Exhibitions
Comic-Con: The Early Years
Memorabilia from the Shel Dorf Collection
July 08, 2011 – August 01, 2011
Comic-Con: The Early Years, Memorabilia from the Shel Dorf Collection is San Diego History Center’s display of Comic-Con memorabilia from the personal collection of the founder of Comic-Con himself, Shel Dorf.
This display showcases some of the earliest promotional material used for the Comic-Con convention as well as revealing some little-known facts about one of San Diego’s most treasured annual events.
For example:
- Did you know that the first Comic-Con was held in Detroit in 1964?
- Did you know Comic-Con’s first San Diego event began in the basement of the U.S. Grant Hotel as a one-day convention? Its purpose was to finance the three-day event to be held later that year which would receive 300 attendees!
- Did you know that Comic-Con was robbed and had to ask for donations to pay its bills in 1979?
- Did you know that Matt Groening was an attendee of the event long before his successful launch of The Simpsons?
Anyone interested in how Comic-Con had its early beginnings in San Diego will be “drawn” to this.
See it today!
Cartoon greeting attendees to the 1978 Comic-Con
Themed cartoon depicting terror at El Cortez Hotel
1977 promotion for Comic-Con
