BY: BOOKMANS

We'll be wading through the entries this month to see who truly went the extra mile in reinventing our literacy-promoting, censorship-fighting mascot. Stay tuned to see a gallery of the submissions and to learn who will win a trip for two to Comic-Con International in San Diego!

The deadline for Reinvent BookMan has come and gone. Now the hard part: picking who will win a trip to the biggest pop culture event in North America, Comic-Con International in San Diego. With entries ranging from Indiana Jones-type adventurers to women to non-humanoids, our panel of judges - including Bookmans' founder Bob and cult cartoonist Max Cannon - will be narrowing the field to three runners-up and, of course, one ultimate winner.

We will be contacting the winners no later than Monday, June 2, with a public announcement soon to follow. All entries will be showcased on bookmans.com leading up to Comic-Con in July.

Just to recap, here's what is at stake:

Three runners-up will receive $100 Bookmans gift certificates, good at any of our store locations.

One GRAND PRIZE WINNER will receive:

• Two 4-day membership passes - one for you and one for a friend/parent/guardian/significant other - for Comic-Con International 2008 in San Diego, CA, July 23 - 27. This includes access to Preview Night on Wednesday, July 23, where you'll peruse your way through the Exhibit Hall before the event opens to the public on Thursday. You'll also score the all-important Events Guide early so you can get a jump on scheduling your weekend.
• Round-trip airfare from Arizona to San Diego (or comparable flight vouchers).
• Hotel accommodations for five days and four nights in San Diego with transportation allowance.
  
• A special feature on bookmans.com and in the Bookmans e-newsletter!
• Goodies and other on-site perks to be announced later!

Thanks and good luck to everyone who entered the contest! And special thanks to our contest supporters: Phoenix New Times, KFMA-FM, and Pink Raygun. Also thanks to Matt Solberg, who was kind enough to push the contest during the announcements at Phoenix Comic Con. (Support your local comic conventions, folks!)