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.

And in a true show of kindness, young Bentzion Wollner has helped us reach the 300th crane mark, with 76–count ‘em–76 cranes! Thank you, Bentzion!

Christina Wainright is doing her part to make the world a better place. She is the maker of our 200th crane! Congratulations!

And she’s not the only one doing her part. Cranes are pouring in, this time from Laurell K. Hamilton fans, who are coming together to make cranes while they wait for their favorite fantasy author to arrive.

Fantasy and manga fans coming together for a good cause. Don’t you just feel the love?

And if you’re here, we hope to get a crane from you too!

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!

We miss you at the Con! And because we want you to get in on the action, we’re giving ten lucky fans our SDCC swag!

Just send an e-mail to delreymanga@randomhouse.com with “Active Anime/SDCC giveaway” in the subject line. Include your full name and address in the body of the e-mail (NOTE: Your personal information will not be used for anything other than this contest). Entries must be received by Monday, July 30, 2007.

Ten (10) lucky winners, chosen at random, will receive the following:

A large double-sided poster featuring Princess Resurrection and Dragon Eye:

Four cool pins featuring icons from Negima!, Air Gear, Princess Resurrection, and Avril Lavigne’s Make 5 Wishes:

   

Our Summer 2007 Del Rey Manga Sampler, which covers 22 different series:

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…

It’s Friday, which means day two of Ali’s Tie of the Day!

And in a surprise move, Ali isn’t sporting a character tie, but he does pay homage to the power of sound effects/word bubbles with a very colorful tie (sorry, folks, no bowtie today).

In the credits where credit is due department, the characters depicted my bow tie yesterday were not from Little Lulu, but rather Nancy & Sluggo. Our apologies to any members of the Ernie Bushmiller Society who may have been inadvertently offended. And you know who you are…