SFist attended the 36th San Diego Comic-Con International (SDCC) this past weekend. Last year's SDCC drew almost 100,000 attendees; after trying to negotiate the crowds, we can't see how there could have been any fewer this year.

The place was a zoo -- it comes at you from every angle. The event is put on by the same folks that bring the Alternative Press Expo (APE) to our fair city every year; it's really interesting to compare and contrast our little slice of chaos with the behemoth-like SDCC. For one thing, it's not only comics that are spotlighted down in San Diego; in this regard, it's probably more similar to another yearly Bay Area show, WonderCon, but to the nth degree. Representatives from film, television, video games, and more traditional publishing ventures (i.e., "books") help to fill out the San Diego Convention Center's massive eight halls and both meeting-space floors.

We attended with the intention of finding some Bay Area hooks to write about; indeed, we caught up with a few of our old friends and connected with some great Bay Area folks we'd not yet had a chance to talk with. We also discovered a few gems that have no ties to SF other than that the author really dug 'em.