Tootin' My Own Horn...

Just thought I'd mention that Heidi MacDonald made a nice mention of my upcoming issue and carried an announcement about my forthcoming appearance at Comic-Con! You can find it here.

Countdown to San Diego (Part 4): Good Eats!

As the San Diego Comic-Con has gotten bigger, one of the big impacts has been the spillover into the local area. It is now notoriously difficult to get a hotel room in the area at convention time, and rooms are priced in line with demand. Similarly, since the San Diego convention center feeds into the trendy Gaslamp District, the local area restaurants are packed at dinnertime right after the show closes each evening. As such, over the years, I’ve discovered a few “tricks” of avoiding long lines at eateries.

(By the way, I'm not covering fast food here—as I've gotten older, fast food just doesn't have any appeal to me at dinnertime. Regardless, fast food restaurants during Comic-Con likewise get very crowded, particularly given the infamous penny-pinching ways of the fanboy crowd.)

First off, of course, avoid the Gaslamp’s main drag on 5th Street at all costs. For the unimaginative, the bars and upscale restaurants immediately draw the crowds and long waits. Yes, there are good restaurants and I guess it’s fun to “see and be seen,” but there are also plenty of terrific restaurants just one block over. Even better, take a short cab ride up to Little Italy where it's even less crowded and there are many great restaurants.

Since I go every year, I've compiled a list of restaurants and their addresses so that I can remember the locations of many of these small restaurants. Last year, I ate at Indian, Italian, Japanese, and Afghani restaurants! (Sorry, that restaurant list must remain a state secret!)

It’s well known that you should avoid buying food at the convention center due to the high cost, long lines and poor quality. It’s surprising that given the size of this show that the food selection is so limited and low quality, even by the standards of such facilities. Most people bring food in, go out for lunch, or use the Ralph’s supermarket across the street. But if you have no choice, there is a Greek cart there every year that is good and affordable. I noticed it occasionally changes locations each year (it used to be up in the open pavilion area), but the last few years it's been at the far north end of the center (i.e., around aisle 100). There's never the kind of line like you see at the regular concession stands. Better yet, plan ahead and order a takeout lunch at one of the local restaurants that are open in the morning (I know the Ralph's across the street is popular for this.)

Finally, if you're not in a rush to get home and want to avoid traffic going out of San Diego if you drove, I found it's worth it to grab some dinner before you hit the road on the Sunday evening after the show has ended. It gives you time to relax and decompress before the drive home, and the restaurants are less hectic and, in fact, pretty dead—that’s when I usually hit a restaurant on the Gaslamp! My friends and I used to have the tradition of meeting for dinner on the drive home at Anderson's Split Pea a little north of San Diego in Carlsbad, but unfortunately that closed years ago, to be replaced by a TGIFs. Which just isn’t the same I’m afraid.

Countdown to San Diego (Part 3): Planning Ahead

I have a confession to make: if I was not exhibiting at the San Diego Comic-Con International, I probably would skip it this year. Except for the year 2000 when I was married and on my honeymoon, I have attended every convention dating back to the mid-1980s—and since the early '90s I have attended as a professional and/or exhibitor. Attending the convention is exhausting enough as it is, imagine what it's like to work it. I could use the break!

As I've said many times at my Comic-Con reports of previous years, the show is an exercise in sensory overload. The main draw for many attendees nowadays seems to be simply to be able to say they were there, rather than for the comics—the spectacle of the event itself, rather than the content, seems to have become a major appeal of the show. In keeping with the rise of geek culture, the Comic-Con has transcended comics and become a pop culture show. It needs to be said, though, that while some traditionalists decry this shift, I don't think there's anything inherently wrong with that—there are still plenty of traditional "old school" comic-book conventions, so it's fine to have a show like Comic-Con that is a real raise-the-roof party for all things geek. But since this show happens to be the one in my own backyard, and the one where I have established myself as a regular, it's the one I must attend each year. But I do occasionally long for the days when it was a bit more laid back and less crazy.

This is my roundabout way of providing this blog entry's main tip for attending the Comic-Con: Don't expect to attend the convention and see "everything"! Given the signings, celebrity appearances, panels, movies, movie previews, comics, etc.—and the crowds and the lines for many of these events—it's simply not possible.

There was a time (even after I started exhibiting) when I could methodically and casually go up and down each aisle over the course of a show to check out all the exhibitors and their wares. No more—the crowds in some areas are so thick that I sometimes don't even bother some areas, meaning that the crowd flow often tends to dictate foot traffic. As a result, I often lose track of where I've been on the floor.

The show has become an amalgamation of a wide range of discreet interests. While there's some overlap, for the most part it's easy to attend the show and stay safely esconced within that bubble. For example, there are some people who simply scope out a seat in the large presentation screening room that seats nearly 5000 people (which otherwise is very difficult to get into) and stay there all day sitting through one movie preview and celebrity appearance after another. There are the fans who are there just for the toys; or the videogames; the anime; the manga; to meet their artists and writers; to get autographs; to attend panels; to show their portfolio; to watch the round-the-clock sf and animated film screenings; to dress up; and to take photos of hot chicks and people in costumes. (Oh, yeah, there also are plenty of comics too.) I know people who take a day off to go to Seaworld, Legoland, or even Disneyland in order to take a break from the craziness!

So as soon as you arrive, look through your program guide—it's your bible—then plan your day accordingly. Sure, you can mix it up, but don't go in without a clear plan other than to see "everything"!

Countdown to San Diego 2008 (Part 2): Another Banner Year

As mentioned in my previous blog, I decided to create a new banner for my booth, which I had printed at Sugar House Banners (which I am happy to recommend).

The banner arrived a few days ago and, as a dry run prior to the show, I put it together in my living room this evening. It came out fairly nicely if I do say so myself—I'm very pleased with the final product. Compared with my previous booth displays (which I have included below for comparison), this was easy and quick to put together. Better yet, for the most part I was able to build the stand for the new banner using pieces from an earlier booth display! As you can see, the booth is not full length like the previous one. I realized no one could see it to the floor anyway. In addition to being the easiest to put together, it also has the smallest "footprint" of the booths I've used over the years. (By the way, you can glimpse my studio loft in the upper left hand corner of the photo.)

It looks like I'm good to go!
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2007:

Booth from 2006 and earlier:

Countdown to San Diego 2008 (Part 1)

As stated earlier, I will be attending the San Diego Comic-Con International , July 24-27, for my 11th appearance as an exhibitor! (I have attended nearly every show as an exhibitor or an attendee since the mid 1980s or so, except for the year 2000—when I was on my honeymoon!) As I did last year, I thought I'd post some blogs in the run-up to the event....


Despite the minor snafus I faced trying to complete Rob Hanes Adventures #11 due to an expired scanner (as mentioned in previous posts here and here), I'm happy to report that I was able to finish the issue on time—it's currently at the printer. Thus, I can now state with a high degree of confidence that issue 11 will debut at the San Diego Comic-Con later this month.

Last year, I purchased a new banner for my booth display (as blogged about here). While I was fairly happy with the banner, it nevertheless was not very user-friendly. The banner stand did not seem very durable or sturdy, using a tension-bar system to remain upright, and it required quite a bit of jerry-rigging to get it to assemble correctly. I spent much of the convention in fear that it would collapse suddenly during the show. In addition, it consisted of two long panels that joined in the middle (effectively cutting the original image in half), and because of its odd construction, the banner never quite matched up in the middle as seamlessly as I would have liked.

Rather than attempt to try to erect the banner again, I decided to order a new more traditional banner, pictured above. The banner is 4 feet high by 5 feet long, and I hope to hang it from a traditional frame made of PVC piping. (In fact, I'll be able to construct most of the new stand from the same piping used for my booth for many years prior to last year.)

Here's hoping it will be a bit less high maintenance than the old one and last for many years!

Coming next: Tips for surviving the Comic-Con! A preview of my contribution to this year's program! A restaurant guide!

My New Scanner!

As noted in a previous post, my oversize 11 x 17 Mustek scanner of nearly 9 years died in action just as I entered the home stretch of finishing issue 11 of Rob Hanes Adventures. Replacing it turned out to be a more arduous task than I expected. Although I ordered the correct scanner online—an older Mustek model, the A3 USB, that was compatible with my Windows 98 system—upon delivery I immediately noticed that the merchant sent me the newer A3 1200 Scan Express Pro, which is not Win98 compatible (sue me, I'm a dinosaur—but why fix what ain't broke?).

Although the merchant did work conscientiously to correct the problem by making a direct exchange, the snafu set me back further in my schedule. Fortunately, the manufacturer still had a few of the discontinued models still in stock, which it shipped to me. But when I opened the box upon delivery, I discovered that it was missing the power adaptor plug!! The manufacturer agreed to send me the missing adaptor, but that set me back another few days. Once I received it, I got the scanner up and running in no time and am now back in business.

Above right is one of the first products of the new scanner—I was finally able to scan the cover to Rob Hanes Adventures #11 and begin coloring it. Click on the image to see it full size.

And, of course, to see a fuller preview of the upcoming issue, click here.

Update to RH Adventures #11

I recently completed the art to the next issue of Rob Hanes Adventures (#11), but the fly in the ointment is the fact that, as reported at the end of last month, my scanner died, which has effectively stopped me from being able to complete the issue for now. I’m currently awaiting the arrival of its replacement—I had purchased a new one shortly after the other one stopped working, but received a scanner different than the one I had ordered, so I’m currently in the process of exchanging it.

Meanwhile, I’ve updated pages 15, 17 and 18 from the issue at my previews page. (Please note that I’ve moved my preview site to my ComicSpace account. Might as well take advantage of the free storage space!)

On other update fronts, Comic-Con International (CCI) has confirmed my small press table at the San Diego comics convention July 24-27, 2008. You’ll be able to find me at the same booth I’ve occupied the past three of four years, at Booth S14 in the Small Press Area—more information to come about the show as we get closer to the convention.

Then in the next few weeks, I’ll be posting my contribution to this year’s CCI San Diego souvenir program—a tribute to the 25th anniversary of American Flagg!

To whet your appetite, below is my published contribution to last year’s program—click here or on the image to see it full size.