S1: Welcome to KPBS roundtable. I'm Andrew Bracken. The 2024 presidential election looks a lot different than it did just a week ago , with Vice President Kamala Harris now atop the Democratic ticket. We take a look at how the race has changed and California's role in it.
S2: I think the one thing that I was surprised by is just how quickly and seamlessly Kamala Harris has taken the baton and unified the party behind her.
S1: Then San Diego is at the center of the pop culture world this week as Comic-Con takes over downtown. Plus , there's plenty to do with the pop culture event , even for those without a badge. That's just ahead on KPBS roundtable. A whirlwind of political news over the past few weeks have reshaped this year's presidential election. President Joe Biden recently announced his decision to withdraw from this year's race. Biden endorsed Vice President Kamala Harris to replace him as the Democratic nominee , and Biden's decision to withdraw came after a wave of pressure from Democrats , after what many felt to be a poor debate performance in June. And much of that pressure came from California's own leaders. Now , in all likelihood , Harris , with her extensive California roots , will become the official Democratic presidential nominee at next month's Democratic National Convention. We wanted to talk more about Harris's new campaign and California's role in it. And here to help us do that is Scott Shafer. He covers politics and government for San Francisco NPR station KQED. Scott , welcome back to roundtable.
S2: Good to be with you.
S1: So , Scott , you recently got back to the Bay area from Milwaukee , where you covered multiple stories , including the Republican National Convention , but also Biden's decision to drop out and then current Vice President Kamala Harris's first rally with voters in Wisconsin. It's a lot to cover and report on in such a short time. So tell us a little bit about some of the key takeaways from your recent reporting. Sure.
S2: Sure. Well , I got to Milwaukee just before the assassination attempt on former President Trump. And when I first started talking with the California delegates to the Republican convention , I think they were still a bit in shock. Uh , a lot of people were saying that this show that we need to lower the temperature of our politics , not demonize opponents. Uh , and that lasted for about 36 hours , I would say. And then the , uh , they all everyone kind of reverted back to where they were in terms of , uh , going after Joe Biden and so on. I was surprised , actually , that at the Republican convention , Kamala Harris's name came up very , very little. I thought that given where things were with the president , that there would be some anticipation of Kamala Harris , uh , you know , becoming the nominee. But for whatever reason , they really left her alone. Now , that's of course , changed. But I think that clearly , the whole playbook that the Trump Vance ticket was planning on was going after Joe Biden. And so I think they've been , you know , of course , they have to recalculate , recalibrate. Uh , and I think they're on their back heels a little bit right now , but I'm sure they are quickly getting up to speed. And then , yeah , the news that Joe Biden dropped out was shocking because it happened , but not surprising , of course , because we'd been anticipating that for a long time. And I think the one thing that I was surprised by is just how quickly and seamlessly Kamala Harris has taken the baton and unified the party behind her. And , you know , her message at the rally in Milwaukee on Tuesday afternoon was very much leaning into her experience as a prosecutor , describing herself and then the choice voters face as a prosecutor versus a convicted felon. And I think we're going to hear a lot more of that in the coming weeks.
S1: Yeah , and you're right. It did seem to be a pretty quick pickup into her campaign. And you covered the vice president's first rally since she announced her candidacy. This was in Wisconsin , which we know is a key battleground state in this year's election. Can you paint a picture for us ? What ? That kind of kickoff event looked and felt like ? What was it like to be there ? Well , it.
S2: Was really extraordinary because I think after weeks of despair on the part of Democrats disinterest , you know , really , really wanting a different choice than Biden versus Trump. There was , I don't want to say euphoria might be a little strong , but there was a huge injection of adrenaline and excitement. It was held at a gymnasium at a high school just outside of Milwaukee , and it originally had been planned for a smaller venue , but organizers said that there was so much interest that they moved it to the gym and the gym was packed. I know people who tried to get in and were turned away. The campaign said. There were 3000 3500 people , which was the larger than any other crowd that Joe Biden had gotten during this election cycle. So there were. And what I noticed is there were a lot of women. There were a lot of families. There were a lot of people who brought their children. There was a group of women from AK , which is the sorority that they belong to , and Kamala Harris belonged to when she was at Howard University. So I just this in a , in a word , excitement and , you know , enthusiasm. There's just a lot of , uh , I think hope that this , uh , change at the top of the ticket is going to really improve Democrats chances of winning. Uh , but more to the point , I think it's just an injection of , uh , volunteers and , and money as well as we've seen from small donors.
S1: So you've been covering California politics at KQED , you know , since the late 90s , I think. Right. So when did the name Kamala Harris first come on your radar ? Tell us more about her and her career.
S2: Well , ironically , I knew about her because my husband worked at the time in the city attorney's office in San Francisco , and that's where Kamala Harris was working as well. She was a deputy city attorney. She was also in the news even a little before that , in like 2001 ish , when she was dating the mayor , Willie Brown. But really , it was in 2002 when she decided to challenge the sitting district attorney , Terence Hallinan , a fellow Democrat , quite liberal. She challenged him and was able to knock them off , which is not easy. But she occupied the middle of the political spectrum , such as it is in San Francisco , and was able to to win and then , of course , got reelected and went on to become the AG. So she , you know , she was a real newcomer at that time. And we're talking 20 years ago. So she was like barely 40 years old , if that. Uh , and so I , you know , been able to see her evolution throughout all those different jobs , including us. Senator , I was actually a panelist in San Diego , as a matter of fact , on one of the debates that she did when she was running for the Senate , that debate was held at KPBS. So , you know , I've definitely seen her evolve as. And then , of course , you know , as vice president , you know , she got off on a rocky start , I think. But , you know , in the last couple of years and certainly in the last few months , we've seen that her footing really stabilized. And she's coming into her own now.
S1: And now she's in a pretty unique position and we're in some uncharted territory , at least in terms of recent presidential elections.
S2: I mean , she and it's kind of breathtaking how quickly she could solid dated that support. And you could have seen it going in a number of different directions. I mean , even Nancy Pelosi and Barack Obama thought that an open process , you know , where maybe a mini primary where several contenders , including perhaps Gavin Newsom or some of the people who are now being thought of for vice president would run , uh , maybe have a debate , something like that. So that never happened. I mean , all those people. Josh Shapiro , Mark , not so much Mark Kelly , but Andy Beshear , Gavin Newsom , JB Pritzker in Illinois , they all said they're not running. They're not going to challenge her. So you can't have an open primary or for the nomination if no one's running. So I think that that really happened quickly. And I think they're , you know , to be honest , there are a lot of Democrats who maybe wouldn't have picked Kamala Harris as the nominee , but they've kept that to themselves. They have some doubts about her ability to win nationwide. She wasn't a great candidate when she ran for president in 2019 , so I think whatever. Despite those reservations , though , those are being set aside by Democrats in California and beyond as she now moves into this position as the the top of the ticket standard bearer.
S1:
S2: Obviously , Kamala Harris is from San Francisco. I think we're going to see attacks on her based on some of the things that happened in the time she was district attorney here , in particular , a police officer was shot and killed right after she took office as Da. And she did not seek the death penalty , which , you know , is something she had promised to do in the campaign to not seek the death penalty. But I'm sure she didn't expect the first case to be a police officer being shot , you know , so all the things that , you know , caricatures of San Francisco and California , the homeless situation , the lack of affordability , the fact that our population is going down in part because people are leaving because they can't afford to live here. I think all those things , you know , for better or worse , could become part of the campaign. I thought it was interesting that Governor Newsom ordered encampments to be taken down. I think that you're going to see things that he will do , perhaps have being done with an eye toward how it would affect California's image. And , you know , by extension , Kamala Harris's image as well. So I think they're , you know , the border. We have a big border with Mexico that's going to be an issue and technology and its role in our society. So there's all kinds of ways in which California will figure in the Republicans , of course , will try to cast California and Kamala Harris's role here in the most negative light. But I think you're going to see also a huge , as we already are , upwelling of support from Hollywood and perhaps sports figures , uh , pop culture figures who live in California like Oprah Winfrey , uh , who are going to come to her , her side.
S1: It's been quite a few years since California's had a presidential candidate this far into the election season. I'm just curious what you think that could mean for other political leaders in the state.
S2: Well , of course , Gavin Newsom has. It's no secret he denies it. But there's no secret that he'd like to be president. You know , we've never had a Democratic president from California. We've had several Republicans , Richard Nixon , Ronald Reagan , Herbert Hoover sort of spent time out here as well , but never a Democrat. So I think , you know , if Harris loses , you know , it's going to be on her. And that will be good for not good for California because Donald Trump will probably not , you know , try to help our state very much and we'll try to undo some of our policies. But that would brighten , you know , the future of people like Gavin Newsom , who would probably run in 2028. And then , you know , I think we're seeing , you know , Nancy Pelosi is at the apex of her power right now. Is she going to run for reelection in two years ? We'll , you know , we'll have to see. But there are also other up and coming leaders. So I think everything changes. If you have a President Kamala Harris , because she's going to draw on , you know , in part on people who she knows to bring to Washington with her.
S1: So finally , as someone who has covered politics as long as you have , I'm just curious if you've had any time to reflect on all that's happened in national politics these past few weeks , especially with you being in Wisconsin , you know , being on the on the ground there for a lot of it.
S2: It's really stunning. I feel like I have whiplash in a way. I mean , the , you know , after , you know , four days of the RNC and then suddenly , you know , you've got this entirely different complexion for the presidential race , uh , starring California's own Kamala Harris. I mean , I've been I've long been struck by just how many powerful , influential politicians come out of little San Francisco. You know , we're 49mi². We have , you know , about 750,000 800,000 people. And yet we it's the political birthplace of Dianne Feinstein and Kamala Harris , Nancy Pelosi , Gavin Newsom , uh , Phil Burton before before that , many years ago. So I think that it's just so interesting to me that this city , which is known for its hardscrabble politics , somebody described it as like a knife fight in a phone booth because it's so personal and so small. But if you can emerge from San Francisco politics , uh , you've shown your mettle. And I think we're seeing that now.
S1: I've been speaking with Scott Shafer , senior editor for KQED Politics and Government Desk. Scott , thanks so much for being here today. Yeah.
S2: Yeah. You're welcome.
S1: When roundtable returns , it's Comic-Con week in San Diego , and the long running convention looks to return to its pre-pandemic glory.
S3: We're getting those big studios back. Marvel Studios is going to be their HBO with some of their programs. A lot of the Amazon Prime shows , including their Lord of the rings projects. So it's going to be big.
UU: That's ahead on roundtable.
S1: You're listening to KPBS roundtable , I'm Andrew Bracken. Comic-Con is here and back for its 55th year , one of the world's oldest and largest pop culture conventions comes along with movie stars , pop culture panels , and , of course , the cosplay outfits. And the atmosphere spreads far beyond just the convention center halls. As much of downtown San Diego gets its own Hollywood makeover for the week. The event , kicked off Thursday , runs through the end of the weekend. I'm joined now by Phillip molnar , senior business reporter from the San Diego Union Tribune. Philip , welcome back to roundtable.
S3: Thank you so much for having me.
S1: So you recently wrote an article about this year's Comic-Con , and the headline was Hollywood Strikes Back. Tell us more about what you mean there and what people can expect this year. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. So this year we're going to have a ton of Hollywood presence down at the convention. Last year , there was a strike where actors and writers couldn't attend. So most of the Hollywood studios , rather than just show up at Comic-Con and hit play on a video or have some other sort of promotion , actually just decided not to come at all. So last year was sort of sad in a sense , but it was still sold out. Still lots , lots of media. They're very popular , but this year is exciting because we're getting those big studios back. Marvel Studios is going to be their HBO with some of their programs. A lot of the Amazon Prime shows , including their Lord of the rings projects. So it's going to be big.
S1: So you mentioned there the actor's strike and the writers strike and how that kind of , you know , hit last year's Comic-Con. But also they've had a difficult few years with the pandemic and some of the impacts there.
S3: That's the sort of the the thought going into this year is that we're going to go back to like that 2019 sweet spot , because there was two years where Comic-Con was online only , and it really wasn't that fun. You know , you basically went on YouTube and listened to this panel and everyone's on zoom and everyone's doing their best because of the pandemic. But it really didn't get a lot of attention because it really wasn't that much of a fun user experience. But yeah , then they came back one year and it was strict Covid protocols. You had to wear a mask the whole time , and you had to have this Covid vaccination , and the process to get checked in could be pretty long if you didn't download this app. And so it was it was a bit of a different feel. And also that year a lot of the major studios decided not to go on the convention hall floor because they were worried about the spread of the virus. So yeah , it's it was like basically three Covid years for Comic Con.
S1: You know , with the pandemic , it not only changed how Comic-Con was run , but it also changed how we consume pop culture. I'm thinking of movie theater attendance. We've heard a lot about how box office numbers haven't really been the same in the last few years , since the pandemic hit.
S3: The last two years , all these movies you thought would be big hits like mad Max , Furiosa just bombed. So one of the thoughts coming into Comic-Con this year , this is going back a few months ago , is some of the experts were actually saying that they thought the Hollywood studios were not going to show up because they've gotten so beat up at the box office. Everything they're trying to do doesn't seem to work. Why show up at Comic-Con after you've just lost millions of dollars on The Fall Guy with Ryan Gosling , you know , so that was the concern coming into this year's convention , but it was sort of a shock when we started getting the schedules two weeks ago because it's like , wait a second , that's not the case. They're all showing up.
S1: Yeah , yeah. I mean , taking a step back now , I want to talk a little bit about Comic-Con and its origins. Can you , you know , talk a little bit about what the convention is about. You know , how it started and you know how it got to where it is today.
S3: So it started more than 50 years ago here in San Diego , sort of a grassroots thing , and it steadily got more popular with bigger rooms and all that kind of stuff. If you want to think of the modern context , believe it or not , Comic-Con did not have its first sellout until 2007 , so the intensity and attention for Comic-Con has really exploded in that last , you know , few years. And it's just wild to consider that , because nowadays getting a ticket is so nearly impossible. And the big thing that happened basically around the turn of the century is more of the Hollywood studio started showing up , the TV shows , all that kind of stuff to build buzz for their brands , and it apparently was working because of all the marketing people there keep coming back , and it kept getting bigger and bigger and bigger. And , you know , you mentioned 2019 earlier. That was our last true pre-pandemic year. I mean , it was just there was so much news and so many things going on. Nobody could possibly attend everything. Nobody could even possibly read about everything. It was just there was so much going on. It's it's bonkers. So , yeah , I mean , the history of it , you know , comic conventions go on now. All over the world , there's competing sizes. You know , New York Comic-Con now has a bigger attendance than San Diego Comic-Con , but But usually most people consider when you look at the history of comic conventions , the start being here in San Diego and the more organized sort of growing and sort of attention seeking convention.
S1: But in those early years , I mean , we've talked to KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando about this , who'd been going to Comic-Con since she was a kid , I think , and she would talk about just how how small , you know , I mean , it was about comic books , right ? And it was much more it was a much different experience. And then , as you said , around the turn of the century , it kind of zoomed out a bit more to the Hollywood landscape.
S3: Yeah , exactly. There is actually a comic convention in San Diego that small scale called Rocket Con. And if you want to get a feel for that early San Diego thing , it's like mostly comic books , pop culture stuff for sale. And the people signing autographs are usually like voice actors for different anime and other animated pop culture things , so that's sort of the feel of it. But I've been to comic conventions all over the country Motor City Comic-Con , New York City Comic-Con. But nobody gets as much Hollywood presence as San Diego Comic-Con. Is that because it's more prominent or because it's closer to L.A. ? I'm not sure , but none of them can even match it.
S1:
S3: They have made that an art form. I've been there twice now in Marvel Studios , has been in the room and they are showmen. They come out there , they tell you what the latest things are coming out. They make shock reveals about what movies coming out they tend to bring out. Like every actor that's in the cast. Like they must just tell them like , hey , you're coming to Comic-Con and there's no getting out of it. So Marvel Studios is a big one. A few of the other ones were looking out for is The Boys , which is a show on Amazon Prime. It's very violent for you viewers out there , but it's like a superhero spoof , basically , and it's based off a comic book. So it's kind of got that history , but they're bringing their entire cast. It's insane. I mean , they created a flyer for that , and you could even fit all the names on there. Some of the other ones Amazon Prime show The Rings of Power , which is their Lord of the rings show. It's back for a second season. They went all out last time they were here with a full orchestra. Stephen Colbert came out and was the moderator , so they just went insane. And they've already with all their stuff downtown. Another big one that's highly anticipated is a spinoff of the Batman movie. It's called The Penguin. It's going to be on HBO , and that stars Colin Farrell. But I did notice on that one he's going to be zooming in from wherever he's filming. Maybe it won't be as big. So I didn't play that one as up up as much in the paper. So it's going to be big though.
S1: You're definitely hitting on a lot of superhero movies there. Obviously , that's something that Hall H is well known for , kind of as you talked about there. And this year , Hugh Jackman , Ryan Reynolds , they star in the the new superhero film Deadpool and Wolverine that's coming out at the same time as Comic-Con.
S3: That's what everybody who's attending cares about. You know , there's always these things off to the side. Like there's a panel this year for the new alien movie. Like , I love alien aliens , really popular , but it just doesn't have that same kind of draw as sort of the superhero themed things , you know ? And then there's a lot of shows over the years , like the show Glee used to come a lot to Comic-Con , now sort of taking their place as Abbott Elementary , a sitcom. So the sort of network sitcom shows that show up and , you know , they get a lot of attention. But I think , you know , if you really talk to people , what they want to be in is that that Deadpool and Wolverine panel with Ryan Reynolds , Hugh Jackman , whoever else is going to walk out on stage And because it was a last minute ad , there was actually a raffle for tickets to get in.
S1: So those big comic Con blockbusters are still holding sway at this year's Comic Con , it sounds like.
S3: Even though we talk about Hollywood a lot , it tends to be the the comic book companies themselves. They also make a bigger deal about San Diego Comic Con , so they will wait. Marvel comics , DC comics , Image Comics , our local comic company , IDW. They wait until the convention to really do their big shock announcements about whatever comic series is coming out , all that kind of stuff like that. So there's a big presence. All the top artists , all the top writers , they're all there and they , you know , Marvel Comics , when they're announcing their next round of their next big thing that's coming out , they'll fill a huge hall. You know , it's not as big as Hall H. They'll put them in the next biggest one. But it does draw a huge crowd. And I've been at those , and sometimes the excitement in the room when they show something new on the screen , it's just as exciting. Except I will say , the comic book folks , they're not as good of masters of ceremonies as the Hollywood people. Those people could get you really pumped to that Hall H like foaming at the mouth excited.
S1: Let's talk about some of the economic impacts that Comic-Con has on San Diego.
S3: That goes for everything for the hotels , to the businesses around their room stays , restaurants , all of it throws in there. There's a lot of factors that go into it , too , because this gets into the weeds. But I was talking to the tax assessor , Jordan Marks , about this too. But some of the hotels in the region , it actually they have such a big Comic-Con with so much money earned , it actually increases the assessed value of their properties , which increases their property taxes. And we know all this money filters in in different ways. But a lot of ways , even if you hate Comic-Con , you hate the traffic. You think it's stupid. The tax money rolls down into everything. Everything from road repairs , public libraries. I mean , it's a real boon for our region.
S1: And , you know , talking about how that money kind of dominos into different parts of the economy , you mentioned the importance of hotel rooms there. And now it sounds like there is a little bit of a dispute about hotel rooms and the future of Comic-Con in San Diego. San Diego has been the home of Comic-Con since it started for five plus decades. Right ? But there have been signs that partnership could come to an end in the coming years. Tell us about the latest there. I think you referred to it as the dark cloud over Comic-Con future in San Diego. Yeah.
S3: Yeah. You know , Comic-Con is an organization. They're a bit like the San Diego Chargers. Every once in a while , when it's time to sign a new contract , they just threatened to leave. So that has been one of the least fun parts about reporting on Comic-Con. But that is part of their strategy. How serious they are about leaving is it depends on who you ask. So they've always got some new gripe. The latest thing is for Comic-Con , which is pretty interesting. They come into an agreement with about 60 different hotels in the region to offer lower cost room rates for attendees of Comic-Con And the way that works is the hotels. In theory , they don't block away all their rooms , so it tends to be they get money for those ones that are left. They get money for other things. It depends , you know , on how far away the hotel is for the convention center. But the ones closest to the convention center , they can get money for building wraps. They can rent space for studios. So the latest thing we have from Comic-Con , usually their biggest complaint about whether or not they're going to stay here is the convention center is too small. So they could only sell those 135,000 tickets. They're stuck. That's their biggest complaint. Their latest one is that some of these hotels are now saying that they don't want to be involved in the room blocks. You know , San Diego is a region. We have that history of losing our sports teams such as the Clippers and the Chargers. So you know , there there is a bit of a shadow when an organization like Comic-Con does threaten to leave. So I think that's where it kind of hangs over the sort of the convention. I think that the attendees couldn't imagine it not being in San Diego , and it's not something they think about from , but from the business community and even from our our tax coffers in the region. You know , it's it's something that's kind of scary.
S1: And we have had discussions about expanding the convention center. And I think Comic-Con is always involved in that discussion. So what's the next step ? I think right now they're committed to San Diego through 2026.
S3: They weren't even mentioning , you know , when they talked about their announcement there , their concern about the size of the convention. But , you know , New York Comic-Con could fit 200,000 people. That's a lot more now than what Comic-Con. So they have to kind of think , do they still want to be the preeminent Comic-Con convention ? And , you know , you could even make the argument , well , you're a Comic-Con could fit more people. So it's definitely more. But , you know , another thing to consider to on the outside is Comic-Con. Every year starts to spread more and more outside the convention. There's five hotels this year that all have official things for Comic-Con. It's not just something for the public. You have to be a ticketed member and you go to your panel at that hotel. So they really have spread out their footprint throughout all of downtown San Diego , mainly , you know , the Gaslamp District. So yeah , Comic-Con has had that sort of spread out influence. So maybe that's why they're not , you know , complaining about it as much. We'll have to see. But yeah , I guess if you want to be as competitive with the other comic conventions around town , maybe have some sort of expansion.
S1: I mean , you mentioned that sort of spread out footprint. And I think for a lot of San Diegans , that's how a lot of us experience Comic-Con is not , you know , at the convention center itself , but at that larger echoing of , of , you know , building wraps and events.
S3: Well , it's already shaping up to be a pretty epic year downtown. There's more building raps than have ever been before. There's more than 30 , so you'll get to see all these buildings painted for different things , like Lord of the rings. There's a really funny building covered in SpongeBob stuff , and it's got memes on the outside , which are really hilarious , and that's already making a big hit on social media , so you can look for that. But I think the most shocking one is there's a new show out called Those About to Die on Peacock , and they're building a coliseum down by the Gaslamp Quarter trolly station. So you're going to get off the trolley. It looks I mean , it's small , obviously it's not a coliseum size , but it's big enough that you notice it. So they're rebuilding a Coliseum , which I just think is just cracks me up so bad. It's going to be right under this digital display where they're going to be showing advertisements for the show. But in keeping with sort of the Roman theme , they're actually going to play the Olympics opening ceremony on it. So during Comic-Con , if you're also a sports fan , there is a little bit of an intersection there sometimes , and they're going to be able to play the opening ceremonies on that. So that's what I'm most excited for. Also , there's a marvel video game called Contest of Champions , and they haven't promoted it much. But I was out there yesterday and they were building a Ferris wheel. So all I know is you're going to have that Ferris wheel going on and yeah , lots of cool stuff.
S1: Yeah , it will be a lot to see , even if you can just take the trolley down downtown to kind of check it out. We should note we're recording this a little bit before the convention's actually started. Philip molnar , senior business reporter with the San Diego Union Tribune. Thanks so much for talking more about this year's Comic-Con and breaking it down for us.
S3: It's been so great to be here. Thank you so much.
S1: When we come back , not everyone can get a badge for Comic-Con , but there's still plenty happening outside the convention center.
S4: I'm really excited about the Comic-Con art show that's going to be happening. It's going to be showcasing original artwork , including drawings , paintings , sculptures and Julia from professional and amateur artists.
S1: That's ahead on roundtable. Welcome back to KPBS roundtable. I'm Andrew Bracken. San Diego Comic-Con is a fully sold out event , but that doesn't mean there aren't options to enjoy the fun , even if you don't have a badge. Plus , the new event now may be focused on blockbuster Hollywood movies and TV shows , but the roots of the con are still steeped in comics , and there are some local artists whose work is catching attention this year. To talk more about what's going on outside of the convention center , and take a look at some local comic artists at the con , we're joined by KPBS web producer Leslie Gonzalez and KPBS arts producer Julia Dixon. Evans. Leslie. Julia , welcome.
S4: Thanks for having us.
S5: Hey , Andrea.
S1: So welcome to roundtable. Glad to have you here. We just heard from Philip molnar from the Union Tribune. He noted that he's seen more events around Comic-Con that seem to be growing over the past few years , and you both wrote a story listing some of the top offsite events you found this year.
S5: The first is a little off the beaten path for Comic-Con. It's at the Chicano Park Museum , so it's in Barrio Logan. It's maybe 1 or 2 stops further down the blue line , or a moderate walk from from downtown. This is an exhibit called Spare Parts. It's by artist Marino Gomez. And he what he does is he makes these like , custom action figures and designs the packaging. This is practice called kit bashing. So they'll take existing action figures and kind of take them apart and make something totally new or 3D print things that are totally new. Um , and oftentimes they'll bootleg a character or just something that doesn't exist in toy form. Like one of the things that he has in this exhibit is a landscaping trick where he started with a Hot Wheels toy and , like , made a miniature , a little bag of leaves and some some tools to put on the back. So yeah , that's at the Chicano Park Museum. It's open 11 to 5 every day this weekend. Another thing that I have my eye on is the comic conference for educators and librarians. And this is like a concurrent comic festival , almost , where there are panels that are based around literacy or publishing things like that , and it's all really relevant. They're geared towards educators and librarians , of course , but this is relevant for anyone who is interested in comic books as an art form , as a form of literacy. So they have panels all day on Saturday from 10 to 5. You can RSVP for these online , but if you do have a Comic-Con badge , you can just stroll right in. And they also at the library have this cosplay repair station. They have sewing machines , 3D printers. So you can like actually repair accessories for your cosplay. That's at the library. And that should be fun if you actually need it. Or also just to go people watch. I think that'd be really cool. And one more is something called Chicano Con. This is at the border X brewing and it is all weekend , Thursday through Sunday. But the the main event is kind of Friday and Saturday. They're going to have a launch party for a new English language streaming platform on Friday night. And then during the day on Saturday , there's kid friendly stuff , free comics , and Saturday night they're doing like a ticketed VIP event. There's a panel of Latinx creatives and a lot of good stuff.
S1: Very cool.
S4: I love three things during Comic-Con and that is art , food , and a little bit of nightlife. Personally , I'm really excited about the Comic-Con art show that's going to be happening. It's going to be showcasing original artwork including drawings , paintings , sculptures and Julia from professional and amateur artists. And that's going to be at the Manchester Grand Hyatt. It started on Thursday and it will be continuing until July 28th. The hours vary , but on Friday they'll be open 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday they'll be open 9 a.m. to 6 p.m.. Another cool thing you can check out as well is the Box Lunch Treat truck that's coming again this year. They'll be providing sweets , merch and some nifty grab bags that are filled with fandom accessories. And personally , I'm looking forward to their special Fig Pin Day event , which they're going to be featuring rare artist pins and other surprises. And I love collecting enamel pins. I have a whole little. Not a petri dish per se , but a little dish filled with these random little pins that I like to sticker on my shirts and my backpack. So I'm going to be most likely crowding the front of that that treat truck when they show up. And this one , believe it or not , get this. Uh , for those who prefer the nightlife and love the movie Shrek , you can attend a Shrek themed rave at 9 p.m. Friday , July 26th at the House of Blues. My generation , for some reason , is obsessed with Shrek , and I'm interested to see the shenanigans that will occur that night. So if you're interested in Shrek and having a good time at night , go check that out.
S1: Well , we'll definitely need to get a post Comic-Con report of how the Shrek rave was. So , Leslie , it sounds like a lot of these events are not only downtown , there's also a lot going on in places like Barrio Logan as well.
S4: There are several hotspots near the convention center and Gaslamp specifically , for instance. I know now we're never comics , which is just across the street or around the convention center. They'll have events lined up during Comic-Con. For instance , Saturday , July 27th , there will be three emerging artists showcasing and signing from 1 to 4 p.m. uh , two of them are San Diego based artists. One of them I just interviewed , his name is Justin McKee , who'll be showcasing his work. He and two other comic artists will be there selling , showcasing and signing at that event , and you can look at the schedule on their Instagram at Now or Never comics. And they have a whole schedule there that's for free. And , uh , for those who are interested in comics art or wanting to meet people in person , that might be a really great place just to go say hi and hang out.
S5: And , you know , there's like the main areas that Leslie was talking about , there's the Petco Park Interactive zone and kind of the parking lot behind the park there. There's a lawn in front of the Hilton Bayfront where there is a bunch of stuff. And then also just like across harbor in the Gaslamp area , that's where a bunch of the activations are. Yeah.
S1: Yeah. And on the activations , you know , when we hear in discussions about these offsite events , we hear that word activations. Can you explain more what that is ? And then , you know , kind of what folks need to do to participate in those kind of events specifically. Right.
S5: Right. I think it's just lingo. I mean , it is such this advertising branding term , what it really means are pop ups or inflatables. There's walk through installations or like little things that you can kind of travel through and see imagery or , or mini trailers and stuff , and it's all about like a particular show or a fandom or a game or even like a channel's entire repertoire that they're bringing to Comic-Con. So yeah , in those main areas , you can find those activations and planning for them or trying to take part in them as kind of hit or miss. Like the Paramount Plus Lodge activation sold out instantly , like Like within minutes they have standby lines , but again , that's hit or miss. You can show up hours before it opens and maybe you'll get a spot. It all depends on what else is going on around the area , what's happening in Hall H. And then you can also find there's a thread on the Comic-Con subreddit that is just people trading and offering up tickets to these activations and stuff like that. So if you're really into it and you really want to go to one particular thing that is sold out , you can generally find more information like find people willing to trade.
S1: Oh , that's a great that's a great resource there. So Leslie , you know , you're obviously a fan as well as reporting on this year's con.
S6:
S4: Particularly I'm a huge nerd when it comes to art in general , so I'll most likely be going to now or never comics to specifically to check out their their showcasing and their signings. But I'm also really excited about their Comic-Con art show. I love supporting artists , and I have collections of various art prints on my wall from all walks of nerd life , and I keep adding to this madness that is now no longer my wall , but really just frames. They call it , you know , a masterpiece in my whenever I walk by my bedroom. It's it's a beautiful thing to see a big sticker and pin holder too. So I'll be drooling over original art and merch during those offsite events.
S5: For me , I'm not much of a planner when it comes to the stuff , and I like the idea of just going down aimlessly and doing some people watching. And I think that's important. like to temper your expectations. And , you know , if you're if you're not planning ahead , just know that maybe the most you can do is see a bunch of people in great costumes. And if you walk past something where the line is short , hop in it.
S1: That's interesting because you guys too , both have very different approaches , and I like it like Leslie , you know what you want. You're going to you know , you want to hit a lot of these art events you mentioned. And on that. You wrote an article recently on six San Diego based artists to watch out for during Comic-Con 2024. Tell us more about those artists and their comics.
S4: Oh , man. What ? I just want to brag about all of them. They're so talented and so fun. And for me personally , it was such a joy to sit down with all six artists. One of them in particular. I spoke with Alex Howey , who is an amazing and just a funny individual who had this really great idea that he's turning into a comic or comic book called strawberry , and the pitch was it's a fruit fantasy type of world with these anthropomorphic fruit characters. And the main villain is this evil banana sorcerer known as the Yellow Crescent. And he described it as this Conan the Barbarian meets a Gushers commercial. And I was just having a ball with it. I thought that was such a great idea. And his images and his poster , I just , I , I was in love with it and I told them as such. I also sat down with Andy Duckworth , who is debuting the second volume of her anthology with Accidental Aliens Studio called end of the world. She'll be debuting it at Comic-Con this year , and we'll be doing a couple panels at the convention center , so I won't recommend going to this panel since this is for a non badge event. But the anthology itself is available for purchase , and I know that they worked really hard on it , featuring eight other comic book artists , and to me , it sounded like a really great idea to talk about the end of the world , how people depict it and how they create it , and how they create stories based off of it. So all the way around these emerging comic book artists are just phenomenal. And you could read more on the other artists on the article on kpbs.org.
S1: Well , that's great. Also that you're featuring local artists.
S6: Yeah , that's.
S4: The for me , it was I felt it was really important to really shine the spotlight on the people who not just contribute to the comic book industry , but those who are doing it at the , I guess , want to call it like the mothership. Yeah.
S6: Yeah.
S4: Of comic books , which is the convention center here in San Diego. And , you know , seeing these creative individuals really adding to and contributing and defining what part of the events about. It's just something that you have to bring out and show the world. And I think they deserve that.
S5: And , you know , for badge holders , when you're walking around Artist Alley or even the small press area , like go and talk to these people , especially these locals that Lesley's profiled , but also local small presses that are there. They have their their booth out and the and artists at the table. It's totally worth it to just go up and say like , hey , I'm in San Diego too , and I love your art.
S1: I've been speaking with KPBS web producer Leslie Gonzales and KPBS Arts producer Julia Dixon Evans. Thank you both so much for sharing more about what's happening down there. And have a great weekend down at the con.
S5: Thanks , Andrea. This was fun.
S4: This was a lot of fun. Thank you so much for having us.
S1: That'll do it for our show today. You can listen to KPBS roundtable anytime as a podcast. KPBS roundtable airs on KPBS FM at noon on Fridays again , Sundays at 6 a.m.. If you have any thoughts on today's show or ideas for a future one , you can email us at roundtable at pbs.org or leave us a message at (619) 452-0228. Round tables. Technical producers this week were Ben Red Hlasek and Brandon Truffaut. The show was produced by Jacob Air. Brooke Ruth is Roundtable's senior producer. I'm Andrew Bracken , thanks so much for listening. Have a great weekend.
