Twilight, Robert Downey Jr., eight-hour lines. Time to ask the $64,000 question: Has Comic-Con become something completely different?! Why not ask those who made it all happen during the formative years of the Con? Luckily, that’s exactly what we did, and their answer may surprise you.

Navigating throughout the ever-expanding pop culture constellation of the turbulent 1980s, we seek out intelligent new life in the final frontier: the Hollywood blockbuster machine. Meanwhile, comics go uptown, with Pulitzer Prize winners, the birth of graphic novels, and four guys named Neil, Alan, Frank, and Art.

Some would call late Comic-Con founder Shel Dorf “controversial,” others “#$%!!,” still others their “greatest inspiration and friend.” The only thing everyone can agree on is that the Comic-Con would never have happened without Shel. And now his closest Con compadres open up about the reason why. As well as thoughtful reflections of Shel’s contentious departure in 1984 … right as the Con and geek culture took a giant leap forward.

We forge ahead at light speed into the complex scenario of how the first San Diego Comic-Con was cobbled together by our illustrious cast of kooky characters. From there, we venture onward through the mid-1970s as the Con grows exponentially in both physical size and attendance, heralding the “golden years” at a ramshackle downtown hotel that had seen better days called the El Cortez.

Trailer for the new SiriusXM original podcast COMIC-CON BEGINS, launching as a six-part series starting June 22, 2021

An enticing sampler of what's to come in COMIC-CON BEGINS.