Hot Tickets: From Motown to Comics

By Frank Sabatini Jr.

Let your ears take you on an imaginative concert where the likes of Aretha Franklin, The Jackson Five, Diana Ross, Smokey Robinson and other Motown greats are standing right before your eyes while belting out their popular hits.

The fantasy becomes yours at 7:30p on July 12 at downtown’s Balboa Theatre, when The Magic of Motown hits the stage with singers and musicians who pay talented tributes to the legendary artists. The touring production is loaded with slick choreography, dazzling costumes and pitch-perfect harmonies that send audiences back to the 1960s, when the namesake record company introduced one soul artist after another.

Tickets are limited to eight per person.

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With humble roots dating back locally to 1970, the unmistakable Comic-Con International returns to the San Diego Convention Center on July 24–27. Comic buffs are applauding the big lineup of special guests this year. They include: Renowned cartoonist Jen Sorenson, whose weekly comic strips appear in the Daily Kos and The Nation; comic-book historian, Mark Evanier, who was a former assistant to the legendary Jack Kirby and has attended every San Diego Comic-Con since 1970; and Japanese manga artist Kia Asamiya, a sci-fi mastermind known for creating the film-television series, Silent Mobius.

Tickets and badges to attend on all four days (or on individual dates) are selling fast. So don’t wait another minute if you want to go. Note: If you’re having no luck on Comic-Con’s website, which we find a tad choppy, second-party sellers such as TicketsOnSale might make admission purchases easier.