Comic-Con celebrated its 50th show in 2019 and had grown into an event that sprawled beyond the Convention Center, attracting upwards of 130,000 attendees. But it wasn't always that big.
KPBS arts reporter Beth Accomando spoke with a handful of longtime attendees — including two who had been there since the very beginning — about why they keep coming back, and what the event has meant to them over the decades.
Jackie Estrada
Author, photographer and one of the few people who has attended every single Comic-Con.
"In 1977, we had the creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster. We had the co-creator of Batman, Bob Kane. We had Robert Heinlein, who we had the first blood drive for at Comic-Con. It was the Robert Heinlein Memorial Blood Drive and he came specifically to San Diego just for that. And then we had really interesting cartoonists like B. Kaliban, known for his cat cartoons, which was a big craze fad at that time. The cross-section of people who were at the show and the underground cartoonist from San Francisco also came down. The interactions between everybody when the show was small enough that you had these blending of people hanging out that you never assumed would ever happen."
Mark Evanier
Comic book writer and editor who's been to every Comic-Con since the first.
"I went to the first one in the 1970s. We were in the basement of the U.S. Grand Hotel, which was undergoing construction. So everybody is walking on painter's papers and there's plywood walls to navigate, and we had 300 people there. We thought that was astounding. Now there's 300 people ahead of you in line for the men's room."
Joshua Gilliland
Co-founder of The Legal Geeks blog and podcast, and frequent Comic-Con panelist with The Legal Geeks.
"Our first one was 2015. We've been able to talk about 'Star Wars' and the law, 'Star Trek' and the law, Marvel movies and the law. One of the most memorable experiences was that our first one, where we had to win law talking about 'Star Wars' law and we had a federal judge with us and there was a youth in the audience, who probably was 7, and he asked a complex question on whether droid manufacturers could have the same level of liability as a gun manufacturer or a tobacco company. It was profound to hear a 7-year-old articulate something that legally complicated."
Eric Nakamura
Founder of "Giant Robot" and Comic-Con exhibitor since 1993.
"My first year was in 1993, and I remember someone brought me here and I remember I only had two hours of time — that was it. I came inside, ran around and was amazed at everything. After that, I decided I can't miss another one and I haven't. And here I am today, still running a booth. It's one of those great things that you look forward to every year. But at the same time, it's like you know it feels like the world revolves around it for one week. And that's kind of amazing, right? How do you do something where the world kind of pays attention to everything you do for one week. You know that doesn't happen too often."
Rebecca Hicks
Illustrator, writer, voice actor, creator of "The Little Vampires" webcomic and longtime Comic-Con exhibitor.
"My very first Comic-Con was in 1994, and I remember walking up to the door and buying a one-day pass. Over the years, it was like, 'Oh, now we can buy our pass for next year at this year's show' and then, 'Oh no, we got even bigger still and now you got to buy them online only.' Watching it go from 'It was a big show' the first year we attended and then to watch it grow has been amazing. But 13 years ago we were like, 'Oh my gosh, we need someplace to be able to sit and eat lunch.' The show floor is so crowded, so I wrote a book and got a small press table and I have now been an independent writer and illustrator for 13 years because I just wanted a spot to be able to eat lunch at San Diego Comic-Con."
Editor's note for 2025 readers: Comic-Con continues to draw more than 130,000 people each year. But the memories shared here reflect the passion and creativity that have powered the event from the beginning.
