Frankfurt Book Fair 2004
Saturday October 9, 2004



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Report #1 - Thursday - Report #2 - Friday - Report #4 - Sunday

Because there was very little traffic on the autobahn today, we were able to make it into the Buchmesse by 8:00 AM. That turned out to be a real blessing, as the crowds today began immediately after opening at 9 AM, and eventually built to unbelievable density. This photo was taken at 9:05 AM, and shows the first few fans rushing to the booth directly across the aisle from us.
By 10 AM, the aisles started getting very crowded, about the same level as San Diego on a very busy day. Little did I realize, however, that it was about to get ridiculous...
I took this photo looking down the aisle in front of our stand at 11 AM. I had to stand on a chair in the empty both across from us, as there was simply no where that I could stand in the aisle! As you should be able to see from most of my photos, the percentage of young women in the audience was quite high. Even higher perhaps, than yesterday.
When I tried to return to our booth after taking the last picture, I found the aisle completely blocked by bodies. So I took a picture looking into our booth. In the middle back, you can barely make out the top of Lynne's head!
By noon, the crowding was completely insane. It is now 3 PM, and the aisles are still so packed that many people are resorting to sidling sideways to get anywhere. I just filled out an exhibitor survey form from the Messe, and the #1 thing I asked for was an increase in the aisle space allotted to the Comics Centrum.
Just after 1 PM I walked two aisles over from ours, to the main events area of the Comics Centrum. As this photo clearly illustrates, the comics area has become wildly popular in Frankfurt. So popular, in fact that I believe that it is now the highest traffic area of the entire Buchmesse. That's quite an accomplishment for a genre area that contains only about 100 booths, out of the 8,500 booths in the total of the book fair!
Aside from the autograph and speaking areas, the Comics Centrum also contains its own cafe and seating area. With the speaking area directly adjacent to the left side of the cafe, many fans choose to listen to the guest speakers while also sipping their favorite drink. Is that cool, or what?
In case you're wondering, our only escape from the crowds is to go into the huge outdoor plaza area. It was only about 40 degrees Fahrenheit today, and the wind was rather brisk, but it was still nice to get away for a minute. We've been buying lunch from the outdoor würst stands each day, such as this one. Prices outdoors are about half of indoors, and quite frequently the food is much better.
While today has been insanely busy, I still managed to take the time to snap pictures of a few of the beautiful girls of the Messe. The young lady in this picture was already featured yesterday, but her eyes are so beguiling that I thought another photo of her was in order!
While the official costume contest is still a day away, this young lady was already beautifully dressed. I'm expecting to be able to provide you with a huge number of costume photos tomorrow, as the grand prize for the costume contest (provided by TokyoPop) is a free trip to Tokyo! In addition, anyone who comes in costume tomorrow gets into the fair for free, and also earns free admission for a companion. Tomorrow should be wonderful for picture taking!
Not only are the girls in Frankfurt beautiful, but as you should be able to tell from this photo, they are also very friendly! As an aside which has absolutely nothing to do with any of these particular young ladies, I was talking with a visitor to our booth yesterday about just how many pretty girls and young women were at the Buchmesse, and he told me that the Buchmesse is starting to gain a reputation in Germany as a great place to find a potential mate! I can certainly see where such a thought derives, as there are just so many eligible young women at the show, both as visitors, and working in the booths.
Another very pretty young lady with a beautiful costume. If we had the space, I could have taken yet another 100 photos just during the time I've been writing this report. San Diego may have comics and great weather, but Frankfurt has comics and one whole heck of a lot more single girls! Given my druthers, I certainly know which one that I would choose...
As I mentioned yesterday, while there are many beautiful blondes here, pretty girls abound in all kinds of alluring types. This young lady caught my eye because she struck such a beautiful pose as she leaned pensively against the empty booth across from ours, while waiting for a friend. Earlier today, a stunning young Turkish (?) girl went by with gorgeous dark braids, and eyes that were absolutely captivating. She rattled me so much with her bold look directly into my soul that I forgot to even reach for my camera. I keep hoping that I can make up for my omission, but she's not yet wandered back by...
I thought I was finished with this report after the last picture, but as I was typing these two vivacious young ladies wandered into our booth. How could I pass up a chance to let everyone see two more friendly faces of Frankfurt?
To be continued...

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