Comics roundtable: At Ninth Art, Alex De Campi chats with Laurenn McCubbin, Tristan Crane and Lea Hernandez about Comic-Con International and the state of the comics industry:

McCubbin: "It was the same shit, over and over! I mean, I barely know anything about comics, and even I can see it. Everyone is talking about the X-Men getting their old costumes back, like that is an important plot point, somehow. I have gotten to the point where if I even see the words 'Green Lantern', I just tune out. My eyes glaze over. There is so nothing for me there.

"Sometimes, comics are so embarrassing. Rampant misogyny and homophobia aside - far, far aside, please - the short-sightedness of the industry is just stunning. Comics is ten years behind all other media, and it's starting to show. Everything about comics is so behind the times; the stories, the politics, even the way most of y'all dress. Get some new clothes, people!"

Hernandez: "The tits and ass factor's still there at San Diego, and popped up in some surprising places this year - like the cheerleaders at the AD Visions booth. Cheerleaders in a setting other than a school are about fetish. Considering that ADV's grown into a company that puts out a broad range of anime and TV show collections, and a lot of that product is for kids and women, the addition of adult women dressed as cheerleaders was bizarre and disappointing."