Sci-fi channels: Wired News reports from last weekend's World Science Fiction Convention (Worldcon) in Boston, where the crowd of between 5,000 and 6,000 was "markedly older and less flamboyant than in years past." In the article, Neil Gaiman, who won his third Hugo Award this year for his short story, "A Study in Emerald," promises he'll stay true to his roots, despite his growing reputation in in the mainstream:

"'There is a long tradition of the science-fiction author disowning his roots when he becomes a popular success,' said Gaiman.

"Gaiman suggested that his early, hard-bitten experiences in the comic book business are a source of his dark artistic vision."

"'I come from comic books,' said Gaiman. 'If sci-fi is the gutter of literature, comics are the place that the gutter flows into.'"