Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs

Town & Country Con

Teen singer James Morris will entertain at the “smallish Con.”
Teen singer James Morris will entertain at the “smallish Con.”

Comic Fest, running October 19 through 21, is a new convention organized by several of the original promoters behind the early San Diego Comic-Cons: Mike Towry, Barry Alfonso, and Bob Sourk. “This year is the 40th anniversary of the first Comic-Con we had at the El Cortez Hotel, which I was chairman of back in 1972 at the ripe old age of 17,” says Towry. “We think it’ll be fun to have a relatively smallish Con at which we consciously try to foster the vibe of those early fan gatherings.”

Staged at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in Hotel Circle, the gathering will include Twilight Zone writer George Clayton Johnson hosting music events at Café Frankenstein, a re-creation of the Laguna Beach beatnik lounge he cofounded in the late 1950s. “George was one of the fest’s main inspirations,” says Towry. “His frequent fond reminiscences about the El Cortez Cons encouraged me to think seriously about starting up an old-school-style convention. We’re also spotlighting one of George’s original café partners, artist Burt Shonberg, including a preview of a new documentary being made about him.” The late surrealist’s artwork graced album covers by bands such as Spirit, the Zarkons, the Curtis Brothers, and Arthur Lee and Love.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In addition, local Folk Arts Rare Records owner Lou Curtiss (who performed at the original café) will play a set, as will San Diego singer/songwriter Robin Henkel, fiddle duo Damian and Marion Knowels, ’60s survivor Barry McGuire (“Eve of Destruction”), and local teen James Morris, among others.

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
Next Article

Memories of bonfires amid the pits off Palm

Before it was Ocean View Hills, it was party central
Teen singer James Morris will entertain at the “smallish Con.”
Teen singer James Morris will entertain at the “smallish Con.”

Comic Fest, running October 19 through 21, is a new convention organized by several of the original promoters behind the early San Diego Comic-Cons: Mike Towry, Barry Alfonso, and Bob Sourk. “This year is the 40th anniversary of the first Comic-Con we had at the El Cortez Hotel, which I was chairman of back in 1972 at the ripe old age of 17,” says Towry. “We think it’ll be fun to have a relatively smallish Con at which we consciously try to foster the vibe of those early fan gatherings.”

Staged at the Town and Country Resort and Convention Center in Hotel Circle, the gathering will include Twilight Zone writer George Clayton Johnson hosting music events at Café Frankenstein, a re-creation of the Laguna Beach beatnik lounge he cofounded in the late 1950s. “George was one of the fest’s main inspirations,” says Towry. “His frequent fond reminiscences about the El Cortez Cons encouraged me to think seriously about starting up an old-school-style convention. We’re also spotlighting one of George’s original café partners, artist Burt Shonberg, including a preview of a new documentary being made about him.” The late surrealist’s artwork graced album covers by bands such as Spirit, the Zarkons, the Curtis Brothers, and Arthur Lee and Love.

Sponsored
Sponsored

In addition, local Folk Arts Rare Records owner Lou Curtiss (who performed at the original café) will play a set, as will San Diego singer/songwriter Robin Henkel, fiddle duo Damian and Marion Knowels, ’60s survivor Barry McGuire (“Eve of Destruction”), and local teen James Morris, among others.

Comments
Sponsored

The latest copy of the Reader

Here's something you might be interested in.
Submit a free classified
or view all
Previous article

Born & Raised offers a less decadent Holiday Punch

Cognac serves to lighten the mood
Next Article

Houston ex-mayor donates to Toni Atkins governor fund

LGBT fights in common
Comments
Ask a Hipster — Advice you didn't know you needed Big Screen — Movie commentary Blurt — Music's inside track Booze News — San Diego spirits Classical Music — Immortal beauty Classifieds — Free and easy Cover Stories — Front-page features Drinks All Around — Bartenders' drink recipes Excerpts — Literary and spiritual excerpts Feast! — Food & drink reviews Feature Stories — Local news & stories Fishing Report — What’s getting hooked from ship and shore From the Archives — Spotlight on the past Golden Dreams — Talk of the town The Gonzo Report — Making the musical scene, or at least reporting from it Letters — Our inbox Movies@Home — Local movie buffs share favorites Movie Reviews — Our critics' picks and pans Musician Interviews — Up close with local artists Neighborhood News from Stringers — Hyperlocal news News Ticker — News & politics Obermeyer — San Diego politics illustrated Outdoors — Weekly changes in flora and fauna Overheard in San Diego — Eavesdropping illustrated Poetry — The old and the new Reader Travel — Travel section built by travelers Reading — The hunt for intellectuals Roam-O-Rama — SoCal's best hiking/biking trails San Diego Beer — Inside San Diego suds SD on the QT — Almost factual news Sheep and Goats — Places of worship Special Issues — The best of Street Style — San Diego streets have style Surf Diego — Real stories from those braving the waves Theater — On stage in San Diego this week Tin Fork — Silver spoon alternative Under the Radar — Matt Potter's undercover work Unforgettable — Long-ago San Diego Unreal Estate — San Diego's priciest pads Your Week — Daily event picks
4S Ranch Allied Gardens Alpine Baja Balboa Park Bankers Hill Barrio Logan Bay Ho Bay Park Black Mountain Ranch Blossom Valley Bonita Bonsall Borrego Springs Boulevard Campo Cardiff-by-the-Sea Carlsbad Carmel Mountain Carmel Valley Chollas View Chula Vista City College City Heights Clairemont College Area Coronado CSU San Marcos Cuyamaca College Del Cerro Del Mar Descanso Downtown San Diego Eastlake East Village El Cajon Emerald Hills Encanto Encinitas Escondido Fallbrook Fletcher Hills Golden Hill Grant Hill Grantville Grossmont College Guatay Harbor Island Hillcrest Imperial Beach Imperial Valley Jacumba Jamacha-Lomita Jamul Julian Kearny Mesa Kensington La Jolla Lakeside La Mesa Lemon Grove Leucadia Liberty Station Lincoln Acres Lincoln Park Linda Vista Little Italy Logan Heights Mesa College Midway District MiraCosta College Miramar Miramar College Mira Mesa Mission Beach Mission Hills Mission Valley Mountain View Mount Hope Mount Laguna National City Nestor Normal Heights North Park Oak Park Ocean Beach Oceanside Old Town Otay Mesa Pacific Beach Pala Palomar College Palomar Mountain Paradise Hills Pauma Valley Pine Valley Point Loma Point Loma Nazarene Potrero Poway Rainbow Ramona Rancho Bernardo Rancho Penasquitos Rancho San Diego Rancho Santa Fe Rolando San Carlos San Marcos San Onofre Santa Ysabel Santee San Ysidro Scripps Ranch SDSU Serra Mesa Shelltown Shelter Island Sherman Heights Skyline Solana Beach Sorrento Valley Southcrest South Park Southwestern College Spring Valley Stockton Talmadge Temecula Tierrasanta Tijuana UCSD University City University Heights USD Valencia Park Valley Center Vista Warner Springs
Close

Anchor ads are not supported on this page.

This Week’s Reader This Week’s Reader