Other comics conventions may be (almost) as big. They might even be almost as fun. But in addition to being a full-on “Celebration of the Popular Arts,” what makes San Diego’s Comic-Con International so special is how the businesses around it have embraced it.
I don’t mean the businesses that have been paid to put up advertising. I mean the ones that lean in and put up artwork related to fandom. It’s the Ace Hardware store with posters for Milestone Media’s Hardware in each window. (This year they got new ones — the old ones had faded from the sun.) It’s the many restaurants with specials named after something nerdy.
One that gets overlooked is also one that provides respite to many attendees. It faces the “backyard” of the San Diego Convention Center, where many outdoor activations sit aside the harbor. At the base of the Hilton Bayfront Hotel, itself now a site for many panels, there are sweet things. Rather, a frozen yogurt place called Sweet Things. And every year artist Shirish Villaseñor themes the windows. This year, it’s the Universal Monsters proving that friendship is universal. (Appropriate for the launch of Intergalactic Friendship Day.)
Look for the huge mural of What We Do in the Shadows. In the shadows under that, you will find Sweet Things.
If I knew the name of the artist who painted these windows, I’d happily give credit. All I know is that after you’ve stood in line in the sun waiting for the FX experience or Animayhem, you’ll be glad Sweet Things is there.
