So it's been a full month since I last posted anything here, and I apologize; life gets in the way sometimes. And it's doubly sad that it took this news to get me back to the CBGXtra keyboard.

Mark Evanier posted (and I finally got a chance to check out his blog) recently that one of the most vital instigators of the annual comics convention in San Diego has been hospitalized since April! It seems Tom Spurgeon, who doesn't know Shel, posted the news with Shel's address there.

Thanks to Tom -- with an added guilt trip that I hadn't been paying enough attention on my own to learn this. In CBG #1649, my Beautiful Balloons column discussed some of the history of what is today Comic-Con International: San Diego -- so I'd already begun hoping to catch up with the man who was so instrumental in its formation. The first time Don and I went to the event was at his instigation -- in 1976 -- where we received (also, I bet, at his instigation, at least in part) an Inkpot for our fannish activities.

Seriously, if you've ever enjoyed the San Diego show, now's the time to thank Shel for his part in bringing it to us. He wasn't alone in the project; no one person could have done it alone. But, by golly, its formation and early growth owed much to Shel. (And let's not forget the dozens of excellent interviews he provided to CBG and its predecessor publication over the years.)