(clockwise from top left: Michael Sheen & me; the art of Dave Seeley; my booth at #4600 of SDCC) This was my first time ever as a booth exhibitor at a San Diego Comic-Con. I expected it to be grueling. I hoped it would be a learning experience, as well as successful. It was all of that. I’ve attended several SDCCs as a pro attendee, and I’ve exhibited in Artists Alley before, but this year I shared a booth with artist Dave Seeley. He was a great teammate. I’ve always admired him and his work, but now maybe even moreso after going through this experience together, and spending time with his family. Patrick Heffernan of Mysterious Galaxy and artist Erik Gist were invaluable, assisting me and Dave in making this booth happen. Couldn’t have done it without them.

Dave and I purchased the construction materials for our booth the morning of Preview Night from a Home Depot run. Erik was there the whole way and was a real friend throughout. We built the booth with wood, aluminum studs, and MDF. We hung a 52″ HDTV from it and ran slideshows of our portfolios all weekend long. Dave sketched out the design for the booth and I thought it worked out brilliantly. Great job by Steve Brand of SSA Graphics who printed the banners I designed for my booth. I can see things I would do again when exhibiting at SDCC and things I would modify the next time. It was a huge learning experience.

I sold out all of my copies of COVER STORY: THE ART OF JOHN PICACIO. I sold out of most of my 11×14 prints. Old friends visited, and new ones were made. The booth did well enough that I’m considering doing it again.

(clockwise from top left: Jamil Moledina, Stephan Martiniere & Lou Anders; two fans with very cool Justice League costumes; Diana Gill & Richard Kadrey at the Eos Party)

Aside from the experience of boothing with Dave, a few highlights of the show for me included:

* Rooming with old friends Lou Anders, Paul Cornell and Caroline Symcox.

* Late-night drinks & chat with China Mieville, Lev Grossman, Annalee Newitz, Charlie Jane Anders and Lou Anders

* Fun lunch with EA’s Jamil Moledina and Lou Anders. I’ll be working on cover art for Jamil’s debut novel in the coming days.

* Meeting Matt Gagnon of Boom! for the first time. He’s a dynamo.

* Podcast interview with Shaun Farrell of Adventures in Sci-Fi Publishing

* Quickie interviews with the Kollin Bros. & Joe McCabe

* HarperCollins/Eos Happy Hour: Eos editor Diana Gill threw a great event as ever. (Her 2004 Worldcon party at the Boston Aquarium is still my fave.) Met Richard Kadrey, Merrie Destefano, Jocelynn Drake, and Rachel Marks. Fun visiting with Mario Acevedo, Craig Engler, Ann Vandermeer, and Scott Edelman.

* Meals and good talk with friends including Dave Seeley, Linda Seeley and son Griffin; Erik Gist; Lucas Graciano; Lou Anders; (thanks to Jeremy Cranford); big thanks and big ups to one of my favorite people, Jim Minz, as always; Stephan Martiniere; Madelynn Martiniere; Jeremy Lassen; Amelia Beamer; David and Sharon Weber; Matt Gagnon of Boom!; great breakfast with Paul Cornell & Caroline Symcox; dinner with Dave Palumbo, Anthony Palumbo; Lana Crooks and Winona Nelson.

* Visiting with friends new and old including Claire Howlett; Joe McCabe & Sophia Quach; Chris Roberson & Allison Baker; Dave Justus; Marjorie Liu; Bryce Carlson; Karen Jones; Jen Heddle; Morgan Burns; Mark Finn; Brandon Sanderson; Lauren Panepinto; Jaime Levine; Maryelizabeth Hart; Jeff Mariotte; Jon Schindehette; Diana Rowland; Kat Richardson; Alex Irvine; Arnie & Cathy Fenner; Arlo Burnett; Donato Giancola; Todd Lockwood; Allen Williams; Jimmy Simpson; Kristina Carroll; Daren Bader; Mike Mignola; Charlie Athanas; Greg Spalenka; Sean Williams; and I’m sure I’m forgetting a ton of people…

* Bill Willingham’s Empty Pen Party on Sunday night — I was exhausted, but that was good times. Thanks, Bill. (Shoutout to Brad Thomte.)

Want more pics? Here’s a Flickr set of what SDCC 2010 looked like to me, complete with capsule comments.

Thanks to all who made it a great show. Thanks again to Dave for sharing a booth with me. It’s Thursday and I still haven’t unpacked my suitcase. That’s how fast things are moving here. Time to get to that….