Conventions

If you'd like to go to San Diego without actually going to San Diego, WonderCon is your best bet. You'll get a scaled down version of the big show with tons of great panels, cartoonists, and even movie stars but with plenty of passes, hotel rooms, and room to jump up and click your heels! The programming has just been released, and there's too much good stuff to possibly see it all, but we've pulled some of our favorites in the jump. To avoid stress, you can go here and make your own schedule. There's also an app for that. As previously mentioned, we'll be at the show, but in a more observational capacity. Come up and say hi!

We'll have our full report in tomorrow's PW Comics Week, but for now, a few notes:

The show was much improved from last year's; rough attendance is about 34,000, according to Lance Fensterman, definitely up from last year.

This was a fun, well run show without a lot of bells and whistles. There wasn't any one thing that made it stand out, but it was definitely a good show with all the elements that achieved "con." The crowd was young and energetic and seemed to be having the time they expected out of a comic-con, (a supposition backed up by happy tweets).

Although The Beat had a sensible evening spent filing stories and getting some sleep, many of the folks gathered in Chicago took advantage of...

Day 0 at the second edition of C2E2 found retailers confabbing, and early arrivals checking out the new location for the show. Following last year's...

Over at MediumAtLarge.net, the official ReedPop blog, pictures of comics invading the Valhallan halls of McCormick Place in Chicago are already circulating. There's lots of news and notes about the show on recent blog posts, but for the socially inclined, there's news of a special C2E2 brew!

WOW, The Beat is so far behind in everything. If you've emailed or called or anything we apologize for being in radio silence. There is just not enough time in the day. But even so, we'll be headed to C2E2 tomorrow, first for the Diamond retail event and then the regular show. Good times! We'll have a who's where later -- please send links and party poop. BTW, were the editors of TALES OF THE UNEXPECTED obsessed with the color green? That WAS unexpected.

Tonight at the Barrientos Mexican-American Cultural Center there is a SXSW Interactive evening event called Plutopia: The Future of Play that anyone can attend. Many speakers will focus on the converging technologies of the science field with arts and entertainment via film, demonstrations, performance art.

Dawn broke over the town and I slept the hell right through it. The panels of SXSW Interactive did not start until the afternoon and like a true ol' fogey, I spent the morning walk to the Austin Convention Center complaining about the businesses that had closed and what had been thrown up its place. Kerbey Lane with local art on the walls and pancakes of the day made the list of places to eat because the queso is an optional side like ketchup or chipotle mayo (I guess that one is rather new too).

Here's the guide for the West Building. The floorplan menu is located at the upper right of the screen, and allows access to floorplans for each level of the building. West Level 3 is where most of the action will be found! According to C2E2's own website, the Con will be held in Hall F1. I suspect that the IGN Theater will be placed in the Skyline Ballroom.

. The Chicago Comic & Entertainment Expo, also known as C2E2, is set to begin next weekend!  If you'll be attending, here are some helpful...

Austin's South By South West has long been hailed THE place to play your new Renaissance-powered noise band or screen your documentary on the failings of mankind. As a former Austinite myself, I know the activity of the town pulses as if the city itself is running a marathon. The University of Texas students are off on Spring Break allowing for a different sort of tourist to take their spaces at the taco carts, oddly-named bars (hello, Mooseknuckle) and marvel at the bats of Congress Bridge.

Well this time it took about 5 hours. About the same as the passes. Since noon, people have been reserving hotels for this year's San Diego Comic-Con. While the process itself was painless -- a quick entry to a website where the diligent who had planned their hotel picks could easily choose up to 20 and get out -- the waiting game has begun. Or as Crazy4ComicCon aptly put it on Twitter: "nerd rage has given way to nerd angst."