2011 is over and done with, so I thought I’d look back and see which of my posts were read the most last year.

One thing that’s clear is you’re all as interested in the issues raised by those Sharon Moody paintings of comics books as I am—my initial commentary on the matter was my most-clicked post of the year (almost virally so), and 3 of the top 10 posts were directly related to the case. (Which means you’ll want to check back in a week after I see the paintings in person Saturday.)

Here are the stories you read the most:

1. A few words in defense of Jack Kirby, Sal Buscema, Irv Novick, and other anonymized artists

2. Optometrist says blonde drivers “much more dangerous” than brunettes

3. Win $200 by making my zombie play into a mini-movie

4. Brian Bolland’s brilliantly blistering rebuttal

5. A few further thoughts on the artwork of Sharon Moody

6. It’s not too late to attend last weekend’s Nebula Awards

7. Can you identify this romance comic?

8. My favorite photo from San Diego Comic-Con: Pat and Dick Lupoff

9. Can you recognize this face?

10. Wall Street architect literally occupies Wall Street in 1931

I’ve never thought of myself as an oblivious kind of guy, but I guess I must be, as the following anecdote will prove …

I was traveling home from last weekend’s World Fantasy Convention, and as I passed through the San Diego International Airport skybridge that connects the rental car shuttle drop-off island and the terminals, I noticed a life-sized Steve Canyon (alongside other cartoon characters) decal on the glass. Nearby was a stand stuffed with double-sided cards promoting an ongoing exhibit of cartoonists celebrating flight. I picked up one of the cards you see below, and then, since I was a couple of hours early for my flight, tried to track the thing down.

So I went to an information booth and asked where I could find the exhibit referred to on the card and advertised on the decals. Clueless volunteers sent me from one terminal to another in search of an alcove where the exhibit was purported to be, until someone finally figured out that those initial decals I saw weren’t an ad—they WERE the exhibit.

For those who won’t be passing through the San Diego Airport, here’s how the six panels looked from ground level.

You can find photos of the individual panels—featuring Canyon, Snoopy as the Red Baron, Comic-Con cofounder Shel Dorf, and more—over on Flickr.

So where does my obliviousness come in? Evidently, the passageway was decorated like that prior to Comic-Con, and so I would have passed by it back in July both coming and going … and never noticed it!

I’ve been attending Readercon since it began in 1987. I haven’t missed one yet. It’s my favorite convention weekend of the year, the place where I hang with my tribe and recharge my creative batteries.

I’ve been attending the San Diego Comic-Con since 2007. It’s the most important pop culture gathering of the year, and since I’m the editor of Blastr, there’s no way I can miss it. It’s a must-see event.

During most Julys, Readercon has been two weeks prior to Comic-Con. Last month, it was one week before Comic-Con. In 2012 … well … see for yourself, via screen grabs from the two cons’ sites.

To say that I’m heartbroken is an understatement. But I don’t see any way around it. I’ve got to cover Comic-Con. My unbroken string of Readercons … has come to an end.

If I’m wearing black the next time you see me, it won’t be because I’m channeling Neil Gaiman. It’ll be because I’m in mourning.

Calling the image below my favorite photo from San Diego Comic-Con might seem like faint praise, considering how few pictures I snapped this year, so busy was I with getting content online for Blastr (this post about the DC reboot protest being my favorite example of that). But I have a feeling that no matter how many photos I might have ended up taking had I the free time, I still would have liked this one the best because of the way it marries the past and present.

To celebrate 50 years of comics fandom, Comic-Con threw a party Saturday night, “for fandom’s founders and early participants, including folks who were active in the 1960s, and 1970s, whether producing fanzines, writing LOCs, selling comics, or putting on conventions.” I was only able to attend briefly because the event conflicted with the party Syfy was throwing, but during the time I was there I was able to speak with George Clayton Johnson, Doug Fratz, George Olshevsky, Jim Salicrup, Greg Bear, Astrid Anderson Bear, and others, plus the stars of my favorite picture—Pat and Dick Lupoff.

What you see in their hands is the back of the program Jackie Estrada had printed for the occasion, which features a photo (one you may have seen before) of Pat and Dick from 51 years ago dressed as Mary Marvel and Captain Marvel at the 1960 World Science Fiction Convention in Pittsburgh.

Dick said he still owned that red shirt emblazoned with Captain Marvel’s lightning bolt, and threatened to wear it to the convention Sunday. I don’t know whether he did so or not … but man, if only I’d gotten a picture of THAT!