Okay, the final day of Comic Con is usually pretty sucky. No interesting guests are here on Sunday, most of the panels are aimed at kids and everybody is pretty tired. Usually people look around for last minute deals on the vendor floor, but I didn't need anything. I spent the small amount of time that I was there saying goodbye to friends.

Needless to say, I didn't take a lot of new pictures. Thankfully, I had a collection of pictures taken throughout the Con and here they are...








After an exhausting four days, the only thing left to do is go home... and put up with traffic.



Comic Con has been accused of losing its focus, and is too mammoth for its own good. It has been said that Hollywood has taken over Comic Con. Some of that is true, but regardless of why you go to Comic Con... whether you want to see previews of upcoming movies or TV shows or you're a fan of the comic industry or trying to break into the field or if you're really big into video games, toys, collectibles or you just like dressing up like a Harry Potter character... one thing remains true. We are all fans.

As Deepak Chopra said at one point during the convention... when you're here, you are among your own.



JR

The third day of Comic Con!!!

The day of the convention that falls on a Saturday, and is, by far, the busiest day. This is the day you should run and hide.



This is the day that some of the most interesting panels take place. The above left was a panel that had Mike Judge (and Johnny Knoxville moderating) talking about the new Beavis and Butthead show. The above right was a fascinating discussion from Deepak Chopra (and his son Gotham) and Grant Morrison on the connections between ancient wisdom traditions and modern costumed super heroes; the panel ended with Deepak Chopra guiding the entire room into a state of meditation.



I literally ran into a gathering of steam punks...



Some people got lost...



Ninjas were everywhere!!!



I'm sorry... you're doing it wrong.



At night, I went with the Coolwaters crew to a Lucasfilms VIP party. I met a lot of interesting people...



One of them was showing off her new souvenir.



But going home late at night in San Diego is kinda scary. You never know what you're going to see.

The Day Four update is coming soon

JR

Day two was a great day. I spent most of it talking to people, including Jennie Breedon, who does The Devil's Panties. Go here to check out her work. You won't be sorry.

However, I did manage to take pictures and if you're here than that's what I assume that you want to see. So let's get to it then.



When I looked at this batch of photos, I noticed that I had mostly taken pictures of Comic Con attendees of the female persuasion. I have no idea why this happened, but here they are anyway.





After a long day of... whatever it was that I was doing, I don't remember anymore, it was time for a beer... or two.



And this was my serving wench. I think, at some point, I may have made slurred promises of making her famous or something. Well, here you go, babe!



Come back tomorrow, and let's see if I can get myself into more trouble.

JR

Yeah, it's that time again. It's Comic Con time! Abandon hope all ye that enter.



This was how I started my day, by seeing these young ladies joining me at the trolley station. Not a bad way to start the day.

Every year the convention seems to get bigger and bigger. Comic Con originally took place in the ballroom of a small hotel. Now it inhabits a large convention center and is spreading its tendrils into the heart of San Diego.





Of course, at some point, I think I got lost cause it didn't look like sunny, warm San Diego anymore.



Inside the convention center, it was utterly chaos... as usual.




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At the end of the day, I scurried back to the relative safety of my hotel (I say "relative" because I'm staying just south of San Diego in Chula Vista... or as one of my best friends and I call it, Cthulhu Vista) and poured over my loot.



See you guys tomorrow... same bat-time, same bat-channel.

JR

It's the middle of July, and, as is usual for me this time year, I will be attending the madness that is Comic Con in San Diego, CA.

For those who have never been to this convention, it's more of a launching platform for Hollywood (and some comic-book companies) to announce upcoming projects.

In addition to presenting my usual pictorials of this event in the days to come, I will be making my own announcement (albeit, only here and not in front of hordes of cos-players)...



Let the partying begin.

JR

I wanted to take a little bit of time today and express my genuine appreciation for all of you out there. Thank you for reading. Even if you've never left a comment, I am still grateful that you came to my site and looked around for awhile.

I think that I'm going on a bit of a hiatus now. I need to straighten out a few things in my life. I will be back soon... I promise. Earlier in the year, somebody motivated me by saying that I can't let you guys down but that you'll understand if I don't always deliver. Hope that's true.

Happy Thanksgiving, everyone.

JR

I've lived in the area for years, and for years, during Halloween, I would see people walking by my house dressed in various costumes... some outlandish, some sexy and some ridiculous. This year I thought I would join the festivities.

I went with a friend (I'm the one with the mask, by the way)...



and I made some new friends along the way, too (I'm still the one wearing the mask).



There were all kinds of weird things there...



And some people got in trouble...



Some super heroes were called into action...



And, of course, there were a lot of pretty ladies...



But ladies beware... smoking does horrible things to your appearance. Look at this poor girl...



I am seriously thinking about moving someplace different by next year...

JR

PS The image website that I use told me to take down one of the pictures, so you guys are going to have to use your imagination on whatever it could have been.

This cheery little story was done as an artistic homage to Ivan Brunetti. He's a cartoonist noted for his black-comedy and autobiographical strips. Some of his titles include "Misery Loves Comedy," "Cartooning Will Destroy You," and "The Horror of Simply Being Alive." As you can probably tell, his style suited perfectly the story I wanted to tell.

As for the story content... well, relationship break-ups are never easy. During the affair, you say a lot of things to one another that, after it's all said and done, seem kind of farcical. However, throughout the time that you're together, they are true things. They are good things, and, as Andy Dufresne said in "The Shawshank Redemption," no good thing ever dies.

To my number one fan, take care. I'll always treasure our time together. I am a bit of a romantic fool, and I hope that one day that we can patch over our differences.

Hope Springs Eternal.

JR