The crazy good times at Comic-Con 2024 in San Diego have begun!
I took one final walk late this afternoon, a couple hours before the San Diego Convention Center would open its doors for Preview Night. And what did my camera capture?
Fun people! Creative activities! Cool sights in every conceivable direction!
And Comic-Con hasn’t even begun in earnest! I can’t wait for tomorrow!
Reporter for IGN prepares to go on camera in San Diego’s Gaslamp during Comic-Con 2024.IT’SUGAR candy store in the Gaslamp has exclusive tokidoki merch for sale.Crowds are growing in the Gaslamp near the San Diego Convention Center on the afternoon of Comic-Con Preview Night.Dragon Tamer cosplay!Batman nemesis Penguin has brought his Gotham Ice truck to San Diego. Uh, oh!Banners on Harbor Drive indicate Heroes At Work.Have a question about Comic-Con? Ask this friendly guy!Here comes Tinker Bell!Do you dare enter the Adult Swim Pirate Parrrty offsite? You have to pass through this gigantic skull!It’s a pirate parrrty! And one heck of a big nose ring!These pirates seem awfully civilized. What are they really up to?These guys can spell A.V.A. FEST. They get a passing grade.Rocky Balboa and Apollo Creed cosplay! Very cool!Fans are already exploring the Dragon Ball offsite.Here’s the end of the line for Dragon Ball exclusives, I believe.Hot Wheels is back again with their cool truck!However, the Sharpie truck is stuck in Harbor Drive traffic.Looking for a restroom? Watch for this sign!Part of the Bathroom Battlestation under construction. Looks like he needs a laxative.Cool artwork by a local artist along MLK Promenade.I’m now back to Fifth Avenue looking at the Omni Hotel’s big FOX Animation Domination building wrap.My goodness! These Borderlands Psychos seem to be everywhere!I’ve seen this caricature artist in Balboa Park.Gambit cosplay!Batgirl cosplay!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
A fierce dragon mural was the first thing I spotted on my Wednesday afternoon walk in downtown San Diego. It’s the day of Comic-Con 2024 Preview Night, and the action was picking up outside the San Diego Convention Center as you’ll see in my upcoming photographs.
That toothy dragon, by the way, was being installed in front of the Super7 shop, where they have a special Dungeons & Dragons theme this year.
Okay! On with the photos! Read the captions…
More graphics and activity inside the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Café on Wednesday! Tomorrow Sonic himself will be making an appearance!Fandom PARTY banner now hanging at the Hard Rock Hotel.SpongeBob wasn’t squirting passersby…yet!A peek over the fence of the Petco Park Interactive Zone. That’s one big hand!The Petco Park Interactive Zone is taking form.Many faces now appear behind FX.The IMDb Boat’s big screen is active.Balls now fill the A.V.A. FEST ball pit!Lots of people are carrying swag bags as they walk about.Photo ops everywhere, including at the Dragon Ball offsite.Cool Comic-Con 2024 swag bag.OMG! It’s Chucky!The Bathroom Battlestation is being set up. Hopefully people don’t sit inside playing games on their phone for long. Other people have to go, too!Barb’s Bashroom.Looking down MLK Promenade past the Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes offsite.Star Wars rebel pilot and his super cool Star Cruiser poses for photos!The Crow poses in Gaslamp Square with his own movie poster!Moxxi’s Borderlands bar entrance has appeared at the Hard Rock Hotel.A line has already formed for the Unknown Comics Pop Up Store.Captain America must have been here!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
It’s Wednesday in San Diego. This evening thousands will converge on the San Diego Convention Center for Comic-Con 2024 Preview Night.
This morning during my walk around downtown everything was still relatively quiet. Most offsites for Comic-Con were still getting ready. Vendors and event participants could be seen trickling in toward the convention center through the Gaslamp Quarter and from nearby hotels.
I took these photographs during my walk…
Quiet on early Wednesday morning at the Those About to Die offsite in Gaslamp Square.SpongeBob graphics now fill the Hard Rock Hotel! Check it out!SpongeBob greets guests at the Hard Rock Hotel’s front desk!The Petco Park Interactive Zone has more to go before it’s ready.Before you know it, crowds will be visible everywhere around the San Diego Convention Center.Hulu animated show graphics adorn the elevators at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront.Bart Simpson is loose in the hotel!The big FX offsite is quiet on Wednesday morning.Adult Swim will be having a pirate parrrty on the green!Do pirates and dinosaurs go together?The IMDb Boat appears about ready.The entrance to the long green Hulu animayhem tunnel.It was early. Few people about.I didn’t realize pirates could board ships so easily.The A.V.A. FEST is looking ever more festive.Blessed and Pressed.The Dragon Ball offsite is looking just as cool as ever.Setting up the transportation tent near Harbor Drive.This will be the Bathroom Battlestation offsite, on First Avenue just north of Harbor Drive. The Mr. Beast Labs offsite is also supposed to be on this parking lot–where cars are still parked! Better get busy!I love Peanuts. Two of their classic television specials in the window of their offsite activation along MLK Promenade.The Subway sandwich sign spinners are ready on Fifth Avenue!
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
More offsite activations are appearing in San Diego outside Comic-Con 2024, just a day before Preview Night!
The Petco Park Interactive Zone has finally begun to materialize, and a couple smaller activations have suddenly appeared along the boardwalk near the Omni Hotel. I saw as I walked along MLK Promenade that two offsites in particular are really taking form.
First, behind the San Diego Convention Center, the IMDb Boat has arrived and is getting itself decorated in time for the start of Comic-Con.
Now over to the parking lot near Petco Park, where activations are being built in the Interactive Zone. I learned the next two photos show construction of the Elden Ring offsite.
Nearby is another activation–I don’t know what.
You’ll be glad to know those concrete stairs leading to the Harbor Drive pedestrian bridge are finally being repaired today. Remember them from last year? I was told by a friendly city worker that the bridge will be open tomorrow in time for Preview Night. Good thing!
Walking from the Petco Park Interactive Zone past the ballpark, you’ll find this new Dexter activation. I was told people will walk through it.
Next along the walkway is a super fun SpongeBob activation. It squirts water, streaming like a sponge! Workers were testing it as I approached, and it suddenly squirted some delighted kids!
Walking along Martin Luther King, Jr. Promenade, I noticed some superheroes were being placed on their feet. Yes, the Marvel Contest of Champions big Ferris wheel has been setting up for several days, but I thought these photos would be fun.
Further along MLK Promenade, the Peanuts offsite has its exterior graphics ready. I saw workers through the windows getting everything inside ready. Next year will be the 75th anniversary of Peanuts. Might as well celebrate early!
Then, lastly, I saw how Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes is getting its front entrance ready. Lots of junglelike foliage. (I’m afraid I’m the guy who made the lame “off the rails” joke. You’re not going to throw that net over me, are you?)
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If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
Preparations are well underway for all the activities outside the San Diego Convention Center during Comic-Con 2024!
I walked through San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter, along MLK Promenade and around the convention center a couple times today, curious to see what all is going on. I took a bunch of photos! (You might notice I haven’t sharpened or edited them.)
First, The Penguin banners were going up along the trolley tracks across from the convention center…
There’s going to be an Unknown Comics Pop-Up Store in the Gaslamp.
Workers were getting The Lodge ready for Paramount+.
Batman: Caped Crusader posters pasted to a downtown San Diego wall.
The two Star Trek/Dr. Who offsite locations now have outside graphics.
Workers were adding superhero graphics to the Marvel Contest of Champions Ferris wheel.
The Marriott Marquis now has Dragon Ball graphics above the front entrance.
Workers were preparing the Dragon Ball offsite on the Marriott Marquis Marina Terrace.
Here I’m walking down the bayside boardwalk toward the Hilton.
Abbott Elementary’s A.V.A. FEST has added their big slide. Happy people will plunge into a ball pit.
Work is finally underway at Adult Swim’s offsite: the Pirate Parrrty!
Workers are putting up the big FX wrap on the Hilton promoting What We Do in the Shadows.
Peeking into the FX offsite. Looks like a topiary garden.
More photos of the FX activation at Comic-Con.
Peacock’s offsite in Gaslamp Square, recreating the ancient Roman stadium Circus Maximus, now has a handsome exterior.
Baja Rick’s at Gaslamp Square now has graphics promoting the Olympic Games on NBC.
IGN is getting their balcony at the Hard Rock Hotel ready. Watch for celebrities here!
Workers are finishing up the AMC building wraps on the Hilton Gaslamp.
Getting the Peanuts offsite ready on Martin Luther King Jr. Promenade.
Not sure what this will be for.
The entrance is being created for Kingdom of the Planet of the Apes, just beyond Peanuts.
San Diego is nearly ready for Comic-Con in 2024! Preview Night is in two days!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
What the heck is that green thing? It’s part of another fun, surprising offsite being created outside the San Diego Convention Center before Comic-Con 2024!
What I love about walking around before Comic-Con is the mushrooming creativity. Sure, the offsite activations, building and trolley wraps, and carnival rides are all about marketing movies, television shows, video games and whatnot–but it is creativity that brings delight to the buying public. Art and storytelling are an essential part of it all.
So it’s now Sunday afternoon before Comic-Con 2024. Several days to go before the pop culture convention officially opens. I’ve already posted lots of photos the past few days. But more stuff keeps materializing!
Local artist Shirish Villaseñor has begun painting the windows of the Starbucks at the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. It’s a SpongeBob SquarePants theme celebrating the cartoon’s 25th anniversary! (She has some big community mural projects coming up in San Diego which I hope to cover in the next couple months.)The smile of a friendly artist!The FX offsite and building wrap are getting ready. Like most Comic-Con offsites, it opens on Thursday.Hulu’s Animayhem has returned in 2024. They’ll have a huge offsite behind the convention center.I’m pretty sure you can’t slide inside this huge green pipe.Some sort of fun factory.A big swing ride at the A.V.A. FEST. Woo-hoo!That cool Star Trek wrap is now 100% complete on the Marriott Marquis.Crates have arrived for the Dragon Ball offsite. It’s going to be awesome as usual!A big Dragon Ball wrap is being placed on part of the Marriott Marquis.The second side of a trolley wrap design that I hadn’t been able to photograph earlier. The Boys.The big, fun Marvel Contest of Champions Ferris wheel under construction along MLK Promenade.More spooky Immortal Universe graphics placed on the Hilton Gaslamp.A wider look.My goodness! Wrapping the large Hard Rock Hotel all around with SpongeBob graphics takes many days of work.The Lodge by Paramount+ is starting to look like a lodge.The transforming power of human creativity.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
It’s less than a week to go before the start of Comic-Con 2024. Preparations for the big international event in downtown San Diego have accelerated into high gear!
If you’ve been following this blog, you’ve seen a number of trolley and building wraps that are already finished or in the process of being applied. Today, however, completely new building wraps are appearing by the waterfront, and “offsite” activations have begun construction!
I walked around East Village early this morning and the Gaslamp Quarter late this afternoon. I’ve captured a number of photographs that provide a taste of the exciting pre-Comic-Con action in downtown San Diego!
Peacock’s Those About to Die Chariot Racing offsite is under construction in Gaslamp Square. It’s near the big new video board, which is showing an advertisement for the Roman gladiator series that premiered yesterday! (You can spy the growing wrap for FOX’s Animation Domination on the Omni hotel in the background.)Presumably chariots will be racing here!Here’s a relatively new trolley wrap design that I hadn’t seen until today. It promotes The Boys on Amazon Prime.The Hard Rock Hotel is being wrapped with SpongeBob graphics. I posted other photos recently.Is this Comic-Con? No, this is Patrick!Wrapping the Fifth Avenue side of the Hard Rock Hotel is now beginning in earnest.On the convention center side of the Hilton San Diego Gaslamp Quarter, a wrap goes up promoting Anne Rice’s Immortal Universe on AMC. I’ve photographed a couple of other related wraps on the hotel already–one of which you can glimpse here.I’ve spotted a couple of Comic-Con logos now on the San Diego Convention Center.On the Marriott Marquis, looks like a Star Trek wrap is going up. The thing on the left is an Esri User Conference wrap now being removed. That convention in San Diego is over.A huge wrap is also going up on the Hilton San Diego Bayfront. It will likely promote a show on FX.Advertisements posted along Fifth Avenue promote a special Comic-Con cruise!Walking Dead’s Daryl Dixon, The Book of Carol characters in the windows of the Pendry hotel.Graphic in the window of the Sonic the Hedgehog Speed Cafe pop-up. I plan to go there tomorrow!A simply painted Dungeons & Dragon 50th Anniversary expanded into this awesome mural a few days ago. It’s outside Super7.Some of the fun collectibles in BAIT in the Gaslamp Quarter. They’re going to have all sorts of activities during Comic-Con 2024!
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
Yesterday I walked in Normal Heights. As I passed the intersection of 32nd Street and Adams Avenue, I discovered these two cool murals on either side of El Zarape Mexican Cantina.
The first one is very colorful. It contains hearts, flowers, and Day of the Dead imagery, and exclaims Viva San Diego. It was painted by Michelle Ruby, aka MrBBaby. Check out the above photograph.
The second mural appeared in the little parking nook east of El Zarape, where a pair of spray painted murals on two walls change every few years. I believe the artists are Shark and Hasler. (The unique artwork on the opposite wall is also by them.)
Unfortunately, when I happened to walk by, this new mural was semi-concealed by a large pickup truck. I took the following photos…
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Colorful murals depicting a variety of beautiful trees in Balboa Park have been installed at the north end of San Diego’s art-filled Bay to Park Paseo!
The colorful vinyl murals can be viewed on a Park Boulevard fence, just south of the bridge that spans Interstate 5. The murals welcome motorists to an amazing park that is overflowing with natural beauty.
An original description of the 1.7 mile Bay to Park Paseo, which runs from San Diego Bay up to Balboa Park, can be found here. A couple of the temporary art projects still aren’t completed, but those who walk along the Paseo will enjoy about a dozen finished installations.
This particular installation is presented by the Balboa Park Committee of 100 and Urban Interventions. The trees were photographed in Balboa Park by artist Perry Vasquez.
The Bay to Park Paseo is a unique walking experience created in conjunction with San Diego/Tijuana’s selection as World Design Capital. The idea is to eventually create a permanent Paseo–an inviting walkway from downtown San Diego to Balboa Park–filled with great public art. I definitely support this idea!
If you’d like to see photographs of the very first guided walk up the Bay to Park Paseo earlier this year, click here!
Do you like to walk? Free guided tours of the Bay to Park Paseo can be enjoyed on the first and third Saturday of each month through November 2024. The tours meet in the front of the Hilton San Diego Bayfront and end in Balboa Park at Presidents Way, not far from these tree murals.
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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 X.
Comic-Con 2024 is less than three weeks away. Around San Diego there are more and more signs that the epic international event is fast approaching!
It seems that dozens of San Diego trolleys are now wrapped for Comic-Con–you can spot them all over the city. The fifth, latest Comic-Con related design I photographed this morning. It’s from Jack in the Box, and features Deadpool & Wolverine and new Mini Chimi Bang Bangs!
A couple days ago I saw Scarlett Johansson in a graphic on the big new video screen in Gaslamp Square. The video board will probably be busy during Comic-Con promoting upcoming movies and other popular entertainment. As I’ve walked around, I haven’t seen any offsite construction . . . yet. But I did see a guy with a cool shirt!
The Fantastic Four street lamp banners have expanded beyond the Gaslamp Quarter and can now be seen throughout downtown San Diego. Marvel appears to be going all out promoting the highly anticipated movie!
As usual, clever shops along Fifth Avenue in the Gaslamp have displays in their windows that might appeal to pop culture fans.
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Thanks for visiting Cool San Diego Sights!
If you’d like to view my coverage of Comic-Con so far, which includes hundreds of cool photographs, click here!
Cool San Diego Sights! 