The good news: Some hoteliers in San Diego have banded together to commit a $500,000 inducement over five years to keep the Comic Con in San Diego.

The bad news:  The money is going to come from people who stay in those hotel rooms, in the form of a 2% tax on top of  the 10.5% hotel tax.

In other words, about 7,000 of us who stay in Comic-Con block hotel rooms will be paying 2% more to keep 126,000 people who come to the Con and spend their money in hotels and restaurants and on cabs and so forth.

That doesn’t sound like much of a contribution from the city — and, technically, it isn’t any contribution from the city. Moreover, it sounds suspiciously like a regressive tax.

The new official Comic-Con iPhone App is out. Here’s the link.

Also, you may have heard that there’s a pernicious campaign to move Comic-Con out of San Diego; suitors include Anaheim and Los Angeles. I’ve been to Anaheim more times than you can imagine lately, and can attest that it completely lacks the scenic charm of  San Diego. San Diego features the Gaslamp Quarter, walking access to the bay for strolling and dining, and a clean, warm, sunny atmosphere for the Con. By contrast, Anaheim is an endless parking lot for Disneyland. There are more hotel rooms, yes, but that’s about it. As for Los Angeles, I’ve become a huge fan of the new LA Live center downtown, with many attractions and restaurants in a central walking location. But I don’t think the Con should — or will — move to a city teetering on the edge of bankruptcy. And speaking just for myself, I’d rather go away — to San Diego! — than commute to the Con. If you agree, you might want to join the Facebook group “Keep Comic Con in San Diego.” There’s also a website.

Finally, longtime readers of this site will recall the frenzy every year as we approach the date and time when group hotel reservations go on sale for the Con. It’s a frenzy because 126,000 people attend the Con — and only 7,000 rooms are made available at the Con rate. That’s enough rooms for only 5% of attendees, meaning you have about the same chance of getting a room as  Ron Paul has of becoming president. (Well, getting the room is probably fifty times as likely. But still.) Finally, someone has set up a scam. Here’s a recent notice posted on the Comic-Con website:

BEWARE!

It has come to our attention that a company identifying itself as Elite Locations is advertising that it can book local hotel rooms during Comic-Con.

First and foremost, San Diego Comic-Con is not affiliated with Elite Locations in any manner.

ALL of the hotels listed in their advertisement have indicated that Elite Locations does not have the right to book rooms on their behalf!

We also checked with the Las Vegas Better Business Bureau. The BBB rating given to Elite Locations (based on the BBB A-F scale) was an F — the lowest possible rating.

While we have had our own issues with hotel bookings, the best way to secure a hotel during Comic-Con is to:
1. Contact Travel Planners,
2. Contact the hotels directly, or
3. Book through a reputable, known travel agency or website.

This doesn’t surprise me. I only wonder why it has taken this long, in an age where the “$30” concert ticket costs $100 or more through  ticket brokers who buy up all the tickets. It does dismay me for one reason though:  This year my group and I were able to get two suites reserved — and before I could convince my friend to hold onto that second res and list it at ticket-broker rates, he released it. The markup on that suite could’ve paid for the whole trip.

Better than Batman vs. The Hulk (but not as good as Superman vs. Muhammad Ali), we bring you “SuperFriends.”

One of these shows I’ve never seen, and I’ll bet you can guess which one. (Yes, it’s the one without the capes.)

Happy to say I’ll be attending THE conference of the year:  Stark Expo!

At other times, he behaves like this. (Everyone needs to wind down, even the caped crusader.) My seven-year-old turned me onto this video. He and his friends have watched it even more times than the Joker has broken out of Arkham.

Another reason Batman always beats Superman: Batman inspires new technology. And he’s insistent.

Neil Gaiman on what it’s like to be a relative nobody at the Oscars.

Somehow during the mad scramble for accommodations, the merry men and I were able to once again secure a suite for this year’s Comic-Con International (or, as we older-timers like to call it, “the San Diego Comic Con”). Which means that, this year, there will be more of these small, odd, touchingly humane and sometimes disturbing moments.

The main challenge in making a good movie about Captain America has to be suit.

Case in point, from the 1970’s TV movie that so agitated me as a kid:

Think you hate looking at it? Imagine how that guy feels wearing it. I doubt it struck fear into the heart of the Red Skull, unless he was terrified of rejects from auditions for the Village People.

Here’s the archetypal costume, courtesy of Jack Kirby:

No matter whom you cast or how you sew it, that’s not a costume that will translate well into a live-action movie.

So how does the director plan to get around it?

By putting Cap in the USO.

That’s right:  It’s a costume fit for show tunes.