CONNECT with the CityComic-Con at the Library
Graphic novels help foster a love of reading and can also be an important part of building and improving literacy skills. The San Diego Public Library uses Comic-Con's unique place in San Diego's cultural landscape to explore the connection between graphic novels, literacy and education.
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Comic-Con® Conference for Educators and Librarians
Since 2018, Comic-Con International and San Diego Public Library have teamed up to present a FREE five-day conference that takes place annually at San Diego Central Library during the San Diego Comic Convention and is open to the public.
CCEL programming begins Wednesday, July 23 - Sunday, July 27. Explore the role comics play in promoting education and literacy for all ages. Those in the library and education fields are invited to learn creative and exciting ways to incorporate comics and other popular arts into their work. Through presentations and panel discussions, the Conference hopes to engage the community and promote comics as a medium for learning.
CCEL Registration and Schedule:
Registration is highly recommended for interested attendees each day they plan to take part in CCEL. Please note that space is limited and registration does not guarantee seating at each panel.
Featured Library Programs
Cosplay Repair Station!
July 24 - July 26 | 11a.m. - 5 p.m. San Diego Central Library | IDEA Lab
Cosplayers finding themselves with a missing button, broken strap, a last-minute add and more can walk into the 4th floor IDEA Lab for quick fix solutions to common cosplay woes.
IDEA Lab are also offering free comic themed makes, trivia and photo ops while supplies last.
The Central Library IDEA Lab will provide basic equipment and materials.
- Equipment and tools: sewing machines, 3D printers/pen, laser cutters, desktop cutters, soldering irons and more.
- Sewing supplies: needles, thread, seam rippers, scissors, safety pins, etc.
- Various adhesives: hot glue guns, wood glue, tacky glue, super glue, duct tape, electrical tape, transparent tape, etc.
Tuesday, July 8 | 4 p.m.-5 p.m. | North Clairemont Library
Using simple shapes and easy to understand instructions, guests can gain the knowledge to create their very own unique anime characters. All materials are provided. All ages welcome.
How to Make a Pokéball Terrarium
Tuesday, July 8 | 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. | Carmel Valley Library
Join us for a fun crafting session where you’ll design a clear Poké Ball terrarium to take home. All materials will be provided. This is an adult craft, however Tweens & Up may accompany an adult. Registration required.
Tuesday, July 8| 5:30 p.m.-7:30 p.m. | Mira Mesa Library
Come join our Game Leader Krystal in a tabletop role play journaling event! Krystal will help walk you through creating your own tavern and player character to engage in scenarios during your tavern’s opening day! This program is for ages 18 and up. Registration required.
Little Fish Comic Book Workshop – Celebrating Comic-Con!
Tuesday, July 8| 6 p.m.-7:30 p.m. | San Ysidro Library
Learn how to unlock the awesome secrets of making your own comics, and how to improve your drawing skills, whether you like manga, Dog Man or Spider-Man! Ages 7 to 17. Registration required.
Sketch Night: Comic Con Edition
Part I, July 8 | Part II, July 15 | 4 p.m.-5 p.m. | Virtual Event on Zoom
Join the Sketch Night Team for a special Comic-Con themed program run by the San Diego County Parks and Recreation Department in conjunction with staff from SDPL.
Registration required. Contact Juan Carlos Robles at 619-541-5188 or JuanCarlos.Robles@sdcounty.ca.gov to sign up. Please send your name, age, phone number or email address.
Superhero Party with Toshwerks
Tuesday, July 15| 3:30 p.m.-4:30 p.m. | Point Loma/Hervey Library
Tap into your inner Superhero at this fun Comic Character Design Workshop with Toshwerks. Ages 5 to 17. Registration required.
Craft for Kids – Celebrate Comic-Con
Wednesday, July 16 | 4 p.m.-5 p.m. | Carmel Mountain Ranch Library
Celebrate the popular arts at this Comic Con themed button-making craft or kids! Design your very own one-of-a-kind "Nerdy Button," using images of your favorite superheroes, Manga, or Pokémon. Registration required.
Dance to EvOlvE presents: Calling All Superheroes!
Thursday, July 17| 12 p.m.-12:45 p.m. | San Ysidro Library
It’s a bird, it’s a plane, it’s a dancing Superhero! This non-stop, hip-hop inspired class for toddlers and preschoolers is catered towards the unmatched energy of a young hero or heroine.
Picture This! Book to Film Edition: The Princess Bride
Saturday, July 19 | 11 a.m.-12:45 p.m. | La Jolla/Riford Library
Join us for a matinee feature of The Princess Bride: A bedridden boy's grandfather reads him the story of a farm boy-turned-pirate who encounters numerous obstacles, enemies, and allies in his quest to be reunited with his true love.
Monday, July 21| 4 p.m.-8 p.m. | Mira Mesa Library
Enjoy crafts, mini-games, and puzzles taken from various Legend of Zelda games, and Zelda themed trivia events with varying levels of difficulty. Channel your inner Hylian and uncover treasure from the Mira Mesa IDEA Lab while supplies last!
Monday, July 21| 4:30 p.m.-5:30 p.m. | Pacific Highlands Ranch Library
Dress up as your favorite character or in your favorite fandom attire and join us for a short comic themed storytime for all ages. Then, meet Odi the Coyote, the San Diego Public Library mascot who happens to love... cosplaying! Can you guess what Odi will dress up as?
Comic-Con Commemorative Library Cards
Each year San Diego Public Library, Comic-Con International and local artists partner up to present a limited-run commemorative Comic-Con library card. This exclusive library card is the only one to be licensed by Comic-Con International and is available, while supplies last, at the SDPL library booth on the convention floor, starting with Preview Night.
This year’s limited card design will be announced Monday, July 21 and is available in limited quantities at all SDPL locations starting Thursday, July 24.
Comic-Con cards distributed at the convention center must be activated by staff at any SDPL location. Card replacements made in July are offered for free.
2024 Featured Artist and Design
The 2024 Commemorative Comic-Con Library Card is here! Illustrated by John Jennings, this latest card design shows off the power found within books and reading.
John Jennings is a professor, author, graphic novelist, curator, Harvard Fellow, New York Times Bestseller, 2018 Eisner Winner, and all-around champion of Black culture. As Professor of Media and Cultural Studies at the University of California at Riverside (UCR), Jennings examines the visual culture of race in various media forms including film, illustrated fiction and comics and graphic novels. He is also the director of Abrams ComicArts imprint Megascope, which publishes graphic novels focused on the experiences of people of color.
Jennings is co-editor of the 2016 Eisner Award-winning collection The Blacker the Ink: Constructions of Black Identity in Comics and Sequential Art (Rutgers) and co-founder/organizer of The Schomburg Center’s Black Comic Book Festival in Harlem. He is co-founder and organizer of the MLK NorCal’s Black Comix Arts Festival in San Francisco and also SOL-CON: The Brown and Black Comix Expo at the Ohio State University.
Comic-Con Library Card Designs
2013 themed Comic-Con library card illustrated by Thomas Vineberg.
2014 themed Comic-Con library card illustrated by Thomas Vineberg.
In 2015, e3 Civic High School—whose campus is located within San Diego Central Library—held a library card design contest. The winning design became that year's themed Comic-Con library card.
2016 themed Comic-Con library card illustrated by ToshWerks, a San Diego art and design studio.
2017 themed Comic-Con library card illustrated by Attiba Royster, one of three possible options. Designs were created by members of the library’s Comic-Con International Graphic Novel Book Clubs.
2017 themed Comic-Con library card illustrated by Vince Alvendia (a.k.a. EggdropRamen), one of three possible options. Designs were created by members of the library’s Comic-Con International Graphic Novel Book Clubs.
2017 themed Comic-Con library card illustrated by Robert McKeone, one of three possible options. Designs were created by members of the library’s Comic-Con International Graphic Novel Book Clubs.
“No Restricted Sections,” the 2018 official San Diego Comic-Con International library card illustrated by Lucas Turnbloom, an award-winning cartoonist.
2019 official San Diego Comic-Con International library card designed by Candlewick Press.
“Leer Sin Fronteras” (Read without Borders), the 2022 official San Diego Comic-Con International library card. Created by Charles Glaubitz, a visual artist and illustrator based in Tijuana, Mexico, its design reflects the close ties between SD and TJ. Spanish is used throughout and the main subjects, niño-burro (boy-donkey) and burro-zebra, are characters frequently featured in his work.
“Odi, Defender of Books,” 2023 official San Diego Comic-Con International library card illustrated by Rachel Murray. This alter ego of Odi the Coyote (the mascot of SDPL), is masked up and ready to fight against book bans.
Find us at Comic-Con
Visit San Diego Public Library in the Convention Center at Booth 5523 by the entrance to the exhibition floor between the B1 and B2 lobbies. Pick up a limited-edition Comic-Con commemorative library card, learn more about library services and other goodies. The booth will also have special appearances from SDPL mascot Odi the Coyote, the 2025 Comic-Con Card artist and authors J.P. Takahashi and Samuel Teer at select times.
Blind Date with a Book, Chapter 4: Always and 4ever
Saturday, July 26| 10:00 a.m.-11:00 a.m. | Central Library | Neil Morgan Auditorium
The librarians are once again at Comic Con to find you an un4gettable match in the fourth iteration of Blind Date with a Book! Join San Diego Public Library librarians Vanessa Gempis, Melissa Barbour, Christina Wainwright, and Maureen Meadows, along with host Scott Ehrig-Burgess of the Library Shop as they help 3 lucky audience members find love in all the right pages! Comic-Con Badge is required to attend.
Transportation Information
Please note that special event rates will be in effect in the library parking garage. The lot will likely fill up early in the day for the duration of Comic-Con.
Due to the increased traffic downtown, taking public transit is highly encouraged. San Diego Central Library is one block from the Park & Market Trolley Station (Blue and Orange Lines). MTS Bus Routes 12, 901 and 929 stop in front of the 11th Avenue library entrance. For those riding bicycles, racks can be found in the parking garage and by the Park Boulevard entrance.
Booklists
For more information, please email San Diego Public Library Adult Programming at SDLB_Adult_Programming@sandiego.gov
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