By Luis Monteagudo Jr.
Comic-Con 2015 kicked off at 5:29 p.m. Wednesday when the doors to the sprawling San Diego Convention Center exhibit hall were opened up to thousands of fanboys and fangirls, many waiting for hours.
Within minutes, the exhibit hall was crowded with people getting sneak peaks at the latest video games, buying exclusive merchandise and toys and ogling sets, props and memorabilia from favorite movies and televsion shows.
“This is awesome,” one woman said as she walked past “zombies” walking around a set recreating a key location in television’s hugely popular “The Walking Dead.”
Thursday was the first full day of Comic-Con, and it kicked off with local flavor.
Political cartoonist and satirist Lalo Alcaraz, who is from San Diego, entertained fans with a look back at his favorite cartoons and talked about a high-profile upcoming project.
Alcaraz, who grew up in Lemon Grove, talked about his early days as an editorial cartoonist for the Daily Aztec, the student paper at San Diego State University.
Since then, he’s built a controversial career with his “La Cucaracha” comic strip, which runs in the San Diego Union-Tribune and is syndicated nationwide. The strip takes an edgy look at race relations and Chicano culture and some critics have labeled it racist.
“My comic pisses people off so much in San Diego,” he said.
Alcaraz is branching out into new territory as a writer and producer for “Bordertown,” an animated show executive produced by Seth McFarlane, of “Family Guy” and “Ted” fame.
The show focuses on two families — one white, one Mexican — who live in a small town near the U.S.-Mexico border. Alcaraz showed off a 7-minute clip of the show to cheers and applause. The show is scheduled to air in January on the Fox network.
If anyone needed more convincing that Comic-Con has become a mega event, then consider that more than 100 blogs have sprung up to focus on the Con.
“With the proliferation of pop culture has come the proliferation of pop culture websites,” said Tony B. Kim, who created the site Crazy 4 Comic Con. “We’re not just on the sidelines, we’re shaping pop culture.”
Many of the blogs were started by people who were inspired by their first visit to Comic-Con and wanted to help people navigate the halls and learn the ins and outs.
“As soon as I came here, I knew this is my people, this is my place,” said Megan Gotch, of The Nerdy Girlie blog. “Comic-Con has brightness, a lot of happiness and I just want to share it with everyone.”
As Comic-Con has grown from a fringe event to an international spectacle, bloggers realize they’ve had a hand in creating the giant convention that packs San Diego for one week each year.
“We were weirdos before it was cool to be weirdos,” said Kim.
Luis Monteagudo Jr. is a freelance writer and pop culture enthusiast who has attended Comic-Con for more than 20 years. He was written for the San Diego Union-Tribune, USA Today and numerous other publications.
