SDCC 2024: Monsters and Smoothies

Monsters and Smoothies

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 VillaseƱor themes the windows. This year, it’s the Universal Monsters proving that friendship is universal. (Appropriate for the launch of Intergalactic Friendship Day.)

Monsters and Smoothies
Look underneath the vampires…

Look for the huge mural of What We Do in the Shadows. In the shadows under that, you will find Sweet Things.

Monsters and Smoothies
The barriers between man and wolfman rendered invisible…
Monsters and Smoothies
If love doesn’t keep us together, a shot of wheatgrass will…
Monsters and Smoothies
I don’t drink… spirulina.
Monsters and Smoothies
Their smoothies are transformative…

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.

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About Derek McCaw 2633 Articles
In addition to running Fanboy Planet, Derek has written for ActionAce, Daily Radar, Once Upon A Dime, and The Wave. He has contributed stories to Arcana Comics (The Greatest American Hero) and Monsterverse Comics (Bela Lugosi's Tales from the Grave). He has performed with ComedySportz and Silicon Valley Shakespeare, though relocated to Hollywood to... work in an office? If you ever played Eric's Ultimate Solitaire on the Macintosh, it was Derek's voice as The Weasel that urged you to play longer. You can buy his book "I Was Flesh Gordon" on the Amazon link at the right. Email him at [email protected].