring the sun out in San Diego.Ariel and King Triton must have emerged from nearby San Diego Bay.There’s no need to fear, Recyclist is here!Inosuke Hashibira from Demon Slayer, or a very distressing lab experiment.A nice Men in Black family strolling down Fifth Avenue.Sailor Jupiter smiles for a cosplay photo in San Diego during Comic-Con.Guests at this Gaslamp hotel have several Power Rangers for added protection.Picard makes it so with Starfleet officer.Super awesome Darth Maul cosplay!Batman tries very hard to terrify me.A wonderful Wonder Woman wonders who the photographer is.Either we’ve got a Spider-Verse situation, or Spidey doesn’t want get heat stroke in the San Diego sunshine. Lord of the Nazgûl has risen in San Diego. Where’s Éowyn and Merry?These two Mandalorians are mere tourists.Obi-Wan Kenobi is fed up with my insolent comments.Dr. Tommy Oliver approaches. Should I worry? Is he evil right now?Poison Ivy and Mr. Freeze regard me. Give me a quick blast of your freeze gun! It’s awfully hot out here!Uh, oh! Now the Riddler! Batman villains nearly have me surrounded.Why does Wario have such a pleasant smile?Now that’s one fearsome pose. Leave it to Wolverine.Iron Patriot should lead a Fourth of July parade.Has Rocketeer teamed up with those nearby police? Villains beware!Robin appears to be eager for action.
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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!
Look at these photographs! I took them this Friday afternoon! It’s obvious that the usual craziness outside Comic-Con is back in full gear! And it’s not even Saturday–typically the wildest day of all!
In 2020 and 2021 Comic-Con was cancelled due to the COVID pandemic. In 2022 lingering worries about the pandemic reduced the crowds noticeably. But look at 2023! Even while the writers and actors in Hollywood are on strike, it’s apparent that the love for Comic-Con and all that it represents is as strong as ever. Stronger, perhaps?
I saw a passion for creativity and good-natured fun. I saw dreams made real. I saw sudden smiles and many people coming together.
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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!
Enjoy a cool batch of Dragon Ball photographs! This year’s Dragon Ball offsite at San Diego Comic-Con is just as impressive as ever!
I took these photos in the morning shortly after the activation opened at 9:30. The line was moderately long but moved quickly. You can find all this coolness behind the Marriott Marquis hotel, on the outdoor Marina Terrace.
Many people stood in a separate line to purchase Dragon Ball exclusives. Make sure you queue in the correct place! (Those who simply walk through the exhibit are given a really great swag bag.)
If you can’t make it to San Diego Comic-Con this year, check this out…
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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!
I took jillions of photographs today while walking near the San Diego Convention Center and Gaslamp Quarter. It’s the first day of Comic-Con 2023!
I’ve already posted blogs about two different Comic-Con offsite activations. More of that is coming. However, my little camera captured so many miscellaneous images today I thought I’d present some of them now. Most of these were taken while walking along Harbor Drive. I started near the Interactive Zone at Petco Park.
There are smiles, creativity, cosplay, and plenty of people seeking attention. Comic-Con is not only a fun pop culture convention, but it’s a humongous marketing opportunity for those who are shrewd. (Feel free to follow my blog. Wink-wink. Oh wait, I gain nothing but an inflated ego!)
Ready? Here we go. No captions. Just absorb all the wonderful craziness!
Incidentally, this morning I also enjoyed a very special two-hour tour at the San Diego Museum of Art in Balboa Park. Busy day!
I’ll blog about some truly famous and amazing art at the museum right after Comic-Con concludes.
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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!
Comic-Con 2023 officially begins tomorrow in San Diego. This evening thousands will converge on the San Diego Convention Center for Preview Night.
Is San Diego ready for the big event? Almost!
This morning I noticed how most of the outside activations are in the last stages of completion. I also saw groups of vendors and other participants streaming through the Gaslamp heading for the convention center. Walking about, I even spotted some cool cosplay!
Shops in the Gaslamp have superhero displays in windows for Comic-Con.CVS created a unique Comic-Con 23 display using soft drink boxes!The Lodge now has snowy trees around its entrance. Perhaps it snowed overnight.SpongeBob is hanging out inside The Lodge!Are those guys in black vampires from the Immortal Universe?Quantum Leap HQ is ready to transport visitors through spacetime.Before you travel through spacetime, grab some grub at the Quantum Cantina.Live shows overlooking Gaslamp Square will be held on this balcony. Watch for celebrities!Promotional graphics are everywhere.The Abbott Elementary wraps on Petco Park are finished.Another wrap promoting Abbott Elementary.The Petco Park Interactive Zone is setting up. Every year they seem to finish at the last minute.What more cool stuff is in these crates?OMG! Check out these huge Transformers: Rise of the Beasts sculptures!A big banner is being hung today on the Hilton Bayfront parking garage advertising Heart of Stone .Mario and Bowser cosplay!Last minute work at the FX offsite. That water dispenser should prove very popular!The gigantic Shogun wrap on the Hilton is completed.A big crowd will be enjoying Adult Swim on the Green starting tomorrow!Salty’s has quite a few eyeballs.The IMDb yacht has returned for Comic-Con 2023.The Voodoo Ranger “pirate ship” is now behind the San Diego Convention Center.The Dragon Ball offsite at the Marriott Marina Terrace is still setting up. Looks cool so far.That electrical lightning is making some hair stand on end!Dragon Ball graphics above the front entrance of the Marriott Marquis hotel.Some street artists are already setting up on MLK Promenade.All sorts of colorful graphics decorate Hero House.Check out this cool sculpture promoting Armored Core VI: Fires of Rubicon!Snoopy has arrived! Let Comic-Con 2023 begin!
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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!
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!
With one week to go in San Diego until the start of Comic-Con 2023, preparations around downtown are accelerating!
More building wraps are appearing in the Gaslamp Quarter and near the San Diego Convention Center. Glimpses of outside pop ups and other fun stuff can now be observed, such as the above smiling chicken . . . or is that someone trying out a Cluckin’ Bell costume?
You might remember Cluckin’ Bell from the Grand Theft Auto video games. You’ll be able to visit a living replica of the fast food joint during Comic-Con. Cluckin’ Bell will be taking over Smokin J’s barbeque restaurant at 751 Fourth Avenue.
Please enjoy photographs I took today during a very long walk around Comic-Con’s outdoor “campus” in San Diego.
First up, I learned that internationally renowned graffiti artist RISK will be showing his artwork at Exclusive Collections Gallery in the Gaslamp at 621 Fifth Avenue. You can meet the artist the Friday and Saturday of Comic-Con week, from 5-9 pm. Here’s a photo of RISK’s Taz…
Posters advertising Twisted Metal on peacock are now all over the Gaslamp Quarter…
The Super Mario Bros. Movie art on the windows of Sweet Things Frozen Yogurt becomes ever more colorful…
Workers getting ready for Comic-Con 2023 clean up trash near the trolley tracks along Harbor Drive…
So many San Diego Trolley cars now have Comic-Con wraps that entire 3-car trains often display the same fun graphics…
Multiple building wraps can now be viewed in the Gaslamp…
The stylish Interview With The Vampire building wrap on the Hilton Gaslamp is pretty awesome…
A big wrap promoting Paramount+ show Yellowjackets is being applied to one side of the Hard Rock Hotel…
Look what has appeared on the Omni Hotel! That looks like Stewie of Family Guy!
And on another side of the Omni, I see Lisa of The Simpsons playing sax!
The Good Omens 2 building wrap I blogged about yesterday appears about done…
Right next to it another wrap is going up. Probably another Amazon Prime Video show…
Finally, here’s a new building wrap being applied to the Pendry San Diego hotel…
What show is 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!
At the corner of Shafter Street and Avenida de Portugal, in San Diego’s historic Little Portugal neighborhood, you’ll find this delightful street art. Four electrical boxes were painted last year by students attending Warren-Walker Middle School.
Colorful images on the boxes include dancers in traditional Portuguese folk costume and the Portuguese Rooster of Barcelos, symbol of Portugal.
A few steps from this street art (and visible in the next photo) is the S.E.S. Portuguese Hall of San Diego. Every year Festa do Espírito Santo is celebrated at the hall.
Just up the street one can visit the Portuguese Historical Center. I took a peek inside the small museum four years ago. See those photos and learn more 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!
Over the years, I’ve photographed a variety of outdoor murals in Escondido. During my latest walk through downtown Escondido, I took pictures of more cool murals that I hadn’t previously seen!
All four of these colorful murals can be viewed from the alley between Grand Avenue and East 2nd Avenue, a few steps on either side of Juniper Street. Walk about with curious eyes and you’ll find them, too!
The first mural on the rear of the ArtHatch Arts Complex building appears to be titled Pieces Of Us. It’s by local artist Zane Kingcade, 2014:
On another wall of the same building is a big amazing mural called Seasons of Change. It’s by artist Amanda Lynn, painted in 2016:
The third mural I spotted is on one side of Best Little Hair House, by artist Zane in 2013:
Finally, I really like this fun mural painted on one side of Mexico Lindo restaurant. It appears to be signed Flores:
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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!
Cool San Diego Sights! 