Buy such ATP books as Armor X, Government Bodies and The Iron Ghost so Keith Champagne and the guys can go home and sleep.

Sunday. It's the most bittersweet day of the Con. People have partied hard the night before. Check-out time is 11 a.m. And you want to hit the floor early to see if you can find any last-minute great deals on comics and toys. Maybe you were holding off on that lightsaber from Master Replicas until today...when mysteriously a lot of dealers had them.

(That isn't shilling, by the way, though they are cool. Quite simply, you couldn't go ten feet in the exhibition hall without running across someone with one of those sabers -- no cheap item at $120 a pop. Of course, you couldn't go ten feet without running into a Hogwarts' student, either.)

We bid farewell to Mish'al this morning, as he had to fly back to Japan. (Don't confuse this with Fanboy Planet having any money -- Mish'al was just crazy enough to pay for a trip to San Diego himself. If you like us, support us.)

As Sunday is traditionally set aside as kids' day, the panels focused on children's entertainment and even a little hands-on activity. Disney trotted out a presentation for The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe. After showing the theatrical trailer and opening the floor up to questions, a heavily satisfying new montage of scenes screened.

If getting just a taste wasn't enough for you, Disney also later showed Stitch 2: Stitch Has a Glitch in its entirety. Sure, it will be on video soon enough, but that should have kept the little ones busy mid-afternoon.

The guys at Stikfas showed you how to customize your figure. Eat less and exercise more, kids. That'll do it.

In general, this whole Convention seemed more kid friendly. Perhaps next year organizers won't have to set aside a special day. Word on the floor was that they had vowed to get rid of out and out adult entertainment. Maybe it was that Species III display from last year that did it. At any rate, if you want to gawk, just hit 5th Street after dark on a Friday night.

Better yet, let's see a special "Adult" day, in which Greg Land and Greg Horn draw a jello wrestling match. Maybe that will lure Goodson back down here.

For me, Sunday tends to be catch-up day. Take one last circuit around the convention floor, say goodbye to old and new friends, some of whom live less than thirty miles away from me but who I only see in San Diego. Yes, Tony Villador, I speak of you.

Despite getting a pretty good description of the Pirates of the Spanish Main from Jason Mical, I felt honor-bound to actually see the game in practice. It also gave me one last chance to look longingly at a Phoenix HeroClix and marvel at the intricate boards WizKids always set up at conventions.

Because animation has fascinated me since childhood, I had to stop by Gentle Giant one last time and watch Corpse Bride animator Peter Dodd work in front of a live audience. This was one of the most innovative displays of the Con this year, but then, Gentle Giant always does a good job of actually explaining their art to the crowd.

The soft-spoken Brit stepped aside from his work for a few minutes to talk about his convention experience and working for Tim Burton. Look for that later this month.

If you successfully knocked the little Joker figure off the building, you could possibly win the game itself. It looks silly, but I could play it for HOURS.

After hooking up with possible new contributor Chris Ching of SJFanboy.com, we ran into editor Michelle Harman of Penny-Farthing Press. I mention it because I just finished reading their new hardcover, Decoy: Menagerie, and I'll have much more to say about it -- and hopefully more to say about PF Press, whose books you'll soon be able to find at Brian's Books in Santa Clara.

Many of us had what Dark Horse publicist Lee Dawson called the forty-yard stare that said we'd been here too long. Judd Winick had flown down for just Saturday and Sunday, and by the time we bumped into each other, his stare probably qualified for fifty or sixty yards, with no energy to go for the extra point conversion. But then, Judd's also got a new baby and that will do it to you.

I had every intention of finally staying to the bitter end, but I just couldn't. Sure, I searched for those great deals, but the crowd got to me and propped me up as I fell asleep on my feet. So with heavy heart and heavy feet I took one last trip on the shuttle bus, and vowed that next year, I'm going to do some strength and endurance training.

Because, babies, I wouldn't miss it for the world.

Check out the bonus photo gallery!

Derek McCaw