.

Food!  Parties!  Fun!  The North County Times (North San Diego County) lists possibilities.

Meanwhile, U-T San Diego (hook ’em horns!) showcases their coverage here.

They also tell the story of “Atomicman” and how he helped the San Diego Comic-Con move and adapt to the convention center!

The Mayor officially opens  Comic-Con International!

ThinkGeek announces a Doctor Who sonic screwdriver remote control.  You can order it here.

Heroes in Action announces their satirical Mitt “Romney the Robot” figure.  Yes, other politicians have also been depicted…

Heroes In Action also produces toys modeled after other presidents, including Barack Obama (“Baracula”), Bill Clinton (“Wolf Bill”), George W. Bush (“Zom-Bush”), as well as other political figures such as Secretary of State Hillary Clinton (“Hilluria, the Secretary of Stake”) and Al Gore (“Algor, An Inconvenient Assistant”).

Four people spend Comic-Con living in a car.  (Big deal, I’ve seen hotel rooms sleep ten.)

Today is Super Hero Day at the LEGO booth!  Here are the exclusives!  Not to be offered in sets!  Shazam! and Venom (or Spidey, since there’s no tongue or muscles).  Bizarro and Phoenix!  There are two sweepstakes URLs on the Bizarro and Phoenix pictures, but they aren’t working right now!  How soon before someone constructs Bizarroworld?  And then has Phoenix eat it?

Publishers Weekly announces that Abrams ComicsArts will be offering digital e-books in partnership with Comixology!  The first five titles:

  • My Friend Dahmer by Derf Backderf
  • Empire State: A Love Story (or Not) by Jason Shiga
  • Mom’s Cancer by Brian Fies
  • Fairy Tales for Angry Little Girls by Lela Lee
  • Cats, Dogs, Men, Women, Ninnies & Clowns: The Lost Art of William Steig by Jeanne Steig with Illustrations by William Steig

And here’s a cool discovery… just up the road in Riverside!  The University of California at Riverside has the Eaton Collection, a premier archive of science fiction and fantasy!

The collection is a major resource for research and is visited by scholars from around the world for both its American and international holdings. It features over 300,000 holdings including:

  • Over 100,000 hardback and paperback books.
  • Full runs of many pulp magazines.
  • Nearly 100,000 fanzines.
  • Film and visual material, including 500 shooting scripts from science fiction films.
  • Comic books, anime and manga.
  • Collectible ephemera and realia, including cards, posters, pins and action figures.

They even host an annual conference!  There’s also video showcasing the collection!

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