Comic-Con 2011 Round Up – Part 1

A model of the San Diego Convention Center surrounded by Godzilla and other kaiju, displayed behind glass that faintly reflects onlookers holding up cameras.

Fans of Comic books, films, and the popular arts invaded San Diego again, in a big way.

Comic-Con gets bigger every year. Between all the panels and the costumes and all the great stuff in the exhibit hall, sometimes it’s hard to know what to do first.

For Margie, first on the list was trying to run over to the booth for the new TV show Pan-Am to try to score one of those retro flight bags they had. She’s a sucker for vintage travel glamour and if the show is as good as it looks, she’s going to love it.

It was great to talk to Marcelo Vignali again.   We’ve always loved his work, and Surf’s Up remains our favorite surf documentary ever.  And he’s always so positive and insightful. He shared his philosophy about filmmaking with us, saying “You can’t just have one person making the decisions, or the film will only be as good as that one person.  You’ve got to have everyone with their own unique skills giving suggestions, that way the quali8ty of the film will be the sum of all that talent.”

You should see his eyes light up when he tells it.

And of course, what good are the good times without good friends to share them with? We were so glad to be able to catch up with our good friends at Chet Phillips Illustration. They’re the nicest people you can find anywhere, and their work is just breathtaking – and will crack you up. Margie had to make sure that she went home with one of the Superlative Heroes/Nefarious Villains back-to-back books.

It’s a limited edition of only 100, so you’d better snap it up quick! The book is so ingenious and wonderfully detailed. In fact, she’s pretty sure that Mr. Druthers might have gone to school with Phineas Fleet Foot, though he says he has to check his old yearbooks to be sure.

As big as Comic-Con is, it just doesn't fit into one post.  So stay tuned for more from the biggest show in town...

I'm putting my feet up and solving a sudoku

solve

Daily Sudoku Thursday 17 September 2026

9612
1869
3546
785491632
9235
21386
5629
7
368
1954
372
4873
9561
4739
837
8629
592
2
1985
723
532
1587
6
671
3
768
642
964
18932
7
452
74
381
6193
7
925
1
4792
85
582
34
4187
3
759
624

Related products

Blissful Innocence
£ 87

Blissful Innocence

£ 87
Finding Frank and his Friend
£ 35

Finding Frank and his Friend

£ 35
Frank and His Friend - Special Collector's Edition, Vol. 1
£ 22

Frank and His Friend - Special Collector's Edition, Vol. 1

£ 22
Frank and his Friend Postcards - at the MANK Museum
£ 9

Frank and his Friend Postcards - at the MANK Museum

£ 9