PREVIEW NIGHT

It was… eerie, really.

Last year’s Preview Night was a horror show. The lines at the doors downstairs were fairly frothing, but this year… calm prevailed. There was a mellower sense at play. People merely gathered and waited. It was strangely civilized.

I executed my personal plan perfectly. I hopped on the trolley about 3:45pm and rode down to the convention center. There was only one person ahead of me in the pre-registered press line. Journalism rocks. So I got my badge and made my escape, zipping over to the Marriott and hitting the bar for a margarita. 5pm rolled around, I finished my beverage, and headed back over.

Bumped into friends and colleagues, meaning the show was truly underway for me. First highlight: talking to Tom Spurgeon. If you’ve never met Tom, you’re missing out- the man is a born raconteur. He also has a very droll wit, which one poor fellow who came up to introduce himself didn’t quite get. He applauded Tom’s guide to the show (which is brilliant) and Spurge jokingly told him he was screwed. And the poor bastard just didn’t get it, looking bewildered. Great stuff.

Once the doors opened, I ran a quick errand inside, then popped out to await the arrival of the Indisputable Matt Maxwell. We rolled through the floor, making stops at AdHouse for new Paul Pope goodies, Paul Horn’s booth for his Hodabeast collection, and Steve Lieber’s table for new minis. There were also chats with folks like Larry Young along the way.

The whole thing just felt… subdued, if that’s possible. Like the attendees know that the real action starts tomorrow… even if Warren Ellis and his cowboy hat were there tonight.

Finally, our friend Joe arrived, and it was time to leave the floor and let the real show begin. Off to Seaport Village and then the Hyatt. Day One: complete.

/Mason