I received a free copy of this book because I'm a registered press attendee of Comic-Con.

I was really interested in reading this book because having attended Comic-Con for so long, the weekend is as much about business for me as it is for fun. Having the business of the convention laid out in book format really grabbed at my attention. Unfortunately, the delivery ends up being rather weak and not incredibly insightful.

In a few short weeks I'll be attending my 14th Comic-Con. This means that I've been attending the convention for just about as long as the author, which allows me a certain frame of reference for the evolution the show has gone through in the past decade plus. So I can say that the author's observations about the convention are, for the most part accurate. (One thing I did take issue with was using Twilight as an example of getting girls and women interested in comics and related genres - oh, please. Plus applauding them for their show of devotion over other franchises. Gag me.) But I think the biggest problem with the book is that it becomes a collection of rather divergent tangents that go so wide you forget exactly what any of it has to do with Comic-Con.

The most relevant observations were the ones that had to do with the prevalence of self-publishing and digital publishing, and the different strategies companies take. I really think the best treasures of the convention are usually hiding in the various small press, alt press, and web comics sections of the exhibitor floor. It is certainly where the most innovation in creativity and marketing lies.

Anyone who has not been to Comic-Con isn't going to gain much knowledge or appreciation for everything that goes on there. I think the author would have benefitted by stepping outside of his usual routine by talking to people he wasn't already friends with about why they come to Comic-Con and what they get out of the time spent there.

In the end, I was getting quite tired of the whole thing and ended up skimming the last chapter quite quickly. And I never really figured out exactly how the author was qualified to write this book. Not that I found him unqualified, but more background on his experience and expertise could have better framed the information and observations he was presenting.