I made it home today from San Diego. While there I saw CU staff members Jesse B on Friday, Mark on Sunday, and my husband saw Erik and his wife having lunch with former CU staffer and comics celeb Phil Jimenez on Sunday.
Report of what we did:
Wednesday:
Went to preview night. Crowd was heavy, but nothing compared to the ENORMOUS crowd that would fill the hall for the next four days. I looked through about five aisles and said hello to lots of old friends that work for various publishers. At the DC booth I talked with FABLES writer Bill Willingham, Vertigo editor (and newly promoted VP) Karen Berger, and President and Publisher Paul Levitz. The preview night was only a few hours, so there wasn't much time to look, but it was a fun time. After the show closed I ventured to the Hyatt where I had dinner, then drinks. Some of my drinking buddies included writer Kurt Busiek, artist Kyle Baker, and writer/artist Batton Lash.
Thursday:
Most of the day was spent shopping the hall. My husband and I got a late start, not reaching the convention center until after noon. We never made it to any panels. We did make it to a couple parties that night. We went to the Diamond Select Toys party where the highlight for my husband was meeting the actor that plays Chief on the new Battlestar Galactica. We also met an actress who was on the classic Star Trek series. She signed her action figure for us. They served drinks in glowing cups and the room was decorated in Star Trek stuff. Very geeky. We were even given large blue Star Trek foam fingers. Eeek! The second party we went to was for Heavy Metal Magazine. The invitation was printed on a real bullet. It was not a geeky party. The Golden Apple crew was there along with Kevin Eastman (Co-creator of The Teenage Ninja Turtles and current owner of Heavy Metal Magazine). Ran into inker Joe Weems (a CU regular customer) in the hallway on the way to the party. We had some cake and some chocolate dipped strawberries, visited for a while, and then made our way back to our hotel.
Friday:
Friday started early at the Hilton with a breakfast for retailers with our main supplier. After consuming some muffins during a question and answer session, we headed to the convention center. The first item on our to do list was for me to moderate a panel for retailers on product mix. My co-moderator Mimi was a little late, so I started without her. It went well, with a lively exchange of ideas and an endless number of raised hands (thanks to all who participated!). After my panel we watched videos of the retail stores that were nominated for the Eisner Spirit of Retailing award. It is always fun to see what other stores are doing. After the videos we had a retailer speed-dating session, not to find mates, but to exchange ideas. My husband Jesse was then off to sign autographs at the Scrapyard Detectives booth for an hour, while I went to another retailer-only panel. Jesse then signed autographs and did sketches of Ace the Bathound for fans at the DC booth to promote his upcoming Krypto The Super Dog comic book. After his signing we returned to our hotel to get ready for the Eisner Awards Ceremony. Comics Unlimited is a supporting sponsor of the awards, so we had a VIP table and the ever important drink tickets. The award ceremony was long, but interesting. I spent some time talking with DC editor Bob Schrek (I've known him for 25 years!) before the ceremony. At the after party I visited with Lone Star General Manager Chris Powell, Bill Willingham, Disney writer Dave Rawson, and others.
Saturday:
Once again we got a late start and barely made it to the CBIA meet and greet. CBIA is an industry Delphi message board we frequent. A presentation on tax issues was next on my schedule. Turns out it was presented by one of my customers, who is a tax preparer. After that Jesse had another signing at the Scrapyard Detectives booth, followed by him being on a panel about Simpsons Comics. After the Simpsons comic panel we crossed the hallway to the Cartoon network panel, where my husband met the creator of Ed, Ed, and Eddie. Jesse wrote an Eddie book last year, so it was fun for him to meet the creator of the show. We stuck around to meet up with Abby Denson, who will be our in-store guest on July 26th at the store. After a brief visit to the convention floor we made our way to Horton Plaza for dinner with friends at the Panda Inn. While there we ran across the whole Wildstorm team having dinner. I got a big hug from DC VP John Nee. We settled into a private dining room with Disney writers Pat and Carol McGreel, romance humorist John Lustig (Last Kiss, and Marvel Romance Redux writer), and a half dozen others.
Sunday:
Sunday we made an early start and had breakfast on the sidewalk at Soleil @ K, which is very nice. Their pancakes rock! Jesse went to lunch with his DC editor while I explored the convention floor. We then went to the Secret Origins of Good Readers panel for teachers and librarians, where we each co-lead a breakout session. I spent the rest of the day shopping the hall. I ran into Mark, customer Darrell, former CU staffer Stephanie, and former CU staffer (and G4 producer) Mike. I bought some very large sofa hardcovers of Little Nemo to sell at CU. After a hot and difficult trek to the car with my purchases we returned to the hall for some last minute shopping. After the convention closed we went to our hotel to clean up and eat Chinese food leftovers. Jesse took a nap that ended up lasting fifteen hours (he was exhausted!) while I went to a dead dog party. The party was full of comics celebs and old friends. I made some new friends too. I spent much of the evening with Jimmy Palmiotti and Amanda Conner. I also visited at length with Anina Bennet, bay area comics retailer Rory Root, DC editor Mike Carlin's girlfriend, Gumby writer (and Flaming Carrot creator) Bob Burden, and an actress from the movie Pervert. I mingled with many other comics professionals, too numerous to mention. As usual it was the most fun I had all weekend. After giving Rory a lift to his hotel at 2:30 am, I went back to my room for some much needed sleep.
Monday:
Jesse and I had breakfast in the hotel and packed the car. The car was pretty full when we hit the road. I dropped off the books I bought at the store on the way back from San Diego and we made our way home. It would be nice to be home, if only it were not so HOT!