I figured I'd better get around to reporting something on the Con before it escapes me entirely.

Well, I returned Friday evening after three days that included a total of about ten hours sleep, two hot-dogs, one real dinner, two medium bottles of water, and three cups of coffee. Naturally I was depleted of everything necessary for survival, so it was nice to come home to real food and sleep.

Be that as it may, this year's show was still bigger than last. No on- site passes were sold, as the entire week was sold-out online weeks prior. Parking at the convention center opens at 5 AM, and cars began lining up before the lot even opened. I was up at 4 in the AM every day just to make it there by 5:30. One has to park under the convention center if one is to make off with bags of loot. This was probably my largest acquisition to date. My bag was literally breaking, and I had to double-bag my stuff with those giant, canvas, giveaway-bags distributed at the bigger booths. It'll take me weeks to pour over this stuff. I got several books signed, and even had a few artists doodle something inside.

One of the coolest things was a limited edition portfolio I bought from Gary Gianni, who happened to bring some of his own copies with him. Being that they were his copies, they were low numbers also. Very nice artwork by a very nice guy, as most of the artists attending were. One mistake I made was getting a small print from Eric Powell at the beginning of the evening on Preview Night. Ever try carrying around a rolled-up print through crowds whilst your hands are already full? The thing was totally creased by the end of the night. Ah, so that's why I saw all the nerds with the plastic tubes. They may be geeks, but they ain't stupid.

After resting Saturday and Sunday, I've been spending all day today reorganizing my studio. "Now where to put all these books?"I had to finally break down and use a fairly empty shelf that was previously occupied with a nice, marble chess set. Well, one has to have priorities, so the chess set had to go to make room for the books. I seriously need to reevaluate and start selling off some of my "reference" collection (see, anything used for artist "reference", it's a tax write-off).

Back to the Con... As I said, it was packed to capacity. I met some nice folks, and even signed a cover or two (remember? the event guide?). Not many new films being previewed at the film studio booths this year, but the comic industry is booming, what with the comic-to- film business going gangbusters. I got a few leads on which I'll follow up as soon as I catch up on the current Z2H book. Speaking of which, I need to return to that, so I'm off for now. Back to the ol' drawing board.