The convention was founded in 1970 by
Shel Dorf,
Richard Alf,
Ken Krueger,
Mike Towry, Ron Graf, Barry Alfonso, Bob Sourk, Scott Shaw, John Pound, Roger Freedman, David Clark, and
Greg Bear. Initial comic book and sci-fi club meetings would be held at Krueger's Alert Books in
Ocean Beach, where much of the foundation of the early Cons coalesced. In the mid-1960s, Dorf, a
Detroit-born comics fan, had mounted the
DTFF, one of the first commercial comics-fan conventions. When he moved to
San Diego in 1970, he organized a one-day convention known as '''San Diego's Golden State Comic-Minicon''' on March 21, 1970, "as a kind of 'dry run' for the larger convention he hoped to stage". Dorf remained associated with the convention, variously as president or manager, for years until becoming estranged from the organization. Alf co-chaired the first convention with Krueger and became chairman in 1971. The venue was held in the basement of the
U.S. Grant Hotel, The first few Comic-Cons operated under the name
San Diego West Coast Comic Convention until 1973, when it changed to
San Diego Comic-Con. Other locations in the convention's early years included
El Cortez Hotel, the
University of California, San Diego, and
Golden Hall, before being moved to the
San Diego Convention Center in 1991. Richard Alf, chairman in 1971, has noted an early factor in the Con's growth was an effort "to expand the Comic-Con [organizing] committee base by networking with other fandoms such as the
Society for Creative Anachronism and the
Mythopoeic Society, among others. (We found a lot of talent and strength through diversity)". In a
Rolling Stone article about the origins of Comic-Con, it noted the work of Krueger, who handled early business matters, and worked to get the event to be organized by a non-profit organization. By the late 1970s, the show had grown to such an extent that
Bob Schreck recalled visiting with his then-boss Gary Berman of
Creation Conventions and reflecting, "While [Berman] kept repeating (attempting to convince himself) 'This show's not any bigger than ours!' I was quietly walking the floor stunned and in awe of just how much bigger it really was. I was blown away." From 1984 to , a
trade fair called the "San Diego Comic Book Expo" was held in association with San Diego Comic-Con;
David Scroggy was the organizer. In 1995, the convention's official name was changed to
Comic-Con International: San Diego. According to
Forbes, the convention is the "largest convention of its kind in the world";
Publishers Weekly wrote "Comic-Con International: San Diego is the largest show in North America"; it is also the largest convention held in San Diego. The convention has an estimated annual regional economic impact of more than $140 million. Yet, in 2009, the estimated economic impact was criticized for allegedly negatively impacting seasonal businesses outside of Comic-Con, low individual spending estimates of attendees, that a large number of attendees live in San Diego, and that the impact of the convention was more cultural than financial. The estimated economic impact of that year's convention was $180 million. In 2014, the estimated impact of that year's convention was $177.8 million. In 2016, the estimated impact of that year's convention was down to $150 million. By 2018, San Diego Comic-Con saw increasing competition from other comic conventions in places such as New York City, and Washington, D.C., which caused it to compete for attendees and companies time and budget; yet San Diego Comic-Con was described by
Publishers Weekly as "a must-do". The convention is organized by a panel of 13 board members, 16 to 20 full-time and part-time workers, and 80 volunteers who assist via committees. Comic-Con International is a non-profit organization, and proceeds of the event go to funding it, as well as SAM: Storytelling Across Media and
WonderCon. In 2015, through a
limited liability company, Comic-Con International purchased three buildings in
Barrio Logan. In 2018 Comic-Con International purchased a office in San Diego's
Little Italy neighborhood. By October 2017, the organization began to hire staff for the museum. Nearly a year after acquiring the lease, the museum was not yet open. During the 2018 Comic-Con, one reason stated for why the museum had not yet opened was the need for additional funds. Organizers are hoping to raise $25 million with a target opening date of late 2020 or 2022. On April 17, 2020, the 53rd convention was cancelled due to the
COVID-19 pandemic in California and two stay-at-home orders issued by
California governor Gavin Newsom. An "SDCC@Home" digital streaming event was held during the same time period as a replacement for the 2020 event. Although plans were made for the convention to possibly return in 2021 (with 2020 badge holders given the option to receive a full refund or to roll over their badge to 2021), A smaller in-person event, "San Diego Comic-Con Special Edition" was hosted in November 2021, with proof of full COVID-19 vaccination or a recent negative test required for admission, and face masks being mandatory. The full-scale convention returned in July 2022; once again, face masks and proof of full COVID-19 vaccination was required. On July 13, 2023,
SAG-AFTRA approved a
strike after failing to renew its contract with the
Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers (AMPTP), marking the first time that both actors and
writers have concurrently been on strike since 1960. As SAG-AFTRA members would be prohibited from participating in promotional work such as panels, multiple major media companies preemptively pulled out of Comic-Con as early as June, including
Disney (including subsidiaries
Marvel and
Lucasfilm),
Netflix, Inc.,
Sony Pictures, and
Universal Pictures. Nonetheless, the convention occurred as scheduled with, as later reported, approximately 135,000 attendees and an economic impact of $161.1 million. In July 2024,
San Diego Police Chief Scott Wahl cited Comic-Con as an
exigent circumstance allowing him to bypass a recently enacted privacy law and fast-track the installation of "smart streetlights" and
automated license plate readers in the vicinity of the convention. Wahl was unaware of any specific threats but said, "That could change at any moment." In December 2024, a lawsuit was filed against the SDPD for improperly deploying the surveillance systems at Comic-Con and at the
San Diego Pride Parade without disclosing their locations or the nature of the "exigent circumstances" in violation of the law. ==Events==