Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents:   Top 10 Takeaways from the Wackiest Trade Show in America: San Diego Comic-Con 2012   By Tina LoSasso!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3679:  

Top 10 Takeaways from the Wackiest Trade Show in America: San Diego Comic-Con 2012 - by Tina Lo Sasso

I've been attending San Diego Comic-Con since 2001. This year marks twelve straight Cons. Lately, I think, never again. The crowds, the lines, the hours, heck, I'm getting old and I really feel it at the con. This year, I thought never again on Preview night! So maybe we ditch Preview Night next year. But, we'll be back.

Here are my top 10 observations of this year's Comic-Con. I wrote this wearing my Observer hat scored at Sunday's Fringe panel.

#1) Firefly: The Smaller the Viewing Audience, the More Ardent the Fans
10 years after FOX cancelled Firefly after one brief season, the Browncoats blew away Comic-Con with their devotion. The line for the Firefly reunion panel will go down in Con history (I hope!). Tears were shed, the origin of Jayne's hat revealed, and graphic novels by Dark Horse announced. All was recorded for a special Science channel reunion show to air December 2012. If you didn't make it into Ballroom 20 (or to Comic-Con), watch the panel for a look at why we love this crazy convention: Firefly 10th Anniversary Panel.  

#2) The Luckiest Fan at Comic-Con
Big Bang Theory fan Mercedes Becerra of Paso Robles, Calif was the luckiest fan at Comic-Con winning the 'golden ticket' - a space flight from XCOR Aerospace on the Lynx Experience. Mercedes was chosen at random from the group of fans asking questions at the Q&A. Runner-up for luckiest fan at Comic-Con was the tallest questioner who kept shaking his head and looked like he would puke while former Shuttle Commander Richard Searfoss described the flight the lucky winner would take. See some of the panel here. At 2:17 note how he bows down in relief!

#3) The Luckiest Panel at Comic-Con
The creators and cast of ParaNorman lucked into the captive-audience opening timeslot on Friday before The Walking Dead and Game of Thrones panels. From Travis Knight, Sam Fell, and Chris Butler, the makers of Coraline, ParaNorman, described as John Carpenter meets John Hughes, couldn't have asked for a better timeslot. The audience got lucky too. The clips looked fun, the stop-motion animation beautiful, and the concept clever. Kodi Smit-McPhee who voices Norman was adorable revealing that his voice dropped during production - you kinda want to see the movie to hear how he handles it! Chris Butler of Laika inadvertently entertained the crowd with unwittingly racy comments about young girls and things you can do with a goat and a camera.  Most cool: Christopher Mintz-Plasse revealed that Kick-Ass 2 starts filming in September. Big surprise for their PR staff for sure!

#4) The Hottest Line on the Exhibit Floor
Beside the collectable toy lines which are always long and unexplainable to this observer, the line to become one of Michonne's pets was the longest - yes, people stood in line all through the three-hour preview night and didn't get their picture taken.

#5) Biggest Mob on the Exhibit Floor
We suspect the San Diego Fire Marshall wants the hide of the genius who booked AMC's The Walking Dead booth across the aisle from The Hobbit. Fans angling to take pics of the ginormous life-size props from The Hobbit jostled with WD fans watching regular folks becoming zombified 'pets' of katana wielding Michonne. But the biggest mob - the kind that makes you think you just might die by trampling - belonged to the Fox booth, even without the signings. Me thinks they must put Ecstasy on those posters or something...

#6) Lines, lines everywhere a line
Now more than ever, we had lines at the Con. At the Falling Skies panel, Drew Roy who plays eldest son Hal explained that when Dad Tom was taken by the aliens, the boys all went up a notch in the family. Well, the same thing happened to the lines this year at Comic-Con. Perhaps this is also the work of aliens. Obscure panels suddenly had lines, people were shut out of "Cartoon voices", Ballroom 20 lines camped overnight, the Hilton ballroom line sat in the sun for hours, large panel rooms had Ballroom 20-like lines...and Hall H - I can't even talk about Hall H. After 4 hours of sleep Saturday night (or I should say Sunday morning), I got up to camp in the Hall H line to see the opening act: Fringe - and ended up in the last row of the cavernous hall!

#7) Line control
My biggest complaint about this year's Con was the line management or lack thereof. Yes, there were more volunteers and security guarding lines and pointing out where to go. However, when the lines moved, latecomers were able to jump easily. The line management for the Hilton's Indigo Ballroom - site of uber-popular TV Guide Fan Favorites panel (where I laughed so hard, the video I took is pretty much unusable) - was insane. We walked into the building, took the escalator up one floor to the Indigo Ballroom where volunteers frantically waved us away from the doors and shooed us downstairs again outside the back of the building where the line snaked Disneyland-style on the walkway by the harbor. No tents. Thanks for the sunburn, Comic-Con (dis)organizers.

But what really got me PO-ed was being usher into Hall H Sunday morning 20 minutes after the opening panel started. Seriously, there's no excuse for not having the room locked and loaded for any opening panel. The Hollywood folks need to test their tech is NO excuse. Have them get up an hour earlier - we all did - and we're not getting paid for it!

#8) The Con is a study in human behavior
For several years now, students have been getting college credits for hanging out at Comic-Con, studying fan behavior and presenting at one of the educational panels. The students are great, their observations are interesting, but they need to come back next year with colleagues from Psych and Sociology departments. Comic-con is a master class in crowd (mob!) behavior, bystander apathy, anger management and group dynamics. To say nothing of the Con goers who could use a little therapy.

#9) Just because you work at WB doesn't mean you're not an idiot
I'm curious who the nimrod is who planned the WB Extra presence at Bayfront Park. Great idea, really poor execution. Why would anyone rent so much space, haul in so much equipment and spend so much money promoting a free venue only to use it when Con goers had much better things to do? Case in point, Wednesday afternoon the convention area was awash with 15,000 Preview night attendees and tons more Con goers checking in. Thousands and thousands of people milled around the Convention area, Gaslamp district and poured over the only part of the WB exhibit that was set up: the Batmobiles. Thursday and Friday there wasn't much else going on - some gaming in a tent. Imagine the fan connections lost by not utilizing the 60,000 foot space when fans had less to do during the day on Wednesday and Thursday.

#10) What the world needs now is more Jackie Chan
When I married Michael over a decade ago, he introduced me to Jackie Chan movies - not just the Rush Hour stuff - the bootleg flicks from China. Needless to say, I love Jackie Chan. Seeing him Thursday afternoon in Hall H was a Con highlight. Answering a question, Jackie talked about bullying and violence and what he portrays in his movies. It was lovely. What a beautiful human being. We could all use a little more of Jackie Chan's attitude - especially when things get crazy at the con.

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,679 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,759 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:  Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents:   My Take On: The 2012 Comic-Con International: San Diego   (AKA San Diego Comic Con!)

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3678 -   Today is the first morning since the end of the 2012 Comic Con International:  San Diego.  I've got a few things to say about it, and then I'll post Tina's review blog on it later, (hopefully tomorrow).

PARKING:   This was my mistake, as I didn't have Tina check the Ace Parking web site, or the Comic-Con website for the tickets.  I was enroute to Los Angeles the day the prepaid parking tickets went on sale.  So we had to park at the Hilton garage on Preview Night, and at the Campus Lot next to Petco Park the other four days.  However, it wasn't as far as I thought to walk this route to the Convention Center.  It did however keep me from buying much at all, as it was a ways to lug out everything.  Comic Book Grade:  Very Fine (VF) 8.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.

PREVIEW NIGHT:   I was starting to think last year why we were there for Preview Night, as we had to wait all day for it to begin.  We left later than usual to drive down to the Convention Center.  We already knew ahead of time what programs / panels we wanted to see starting on Thursday.  It used to be fun to sit under the sails in line, and wait to get in, and read the programming schedule.  The use of the internet has stopped that, because everything was already posted online.  So what were we there for?  There wasn't much of anything in swag to pick up... And it cost $25 each to be there on Preview Night for the three hours of exhibit floor time.   Definitely re-thinking this for 2013!   Comic Book Grade:  Very Good (VG) 4.0

LINES MANAGEMENT:  Yes, I actually was in line for Room H & Ballroom 20 with Tina.  I decided to join her for a few panels.  The lines management was a little crazy in my opinion for Hall H.  The 'chutes' style of allowing attendees in caused the line to back up way in the waterfront area.  Ballroom 20's line management was better.   There were actually lines for several of the smaller panels that I usually attend, icluding the Jack Kirby Tribute Panel on Sunday morning at 10 AM.  Good thing Mark Evanier asked for a larger room and a quarter hour more time for his panel.   Comic Book Grade:  Very Good Plus (VG+) 4.5

PANELS / PROGRAMS:   Hall H's program for Jackie Chan was totally messed up.  We were allowed in during midway of the program, and a good 1/3 of the seats were empty!  Poor line management, causing us to miss a lot of this program.   Tina had a problem on Sunday morning for the 'Fringe' program, in getting access to the room.  However she came out wearing a 'Fringe' hat, which pleased her!  Almost all of my 'comics' panels were relatively easy to get into, but I did have a bit of a time getting into some TV panels.  Comic Book Grade:  Very Fine / Very Fine Plus  (VF/VF+) 8.25

EXHIBIT FLOOR:   This was pretty bad in the non-comics areas.  There was no walking room during several signings, especially at the FOX booth.  I had given up walking every aisle of this Con a few years back, which is good, because I wasn't able to do so this year either.  Artists Alley seemed to be further away from Small Press area and the Gold / Silver Comics Pavilion this year, although I know that wasn't the case.  Just that it was hard to maneuver to those areas during the limited time I had between panels / prgrams to attend.  Add to that the Warner Brothers booth had attendees to their panel(s) come to their booth to redeem tickets given out at the panel.  And then the booth's redemption area was closed, making it impossible to redeem the tickets!  Comic Book Grade:  Very Good (VG) 4.0

OFF SITE EVENTS:   Tina and I cut back even further on walking to off convention center sites, except for Wednesday afternoon.  (As seen by the photos that are being posted at my Facebook Fan Page.)  So we saw a little of the area immediately closer to the center.   Plus we did leave our parking area and drive to the banquet held on Saturday evening at the US Grant Hotel's Celestial Ballroom.  I'll be blogging about that Richard Alf Memorial Banquet in my blog later this week.   Comic Book Grade:  Fine (F) 6.0  (Not counting the great Alf Banquet, but more on that later!)

OFF CONVENTION CENTER OFFICAL EVENTS:   Tina and I took in the Hilton on Preview Night's afternoon, as the Warner Brothers park area was next to it.  Tina took in a program at this place later in the week, where she ran into line problems.   I like the area, but haven't attended a program there, so can't really say much about it.   The Marriott though is a different matter!  We walked over to redeem a ticket at the official redemption room.  I used to attend the Anime programs when they were held at the Convention Center with my kids when they were younger.  With the Anime films so far away, we just stayed for ten minutes to gather our strength for the walk back.  And no, I couldn't talk Tina into stopping in at the hospitality suite for refreshements!   Comic Book Grade:  Very Good Plus ( VG+) 4.5

PRE-PAID MEMBERSHIPS FOR 2013:   Well, this year wasn't any lineups to stand in!  It will all be done sometime in August online only for those that attended the 2012 Comic-Con!  We will be on a vacation trip in August, so that affect us buying 2013 memberships!   Sheesh!   Comic Book Grade:  Good (G) 2.0

OVERALL EXPERIENCE AT THE 2012 COMIC-CON:  Well, I just wasn't that excited by the 2012 Comic-Con... As can be seen by my Comic Book Grades for the above topics.   Maybe its because I'm a little jaded... I haven't missed a year since 1991 when the Comic-Con came to the San Diego Convention Center location, making it 23 years straight now.   I do go back to 1972 when I first set up as a comic book dealer at the El Cortez Hotel for the 3rd San Diego Comic Con, so yeah, it has been a while.  I'm just a little 'let down' by this year's Comic Con overall.  Comic Book Grade:  Fine (F) 6.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale.

NOTE:   I'll be uploading photos from the Comic-Con to my Facebook Fan Page, 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics', of which the first 200 will be added to this special photo album  later this week. 

Feel free to post your thoughts on my Facebook Fan Page as to what you thought of this 2012 Comic Con International when you get a chance.  I'd like to hear your point of view!

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,678 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,759 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:  Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents:   Getting Ready For The 2012 Comic-Con International: San Diego   (AKA San Diego Comic Con!)

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3677 -   Well... Tomorrow is the start of the 2012 Comic-Con International: San Diego, or the San Diego Comic Con, whichever name you prefer to use!

So Tina and I are making final preparations to attend this one. 

Tina hasn't missed one since 2001, a few months before we were married.

As for myself, I have been going to this con straight since 1991 when the SDCC first moved to the San Diego Convention Center.  Which makes it 22 straight years!  Plus I actually go back to 1972 at the El Cortez Hotel when I first set up as a comic book dealer on the last day of the con, as seen in this article, along with a photo of myself at my table at the 1973 SDCC at the Sheraton Hotel on Harbor Island in San Diego.

For this year's SDCC, I have already posted a blog about what we did to prepare for last year's Comic-Con, and what to bring, and look for at the con.  Plus our thoughts afterwards.  That was a series of 12 separate blogs, which you find at this link for blog #3675.

I'll be uploading a few pics each day to my Facebook Fan Page, 'Michael D Hamersky On Comics', of which they will be moved to this special photo album after the Comic-Con is over. 

The next few days will be busy ones for both Tina and myself, and there won't be any more blogs until after the 2012 Comic-Con is over.

If you are attending, and see either Tina or myself, or both of us, feel free to stop us and say hello!

We both will be sharing via blogs what we each discovered at this year's Comic-Con starting next week!

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,677 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,759 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:  Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Presents Tina Lo Sasso's Take On:   Comic-Con And The Business Of Pop Culture   By Rob Salkowitz!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3676 -   Book Review:   Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture - by Rob Salkowitz / (July 2012, McGraw-Hill)

Just in time for Comic-Con, Futurist Rob Salkowitz takes on the world's wildest trade show to explore what it can tell us about the future of the entertainment industry, and business in general, from marketing, distribution, customer service, and merchandising. It's a fascinating read for both businesspeople and comic book/pop culture fans alike.

As a woman who has attended Comic-Con every year since 2001, I found Salkowitz's history of the Con, dissection of fans, and insights into the professional attendees to be interesting. However, it may be a little bit too much information for the strictly business reader. Yet, if you have even a passing interest in pop culture - and the author explains how much of TV and movie content is based on comics or has comics-related tie-ins - you are sure to find the stories and case histories to be intriguing.

Where Salkowitz really excels is in his detailed explanations of the trends in the comic book and pop culture industries. His knowledge of how Comic-Con grew into the insane behemoth that it is today, the ever-changing state of digital comics, the sorry state of distribution and retail stores, and what it might take to save them, is all fascinating reading for fans and contains important lessons for business owners and marketers in any industry.

The author has a kindly attitude toward even the zaniest of fans, outspoken artists, controversial publishing decisions, and yes, even Twilight fans. Salkowitz posits that the anti-Twilight feelings of Comic-Coners is an outsider/insider conflict and under-achieving boys vs. girls thing. Well, I'm a girl and I can't stand them either - it's the high-pitched screaming, mostly.

Salkowitz teaches digital media at the University of Washington Graduate School of Communication so it's no wonder that he is able to make sense of the burgeoning world of digital comics and its impact on the industry. His discussions of webcomics, distribution and transmedia will be of great interest to any business person looking to make sense of the impact of technology on their business.

His four future alternatives of Comic-Con are intriguing: in one Comic-Con is at Disneyland and includes a day pass at the new Disneyland Comics Kingdom! In another scenario, the Con has shrunk to pre-Hall H days. It all depends on how the industry has responded to the challenges of digital technology, developing transmedia, fan involvement, and "the amplification of individual creative voices." As a futurist, this is where Salkowitz really shines. What's amazing is that he envisions this alternate futures as very near -- 2017.

I wouldn't be a Comic-Con fan if I didn't grumble about a few of Salkowitz's points - to me, graphic novels aren't 'alternative', tv comedy panels have no place at the Con, and (again) I hate Twilight, overall, Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture is a fascinating look inside a global entertainment phenomenon with fun facts, stories and trivia for fans, and important lessons for businesspeople of all stripes.

Whether you're going to Comic-Con or sadly, couldn't get tickets, you'll enjoy Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture.

Rating:  Very Fine (VF) 8.0 out of a possible 10.0 comic book grading scale. 

~ Tina LoSasso

(Note from Michael:   Here is where you can purchase a copy of this book:  Comic-Con and the Business of Pop Culture: What the World’s Wildest Trade Show Can Tell Us About the Future of Entertainment.) 

(Plus an additional Note:  Rob also has a Facebook Fan Page for this book that you can find at this link!)

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,676 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,757 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:  Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---

Michael D Hamersky On Comics Asks:   Are You Going To The 2012 Comic-Con International: San Diego?!

TODAY'S FEATURE IS BLOG #3675 - I've received a few emails about whether or not Tina and I are attending the upcoming San Diego Comic Con / aka Comic-Con International: San Diego, as I haven't blogged about the 2012 SDCC as of yet.

And it is only five days away, as of this blog posting!!!

Truth to tell, I have my youngest son, Vinnie, with us right now, and things have been a little hectic during this past week!

So, I'm not going to be posting any series of blogs about the upcoming 2012 SDCC at this time, although I may get in one or two separate blogs before the SDCC starts next Wednesday night, July 11th!

So here is my 12 part blog series from last year, (2011), which covered a lot of what I would say here anyways!

If you haven't been to the SDCC before, this series would be very helpful.  If you have been to the SDCC in prior years, it probably is still pretty helpful.

Check it out, by just clicking the links to each of the blogs.  Each blog shown below has a small description as to what is about.

Part 1 of this ongoing series about the 2011 Comic-Con, (Blog #3450), gave a 'general overview' of why the San Diego Comic Con / Comic Con International: San Diego is very important to me. Along with multiple links to previous years blog posts, photo albums dating back to 1973, etc, etc.

Part 2, (Blog #3458), pointed out shopping tips on what we are buying to bring to the Comic-Con. I haven't missed a year since the Comic-Con first moved to the San Diego Convention Center back in 1991. I first started attending as a comic book dealer back in 1972, at the El Cortez Hotel. But I still have to plan out what to bring each year, as five days on my feet means a lot of trekking around the convention center and surrounding environs! This con is expanding out every year it seems, with programs being held at two different adjacent hotels now, at opposite ends of the convention center!

Part 3, (Blog #3459), posted the links to what panels / programs I believe are the most important for those of you that are first timers to this comic convention. Plus they are the most 'representative' of what Comic-Con International is, without 'Hollywood' panels / programs being included, UNLESS they are truly comic book oriented.

Part 4, (Blog #3460) posted the links to where I normally would be spending a lot of time at while on the exhibit floor of this comic convention. Where's that?! Well... When I'm not attending panels / programs with or without my wife Tina, I'll be most likely at the 'Artists Alley' or 'Small Press Pavilion' sections of this convention center.

Part 5, (Blog #3461) posted a link to what is in store for those of you attending the 2011 Comic-Con and wondering about how to beat the online mess of trying to buy memberships for 2012! I don't want to 'repeat' myself here, so please look at the blog #3461 link for the 'news'!

Part 6, (Blog #3462) of this series... Well, Part 5 was about the future, so here I was taking a 'look' at the 'Past'! And not just a look via my thoughts or collections of memorablilia obtained at Comic-Cons in the past... But from the collection of the 'Founder' of the SDCC himself, Shelf Dorf!

Part 7, (Blog #3466) of this blog series was a brief history and a link to the online version of this week's San Diego Weekly Reader cover feature article on comics creators living in San Diego, and who will be attending the San Diego Comic Con International.

Part 8, (Blog #3467) of this series was to tell you that there wouldn't be any more blogs the rest of last week or the weekend, as I would be celebrating my Birthday the rest of the week at the Comic-Con! Which would be the last year I was going to be able to do so, as the Comic-Con moves up a week in time for next year, the 2012 edition of the SDCCI.  Plus that I would still be uploading  photos via my camera phone by mobile Facebooking to my Facebook Fan Page, at this mobile uploads photo album.

Part 9 (Blog #3468), of this series was to present to you my own personal 'Hi-Light' of the 2011 Comic-Con! Which was the Fandom Reunion 2011 - Celebrating the 50th Anniversary of Comics Fandom.  The blog also had the link to the special photo album which is still being added to, as of this morning!!

Part 10 (Blog #3469) of this series was the first part of 'My Take' on the 2011 Comic-Con, where I covered the following topics and graded them:  memberships for 2011, memberships for 2012, and pre-paid parking.

Part 11 (Blog #3470), of this series was the second part of 'My Take' on the 2011 Comic-Con, where I covered the following topics and graded them:  posting of the 2011 programming schedule, art show, anime schedule, Artist Alley, autographs area, Freebies table, security, Fulfillment Room, The Events Guide, the Souvenir Book, On-site newsletter, small press section, off-site parties & events.

Part 12 (Blog #3471) of this series was Tina's POV of the 2011 SDCC.  In a blog titled: "I Survived San Diego Comic Con 2011'!  It has several points of value to it!

~ Michael

NOTE FROM Michael D Hamersky On Comics:  My thanks again to all of YOU reading this blog and our archived blog posts, now at 3,675 total posts in number!   I do appreciate your continued reading and support of this Blog!

BTW, You can 'follow' this blog by clicking the 'Follow' Button at this NetworkedBlogs app link!  We currently have over 2,757 'Followers'!  Thanks to ALL of YOU that have already clicked that button!  And for those of YOU that haven't yet... I would appreciate it if YOU would!!!

Note:  My online 'Loca8' Comic Book Shop (LCBS), carries many different genres of comics, magazines, graphic novels, and comic con promotional items. Possibly even copies of the item(s) that was mentioned here today...!  If I have it, you'll find under the BIG TOP of Comics, at Comic Books Circus.com, including the book 'Gotham City 14 Miles' that I am shown holding to the left. I'm 1 of 14 essayists in that book! !     

Web Page Note:  This blog post is written per the IE Browser standards.  Chrome, Safari, Netscape, Firefox and the other browsers serve the page up slightly differently, sorry about that!  The screen display resolution is best seen at the setting of 1024 x 768 on your laptop or desktop computer.  Note:  Your computer's resoulution may be set differently, but the above resolution is the most commonly used resolution at the time of this blog post. 

NOTE: All images and characters within this blog post are copyright and trademark their respective owners.

Comics Creators: If you are breaking into, or already work in the comic book industry or other pop culture productions, you are welcome to email or mail us press releases, news items, and updates that you feel would be of interest to our blog readers. Including YOUR own works! To mail printed items to us for possible review, send to:  Make It So Marketing Inc., PO Box 130653, Carlsbad, CA 92013

 Also, if you are a Facebook member, I would have liked you to send me a 'Friend Request'. However, I have reached the maximum limit of 5,000 Facebook Friends and Fan pages already, so I've added a New 'Facebook Fan Page' so that even more of YOU can 'Like' what I am doing, and be interactive with me and others there.  Here is the link to that 'Facebook Fan Page': Michael D Hamersky On Comics! Please click the 'Like' button on that page!

---------------            

      

In Addition, I started a YouTube Channel just before the 2011 Comic-Con International, where I am slowly uploading videos from conventions or other events that we attend that are also pop culture related.  You are invited to 'subscribe' to that channel also!  As found at 'HamerskyOnComics'!

---