San Diego Comic Con Report #4

Howdy! Unbelievable, absolutely unbelievable! This convention has exceeded my expectations beyond my wildest dreams. I don't have an exact count, but I think it is a very reasonable estimate that there are currently 40,000 avid comics fans walking in the room as I write this message. They are certainly not of one mind, as there are fans of an astoundingly diverse number of genres in this huge gathering, but in the aggregate I believe this is the largest single gathering in the history of fandom. More important than their sheer numbers, the combined enthusiasm and excitement of 40,000 collectors has created an energy vortex that even the most jaded dealers can feel. If you'll pardon the expression, it's as though everyone is creating a "high" that can only exist when a great number of people are engaging in a mutually pleasuring experience at the same time. You've never seen so many happy smiles in one place! Just to feel the enthusiasm first hand, I spent twenty minutes at noon standing completely still in the middle of the main aisle, right in the center of the hall. I watched as thousands of people streamed passed me in ebbs and flows of excited humanity. I saw fans of comics, videos, manga, dealers, creators, publishers, and many, many young children. Later in this message you'll see a couple of photographs of the convention floor that I took from the second floor observation level at about 1 PM. Those pictures give a pretty good illustration of how full the aisles get at the convention, but they just cannot convey the sense of excitement that you feel by actually being on the floor. For that you'll need to attend next year's convention. The good news is that next year we'll be able to expand into a fourth hall when the current expansion of the convention center is completed. That will allow us to have even more fans attend, without getting to the point of complete claustrophobia. As regards our buying program, Will Moulton (our super-buyer) was busy all day. I just signed a check for him to pay $4,000 to some folks who brought in a suitcase full of 1960's comics, including a great SILVER SURFER (1968) #1, and hundreds of other VG/Fine books. That's just one of many collections we purchased today, however, and it looks like we may need several pallets to ship home all the boxes of cool stuff we've purchased, maybe even a whole semi-trailer! This is going just great! That's it for now on news. Pam needs to get on the machine to prepare the photographs I took today for the links. By the way, I apologize to those of you who have to wait a long time for the photos to load due to their large size. It was my decision to make them large, because I really wanted you to see as much detail of the convention as possible. Great events are too cool for tiny photos... 1) Main Floor of the Dealers Room This perspective is straight on from the second floor viewing area in the back, looking right at the Mile High Comics booth in the front of the hall. Note the thousands of fans! 2) Main Floor of the Dealers Room, Angled To give a broader perspective, I shot this picture looking across the room at an angle. This still only encompasses about 30% of the room. This place is huge! 3) Will Eisner (creator of THE SPIRIT) signing autographs in the DC booth. It took me forever to get this shot, as people were perpetually crowding all around. Note that he's signing on showcases full of DC action figures. When folks weren't clustered around looking at Mr. Eisner, they were going crazy for the WATCHMEN Action Figures. 4) Syndee Barwick and Batman Far too often the people who do the hardest work at the publishers get the least credit. Syndee Barwick has been instrumental in bringing to fruition the best of DC Direct market toys, statues, jewelry, and props. In Syndee all true comics fans have an enthusiastic ally. She was just promoted within the DC organization, for which we applaud wildly! The BATMAN VAMPIRE statue she's holding ships 10/18. List price $199.95, my Bonus Book price was only $149.95 Call Sean (1-800-676-6423) to get in a late order, or e-mail nice@milehighcomics.com. 5) Chris Claremont - The Forgotten X-Man When I was at the X-MEN movie premiere, I stayed to the very last of the credits, hoping I would see some credit given to Chris Claremont, or Len Wein. Nope. Nothing. Nada. Jack Kirby and Stan Lee get some credit, but they had nothing to do with the new X-MEN. I think that is an amazingly remise and an outrage, but also typical of corporate America. 6) Paul Chadwick - Diana Schutz - Stan Sakai I caught three of the nicest people at the convention at the same moment in the Dark Horse Comics booth. Paul Chadwick (CONCRETE) Diana Schutz (Dark Horse Editor) and Stan Sakai (USAGI YOJIMBO) signed autographs for a legion of enthusiastic fans. 7) Pokemon Boy Pam caught this stunningly cute little weiner at the Wizards of the Coast booth. Isn't his hat just too cool for words? Chuck Rozanski, President - Mile High Comics, Inc.