Old-timers bemoan that Comic-Con is comic in name only. I agree that it is harder to find the comics amid the movie and toy promos, but whining won't solve anything. Many comic aficionados have several dimensions to their fandom, and the current convention reflects that. Comics generate animation, movies, toys, and other swag. Movies generate comics, novels, toys, and other swag. Books generate movies, comics, toys, and other swag. And so on. Ours is a multidimensional fandom, and few companies are willing to let any dimension where they can make money get away. The marketing folks have even coined a word for it: transmedia.

(Transformer Optimus Prime being assembled outside the Marriott Hotel.)

Just because I'm not a toy and model collector, doesn't mean I don't appreciate the giant replicas the companies bring to help market their products. Preview night is the time that competitive fans can find the exclusive and limited edition items that add extra caché to the degree of their fandom.

The hustle of the exhibition hall on Preview night is a welcome change from years ago when it was retailer night. The theory was that it gave the exhibitors, and small comics retailers that weren't showing, the opportunity to see what others in the industry were doing. To some degree that's true, but the quantity of retailers diminished enough over time to have Comic Con International reconsider the use of time more effectively.