The History of San Diego Comic-Con

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Photo: Comic Con

The first ever San Diego Comic-Con took place in 1970. It was ran by Shel Dorf, Ken Krueger, and Richard Alf, who were just a couple of comic book enthusiasts. The event began as a 1 day mini event held in the U.S. Grant Hotel. This first of it’s kind, the convention brought in around 100 people for the day, an infinitely smaller number compared to the 130,000 people that attended in 2014.

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Photo: Celebuzz

The first two guests to attend were Forest J. Ackerman and Mike Royer. A couple months later the founders were able to throw another Comic-Con with the funds that they raised from the first. 300 people attended the second Comc-Con that was held in 1970. The second convention brought in some more well known artists like, Ray Bradbury and Jack Kirby.

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Photo: Mad Catz

In 1973 the event finally got it’s official name – San Diego Comic-Con – and would later change their name to Comic-Con International: San Diego in 1995. The famous convention has taken place in a few different hotels but finally reached it’s final destination in 1991 when it was held at the Convention and Performing Arts building in San Diego.

Over the years the convention has changed dramatically, once the show just featured comics. Now every year famous authors, directors, and celebrities attend San Diego Comic-Con to announce new and upcoming movies, books, and even answer fan questions.  Their website boasts that thousands of famous guests have attended their huge convention. One thing we know for sure is, the convention will only continue to get bigger.