No, it isn’t. The booth may be down and the Del Rey team members are in transit to go home, but the spirit (or exhaustion!) of the Con is still here with all of us.

There will still be Con updates that we didn’t get the chance to cover in the whirlwind that is the last day at Comic-Con, completed over the next two days. Find out more about the Del Rey Manga panel (where we answered some of the common questions many of you have), whether or not we hit 1,000 cranes, and all the other craziness of our experiences at the Con.

So many thanks to the people who have kept up with us so far, and be sure to stay tuned to this space for more!

If there’s one thing I truly enjoy about being in the manga business, it’s the people I meet. Just got back from lunch with William Flanagan and his lovely wife, Megumi. I met Bill back when I started at Viz in 2000 and we’ve kept in touch ever since. Bill worked on several of our early launches when we started Del Rey Manga, and I credit the quality of our books in large part to his experience as a manga editor. All I ever did at Viz was handle sales and marketing; my editorial days were a few years behind me at that point.

Also a quick shout out to Scott Nybakken, who won an Eisner the other day. The award was for best reprint for Absolute Sandman, and it was well deserved. Scott and I went to high school together, and in fact went to our first fan con together over twenty years ago: Time Con, a Doctor Who convention. Ah, the memories.

I’ve been told today is another sell-out day, and to judge by the crowds, that’s got to be true. It took me about 6 minutes to walk to the booth; it took me less than a minute on Wednesday before the show opened.

Remember that burst of energy I mentioned yesterday? Gone. If you stop by the booth today, you’re likely to see me downing Dayquil and coffee in an attempt to keep going through these, the final hours of the show.

My overall impression? Great show, great fun catching up with everyone.

More later.

The Eisner Awards–the top honor in comics–are held every year at San Diego. Yesterday I was greeted with the awesome news that one of my artists, the mind-blowingly talented David Petersen, won a special award at the Eisners: the Russ Manning Award for Most Promising Newcomer. David’s the author of a graphic novel called “Mouse Guard” that Villard, the other Random House imprint I work for, is publishing next spring. Congratulations, David!

For the record, the title of my post is a quote - it’s what Tintin’s dog Snowy says whenever… well, whenever anything happens, really, because he’s, you know. a dog.

Okay. Comic-con day 4, and this is my first opportunity to post. Hi, I’m Dallas. I’m the associate publisher for Del Rey Manga. And boy, am I tired.

My first Comic-con was about 15 years ago. I came to the show with friends, and we all bunked together at the San Diego Hotel. (At least, I think that’s what the name was. It was demolished a year or two ago.) Suddenly, fifteen years later, there have been a lot of changes, for the con, and for me as well. There are a lot of people here. A LOT of people. I walk through Times Square on the weekends occasionally, and I get myself packed into a commuter train in Tokyo once or twice a year, and this ranks right up there with them. We hold a lot of meetings in the booth, and I often find it difficult to maintain my focus because of the sheer number of people passing by. (Don’t tell anyone though - I’ve mastered the art of the interested stare, even when my brain is off in lala land.)

It’s been a good show so far. The booth is set up well, and it’s brought a lot of traffic in. As I’m sure Tricia and April have told you, we set up a couple of displays with toys from our manga series this. As expected (and hoped for), people have been really interested (they’re great toys - I’m hoping we don’t have to send them back when we’re done with them). And perhaps it’s also to be expected that people want to know where they can buy them. We’re a big tease, unfortunately; they’re only available in Japan. sorry, guys!

Next meeting starts in about five minutes. I’d tell you who it’s with, but since it’s a company we’re just starting to work with, I can’t. I can mention it later, though, since we’re announcing out first license from them at the manga panel today.

Gotta run. Back soon.

All week I’ve been warned, by battle-scarred San Diego veterans, very sternly to fear the dawning of Saturday morning. In years past, Saturday has always been the single most crowded day, and I’ve been hearing the darkest prophecies about it: that almost 120,000 attendees are expected on Saturday alone, as many as on all previous days put together. At trumpet’s call and lifting of the drawbridge this morning, things are still quiet enough that I can stop to report, but I already hear the sounds of heavily costumed, armored, and weaponed reinforcements in the distance. Right now I wish I had a really large light saber.

Look! Hugh Jackman! I mean, Wolverine!

Ah, I wish. I wanted to add “Meet a huge celebrity” to my list of goals. But he’s a pretty convincing cosplayer. ^_^’

And the award for “Cosplay character I never thought existed” goes to this gentleman in the cool costume…

… who happens to be museum samurai armor from one of my favorite TV series of all time, Heroes!

Every once in a while, a manga fan approaches our booth who is actually not interested in snagging a free poster or a copy of Negima 14. This species of DRM fan instead has something to show us–usually in a large black artist’s portfolio. It’s not at all unusual for aspiring manga artists to drop by in the hope of getting an editor to review her work; to ooh and aah over the layouts, marvel at the delicate pencilling, and, perhaps, offer a three-book deal on the spot. I’ve done a few such reviews over the past few days, and it’s one of the real pleasures of being at a convention. Yesterday I looked at the work of a young artist who, while not quite ready to be published now, will probably be signing books for legions of fans at San Diego Comic Con 2011. And another artist so good I hope I get to her before some other editor this show is smart and quick enough to capture her.

But I’m not only waiting for artists to come to me. Later this afternoon I’ll be running by the Small Press Pavilion and Artists’ Alley on a hunt for the next big manga superstar. That is, if I don’t get distracted by the Kid Robot booth on the way…

Though the show is open for 7 hours a day–very nearly an honest day’s work in itself–this is no indication of just how many hours a day your typical hardworking manga editor puts in at a convention. Our official responsibilities do not end when the doors to the convention center close; our sense of honor and duty compels us to soldier on well into the night. Because, after hours, there are the parties, sometimes until 2 or 3 in the morning. Yeah, I know, I know, it sounds so hard. Oh, how much we sacrifice in the name of manga!

The details of such parties are simply too gruesome to recount, but I will say that it was with an extremely large cup of coffee I faced the third day of the show. And yet my excitement hasn’t abated just yet; it will continue to war with exhaustion until the battlefield (um, that’s me) is destroyed. It’s going to be quite a day!

Okay, I admit it. I’ve never been to a comics convention before.

Yes, I’m hanging my head in shame as I type this. Don’t flame me!

But carpe diem! I’m making up for lost time by making a personal list of five Comic-Con goals to get a well-rounded experience (when I’m not having a party at the booth with the rest of the team for most of the day).

And here they are, in no particular order…

– SWAG! Run and grab a Warner Bros. Smallville/Superman Bag. Only because it’s quite possibly the biggest bag in the world that I have ever seen and can carry just about anything from the convention. Speaking of bags, add Scholastic’s Harry Potter bag to the list. It’s Harry Potter, people–who doesn’t want that bag?

– Attend a panel. I’ve actually already been to Jason Thompson’s 100 Manga Magazines in 60 minutes panel Thursday evening, which was pretty much a requirement if you’re here and you’re a manga fan. It’s wisdom from the author of Manga: The Complete Guide. You’re not going to get that kind of manga knowledge anywhere else! But back on track, since that–and the Del Rey Manga panel!–are givens, I want to try something different.

– Buy something. Not everything, just something. Going down aisles full of stuff you haven’t even dreamed about can be really dangerous for a hardcore impulse shopper like me… Plushies! Comics and manga! T-shirts! Figures! I’m surprised my wallet’s not empty yet.

– Get involved in a Comic-Con game/sweepstakes/contest. Everyone wants to be a winner!

– Share the love with other manga publishers and try to meet as many manga publishing people as possible. Besides, manga fans rock!

Let’s just hope I can survive the stampede and the crowds to make this happen. We’ll see…

So, it’s finally here–Comic-Con International 2007 in sunny, gorgeous, San Diego, CA!

For those of you who haven’t been to a comics convention before, think of the stuff you find in the manga, Genshiken, only even crazier (if that’s possible!).

Stay tuned to this page for regular updates from the Del Rey team–Dallas, Tricia, Mutsumi, Ali, and myself–as we bring you Comic-Con updates straight from the convention floor! It’s your one-stop shop for everything Del Rey related, including picture and video updates, news updates, and blogs in true otaku fashion.

Special thanks to Active Anime for helping us make this possible!

Let the madness begin! Wish you were here!

April

Del Rey