People I Love Today

Neilalien, for having the best (and most amusing -- no one can rant longform like Neilalien) take on the NYCC overcrowding situation. It's nice to hear someone who got in acknowledge that there are serious problems with a show when it wastes the time and money of thousands of fans instead of just saying that those lucky enough to get in had a great time. Bonus love for the fact that Neilalien has been doing this blogging thing for six years now and shows no sign of slowing down.

Christopher Butcher, for reporting on the manga news out of NYCC that the major comic news sites couldn't be bothered to cover. And, as I commented on his blog, extra love for taking the time to post copious pictures as part of his con coverage.

Alibris, for delivering my manga fix quickly and cheaply. (OK, Alibris isn't a person, but I still love it for getting all four volumes of DEATH NOTE in my hands fast (four business days from when I submitted the order) and free (free shipping on orders over $49 if all items ship from Alibris) after discussion over at The V finally convinced me I couldn't wait for this series to show up at the local library. (Additional love for Alibris: It's one of the few online stores I've found that discounts brand-new manga volumes under ten bucks. Amazon doesn't offer any discounts for any of the $9.99 or cheaper digests, but Alibris discounted each book 13-15% -- and that's for new copies of the books. Used versions of most manga are available even cheaper at Alibris, but you'll have to pay for shipping no matter how large your order, which eats into the savings. And did I mention how fast these books arrived? I love Amazon for offering free shipping, but I'm used to orders shipping via their "Super Saver Shipping" taking weeks to arrive.))