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Aug2010
San Diego Comic-Con 2010 - I survived!
It's been about a week since we got back from Comic-con, and I think I've finally had enough time to reflect on it and take it all in.
In a word, Comic-con is overwhelming. It's 120,000 + attendees and we're a tiny blip on that map! The last time we were here was three years ago, when we took the train in for a Saturday while we were on vacation. One day is not nearly enough time to do an event of this magnitude. Walking the exhibit hall with crowded corridors and exhibits makes it even more time consuming.
This time was different. This time we'd be at Comic-Con for the entire event and we'd also be exhibiting. Being an exhibitor is a totally different experience than being an attendee, and gives you a very different perspective of the convention.
It was great to see some old friends and make new ones. I always get excited to meet fellow comickers, I just wish I had more time to chat with them. A bunch of us in Small Press were first time exhibitors, so we weren't alone at all!
It was really nice meeting Mike Maihack of Cleopatra in Spaaaaace! Aside from being really down to earth, he has a really great style that caught my eye a while ago. Some of you may remember him from Cow and Buffalo which is also a very good read.
I was excited to see Debbie Huey of BumperBoy fame. If you're looking for a kid friendly comic, I couldn't suggest a better one. BumperBoy and his cast of characters are simply adorable! I wish Debbie would do it as a webcomic so I could read more of his adventures. I bought three of her latest books from her table and we got to chat a bit too. It was good to catch up! She also had a few needle-felted versions of her characters that were ultra cute!
It was really great to talk to Raina Telgemeier and Dave Roman at last! Although I didn't ever see them together at the same time. Raina is the author of Smile, one of the top selling graphic novels this year! I had a chance to chat with Raina for a bit at the Flight booth, where Kazu and Amy Kibuishi were at as well. I also finally got introduced to Baby Juni! Kazu is currently working on the 4th Amulet book and Amy is working on her first novel.
We also got to chat it up with Patara from Vuduberi who is just the sweetest! She had some ultra cute penguin plush as well as a furry Yetti! Although we couldn't find PMBQ of Pandaline, she came and found us! It was fun catching up :-) Deb Aoki from manga.about.com came by to say hello and dropped off treats for Audra and I! We are so blessed to have these friends.
Other folks we said hello to were Meredith Gran (Octopus Pie), R. Stevens (Diesel Sweeties), Scott Kurtz (PVP), Dan Goodsell (Mr. Toast), Scott Brown (SpicyBrown) to name a few.
Working Comic-con was really grueling, but I can honestly say it was fun. Our hotel was a mile or so away from the convention center. Each morning we'd catch the trolley in and we'd walk back after dinner. It didn't seem so far with so many people everywhere and so much to see along the way.
But aside from all that name dropping, let's get to heart of the Comic-con fun! Photos! I've uploaded some of the photos I took during my short jaunts around the exhibit floor. I wish I had more time to see more things, but I did have a good time anyway.
cute