My current excuse for not posting (other than feverishly trying to finish Blood Rock) is attending San Diego Comic Con 2009, the largest comic convention in the world. Here I’m seeing talks, meeting friends, working on Blood Rock, leaving flyers for Dakota Frost: Frost Moon, and enjoying the fantabulous nightlife in San Diego’s Gaslamp Quarter:
You cannot explain how large Comicon is; you must see it yourself. I could show you the mammoth Exhibit Hall / Show’s Floor / Noah’s Ark of a Dealer’s Room, but it is hard from a single picture to get the scale:
I could show you the external architecture, the huge steps and rounded escalator leading out of the upper levels (actually, the round escalator had just moved out of the picture at this point), but it is still hard to get the scale:
Perhaps only by showing the huge tide of people leaving after the Dealer’s Room had closed can you truly see how large the San Diego Comic Con is:
It can take up to thirty minutes to reach your car in the parking lot, as we unfortunately found out today when we joined for lunch some friends who had driven. Halfway to the parking lot, you can see the length of the Convention Center, and can see why it takes up a significant part of the city on Google Maps:
Comicon has been held 40 times over the last 39 years, making it a cultural event only slightly younger than I am. This year is also Green Lantern’s 50th anniversary, and the Con and its attendees are celebrating with special T-shirts, movie premieres, and of course, fan costumes:
It’s all sold out this year, officially 126,000 but rumored to be as many as 140,000 strong … but if you have even a passing interest in comics, movies or other popular arts, you should make at least one pilgrimage to check it out.
More later. Must crash.
-the Centaur
