Conventions

New York Comic Con kicked off with a retailer breakfast sponsored by Diamond. Held in the Galleria room, it looked great -- and the bacon was surprisingly crisp -- but with an all-glass ceiling and walls it was hard to see or hear the speakers and their slides.

It's official: Three- and four-day passes for New York Comic Con are sold out. And fans are being urged NOT to line up to get in today due to having to line- up outside in a rain-slicked city:

Aside from Friday tickets, New York Comic Con has SOLD OUT!

Here are some sneak peeks, taken from my Samsung phone. Apologies for the resolution.

Events in New York were in full swing last night with the CBLDF signing at Forbidden Planet (above) ...and the Image signing at Jim Hanley's Universe (Moritat, above), and we're soon to be breakfasting with some retailers. Reporting from the floor may be dodgy but stay tuned...it's going to be a wild ride.

Special Ops Beat Correspondent Torsten has already been on the floor for NYCC set-up and filed the following report:

If you like nerdcore music, you'll enjoy Rock Comic Con, on Friday, 10/14, a concert featuring genre mainstays Paul and Storm, Kirby Krackle and H2Awesome!. Tickets are $12, and the show throws down at Tobacco Road, 355 W. 41st street, not too far from the Javits Center.

This weekend's GeekGirl Con in Seattle sounds like it was a big success; both Saturday and Sunday sold out, and while the above news report doesn't make it look like it was sardine-land, maybe selling out before you get to that point is not a bad idea. Gail Simone has a lengthy write-up that deserves to be read in full; the idea of a female-run and female-centric convention seems to be fairly emblematic of the time and place we find ourselves in, and it sounds like the programming, in particular, was noteworthy:

Speaking of LA comic-cons, Wizard World has tweeted an update about its postponed LA show.

And to think I almost didn't go to the Baltimore Comic-Con. Like many I was feeling pretty conned out, but in the end the idea of a short road trip to an always relaxing show -- and covering the Harveys -- won out, so I was off on a road trip with Ed Catto of Bonfire Agency and Captain Action fame, and Josh Frankel, founder of new publisher Zip Comics. Beginning as it did at 7:30 am, the trip down was a coffee-driven affair, as we discussed our various endeavors and ideas for improvements and prognostications for the future. While all three of us are born optimists, the current uncertainties and question marks left any real attempts at planning akin to spitting into the wind. Future cloudy; ask again later.

It seems that everyone has discovered that the Baltimore Comic-Con is one of the friendliest and most star-studded comics shows on the circuit. We don't have figures of magnitude yet, but pre-sales and attendance this year are WAY up. While the crowds on Saturday were always brisk, when we arrived at noon today it was difficult to get into the show floor past giant lines for Jeff Smith, David Finch, and (of course) Stan Lee. Reportedly there was a giant line that wrapped around the block to get in this morning before the show opened. Or as one exhibitor told us, "At 9:30 when they let in the VIP badge holders I thought 'Good crowd.' At 10 when everyone got in, I was 'Oh my god.'"

So, this weekend in Anaheim (home of Disneyland), the D23 Expo is taking place. Dedicated to All Things Disney, this show will feature Marvel Comics for the first time, with appearances by Joe Quesada, Kevin Feige, and Marvel creators. Joe Quesada will be hosting a panel on Sunday, at 10:15 AM. I hope someone pulls a "Batgirl" and questions Mr. Quesada about the "legends" of Marvel, and how Marvel honors their contributions to Marvel's legacy. Given the concentrated nature of the fan-fest at "The Happiest Place on Earth", it is very unlikely. So I'll ask them here!