Differentiating between fans and dealers is important at the convention where, just two years ago, fire marshals required that attendance be capped at 25,000. To accommodate the number of fans, Otakon rearranged the layout of the convention to spread the crowds throughout the rooms, and the cap was removed. Next year, the development of a new Hilton hotel will add 45,000 square feet to the convention center, with a minimum of 30,000 square feet promised to Otakorp for its event.

Superman. Batman. The Fantastic Four. Second-stringers, the lot of them, when measured against the awesomeness that is Herbie Popnecker. Perhaps the most unlikely and bizarre superhero in the history of comics, Herbie is "a little fat nothing," as described by his staggeringly disappointed father, but what his dad doesn't know is that young Herbie wields vast superpowers and saves the world on a daily basis. When not fending off extraterrestrial invasions or traveling through time and space as easily as you or I might cross the street, Herbie contends with talking animals, Frankenstein, Dracula, dinosaurs, and even Satan himself, while associating with JFK, LBJ, Queen Elizabeth II and Marie Antoinette. If all of this sounds absurd, it certainly is, and this mere description cannot do justice to the utter madness that flows from the minds of writer O'Shea and illustrator Whitney, whose "straight" drawing style only enhances the bullmoose strangeness. The classic stories found here, originally published mostly in the early to mid-'60s, are eagerly awaited by fans in the know, and for those previously unaware of Herbie, this collection will come as a hilarious look at what was going on elsewhere in comics during the storied "Marvel Age." (Aug.)

Some fans have taken to calling comic book writer Grant Morrison, "the God of All Comics." And while that title is not to be taken too seriously, his work certainly is. The renowned and prolific author of such titles as DC Comics' flagship JLA, Marvel Comics' New X-Men, his own creations, including We3 and The Filth, and now Virgin Comics' online series MBX (based on the Hindu myths of the Mahabharata) has long pondered the mysteries of life and come to a number of his own conclusions.

• Simon Dark: What Simon Does (DC)
• New Exiles Vol. 1: New Life, New Gambit (Marvel)
• Grotesque Vol. 2 (Fantagraphics)
• Amazing Remarkable Monsieur Leotard (First Second)
• From the Shadow of the Northern Lights (Top Shelf Production)
• Blood + Vol. 3 (Dark Horse)
• Disappearance Diary (Fanfare/ Ponent Mon)
• Doors of Chaos Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)
• Black Lagoon Vol. 1 (Viz Media)
• Forest of Gray City Vol. 2 (Yen Press)
• Gimmick Vol. 2 (Viz Media)
• I-Doll Vol. 2 (Tokyopop)

• CBLDF Benefit
• Viz releases Stan Lee Manga
• PW The Beat: Time Warner; Fans of 1974
• David Glanzer Speaks
• Doug Wright Awards
• NYAF Cosplay Day at Kinokuniya
• FLCL Ultimate Defect
• Stephen King's The Stand
• Mark Miller, Tony Harris at Midtown Comics