I really, really don’t want to cast aspersions – geeks in mylar houses, and all – but really folks? An entire convention centering around Depeche Mode? Eh, what do I know – apparently this is at least the third year they’ve held it.

You can get more info here.

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-here’s PW talking about it

-CBR claims it was the con’s “buzz book”

-even the NY Times had something to say

-so did USA Today??

-an interview with Alan Moore in Entertainment Weekly that randomly enough quotes Pop Will Eat Itself…

That said, this is easily one of the greatest graphic novels were talking about here, and, I would argue, one of the greatest novels of the 20th century. So, the more exposure the better.

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The Con, as devotees like to call it, is disconcertingly large. Last year a capacity crowd of about 125,000 crammed into the San Diego Convention Center, while a ticketless 25,000 or so were left sweating in the hot sun. (The Sundance film festival, by contrast, draws 45,000, spread over 10 days.)

It is weird. The convention officially requires that model weapons remain holstered or sheathed.

And it is decidedly low-rent. No. 33 on the official tip sheet lists the grocery chain Ralph’s Market as an alternative to dining out. The Bio International Convention in San Diego, a gathering of the biotechnology industry, with one-sixth as many attendees, produces about double Comic-Con’s $41.5 million in economic impact on the city.

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Just got back from Day Two of the New York Comic Con, or as sane people like to call it, Hell On Earth. Yesterday was great — a manageable crowd, deals on cool stuff everywhere, and lots of creators on hand to meet without having to wait in-line. Today, as has been the case the last couple of years, the crowd was $%#&ing huge, making it near impossible to walk more than a few feet without getting stuck between one guy lugging around a handtruck filled with stacked comic boxes and a mom who for some reason brought her kid in a stroller to this thing. Still though, a fun time overall. Check out lots o’ photos after the jump.

Crowdy fun.

This was the “Make Yourself Feel Like a Giant” booth.

See Steve McNiven.

See Steve McNiven not sketch anything.

The fine folks of The Sentinels.

Best Heath Ledger-Joker of the show.

But this was the creepiest Joker.

This is what Mark Texeria looks like.

Blue Beetle?

A deadly game of Magic. Only the winner walked away alive!

Aw, see? Emma and Jean do get along, even though Scott was psyche-banging Emma while Jean was still alive.

The awesome Hal Jordan-Green Lantern from the DC Universe line.

Sad.

Awesome.

This is how the world should end: Godzilla leading an army of Japanese robots and destroying everything.

Is this a MUSCLE dude? I don’t know.

Okay, now I own some pretty niche, geeky shit. But why anyone would want to have this in their house so they can…look at it…is beyond me.

NECA, or The Best Toy Company Around, shows off a 12-inch Raph.

The black and white TMNT variants from NECA.

Gamers got to try out Metal Gear Online at the Konami booth.

Some more Bat-villains strike a pose.

Mezco’s insanely huge Hellboy.

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Transformer Marvels. Seriously, is this geek merger even allowed? It isn’t like crossing the streams or something?

Since it was Friday — i.e. the one day it’s possible to actually move around at this thing without wanting to strangle somebody — there weren’t too many costumes around. These two were great though. I have to say I like that these two guys aren’t in the middle of a pose. They look like real people having a good time, which they are.

Just wanted to point out Ugly Dollz had one of the biggest booths. Might as well milk it while you can, I guess.

A few of DC’s new Showcase figures. Doesn’t Superman’s torso look kind of like a bar of soap? I bet in real life Superman smells like Irish Spring.

Two of the deluxe Dark Knight figures. Gives you a decent idea of what these guys will look like in the flick.

Some figures from the Hulk movie. Apparently that’s the movie Abomination over on the right. I hope to god the movie is better than this so-called “photo.”

Jonah Hex Showcase figure. Just out of curiousity, if you’re white, should you really be allowed to display this out in the open?

Man these guys freaked me out when I was a kid. The noise they made…it haunts me…s-so s-s-so…c-c-cold…

It’s tough to tell but that Fin Fang Foom in there is fairly huge. And fairly awesome.

Wow, this is a remarkably poor shot — but it’s vaguely noteworthy for that red Hulk in there. Ah, who’m I kidding. It’s not noteworthy for sh*t. Haha.

I can’t remember what these guys are called. Nifty, though. Might have to pick myself up the DOOM figure. Fun fact: DOOM should always be written in all caps, btw. It’s in the Chicago Manual of Style. Look it up.

Some new Green Lantern dudes. What makes these different from every other Green Lantern figure ever? Hell if I know. Or care. Oh wait! These guys are all in the same set or something. Whatever.

The best use of swords and neon since the first Highlander! Zing! Admittedly, this is a vast improvement over the tried-and-true Ye Olde Barbarian Outpost Shoppe or wherever you could buy fake weaponry in the past. You know what I’m talking about, there’d be the fat old guy from the Ren Faire sitting around in fake furs and a horned helmet exposing his belly, drinking “meade,” and trying to push expensive movie sword replicas on unsuspecting nerds while his inexplicably attractive wife looked on. Anyway…

Ok, this was some random display of J-pop costumes or something. I hope Adam Ant is getting royalties wherever he is. And even Adam Ant managed to be tougher than these get ups — and he sang about “dandy highwaymen”!

Some of DC’s New Gods figures. I cut off Mr. Miracle by accident. Although it’s kind of a miracle that I could actually make the camera I was using function semi-correctly. Yeesh.

Stan TM, still kicking it live. A consummate professional. You know what I used to love about Stan Lee, those enthusiastic intros he gave for the 80s Hulk and Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends cartoons. It got you so amped you forgave the relative crapiness of the actual show. In all seriousness, think he got serviced by that chick next to him after the signing? God I hope that’s not his granddaughter or something.

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