§ John Jakala runs into the kind of people who reflexively defend the superhero genre while observing:

The superhero comics that do stand out are generally well-written and have something interesting to say about the human condition other than “Wouldn’t it be cool if we brought back a bunch of old characters no one’s seen in a long time?”

§ Tom Spurgeon has a very lengthy post-bang interview with San Diego CCI’s David Glanzer, and Glanzer gives out lots of vague sound bites, which Tom tries to penetrate to no avail, although it’s unlikely that detailed answers to the questions would be pertinent at this point. But it does prove that much of SDCC is an optical illusion:

GLANZER: I am not saying there is no special concern for those companies. What I was trying to say is that each company, publishers, and retailers included, may have different reasons for attending the show.

A imagine the reason for a retailer to be at the show will differ from a publisher who has no retail outlet. It doesn’t mean one is more important than the other, it simply means they might have a different criteria by which they must judge the success of their presence at the show.

In 2006 we had 155 booths dedicated to comics (Golden/Silver/New Comics), in 2008 we had 173 booths. In regard publishers, in 2006 we had 363 booths that were taken by publishers and in 2008 that number increased to 403 booths. And we still have publishers and retailers that are on our wait list for space.

§ Just for the record. Everyone — but everyone — sent us these links to Triumph the Insult Comic Dog at SDCC. Part 1 and Part 2.

§ Charlie Chu’s photo set of cartoonist portraits is totally excellent. Above, Ivan Brandon.

§ Have you always wanted to go to the Eisners but not been able to? Now you can listen to this year’s ceremony!

§ We have TOTALLY been using the word “totally” way too much today!

Graeme McMillan rounds up all of the complaints and dark sides and whatnot in a fairly brilliant post all should read:

It was the con that, it seemed, confounded a lot of people. Press shut out of panels, celebrities turned away from parties, comic publishers vowing never to return and 125,000 fans all in one building for four days without end. Every year, San Diego Comic-Con ends with people griping that it has gotten to be too big and that something has to change, but was this the year that lived up to the complaints?

He has a few good quotes, including this from mediabistro.com, with a title we’re stealing forever more: The Land of Wanders:

Anyway, we are posting this after midnight because there is no filing room. We were directed to an outlet in the hallway for all our computing needs. We promise to never bitch about the burnt gratis coffee in normal press rooms again.

We haven’t mentioned it in a while, but Comic-Con has absolutely the crappiest press room of any event we’ve ever been to. We promise to go see EAGLE EYE just because they gave us free Wi-Fi, but next year, some movie about teen zombies on a sex rampage at sleepaway camp really needs to sponsor a better press room, with nuclear lemonade or something.

Graeme quotes Tom McLean’s must read on the problems of covering Comic-Con, but what caught our eye was the first comment:

As a longtime Con-goer I just want to say that Comic-Con is not a press event and was never intended to be, it is a FAN event and it is refreshing that an event exists that doesn’t cater to press, big-wigs or anyone except fans.

That would be nice if it were true, “Longtime Con-goer,” but the truth is, marketing is the reason for the explosion of Comic-Con. Since there are really 90 different events rolled up into one, we hope that “Longtime Con-goer” can continue to appreciate the show on his or her own terms.

Some of the most interesting group coverage of the show was that from the locals, The San Diego Tribune’s Comic-Con blog. The coverage we saw was definitely from a non-fannish viewpoint, and included such things as a report on a strip show.

Finally, poor Barbara Vey, our fellow PW blogger, was at the show and had a great, great time, but as a book blogger, not as a comics blogger, she learned the meaning of “faux pas”:

There were no celebrity spottings for me today, but I was told I “just missed” the star of Supernatural. I did manage to catch up with author Greg Rucka, whose novels I’ve been reading for years. When I mentioned that I didn’t know he had written comics, there was an actual gasp from his fans waiting in line. I scrambled to say that I did read his regular books and I’d check into his comics, but the crowd started getting nasty. I think I was this close to tar and feathers.

Her conclusion?

Bottom Line: Never mention that you don’t read comics at Comic Con.

A lesson for all, Barbara, a lesson for all.

Gordon Bennett! It takes a whole week just to catch up with all the Comic-Con stuff online! We are done after this — we absolutely promise…unless there is something else really cool and smart that catches our eye.

§ It seems that the tumult and jacked-up atmosphere at the con led to a lot more “incidents” than usual. For instance, even at a panel spotlighting peace-loving Hobbits, people got all aggro:

By the time the panel started every seat was filled and by the time it ended, security and convention staff had arrested or detained one angry individual who didn’t have a chance to make it inside the event. All signs indicate: Fans are excited for the Hobbit, to the point of nearly inciting riots. After the panel was over, Con staff informed TORn that “at least 400″ people had been turned away.

One of those people was The Beat. We’d hoped to attend holding up our “Imrahil or bust!” banner, but got turned away — but thankfully, not “detained.” BTW, Director del Toro was at one point slated to appear but perhaps it’s just as well he’s saving it for NEXT year.

§ A nice con report by Martha Thomases: SDCC: Little Earthquakes.

It’s nearly a week since Comic-Con ended, but still it haunts my dreams. I grew up in Youngstown, Ohio, then the fifth largest city in Ohio (behind Cleveland, Cincinnati, Columbus and Akron), yet there were more people in the San Diego convention center.

§ Jim Lee has a multi-part blog that covers what it’s like to be a superstar, which entails the above, but also a schedule that looks like this:

PS: Get well, Carla!

§ Jaunty Jamie Coville has recorded a ton of panels that we couldn’t attend. The panels are:

•How Not to Break Into Comics,
•The Future of the Comic Pamphlet,
•Golden Age/Silver Age of Comics Panel,
•That’s 70’s (Comics) Panel,
•Jim Warren spotlight,
•Colleen Doran’s Resources for Creators Panel,
•The Black Panel,
•The World of Steve Ditko,
•Fan vs Pro Trivia Panel and again,
• The Eisner Awards Ceremony.
Let us all give Jamie a thunderous round of applause for this boon to mankind!

PLUS: Audio of the World of Graphic Novels panel at TCJ.

§ FINALLY, Ali Kokmen’s call to arms.

In a sad reminder of declining faculties, it is no longer possible forThe Beat to write a cogent, well-reasoned essay about anything longer than a 30 minute sitcom. So I’m reduced to bullet points. Yes, that’s what it’s come to. Frankly. it’s Friday and everyone has said everything that needs to be said. I’ve lost a whole day to Post Con Stress Disorder and I’m ready to move on. But before we do…

• It’s sad that the only way you find out that many of your friends were at the con is reading their blogs afterwards, but that’s how it is. I don’t think there’s any point in going to Comic-Con without a business-based agenda, because there’s a lot of business you can do. Hanging loose and going with the flow is the other path, and this can lead to fun but you must just accept that you are going to miss 200 cool things. As a blogger, I learned long ago that if you weren’t there, someone else was, and they will blog about it. Of course, firsthand observation is always superior, but now the con exists as a virtual con report anyway, so on that level it still works.

• Comic-Con is Hollywood’s #1 marketing platform of the year. Although last year’s PetCo park promotion remains the Everest of promo, this year had viral signage every two inches, skywriting, a phalanx of warrior statues outside the Hilton, elevator dressage, cows, hide and seek games, and god knows what else that we never saw. In the new viral world, shortage, scarcity, and desire are the currency of the realm. Four different Warner Bros. bags were handed out each morning, and it was their very scarcity that made them effective. That and the fact that everyone who carried one was a walking sandwich board for CHUCK or whatever. BTW, these bags (even the WATCHMEN one) are going for under $10 on eBay right now, so their aftermarket is definitely limited.

• Actors fear Comic-Con. The guy who plays Chuck was astonished to see all those people walking around carrying his face. We saw panelists in Hall H and Ballroom 20 TAKING PICTURES of the audiences in the room. Unless you’re a moderately successful musician or athlete, talking in front of the 6500+ people in Hall H could be the biggest live audeince you will ever face.

• There are celebrities and there are celebrities. It may not be Cannes, but the four days of con are the Internet era’s version of dinner at Sardi’s. And not everyone has figured it out yet. The kernel of comics at the heart of Comic-Con is ever present, but you really have to be in the know to know about it. The IDW party on Thursday was one of the best comics parties we’ve ever attended, a barn burning mix of comics folk, nerdlebrities and Hollywood development folks. In fact, we met more development peeps at that one party than we have in the rest of our lives combined. A few of them were really nice. But a few of them were so alien to our concepts of life, liberty and happiness that we suspected they were going to rip off their faces, MEN IN BLACK style at any moment.

(more…)

You can’t stop after just 300. Just some random linkage and so on; by reading a few of these, you begin to see the elephant:
§ Caleb Monroe attempts the greatest experiment of all with a pedometer:

So, since my feet sure feel the mileage every year, this year I thought I’d find out just what that mileage was. So I bought a pedometer to count the number of steps I took during the con, and therefore approximately what distance I traveled. I forgot to get one before leaving for my train, but after walking the few blocks from the train station to my hotel and dropping off my bag, the first thing I did was walk another couple blocks to Long’s Drugs to buy a pedometer. A Gaiam Beginner Pedometer, to be precise.

§ And what about those pesky strollers?

I was one of those persons who took a stroller and 8 month old to the Con, and I’d just like to say — that stroller and child is no bigger than half the fans on the show floor. Most of the people I ran into were rude people trying to jump over the stroller and grab a sticker or postcard. And I protect my child, thank you very much. I mostly stayed to the lesser traveled areas unless there was a specific reason to go to the more crowded areas. And I paid more than enough to go wherever the hell I pleased however the hell I pleased with whomever the hell I pleased. My daughter’s safety and happiness was paramount, and I missed most of the signings and panels I wanted to see because I was catering to her and my wife. And I had absolutely no problem with that. Anyone complaining about the kids at the Con either have no children or have forgotten what it is like to be one. In other words, shut up. BTW, I didn’t get run over by one single stroller, even my own when the wife was driving. Maybe paying attention to my surroundings and not being rude helped a bit. I’ve been going to this event for 9 years, and I’ve rarely been run over by anything but a rabid fan looking for freebies. Maybe we should ban THEM.

Aaron Alexovich:

A BOLD PREDICTION: The SDCC Hollywood money-train will soon drift to a slow crawl. Comic properties will continue to sell, but the marketing people will wise up a bit. Oh, you’ll still see cool presentations and the occasional Owlship at the Con every year, but the Keanus and Jolies will dry up, and with them all the casual fans who swell the yearly body count past 125,000. Things will drift back to a more sustainable size and no one (sweet jeezus here’s hoping) will have to go to Vegas. So don’t fret none, San Diego… You’ll be hating our guts and collecting all our money for many, many years to come.

(This one businessman-looking guy on the sidewalk actually shouted at me to “get my ass out the way” on Friday. He waved his arm all angry-like and everything. We reacted the only way you can react: hysterical laughter.)

§ Ben Templesmith’s show:

I had a fake homosexual encounter on the con floor. I vandalized a baby and I nearly got a spanking from Stan Lee.

§ Bryan Lee O’Malley’s show:

Saturday: more of a blur. At 7 AM we looked out the window of our hotel room and saw that there was an enormous WAVE of people waiting to get in (not a line/queue, a WAVE).

§ Miranda Mason’s Photostream

§Nikki Cook’s photos and LJ, above with Ted McKeever.

§ Boom! photo set:

§ Comics Bakery photos

§ Dave Roman comes home:
-Coming back home with Raina, getting late-night Greek food in Astoria, and feeling good about our lives.

Apparently there was some kind of viral game for AMC’S PRISONER remake going on at Comic-Con, and they were responsible for the skywriting:

AMC played their own little marketing game (Fox also did this with Fringe) at Comic Con to create buzz for their remake of the 1960’s cult classic The Prisoner.

Attendees were provided with cryptic puzzle cards, which when decoded drove participants to SeekTheSix.com where they were told to ‘seek the six’ in order to reveal the secret behind the campaign.

Not impressed.

When you see a picture like this, it is really impossible not to want to go to San Diego, despite the crowds and expense, isn’t it?

Via Dean Trippe.

RECOMMENDED: Neil Kleid does Rorschach’s SDCC Journal:

Meeting with Warners left bad taste in mouth. Pampered and decadent, betraying even their own shallow, poor understanding of the comic book industry. Comics industry as bad. Flabby failure that sits whimpering in mothers’ basement.

Why are so few of us in this industry active, healthy and without personality disorders?
…ooh. Free Ben 10 DVDs. Yoink.

Technorati Tags: Watchmen

Okay, we lied. We’re going to put good photo sets we find in this one link, so keep checking. First up, Beaucoup Kevin’s always excellent photos.

§ NEW! (I think) Hip Flask’s photos.

§ Royal Flush and Jah Furry!

If you are like us, you are very, very sick of San Diego. We’ll have some thoughts, some photos and this link roundup, but unless something of bold and shocking content suddenly appears, that’s it. We’re moving forward!

§ Hip flask photo set with lots of us and FMB!

§Sean T. Collins has many excellent thoughts:
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Longtime Beat pal Steve Marmel gave us permission to repost his Facebook rant on Comic-Con. We found it of some interest because Steve is what we’d term a card-carrying nerd-lebrity — he’s got his own fairly lengthy IMDb page, has starred in at least one TV show and several Comedy Central Specials, and has written and produced tons of animation and live action, including The Fairly OddParents, Danny Phantom, and the upcoming Welcome to Mollywood. But we only know him because he likes comic books. And even the nerd-lebrities think Comic-Con isn’t as much fun when it’s all Hollywood and not enough comics!

Hey, you.

In the back of the room, sneering at the guy in the home-made Flash suit that might be a little bit illfitting, but he made it himself. You know who I’m talking about. You, the guy that didn’t stop to appreciate how freaking cool the guy in the “Sandman” costume was.

Yeah, you.

I, like a lot of people, made my annual pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic-Con. I, like many of the people who have gone as often as I have gone, understand the cons of the con. We make the jokes. But we’re allowed to.

It’s our f***ing party.

Batman isn’t just a property that made 300 million dollars, he’s a guy who took a tragedy and honed himself into a weapon against evil. Iron man isn’t just a vehicle for Robert Downey Jr. to reintroduce himself to the public, it’s the story of a flawed (alcoholic) billionaire that uses his genius as one of the 12 steps to redemption.

(more…)

…or at least that’s what our cabbie told us. On the ride to the airport, this 25-year vet of San Diego confided that the mayor was going to build a brand new convention center and hotel complex with an airport in Chula Vista (just south of SD) to host the convention. This canny fellow — who would only tell us he hailed from a “former Communist bloc country” — also allowed as how San Diego is the richest city in the US and the fifth largest overall, so you may take this information as “unconfirmed,” but if it comes true….you know where you heard it!

Waitaminnit, turns out there actually was talk of a new Chula Vista convention center but it wasn’t nearly big enough:

Nashville, Tenn.-based Gaylord Entertainment, the owner and operator of the Grand Ole Opry, its affiliated hotel and other hotels, entered into an exclusive developer agreement with the port and Chula Vista last year to build a 2,000-room hotel and 400,000-square-foot convention center on 33 acres of bay front the city has been trying to develop for decades.

All this talk of moving is tedious, but something has to give, says David Glanzer:

We haven’t seen any movement on an expansion, and that has us very concerned. If nothing happens, as in a groundbreaking or some other solid movement, by 2010, we’re going to have to explore options. If our attendees and exhibitors don’t want us to leave San Diego and are happy with limited attendance, limited exhibitors, things of that nature, then I imagine we’ll stay here. But if they’re not, then I think we’ll entertain some of the offers we’re being given.

We asked the cabbie about the city vs. the con, but he said it is a very busy time, and “It seems, now, that everyone is knowing that San Diego means Comic-Con.”

Just a few…
§ Ian Brill:

Before that the strangest thing to happen at the booth was having Stephen Baldwin and Mark Waid signing at the same time. Baldwin was on “stage left” and Waid to the opposite end. On one side you had people bring out their camera phones as if unseen puppet strings were lifting their arms from their sides. On the other a healthy smattering of fans would walk up to a creator they admire, share a few kind words and got their copy of Kingdom Come signed (and hopefully buy Potter’s Field). While I make no judgment calls here I still remembered to stand at the back of the booth and slowly move my eyes from one end to the other. I had the two spiritual halves of Comic-Con happening right in front of me, not even eight feet from each other. For an hour or so booth #2543 was the Harvey Dent of fandom.

§ Buzz Bags

Each day, as the sun rises over Comic-Con, marketing geniuses at the big media booths unpack boxes of promotional doodads to hand out to conventioneers eager to fill up on free stuff — stickers, posters, T-shirts, rub-on tattoos, plastic rings, hats and the ever-useful swag bag. As Jen mentioned in an earlier post, yesterday’s hot item — the animated “Wonder Woman” swag bag — was supplanted today by the equally outsized “Watchmen” swag bag you see above. It’s useful because the bags give you a place to put all your other swag. And so a million (okay, a few thousand) mobile billboards are launched out into the world — helping, it is hoped, to build buzz for one’s product.

§ Various disgruntled media types

OK, that’s pretty funny. Not fair, but an acutely observed generalization, nevertheless. (Can a generalization also be acute?) MSN Movies Editor Dave McCoy, an old friend, had his Comic-Con epiphany after seeing a wooden stake used by Buffy. Yes, the Buffy. And yet, it took Dave a couple days to figure out why he initially wasn’t enjoying Comic-Con as much as he thought he should. His title for his blog post: “A snob out of water”.

§ Steve Marmel, animation and comedy guy, has a great post on his Facebook page which I can’t link to, but I will, against the rules, post the first few paragraphs, because he summed it all up very well:

I, like a lot of people, made my annual pilgrimage to the San Diego Comic-Con. I, like many of the people who have gone as often as I have gone, understand the cons of the con. We make the jokes. But we’re allowed to.

It’s our f***ing party.

It is our F***ing party. Thanks for reminding us, Steve.

We’re mobilizing back to base. Everything is packed up at B.L.A.R.D. The mobile transmitters, the latrines, the Medivacs. Nothing left to do but write this journal as we listen to the lonely whistle of a train down the way.

Was it a successful expedition? Yes, and no. A lot of shit happened. A lot of shit that shouldn’t have happened. There was triumph, and tragedy. Stupidity and lucidity.

Saturday night, at the swanky EW/Sci-Fi party that we’ll probably never get into again, we ran into our old pal Steven Zeitchik, who is a ninja reporter for The Hollywood Reporter now. He’s there to cover show biz, the subject of Comic-Con, not our own little pasteboards and mini-comics. He’s also covered Sundance and Cannes, the other legs of the show biz triathlon. We asked how it compared. He pointed out that those last for 10-15 DAYS. Not four. He mentioned that at those events, you have time to do nothing but sit and watch a movie. At Comic-Con, it’s go, go, go, go, and whatever you happen to be doing, you’re missing 19 other things.

There was a sense of acceptance at this show. Everyone knows it’s too big and too crowded and too frantic. Everyone just goes with their own little flow now.

I think comics did okay, despite it all. I think great cartoonists still had their time to shine, and our own viral marketing campaign has been way too successful for our own good. I have some actual thoughts on this topic, but they’ll have to await a good night’s sleep to be put into coherent form.

We’re still recovering from too much information and stimulation. A long plane ride is ahead of us. With any luck, we’re flying home as you read this.

We want to send shout outs to our good buddies and two awesome people Laurel Maury and Andy MacDonald. A shout out also to Future Mr. Beat, Ben McCool, who endured all the ups and downs that Comic-Con can deal. And big thanks to the PWCW crew, Calvin, Laura, Douglas, Kai-Ming, Jody, Ed, Erin and honorary member Noah. Big thanks to Ralphs for the tasty pumpkin pie which we ate as a nightcap every evening. Big ups also to Trish (always), her nephew Michael, Anina, Paul, Charles, Larry, Tanya, Richard, Ben, Lorelei, Chappie, Nisha, Ed Douglas, Frank 3, Frank 2.3, Nelson, Jimmy, Amanda, Jimmy A., Ivan, Kristyn…well, you know there are always too many people to name. Anyway, thanks to you all. Let’s do it all again next week!

Wow, sorry for late updates but we’ve been busier than a boxing ring here at Beat Local Action Rapid Deployment HQ. Deadlines schmedlines.

This morning, we had to check out of our room and check in to the same room (long story) and the desk clerk handed us normal, unadorned room keys.

“Awwwww, you don’t have any more of those cool Comic-Con keys?” we said.

The reply came stone-faced and grim. “Comic-Con is OVER.”

And it is. But effects will linger for a long, long time. Some good, some bad.

We went to the traditional Graphitti Dead Dog party last night, which served as a 53rd birthday for Dave Stevens. I found myself missing Dave a lot at that show. Because the art was everywhere, of course, and Bettie Page was everywhere, but also because he represented so much of the best of Comic-Con — a world-class cartoonist who showed a lifelong devotion to craft, and crossed over to other mediums without ever losing his dedication to his chosen field — comics. Of course, I missed Dave’s matinee idol presence and gentlemanly ways and sly humor as well, but he was so much the spirit of the OLD Comic-Con, the El Cortez and the crossover of people who made comics, cartoons and movies that inspired the con for the first few years.

Now of course it’s something else, for someone else.

In years past, we’ve had some complaints about ways the con is run, but this year we have to salute Faye Desmond and the entire Comic-Con crew for running an event bigger than the Super Bowl with astonishing smoothness. With at least 60,000 people moving, milling and posing each and every day — from movie stars to studio heads to cartoonists to kids in costume– keeping them all safe and satisfied is a herculean task. No one can be entirely happy, but the people running the show made a tremendous effort to make it work for the most possible people. We’ll have our detailed assessment and rundown a bit later tomorrow, but suffice to say for now that the people running the show have our utmost respect.

Plus, better them than us.

More later.

Meeting Al Jaffee; breakfast with Pia Guerra; getting a copy of Comic Book Tattoo; and nattering at this man at the EW/Sci-Fi party!!!

That’s right, Dr. Lucien Sanchez, aka Matt Berry from GARTH MARENGHI’S DARKPLACE, no less. Simon Pegg overheard us lauding the rather bemused Berry for his epic portrayal, but indicated that he agreed with us. Hooray for Comic-Con! We love celebrities after all.

We have many thoughts on the subject, but in the meantime, here’s a play by play:

With 125,000 people attending the San Diego Comic Con, the city of San Diego is bursting at the seems. With a limit on the number of people that can get into the convention hall, and growth expected, is it time for Comic Con International to move the show somewhere else?

Sorry, all. The Con crap hit B.L.A.R.D. hard this morning and it was all we could do to get to the Dave Stevens memorial. After that, we chatted with various folks and started uploading our Flickr photos here.

Big news today, Gaiman on Batman, Humanoids at Devils Due, and big sales EVERYWHERE. Despite the increasing Hollywoodization of Con, comics continue to do very, very well. COMIC BOOK TATTOO was one of the big hits of the show, selling out in 20 hours. D&Q reported their biggest sales ever; UMBRELLA ACADEMY is sold out everywhere, and in general, comics did quite well.

We’ll have more photos, reports and linkage when we’re not quite so under the weather.

We’re sitting through the CHUCK panel right now. These TV casts are so funny and banter-y. Someone just asked if the two male leads would demonstrate a position between 68 and 70. They declined. We have never watched CHUCK and this panel will not persuade us to do so, but the actors all seem quite personable. They keep referring to the Nerd Herd…is that what we are?

Coming up next JJ Abrams will show some FRINGE footage…and maybe answer some “Star Trek” questions.

Luckily, we were able to amble right into Ballroom H on this occasion, but we’ve been hearing complaints from reporters at outlets such as Variety, the LA Times, and TV Guide about not being able to get into panels they were assigned to cover. We thought it was just us, but as we were told, “If there’s a secret password, I’d know it.”

The press list for the show numbers some 5000 outlets, so managing them is definitely no picnic, but the studios and networks that control access to their presentations may need to get a little more inclusive about certain things. Granted, press whining happens each and every year, but since it’s so clear that the entire show is now just a means to get publicity for every show on TV, with the increasing hubbub of the press scrum, perhaps it is time for a reevaluation.

In the meantime, although Tom told us not to live blog about how big the show is, with all the security and access issues, not to mention 100k people…this is bigger than the Super Bowl.

Anne Thompson covers the Webmasters panel:

When asked how Latinoreview got its hands on so many early scripts six months before they go into production, Kellvin Chavez said: “We clean your offices.”

Today, these once unassuming fanboys are courted by studio flacks and granted early access to set visits, star interviews and marketing materials. “Studios are paying attention to sites and fans as part of the online community,” said Sanchez.

“To be honest it sort of makes me jaded a little,” said Brad Miska of Bloody-Disgusting.

More here.

BTW, Viz has broken the comics industry wide open, debuting their incredible YELLOW BAGS at this show. Demand is high.

PW has the deets on Charlie Kochman’s new imprint at Abrams, Abrams ComicArts, which will publish a variety of comics and comics-related books:

Kochman will direct the new imprint, which will launch with four new titles: The Art of Harvey Kurtzman: The Mad Genius of Comics by Denis Kitchen and Paul Buhle; The Art of Jaime Hernandez: The Secrets of Life and Death by Todd Hignite, designed by Jordan Crane with an introduction by acclaimed cartoonist Alison Bechdel; Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster by Craig Yoe; and Whatever Happened to the World of Tomorrow? by Brian Fies, the creator of the award-winning Web comic/book Mom’s Cancer.

Damn, it had to happen. We’ve been having so much good luck — great hotel rooms, fast cabs, money on the floor — that something bad was bound to happen and for the first time in our 20+ years of con going, we’ve caught con crud, a sore throat severely hampering our communication efficiency, and general stuffed up nose providing lowered endurance, but higher tolerance on the show floor.

We’re live blogging from a spot on the floor in front of the escalator in front of Hall B. Why this spot? Well, at least there’s a Velvet Rope in front of us.

From here we can watch a parade of Emma Frosts, Ghostbusters, half-naked girls and camera crews. As well as fans, fans and more fans. Is the marketing message of the various entertainment companies here reaching the target audience? The city of San Diego has become one immense billboard…last night, skywriting promoted something or other (we had to go inside before we found out what) and street teams aggressively leafleted and handed out bags. At night the streets are littered with the detritus of the days’ efforts.

BTW, in case you didn’t know it before, AT&T SUCKS BOLLOCKS.

Have we linked to Chris Butcher’s Flickr Photostream yet? Well, now we have. Check often!