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By Horacio Jones
Although I can’t call myself an avid comic book fan, I was glad to have the opportunity to walk around the convention and talk to some local participants at Comic-Con this year. It was exciting to see local filmmakers Crysstal Hubbard and Machelle Noel get the chance to promote their fan film “Supergirl Unburdened” and sign autographs. A couple of local venues also hosted off-site events such as Chicano-Con and Comic Conga.
These types of events are important because they give the local community a chance to experience the spirit of the convention in their own neighborhood and also give local artists another avenue to exhibit their works. Director Guillermo del Toro actually visited the Border X Brewing company to see Chicano-Con for himself. At Comic-Conga, cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz who was born in La Mesa, gave a presentation of his cartoons and also showed a sneak preview of the new animated series “Bordertown” which he is writing. The show is scheduled to run on Fox this September and the Executive Producer is Seth MacFarlane of “Family Guy” fame.
I think it would be a good idea for the Comic- Con organizers to take it upon themselves to host more local events away from the convention center and downtown in general. This would alleviate the congestion for attending some of the panels and perhaps fans wouldn’t have to sleep on the sidewalk or grass overnight. They could even have the charter buses go to these future off-site events which would make it easier for fans to see more of San Diego and spread out the economic impact of the convention to other parts of the city.