It’s windup day here. All the glittering art displays and carnivals are being taken down; everyone has gone home but the poor cast of Fringe, who were left behind to cover the retreat. And the comicos are also joining the caravan to the north and east.

We’ll have a lot more to say in the days to come but today is a crucial day for the future of comics at Comic-Con. Most everyone we talked to among the comics publishers and artists told us this has been a slow show for sales. People who were sold out by Saturday at HeroesCon are sitting on stacks of books. We don’t doubt that some people are doing well, but whereas in past years SDCC was definitely the biggest sales show of the year—justifying the enormous costs of attending — if booth sales slow, the exodus of comics talent may continue.