I’ll be heading off to Comic-Con tomorrow, which I’ll be covering on behalf of Blastr, as I’ve been doing since 2007. (Covering Comic-Con, that is, not covering it on behalf of Blastr, since at times I was doing it for the previous incarnations of either SCI FI Wire or Science Fiction Weekly.)

Each of those years gave me the gift of an encounter that stood out above all others, a special moment that had to do with the kid inside of me, and not with the me who was there reporting to the world what was going on in San Diego. (Not that those two me’s can always be separated.)

Here’s a photo a year, capturing those moments.

2007

Catching up with former boss Stan Lee, who dubbed me “Sparkling” Scott Edelman back in the ’70s when I worked for him in the Bullpen—because everyone who works at Marvel needs a nickname, right?

2008

Hanging out with Al Feldstein, who not only wrote and edited all those EC Comics stories I’d loved, but who was also the big brain behind MAD for nearly 30 years.

2009

Grabbing 10 quiet minutes with Ray Bradbury on the perimeter of Artists Alley before he was whisked off to be worshipped by a massive crowd.

2010

Talking with Jeff Bridges at the Tron: Legacy party about my cousin Herb, who’d acted with him in a long-ago TV movie. (It was Hearts of the West, just in case you’re wondering.)

As for my favorite moment of 2011, well, I wasn’t actually in that photo, but you can see it here.

What, once it’s all said and done, will my favorite moment be from Comic-Con 2012? I haven’t the slightest idea … but I can’t wait to find out!