Past Exhibits

Becoming Betty Boop

June 27, 2024 – June 15, 2025

Comic-Con Museum® and Fleischer Studios present Becoming Betty Boop, an exclusive exhibit showcasing the nearly 100-year history and evolution of the iconic cartoon character.

Border Blitz: Artistas del Cómic de Tijuana

May 9, 2024 – May 12, 2025

In celebration of World Design Capital 2024 San Diego-Tijuana, Comic-Con Museum and the Office of the Mexican Consulate General of San Diego announce their second binational collaboration.

Logo Legacy

March 1, 2024 – September 1, 2024

In this new exhibit, check out an extremely rare collection of comic books with first brand emblems, dating back to the 1940s, and learn how they impact the value of the comics.

Popnology

October 4, 2023 – August 21, 2024

Immerse yourself in the world of POPnology, Comic-Con Museum’s latest interactive exhibit that demonstrates the connection between pop culture and real-world technology!

From Big Dots to the Digital Universe: The Evolution of Comic Book Color

October 4, 2023 – August 21, 2024

Embark on a journey through the vibrant history of comic book coloring with Comic-Con Inkpot Award recipient Steve Oliff! This exhibit will take guests through a mesmerizing transformation from big dots on paper to the cutting-edge realm of computer-generated hues.

Cowboy Bebop 25th Anniversary Art Exhibition

July 18, 2023 – April 30, 2024

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of the iconic anime “COWBOY BEBOP,” a gallery of commissioned art was created to capture the essence of the series’ iconic characters, settings, and themes through the unique style and interpretation of the artists.

Trino’s World

April 25, 2023 – July 4, 2023

‘Trino’s World’ features art, watercolors and objects from world-famous Mexican cartoonist Trino! Our latest exhibit in collaboration with the Consulate General of Mexico in San Diego. Our first binational exhibit.

Cover Story: Five Decades of Comic-Con

February 4, 2023 – September 10, 2023

A look at the over 50 year history of Comic-Con International featuring illustrations by some of the most famous comic book artists, including Milton Caniff, Rick Geary, Jack Kirby, Jim Lee, and Dave Stevens.

Ernest Hemingway in Comics

September 14, 2022 – January 1, 2023

Hemingway in Comics is a fascinating look at America’s finest author in America’s most disposable medium. Hemingway wouldn’t be caught dead reading this book, but since he’s already dead, the rest of us can bask in its two-fisted, pop-culture obsessed meta-history.

The exhibit at Comic-Con Museum explores what it means to be a pop-culture icon, and how that image can change over time. The book, written by Robert K. Elder, Hemingway in Comics celebrates more than 120 of these comics from 18 countries, from the U.S. and Mexico to the Netherlands and Latvia. Forty pieces of original artwork from various artists are featured in the book, including Chris Ware, Colleen Doran, Steve Rolston, Ryan Inzana, Gabo, Norwegian artist Jason, and many others, are on display at Comic-Con Museum.

Dave Stevens & The Rocketeer: Art for Arf’s Sake!

March 9, 2022 – September 7, 2022

Artist Dave Stevens’s greatest creation, The Rocketeer, has captivated generations of comic book and movie fans. But Stevens and his Bulldog Studios’s (E. Surplus Lickum) legacy of creating “art for arf ’sake” goes far beyond that series, as this exhibit reveals through glorious pages of original comic-book art, advertising pieces, animation storyboards, concept art from The Rocketeer film, and one-of-a-kind artifacts and prototypes from Stevens’ personal collection. 

Dave also had a long relationship with Comic-Con International, providing artwork and promo pieces for the convention for years, and we are overjoyed to be able to share work from across the breadth of his artistic life. In addition to over 40 original covers and pages from The Rocketeer, this one-of-a-kind exhibit will also feature Dave’s early works, his artwork for Comic-Con, animation storyboards, Rocketeer helmets, costumes, character busts and statues, his’ awards, his original drawing table, and other uniquely designed props and pieces. The Rocketeer is celebrating its 40th anniversary in 2022, and you’re invited to share in the celebration!

Eight Decades of Archie

November 26, 2021 – September 7, 2022

Comic-Con Museum is proud to premiere Eight Decades Of Archie, a new pop-up exhibition that explores the storied history of America’s typical teenagers through immersive set pieces, visual displays, and hundreds of artifacts including vintage comic books, animation production materials, priceless pieces of original art, TV and film props, and other memorabilia.This project celebrates both the vast cultural legacy of the Archie Comics company and the enduring appeal of its characters, and is built to appeal equally to devoted comic aficionados, audiences who grew up on The Archies animated series and records, and those who first encountered the characters through Riverdale and its spin-off programs – while also offering behind-the-scenes insights and context that will engage even the most casual fan

Chas Addams… Family and Friends

November 26, 2021 – February 22, 2022

Ghoulish, macabre, bizarre, eerie, and weird have all been used to describe the work and characters of Charles Samuel Addams. Charming, humorous, enchanting, tender, and captivating are also adjectives used to describe the same body of work, as well as the man himself. His rare gift was the ability to enjoin such dichotomies in wonderfully crafted cartoons and drawings loved by millions worldwide. Born in Westfield, New Jersey in 1912, Addams became a freelance cartoonist in the early 1930s. He sold his first drawing to The New Yorker in 1933. His cartoons ran regularly in the magazine from 1938 up until his death in 1988. Addams drew more than 1,300 cartoons over the course of his life. Those that did not appear in The New Yorker were often in Collier’s and TV Guide. This exhibition encompasses 60 original works (including several color paintings as well as black-and-white cartoons), divided into five categories: Art & Architecture, Relationships, Addams Family, Anomalies, and “Preliminary and Published,” which consists of four published works and their associated preliminary drawings.