Fantastic art of John Jennings at Comic-Con Museum!

Are you a fan of science fiction, horror, comic books or graphic novels? You don’t want to miss Collaboration(s)! A Journey with John Jennings, a fantastic new exhibit that opened last week at the Comic-Con Museum in Balboa Park!

John Jennings is an Eisner Award–winning and New York Times best-selling artist, designer and author who has worked in comics for over twenty years. He’s also a professor of media and cultural studies at the University of California, Riverside and the director of the Abrams ComicArts imprint Megascope, which publishes graphic novels focused on the experiences of people of color.

Jennings was introduced to comics by his mother at a young age, and fell in love with the medium, whose possibilities are limited only by human imagination. Since then he has made many notable contributions to the popular culture.

Perhaps you’re familiar with the new Marvel character, Ghost Light. Jennings was the creator! He is the author of the 2023 comic series Silver Surfer: Ghost Light.

The African American character Ghost Light actually began his life as Al Harper, a physicist and friend to Silver Surfer, who sacrificed his life to save the world in a 1969 story titled And Who Shall Mourn for Him? That was back in Marvel’s comic book Silver Surfer #5.

Jennings brought the character back in a way that represents the modern African American experience. Ghost Light also reflects John Jennings’ artistic collaboration with co-creators and his love of Afrofuturism, which can be observed throughout this new museum exhibit. He has helped to create thousands of images that have been enjoyed in art shows and diverse publications.

As my few photos demonstrate, you’ll be dazzled by the bold, very colorful comic artwork produced by this prolific artist. You’ll see familiar Marvel superheroes, monsters and dark horror, images filled with symbolism and mythological and historical references, and futuristic wonders that might blow your mind!

Visitors to the exhibit can also “collaborate” with the artist by writing a story or coloring a sketch, and then share it on a wall in a Comic-Con Museum gallery. Very cool!

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New Blood runs through San Diego for Comic-Con!

Check out this new San Diego trolley wrap for Comic-Con 2023! I got these photos today. The graphics promote products created by video game publisher New Blood Interactive!

Images afire with fantasy and horror relate to the games Amid Evil, Gloomwood and Dusk.

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!

Hear Your Heart Stop on a Comic-Con trolley!

Hear your heart stop? It might happen when you listen to Impact Winter on Audible, or if terror grips you as you step onto this spooky Comic-Con 2023 trolley!

I caught this trolley wrap today at the Linda Vista Station.

You might recall Audible had those three awesome sand sculptures along MLK Promenade outside Comic-Con last year. One sculpture promoted this same Impact Winter audio series: it’s a world-gone-dark post-comet-impact vampire apocalypse!

I posted photographs of those great Audible sand sculptures here!

I’ll be 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!

Evil clowns and ghouls arrive in Balboa Park!

Visitors to Balboa Park should be warned that an army of evil creatures is gathering in the southwest corner of the park, along what is known as The Haunted Trail.

Every October grisly ghouls, bloody demons and creepy clowns assemble under the trees to scare thrill-seekers in the dark of night.

Perhaps it all has something to do with the approach of Halloween.

Beware!

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!

Chainsaw Man rides bus in San Diego!

Chainsaw Man has arrived in San Diego for 2022 Comic-Con. The terrifying manga character is riding a MTS bus through downtown!

Crunchyroll is applying different wraps to a number of public transit buses. This is the third one I’ve spotted so far.

Chainsaw Man is also an upcoming anime that Crunchyroll will distribute outside of Asia.

Who is Chainsaw Man? A poor young man named Denji, who meets a dog-like devil which grants him the ability to transform his body into multiple chainsaws; he then joins the Public Safety Devil Hunters to use his horrific saws on devils.

Okay. That certainly sounds plausible. In the world of human imagination!

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!

Seeing the future by looking backward.

These old train tracks pass south over the Sweetwater River on a bridge that is no longer in use.

Do you like ghost stories?

Do you like riding trains?

Answer yes to either question, and you might enjoy a new short story that I published this morning. It’s titled Backward Man.

Is it possible to see the future by looking backward? That seems like a reasonable assertion, right?

If a little strangeness and horror are your cup of tea, you can read the story by clicking here!

Horrifying scenes in Balboa Park!

Several horrifying scenes were observed by those visiting Balboa Park this evening!

An enormous crowd eagerly watched as Stan Laurel, Oliver Hardy and Buster Keaton were frightened out of their wits by a series of absurdly hilarious incidents. All the while accompanied by music from the Spreckels Organ!

Yes, tonight was Halloween Silent Movie Night at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion. Organist Mark Herman provided musical notes of suspense and humor for three spooky silent films during this last performance of the 33rd San Diego International Organ Festival.

Mark Herman performs over 30 concerts and silent film presentations around the world every year. His international awards and accomplishments are numerous. This was his very first visit to the mighty Spreckels Organ, world’s largest musical instrument!

The organ added emotional flair to the nonstop slapstick action on the screen. Laughter erupted frequently!

How can you not laugh when Laurel & Hardy finally manage to break into a graveyard, then encounter a prankster in a ghostly sheet!

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!

Signs around San Diego of Halloween’s approach!

During various San Diego adventures the past couple weeks I’ve encountered these fun and spooky signs of Halloween’s approach!

Beware!

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!

Giant skeletons terrorize Mission Valley!

Giant, menacing skeletons have invaded the Target parking lot at Westfield Mission Valley!

This afternoon I noticed a pair of monstrous skeletons have leapt up onto the roof of a large truck in order to terrify motorists passing the shopping mall.

Careful they couldn’t see me, I circled the skeletons and was bewildered to observe a legion of other ghouls, ghosts and ghastly creatures lurking nearby. Some were even peering through windows!

Oh, wait. They’re not real?

Just scary props for this year’s outdoor Halloween attraction, The Haunted Hotel Disturbance?

The popular San Diego “haunted house” opens its doors to courageous souls this Friday, October 1st!

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!

Halloween costumes and cosplay in Balboa Park!

Superman, Loki and Catwoman cosplay during Halloween in Balboa Park!

I walked through Balboa Park late this Halloween afternoon and spotted a number of people and pooches dressed up for the occasion!

I saw creative costumes, superhero (and villain) cosplay, and lots of people simply walking about the park enjoying the day. Unfortunately, because of the COVID-19 pandemic, there was no park-wide event scheduled this year for Halloween.

But people still couldn’t resist having a bit of fun!

Does that skull belong to Yorick? Where’s the gravedigger?
The Little Mermaid poses outside the House of Hospitality.
It’s a plague doctor! Unfortunately, this year the costume seems less preposterous.
A nice skeleton family was walking down El Prado.
A pumpkin pooch and one with a mounted cowboy!
This dog just got his Bad Pet mug shot. Now it’s off to the pet-itentiary.
I didn’t quite catch the name of this group cosplay at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion, but it’s bloody good!

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!