The Man-Children of Summer

I'm flying down to the San Diego Comic-Con tomorrow, where I'll be signing at the Sparkplug booth. I don't have much to add about the SDCC beyond what I wrote here a few years ago. Since I'm not really into buying and owning things (I'm more into services i think) the shopping aspect of the con sort of misses me. In the past the con has been an occasion for me to veer between a feeling of professional alienation and a straight-up debauch. I'm aware that these two states are connected somehow. Since the novelty of being plastered while in massive stinking crowds tends to fade as you age, I'm curious as to how it will all go this time. The awesomest part of it for me is seeing friends, and I'm certain it will not disappoint in that respect.

During my "signing time" I'll be selling some of these screen prints that I did of images from THE HOT BREATH OF WAR:





For all the glitz and merchandise of the SDCC a lot of people go there looking for art, so I'm hopeful some folks will be into these. The nice thing about the SDCC is that it's as close to a national convention as there is, so you get to meet cartoonists/comics people from all over and abroad. I was just reading Tom Spurgeon's guide to SDCC again and cracking up all over again over some of it: http://www.comicsreporter.com/index.php/briefings/commentary/14163/
Particularly the tips on night life in San Diego, to wit:
"7. If you don't know what to order, order a gin and tonic. For one thing, no one will mess with you. Nothing hints at sudden, deranged, violent reprisal like a gin and tonic in a crowded bar. It's like ordering a glass of milk in a Wild West saloon." I think I've been getting those all this time for the same reason without realizing it.

So yeah, wish me luck, I will report back on whether San Diego's restaurants are still as Tourette's-themed as they were when I went some years ago.