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San Diego Comic Fest 2012

March 16, 2012

This year will see the 40th anniversary of the first San Diego Comic-Con to be hosted at the legendary El Cortez Hotel. That con, which was held August 18-21, 1972, set the pattern for a string of memorable Comic-Cons throughout the rest of the ’70s, all of which, with one exception, were at the El [...]

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Greg Bear Remembers Richard Alf

January 14, 2012

Richard was so important to our small group of enthusiasts way back then—a young fellow, younger than me, who already had far more sense than me—and a strong business sense as well. I wonder how far we would have gone without his guidance, not to mention his VW? The founders of the San Diego Comic-Con [...]

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Welcome to the March 1970 San Diego Minicon

April 6, 2011

We were delighted today to receive an email from Stephen McGlone, whom we hadn’t heard from in years. Stephen and his brothers, David and Patrick, joined the San Diego Comic-Con very early on and made substantial contributions in those early years. (You can read Stephen’s brief reminiscence about those days at http://www.sheldorftribute.com/2011/04/06/stephen-mcglone-answers-shel-dorf%E2%80%99s-call-to-join-the-first-year-comic-con-committee/.)

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1974 San Diego Comic-Con Photos (Batch 2): Can You Identify People in the Pictures?

June 12, 2010

Here’s the second batch of scans from Shel Dorf’s negatives from the 1974 San Diego Comic-Con, which was held at the El Cortez Hotel with Bill Lund as Chairman. Guests, fans, and committee members pictured include Forry Ackerman, Kirk Alyn, Frank Capra, Mike Friedrich, Jack Kirby, Russ Manning, Roy Thomas, Danton Burroughs, Camille “Caz” Cazedessus, Barry Alfonso, Igor Goldkind, and Eric Hoffman.

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1974 San Diego Comic-Con Photos (Batch 1): Can You Identify People in the Pictures?

May 31, 2010

Here’s the first batch of scans from Shel Dorf’s negatives from the 1974 San Diego Comic-Con, which was held at the El Cortez Hotel with Bill Lund as Chairman. (I received the negatives from Shel’s friend and cartooning partner Charlie Roberts. The first two negatives – which are of Shelf Dorf, action hero – were in poor condition but the rest were in good shape.) There are over two hundred pictures so I’m going to post them periodically in batches. Professional guests pictured include Brad Anderson, Russ Manning, and Roy Thomas. Comic-Con committee members pictured include Barry Alfonso, Shel Dorf, and Igor Goldkind.

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When the Friends of Hobbits were Friends of Comic-Con

May 27, 2010

Alan Scrivener has recently posted online a history of the early days of San Diego Tolkien fandom, particularly the San Diego branch of the Mythopoeic Society known as the Society of the Friends of Hobbits. Alan’s article is titled “Ron Cearns and the Society of Friends of Hobbits (S.O.F.O.H.) OR On the Prehistory of Comic-Con in the Grossmont High School Tolkien Club and Some Other Related Notes.” You can read it at http://www.well.com/user/abs/SOFOH/sofoh.html.

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My Dinner with Timothy Leary

May 11, 2010

I was nineteen and I had a date with The Devil. His name had been on the evening news throughout the 1960’s. His philosophy fit on a lapel button: “Turn On, Tune In, Drop Out.” He was infamous – he was notorious. He was Dr. Timothy Leary, a former college professor and psychedelic guru speaking at student protests, marching to his unique beat. It was Comic-Con 1976.

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