Comic-Con 2010: Waking up to the First Full Day

National Public Radio here says the traffic is jamming the roads heading to Comic-Con - and it isn't yet 7 a.m. I made the choice so many are making this morning: opting for getting up and about over getting eight hours of sleep. By day's end (when I have two events scheduled opposite each other, meaning I'll start with dinner at one, wrap that up, and head for the reception at the second) - well, who knows? Who thought I'd find out yesterday that the screwball BBC series Look around You would be coming out on DVD, much less that I'd be wearing a Look around You lab coat. (The coat evokes either mild bewilderment from friends - or expressions of envy - depending on whether or not they know the show.) It's difficult to describe, but here's a sample.

Marv Wolfman and I have had a history of never getting together during Comic-Con; that's how crazy the event has been - so this year we sensibly scheduled getting together after Preview Night wrapped up. Not so sensibly, the gang (with several folks I'd never met before but some - Barbara Kesel, Craig Miller - I had) opted to go to the Fox Bar restaurant at the Hilton next to the Convention Center. The food was yummy, the company terrific, yadda, yadda. But the dozen in our group ended the evening by pretty much shouting to each other to try to be heard over the increasing volume surrounding us. It reminded me of my first highschool reunion, which included a band playing so loudly that those of us who hadn't seen each other for a decade couldn't talk to each other to catch up. Nevertheless, I did learn that Marv and wife Noel are considering selling their Los Angeles area home so's to move closer to Noel's job, so, if you know someone who's looking ...

Speaking of if you know someone ... Scott B. Smith stopped by the CBG booth to wonder whether I knew anyone who has access to an antique player for Sony's Helical Scan half-inch videotapes - and a time base corrector. He has batches of tapes from the early, early years of Comic-Con but no way to play them so's to save them digitally. He figures the tapes may have one play left in them before they disintegrate. And the longer the delay, the more likely the tapes will be unplayable.

Oh, let's toss in one more photo from yesterday: Dan Parent. Best-known for his Archie Comics work (especially Love Showdown), it's neat that he's here, as the Archie folks celebrate their anniversary, new magazine, etc.

Must ... get ready ... for show ...