Comic-Con: bigger, better, now what?

SAN DIEGO (UPI) -- Comic-Con International in San Diego this year saw larger-than-ever crowds, so vendors and organizers alike are wondering what happens next year.

In its first 36 years, Comic-Con never had a sellout day. This year, the convention sold out its four-day passes and the events of Friday, Saturday and Sunday, the San Diego Union-Tribune reported Monday.

Official 2007 attendance figures were unavailable, but Comic-Con spokesman David Glanzer said, "It looks like we had at least as many as we had last year" when 124,000 attended.

Bud Plant, a vendor who has attended all 38 Comic-Cons, said this was an unusual week.

"Thursday and Friday, we were busier than ever," said Plant, owner of Bud Plant Comic Art. "We were heading for a record week by Friday. But Saturday never developed into the mob scene that it usually is. (Sunday) looks more like a Saturday should."

Rumors have circulated for some time about Comic-Con abandoning San Diego altogether for Los Angeles, New York or Las Vegas.

"I'd hate to see it move," Plant told the Union-Tribune. "People come here because they love San Diego."