It doesn't get much bigger than the Con! All images are © Comic-Con International, 2001.

You're in one of the most beautiful cities in the country, known far and wide for its breathtaking scenery and the perfection of its climate. But you never actually go outdoors or have any sunlight touch your body. Instead of expertly prepared nouvelle California cuisine, you find yourself subsisting on very mediocre pizza and hotdogs.

You must be attending Comic-Con.

Comics conventions are unique among professional gatherings. Civilians aren't allowed into New York's Licensing Show, for instance, or L.A.'s E3, or into most trade shows and conferences. Certainly not civilian children. But at Comic-Con, fans and pros mix, the lines between them blurring. Last year's eager fan is this year's hotshot pro. And vice versa.

Any given individual's experience of the Con is just that: individual. As you could no more say what New York or L.A. is like from one visit to one part of town, so it is with Comic-Con. Comic-Con is actually like a small city, in a way, a sort of Woodstock for comics and pop culture folks, without the mud, but with the overpriced bad food.

That said, I thought it was a great show this year. Ostensibly, I was there to expand my contacts and my client base for my writing, development and consulting work. That means my goal was to take in as many panels and events as I could dealing with areas I'd like to become more involved with and knowledgeable about.

But of course, as a comics reader since age five, let's face it, I was gonna do my share of geeking out. I mean, come on, Irwin Donnenfeld was there -- the son of one of the founders of DC Comics. This is a guy who, at age 12, his dad shows him some art boards and says: "There's this thing called Superman we're thinking of publishing. Give it a read and tell me what you think." Talk about being there at the creation. This is just one of the many great panels mc'd by Mark Evanier, the god of us geeks. Thanks for the Donnenfeld panel and all the other incredible events, Mark. (And for answering a question I had about the Marx Brothers a couple of months ago, too.)

Alvin Schwartz was another rarely seen old pro, who wrote many early DC Comics and Superman and Batman newspaper strips. He left the industry way, way back to become a novelist and advertising man, but he, too, was there when the biz began, when things we take for granted were just starting. To a third generation pro like myself, these folks are the Lumiere Brothers and Orson Welleses of our business. In addition, they present an alternate-universe take on the lives of our parents and grandparents, almost as if they came from a scene in Michael Chabon's Kavalier and Clay novel.

Speaking of whom, Chabon, himself, was at Comic-Con, too. In one panel, he and the legendary creator of The Spirit, Will Eisner, dialogued. Will was as brilliant and articulate as ever, and the Pulitzer-winning Chabon showed himself to be a true comics fan (as if there was nay doubt), as well as a charming and intelligent guy. I'll try not to hate him too much for writing the novel I -- and every other comics pro -- wanted to write.