Again with more CosPlayers! Simply the best part of Comic-Con.

My favorite? It’s a toss-up:

• The gal dressed as Sarah Palin. Not sure what she was going for, but I love the ‘meta’ aspect of that one.
• The Chef Vader with Jar-Jar’s head. It’s just really good to see Jar-Jar dead.
• The Flash on a cell phone. He looks befuddled, and pudgy – my favorite kind of Flash.

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Felipe Smith, a product of the School of the Art Institute, wanted to create comics so bad, he slept on floors at conventions and taught himself Japanese.

In 2004, Felipe won second place in Tokyopop’s Rising Stars of Manga competition. This lead to his first series, MBQ, which was published by Tokyopop. After MBQ ended, Felipe’s next series, Peepo Choo, debuted in Morning 2, a comic magazine from Japan’s largest publisher, Kodansha.

Felipe’s tales are set in the real world. His heroes are the everyman; the fast food worker, the comic nerd.

Felipe returned to the states for the first time in two and a half years. I sat down with Felipe to talk about Peepo Choo, his favorite spots in Chicago, and transvestites.

Like the gays during the Pride Parade, this is the only chance for some of these people to get out there and be 100% confident in who they are and what they love.

Hats off to each and every one of them!

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Kuma’s Corner gets a shout-out at the San Diego Comic-Con:

Brolactus - Devourer of Burgers! Kumas Corner at SDCC.

After protesting a Conference down the street from Comic-Con, those ne’er do wells at the Westboro Baptist Church decided to protest the Comic-Con itself.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Unfortunately for them, a louder, funnier group of fans showed up.

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Evil Scourge of the Comic-Con.

The Scal-Por clan makes their first appearance at Comic-Con’s Preview Night. On Preview Night, the organizers throw the doors open for 3 hours so fans can get a taste of what’s to come over the next 4 days.

In order to wait in the long ass lines for the various panels, attendees bum rush the various exhibitors to buy exclusive toys and books.

As you can imagine, this creates a logistical nightmare for the organizers. The exhibitors have their own systems to minimize lines. Sideshow Collectibles allows fans to buy their product before the con, so the wait in line is minimized. SquareEnix, makers of various Final Fantasy items, has an assembly line that’s so efficient, you’re in and out in 5 minutes.

Then, there’s Hasbro and Mattel. These are the two largest sellers of exclusive toys, so if you want Orko from He-Man or My Little Pony, be prepared to wait in line. Mattel and Hasbro shoo away exhibitors before the hall opens, so that everyone has a fair shot. Mattel has even banned exhibitors and professionals from purchasing items until noon Today

How does Scal-Por get all these toys? Simple. He buys one or more attendee badges. Then, he hovers near the booth. When the hall opens, Scal-Por quickly swaps badges and gets into line. Once in line, he buys the maximum allotment of figures allowed. At the Mattel booth, you can buy up to 6 of each of their 10 exclusives.

I don’t understand why Mattel allows people to buy 6 of each of the figures. Who needs 6 Orkos or 6 Lotso Huggin Bears? But, I digress

I found this particular Scal-Por struggling with these bag. As he walked along, fans mumbled “what an asshole” and “I can’t believe they let him do that.”

By Friday, when Mattel runs out of the popular toys, Scal-Por will put his toys on sale. That Plastic Man that Mattel was selling for $20? Scal-Por will hook you up for $75-$100.

The Crowd Awaits.

In the 10 years I’ve been attending Comic-Con, Southern California is drenched in warm sunlight. A nice ocean breeze keeps San Diego from getting too warm.

I’ve been here since Tuesday. The sun hasn’t come out since.

The fans are happy and optimistic, but from hanging out in various local watering holes over the past couple days, I can see why.

San Diego is nervous.

The event that pumps over 60 million into the local economy may be leaving soon. It has outgrown the San Diego convention center. Comic-Con has a contract that runs through 2012. Vegas and L.A. want organizers to move the 41 year old event.

I hope it doesn’t move. I love this city.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Yes. You may need to replay that a couple times… He DOES say that.

Click here to view the embedded video.