San Diego Comic Fest may live in the shadow of the super-sized San Diego Comic-Con, but it has been missed these past few years, and its return later this weekend is cause for celebration.
San Diego Comic Fest is unique in that it is designed to stay small.
"It's meant to be an intimate comic experience the way San Diego Comic-Con was in the beginning," said Alonso Nunez, board president for Comic Fest. "I'm not one of these people that says that San Diego Comic-Con is no longer about comics. I think the comics are there. But for a pure grassroots comic experience, there's nothing quite like San Diego Comic Fest. It was started by Mike Towry in 2012, one of the original founders of Comic-Con. We took a couple years off to do some fundraising post pandemic, but we are back, and I think stronger than ever."
New location
Nunez took over as board president from Towry in mid-2021. Little Fish Comic Book Studio, which Nunez runs, has been a Comic Fest partner since 2014. Part of the reason for the break, Nunez explained, was the challenge of finding an affordable venue. Like all conventions, Comic Fest was negatively impacted by the pandemic. It returned briefly in spring 2022 but has been on hold for more than two years until its comeback this weekend.
"Talking to a lot of conventions in San Diego, it seems to be a big issue for everyone," Nunez added. "Finding venues, finding hotels. Everyone's raised their prices after the pandemic."
This year, Comic Fest has happily landed in North County. It will be held at the Westin Carlsbad Resort & Spa, with ongoing activities next door at the Sheraton Carlsbad, both situated on the same property. In the past, the convention has always been in central San Diego but now North County residents will have it in their backyard.
"Moving up there gives us a kind of different look in terms of North County and then also a greater proximity to Anaheim," Nunez said. "We're a lot closer up to Orange County, and I think it's going to be a lot more accessible and easy for people to get to it."
Plus, Comic Fest is now near Legoland, prompting Nunez to suggest: "A little bit like WonderCon up north in Anaheim being situated right across from Disneyland, I think we might start getting some people with some extended vacations in terms of coming out for Legoland and Comic Fest at the same time."
This year's themes
The convention will be celebrating the centennials of MAD Magazine founder Harvey Kurtzman and "The Twilight Zone" creator Rod Serling.
"Most people probably know Kurtzman as the founder of MAD, originally a comic book, then a magazine, but he also did a lot of groundbreaking work at EC Comics in the 1950s," Nunez said. "We're gonna be talking about everything that Kurtzman did — his war comics, his humor comics, a little bit more on the racy side (like) 'Little Annie Fanny.' And Rod Serling, obviously the creator of 'Twilight Zone,' but also of 'Night Gallery' and the screenplay for 'Planet of the Apes,' which not a lot of people knows well."
There will be multiple panels dedicated to both men, plus a night of films highlighting Serling's work. Additionally, the convention will feature a game room, artist alley, small press area and dealers' room, all with a strong emphasis on comics and no lines to wait in.
Attendees can also partake in "drink and draw."
"This is going to be: grab a beer — or three or four — hang out with friends, old and new, and just draw to your heart's content," Nunez said. "There might be some themes we throw out. There might be just open fun. You never know what's going to happen at a drink and draw."
Why comics?
In addition to running Little Fish Comic Book Studio, Nunez frequently appears on Comic-Con panels and has served as a judge for Comic-Con's Eisner Awards, often called the "Oscars of the comics industry." Comics are central to his life.
"The aspect of comics that — even now, 33 years after my first San Diego Comic-Con, 34 years after my first comic book — I think what I love about the comic art form, is it is not only one of the truly great modern art forms, but it's also incredibly accessible," Nunez said. "Any kid can pick up a piece of paper, any adult can pick up a piece of paper, and make a comic. Making a film's a little bit harder. Composing a song and recording a song is a little bit more work, although both of these have changed in the 21st century. But there's a universal magic to comic storytelling and an accessibility to both the creation of it and accessing the creators involved. I find that the vast majority of people that grew up reading comics and then becoming professionals never lost that initial love and want to pass that on to fans. So I'll just lean into the cliché: The true reward of comics is the friendships we find along the way."
You can find some new friendships — or reconnect with old ones — in the laid-back, no-lines atmosphere of what organizers call "the friendly intimate Comic-Con experience."
If you want a look at a previous San Diego Comic Fest, here is a video from 2018:
San Diego Comic Fest 2024 kicks off with an opening night reception on Friday, Oct. 25 and runs through Sunday, Oct. 27.
