Okay... so a hundred and thirty thousand people walk into a convention center... Sounds like the beginning of a joke doesn't it? But, in this case it's true! And the number is an accurate tally!

Every July, thousands upon thousands of people of all ages invade San Diego for the monstrous event called Comic Con International.

Years ago, Comic Con ceased to be merely a comic book and sci/fi convention. Instead, it has morphed into a multimedia extravaganza where the elite producers, directors and stars of Hollywood join in the festivities to give their fans a thrilling sneak peek into the latest movies, TV shows, video games and anything else that brings the "geek" out in the attending masses.

The convention center itself is divided up into several sections. The Dealer Room/Exhibit area, which takes up all of the downstairs; the Panel Rooms, which are mainly located upstairs along the hallways; and the Autograph Area, also located upstairs. As an extra bonus, off in the corner of the Autograph Area is a group of curtained off booths. Within these booths, young, wannabe comic book artists can show their portfolios to industry professionals

Many stars appeared over the weekend. The A-List stars confining themselves to panels where fans were treated to discussions about their latest projects. Steven Speilberg, Harrison Ford and Daniel Craig, for example, were there promoting "Cowboys And Aliens". Mark Hamill, Kevin Conroy, Jim Lee and Paul Dini were on hand to promote the new video game, Batman: Arkham City. And there was a panel with writers Grant Morrison and J. Michael Straczynski entitled "DC Superman: How does the Man of Steel fit into the new DC Universe" that rises in September.

The one panel I was able to attend was for a new comic book series in production called Flesh and Blood. The premise would be taking short horror stories, illustrating and anthologizing them in the style of the old EC Comics (Tales From The Crypt) and have each story introduced, Crypt-Keeper style, by Bela Lugosi in his prime. I took a picture of the panel, and the white-haired fellow, second from the left, is none other than Bela Lugosi, Jr. He was there as creative Consultant on the project.

In the Autograph Area I got to hobnob with the likes of James Hong (Big Trouble in Little China), Larry Thomas (Seinfeld's Soup Nazi), Richard Hatch (Battlestar Gallactica), Vernon Wells (Mad Max and Power Rangers) and Lee Meriwether (Catwoman).

Over the weekend, you never know who (or what) you're going to see and I saw many familiar faces!

All in all, this was, I believe, my fifth time as a guest, and I was very excited to be there! Just as a year without going to Metropolis, IL for the Superman Celebration would not be a good year for me, I can say the same for Comic Con.

I have friends at both events and my life has been made richer because of them. If you ever get a chance to attend Comic Con International (every July), by all means go! You won't regret it!!

Jeffrey Breslauer

Superman Super Site
Contributing Writer