"We're back in decent favour," says [Campbell McIntyre], during an interview. "Most of the $90,000 is owed to close friends of Rainbow who will defer payment until after Wizard. We have no loans that are biting us."

"There's more at stake than breaking even," says McIntyre, who was board president from 2002-04. "The issue is to have a successful enough show so that we have a future."

"We can't sustain ourselves on Wizards," he says. "There aren't enough of them. At some point other shows have to come into the mix.