Long-time fans can’t get enough of Comic-Con, ‘the Super Bowl of conventions’

Models at the 2024 Her Universe Fashion Show during San Diego Comic-Con. Actress Ashley Eckstein has been attending Comic-Con since 2007. By now, somemight think her excitement has worn off. But as thousands of fans are descending on downtown San Diego for the annualpop culture gathering, the anticipation is building even for convention pros like Eckstein. “I’m so excited,” said Eckstein, in an interview with Times of San Diego. “San DiegoComic-Con will always be the Comic-Con, the convention that every other fanconvention strives to be. San Diego Comic-Con is the Super Bowl of conventions. “There’s just an energy and electricity and a specialness about it that can’t be replicatedanywhere else. I’m so honored and proud to be a part of it.” About 155,000 people are expected to be a part of Comic-Con when it begins with Wednesday’s special preview day at the San Diego Convention Center, followed by the real opening day Thursday. Thousands more without tickets will gather outside the convention center, soaking up the atmosphere and unique sights that Comic-Con brings each year to the Gaslamp and the East Village. Greg Koudoulian, a longtime attendee, has seen firsthand the tremendous growth andpopularity of the gathering that was started by founders who were his friends. “Nobody really knew it would get this big,” he said. Koudoulian, 72, who has only missed a few gatherings since Comic-Con began in 1972, has made it his mission to collect and archive videos, photos and audiotapes of theconvention. On Saturday afternoon, he will take fans down memory lane during a presentation showcasing some of the 30 hours of convention videos that he has carefully gathered and preserved. The Beta Max videos include the early cosplay contests, scenes from the gathering andinterviews with artists. Some of the videos were taken from an in-house televisionchannel that organizers ran at the El Cortez Hotel where Comic-Con was once held. This will be the first time the videos have been seen since their original airing. Koudoulian will moderate a panel discussion on digitizing and preserving media likevideotapes, photographs, negatives, transparencies, film footage, documents and more. Meanwhile, Eckstein will preside over what has become one of the premier events ofthe week, the 11th annual Her Universe Fashion Show. The Thursday night show is expected to attract 2,500 people to the Seaport Ballroom ofthe Manchester Grand Hyatt Hotel, with hundreds more fans filling an overflow room. “The show has wildly exceeded my hopes and dreams and expectations,” said Eckstein. She founded Her Universe in 2010 as a fandom fashion company and lifestylebrand. This year’s show celebrates Wicked, the popular musical play and film, withthe theme of “Defying Fashion: Fashion That Defies Expectations.” “This show is for anyone and everyone,” said Eckstein. “You don’t have to know anything about fashion … You just need to be a fan and enjoy other fans.” More than two dozen budding fashion designers from around the country will competefor prizes, with the winner selected by judges and the audience. Eckstein is also popular among the Comic-Con crowd for her voice acting work as Ahsoka Tano in animated Star Wars shows, including a new film coming out in September. “I can’t wait.” said Eckstein. “It’s like counting down the days to Christmas.”