San Diego Rest Of Weekend

Luggage arrived! And with it, my special folder, full of sample pages. I used it to pitch Penny and Aggie, Burgerzone, The Verge, The Alchemists and Rip and Teri to various publishers Thursday-Friday.

(This blog hasn't shared The Alchemists with you yet. That will change.)

I missed most of my panel wishlist.

Panel highlights: Got to see GoComics lay out a strategy; these guys essentially own American mobile comics right now. Scott McCloud's family, normally a well-oiled machine, gave a thoroughly chaotic travelogue of their yearlong 50-state tour, but we all loved them anyway. Warren Ellis downed four Red Bulls and a small bottle of some alcoholic energy drink called Sparx during his two-hour talk, then lit a cigarette in open defiance of con rules. Best panel I attended: easily Scott Kurtz and Robert Khoo's "Create A Comic And A Marketing Plan" exercise.

Had dinners with Tokyopop, ComicMix, the McClouds and company. Missed: dinner with David Willis and friends, Stu Levy's birthday party.

Saw: too many good people to list here, and I will only forget someone and feel horrible. I have a lot of post-con catching up to do.

Probably should have stopped by the Dumbrella table or panel. I've had a difficult time with one of the Dumbrellans lately, but Comic-Con is an occasion to forget, or at least smooth over, such differences. As it was, I felt awkward and unsure of my welcome there. No offense intended, fellas.

Weirdest thing that happened all weekend: I ran into Frederik Hautain (my superior at Broken Frontier) by happenstance... twice. Neither of us had seen a picture of the other, and the first time we shared an elevator, neither knowing who the other was.

That's my con experience. Gary Tyrrell outdid himself with Comic-Con coverage this year, so if you want more info, you know where to go.