This year's annual Comic Con International in San Diego, California is coming up and we are inviting all attending SCS members to meet up with us at a number of planned events.

The convention runs from Wednesday July 25 (Preview Night) through Sunday July 29 at the San Diego Convention Center. The two biggest SCS events planned are the official Simpsons Collectors Meeting on Friday evening at the Con, and a BBQ on Saturday night. Oh, and a little something called The Simpsons Movie!

See the schedule below for all planned SCS meetups as well as some miscellaneous panels that may be of interest to our members. NOTE: All meetups will take place at the Bongo Comics booth, unless otherwise noted.

Wednesday, July 25 (Preview Night: 6:00 to 9:00 p.m):

• Meetup/Hanging Out: 8:45pm
  Meet with fellow SCS members towards the end of the Preview Night. SCS members will be grabbing some dinner at In N Out Burger before driving to a night of fun at a nearby Dave and Busters (2931 Camino Del Rio North).

Thursday, July 26:

• Meetup: 10:30am
  Meet with fellow SCS members at the Bongo Comics booth to chat for a few minutes before heading off to get your Con on.
• Bongo Comics Sneak Peek 2:00-3:00pm, Room 3
  Bongo Comics offers a mouth-watering preview of upcoming projects featuring The Simpsons and Futurama. Managing editor Terry Delegeane and creative director Bill Morrison host a panel featuring the writers and artists who create the comics and books based on Matt Groening’s phenomenal TV shows. Find out what’s in the future for Futurama Comics and what to expect in Simpsons Comics and Simpsons Super Spectacular. Plus, Thomas Lennon (Reno 911), Tone Rodriguez (Violent Messiahs), and Gerry Duggan (The Last Christmas) will be on hand to talk about their terrifying contributions to this fall’s star-studded issue of Bart Simpson’s Treehouse of Horror! This is a ”must-attend” panel for all fans of The Simpsons and Futurama—and anyone looking for a place to sit down!
• Meetup/Hanging Out:
  Tentative plans for this night are for playing laser tag somewhere not too far outside town (at Ultrazone)... either way, SCS members will meet toward the end of the Con at the Bongo booth. If possible, we will try to attend a midnight showing of The Simpsons Movie.

Friday, July 27:

• Meetup: 10:30am
  Meet with fellow SCS members at the Bongo Comics booth to chat for a few minutes before heading off to get your Con on.
• This next one is the official meetup, folks...
  
  
• Simpsons Collectors Group Meeting: 6:00-7:30pm, Room 24A (in the new portion of the Convention Center, on the top floor, on the city-side hallway near the South end of the building)
  Simpsons collectors of the world unite! Take a break from the busy Con floor and get a chance to meet some of your fellow collectors of Simpsons merchandise. This gathering is sponsored by the staff of the SimpsonsCollectors.com website. Collectors from all over the country will be here. Meet the other Simpsons collectors that you see on the message boards and put faces to the names. This gathering is a great chance to network with other collectors from across the country and share your hobby with others. Maybe even some free goodies!!
  
  
• Meetup/Hanging Out:
  Tentative plans for this night are seeing The Simpsons Movie (maybe around a 9pm showing) if we did not get to see it the previous night. Also there is a possibility of a Gaslamp scavenger hunt.

Saturday, July 28:

• Meetup: 10:30am
  Meet with fellow SCS members at the Bongo Comics booth to chat for a few minutes before heading off to get your Con on.
• The Simpsons panel: 10:45-12:00pm, Hall H
  Having just aired its 400th episode, The Simpsons has now released its first feature film. Join members of the team responsible for both and find out how they did it, including Matt Groening (creator and executive producer), Al Jean (executive producer/head writer), David Mirkin (former executive producer), Matt Selman (executive producer), Michael Price (co-executive producer), David Silverman (director of The Simpsons Movie), Matt Warburton (supervising producer), Don Payne (consulting producer), and Yeardley Smith (voice of Lisa Simpson). Moderated by Bill Morrison.
• Futurama panel: 3:30-4:30pm, Ballroom 20
  Matt Groening is proud to announce the long-awaited return of the animated sci-fi comedy classic Futurama! Matt and executive producer David X. Cohen will be on the dais, accompanied by writer Ken Keeler, animation directors Peter Avanzino and Dwayne Carey- Hill, and for the first time together on stage in any universe, actors Billy West (Fry), Katey Sagal (Leela), John DiMaggio (Bender), and Maurice LaMarche (Kif Kroker)! The cast and crew will entertain your questions and present a sneak peek at Bender’s Big Score! in glorious wide-screen format! Moderated by Bill Morrison.
• Meetup/Hanging Out:
  Meet with fellow SCS members at the Bongo Comics booth near the end of the Convention for the official SCS dinner of 2006. SCS members are invited to a special BBBQ at the home of member 'Red The Trucker' (Ken) in San Diego. His home is at 1031 22nd Street. If you need directions or details, email Ken at: kengartin@yahoo.com

Sunday, July 29:

• Meetup: 10:30am
  Meet with fellow SCS members at the Bongo Comics booth to chat for a few minutes before heading off to get your Con on.

Thanks to Clochette, RedTheTrucker, and others for their planning efforts!