Cliffs Notes.....

It's been too long since I've done some Cliff's Notes and way too long since I've written about BookExpo. It seems that NY ComicCon is the persnickety, willful child that is constantly starting fires and putting roofing tar in its mouth thus always getting my energy and attention. Meanwhile, BookExpo is the slightly more well adjusted child who is happy to sit in the corner and, well, read a book. Now, that is not to say the BEA is not fun, it's all relative you see. When I have booksellers lined up 10 blocks down 11th Ave to get into BEA then the insanity will be equitable....

Cliffs Notes:

BookExpo author events will be announced this week. Finally I’ll be able to reveal who the secret society and I selected for the author breakfasts and lunches! I have a prediction that the children's breakfast will be the biggest of them all - it's an awesome lineup.

The same day I blogged that we had Grant Morrison coming to NYCC, by a stroke of total serendipity, Newsarama had this interview with him.

Don't miss the upcoming Ultimate Experience offerings at NYCC. I mentioned it in passing during the Morrison post, but here it is again - Starting in about two weeks, you'll be able to purchase these once-in-a-lifetime packages as add-ons to your admission ticket. These ULTIMATE EXPERIENCES will feature meet and greets with your favorite creators, special outings, parties and yes. Basically it's access to the biggest names at The Con! Keep your eyes on The Con website or sign up for the newsletter.

I leave Friday night for a handful of speaking engagements in Singapore and Bangkok. I'm looking forward to the trip, but I have no idea what to expect. Has anyone out there been to either city?

On my nightstand – I’ve been on this gambling kick lately and took time off from Positively 5^th Street by James McManus to read Winner Takes All by Christina Brinkley, which in the end is a great profile of Vegas tycoon Steve Wynn, but not much more. Anyway, next in the stack The Ten-Cent Plague: The Great Comic-Book Scare and How It Changed America by David Hajdu (out in mid March from FSG). It’s essentially a retelling of the dark days in the 1950’s when censorship and other legal restrictions gutted the comics industry, and young kids who were coerced into participating in book burnings by overzealous parents and teachers. Here’s a review form Bookforum.

Here’s a nice piece from G4 on the NY Anime Fest featuring my good pal John McGeary: