The Comic Con that was

Comic Con has come and gone! What a whirlwind. Being that I traveled so much this year, I wanted to minimize my time on the road, while maximizing my time. So here's how it all went down:

Friday 5:20AM Eastern Time. Leave the house, head to the airport. On the flight, I re-read Scott Pilgrim vol. 5 (I had been re-reading all the previous volumes that week in anticipation for vol. 6's release.) Then I read Scott Pilgrim vol. 6. And then it was over. Tear. But what a fantastic conclusion to a great group of books. I slept some, drew some, wrote some. It was a good flight.

12 PM Pacific Time. I land. Head to the hotel, check in and run into my old pal from the Target festivals, DJ Lance Rock of Yo Gabba Gabba! I head up to my room, freshen up and head out to an industry party. (Sounds important, right?)

This is the hotel I was staying at. Beyond the fact that I'm excited for the film adaptation, I am beyond happy for Bryan Lee O'Malley, the creator of the series. There were lots of amazing Scott Pilgrim events throughout the weekend. I imagine it was all pretty surreal for O'Malley.

1-4 PM Pacific Time. Great party where I run into lots of great pals. Danny Santat, Bob Boyle, Tony and Ang DiTerlizzi. The list goes on and on.

4-6 PM Pacific Time. I walk the convention floor with aforementioned pals. My tired mind fails to properly process the insanity that is the Comic Con floor. 

6:30-7 PM Pacific Time. Disco nap.

7:30 PM on - the Eisner Awards. I had no expectations of taking home the top prize in the category I was nominated in. And I didn't and that is OK—because it is an honor to be nominated!

More Scott Pilgrimness. The entire cast presented the first few awards. I barely paid attention when they were calling my category.

This is the silver sticker that I can now adorn my book with! (Brushes shoulder off.)

Somewhere around midnight Pacific, I finally get to sleep.

Saturday 5 AM Pacific Time. Even though I have quite a few hours left to sleep, my body is stuck on Eastern Time. . . and Eastern Time with a baby. *sigh*

10 AM (OK, by now you know it's Pacific Time. . .) I make my way to the Random House booth and meet up Babymouse pals Jenni and Matt Holm. By sheer coincidence, (seriously, not on purpose. . . I swear!) I had a yellow sketchbook and Matt had a pink one. So Jenni posed.

11 AM. Signing

12 PM. Interview with the folks at Suvudu.com.

1 PM on -- Met up with lots of writer/illustrator/comics/TV pals. Way too many to list here. And lots of A-Z list celebrity sightings, too.

Here is a small sampling:

Christopher Paolini and I are book siblings, we share the same editor. It was our first meeting and he is just one of the nicest authors you will ever meet. Pretty crazy to think that Lunch Lady and Eragon have been shepherded along by the same brilliant editor. (The Penderwicks, too. We're planning a family reunion. Or the oddest cross-over event in the history of anything.)

That's Mr. Santat, Mr. Warburton and I walking the floor. We never did assign which one of us would be played by Vince Vaughn, should they ever make a movie about us, but it did feel like one of Vaughn's old movies. We did, however, take advantage of a magical warp that allows you to travel form one end of the convention floor to the other. It's a great way to avoid the crowds. But I can't tell you where the warp is or how to use it—because I want to use it again.

Incredible costume. . . that kept following us.

This is what happens when you have lunch with creative minds!

Bob Boyle and James Burks in their booth, filled with their awesome work.

A whole crew of people who are responsible for a great number of graphic novels for young readers.

And this is that same crew in costume.  (Kidding. But it makes for a good segue into posting pics of the costumes seen at the Con.)

Didn't see many Storm Troopers this year, but did see lounge lizard Vader and Boba Fett.

This costume is fantastic. And probably better suited for colder climates. . .

Gotta love the dedication to superheroes that you don't read about everyday.

That is dedication to props.

I wish I had more pics of the costumes. This was my 2nd Comic Con, so I guess if you've seen one giant robot, you've seen them all!

Finally, at about 10:30 PM Pacific Time on Saturday, I flew out of San Diego.

Sunday 6:30 AM Eastern Time. Landed in Boston. I drove the 2 hour drive home and then—slept. A lot.