- OVERALL IMPRESSIONS - THE FANS - THE EVENTS - CREATORS/CELEBRITIES - |
(Part 2 - The San Diego Comic-Con) by Kevin Hall
OVERALL IMPRESSIONS Keep one thing in mind as you read this article: Just like the story of the three blind men who each describe the elephant as three different creatures depending on which part of the elephant they were examining, if you talk to a dozen different people who attend the same San Diego Comic-Con, you'll hear a dozen different stories. Part of this is because, like the elephant, the Con is so immense that one person cannot capture the entire event. The other reason is that each person who attends the SD Comic-Con has their own particular focus. Each fan goes pursuing their own special agenda of events, creators, and celebrities to meet and see, and their own flavors of "stuff" to buy/sell/trade.
I'm not going to spend any time discussing lodging, transportation, air fare, etc. as those are subjects in and of themselves that we could spend more time and space on than is practical here. Besides, the chat rooms and message boards are full of advice on these subjects from about March onwards each year, and you can always consult with AAA or your local travel agent as well! As far as first impressions go, the San Diego Comic-Con is BIG!! No...bigger than that. Now multiply that by 17.3. Trust me, you still can't imagine how big it is until you've actually experienced it (which I heartily recommend, by the way). And if you ever do make it to the Con, you should really plan on attending the entire Con. You're doing yourself a huge disservice if you only attend for a day. There are events happening on any given day that will interest you, whether you're into Golden Age comics, Silver Age comics, Anime, Video Games, Animation, or any of a variety of other interests. And if by some almost inconceivable coincidence there isn't a panel or event that would fascinate you during any given hour of any given day, there's always "the Con" itself: the fans, the creators, the vendors, the displays, etc.
There is a HUGE open floor convention area downstairs filled with booths and tables. These include artists, writers, publishers, independents, comic retailers, toy retailers, organizations & clubs, and at least a dozen other entities that escape me for the moment. I cruised the aisles at least 3 times, and I still kept finding new nooks & crannies that I somehow missed the first couple times through. Upstairs is a huge area for autographs and a couple dozen rooms that seat anywhere from 50 to 500 or more. That's where most of the panels and special events are held. At any given hour during the Con, there's at least 10 or more panels/events occuring. Even if you wanted to, you physically just can't do it all -- exhibitors, guests, or panels. This doesn't even include "travelling" time. I easily walked well over 5 miles a day while I was there. It's close to ½ mile to go from one end of the hall to the other and back, especially if you add in all the twists & turns and crowd dodging...it might even be more. And in addition to the panels/events, the booths, original art, autographs, and who knows what else you want to do, there are also movies going pretty much 24 hours/day in one or two of the rooms upstairs. The movies include everything from Anime to Sci-Fi, first showings of previews for upcoming movies, cult classics, and more.
Enjoy the heck out of yourself! That's what!! It may not be possible to see and do everything the Con has to offer, but what you do see and do will be amazing, and you'll never forget it. Both before I left and again on the first night, I was busy planning out the entire Con: I had at least 15 events and/or panels mapped out plus visiting all the booths, getting sketches, folks I wanted to see, not to mention side trips and just browsing original art to see if anything interested me! I think it was a wise man named Adam who told me I had to be willing to adapt. I thought he was talking about programming changes (which did happen), but it actually turned out more to be a case of fatigue, unexpected meetings, stuff that didn't come off the way I'd hoped, etc. I think he also told me not to come in with any preconceived notions or expectations. I didn't really have any "general" notions or preconceptions of what to expect when I got there, but I did have a number of objectives as I said above. And in addition to all the other stuff I mentioned, I had one VERY specific mission in mind: a particular commission by one of the artists there. More than half my bankroll, all my charm, and a very logical request were going to make it happen. However, it turns out that my "primary" objective was the one thing that didn't happen! Even so, I can't say I came away from the Con disappointed. Things you think will happen, don't, and things you couldn't imagine, do. I definitely ended up getting MUCH more from the Con than just my primary mission before the Con was even half over. It's not bad to have a game plan...just don't be surprised if you end up falling back on Plan B, then Plan C, and finally "well, let's just see what happens". You have to be willing to adjust your perspective. You have to adapt. Hmmm...I think somebody told me that. THE FANS
Part of this enthusiasm was evident in the wide variety of costumes apparent at the Con: standing in line the first day waiting to come in, we saw Jesus, the Ghostbusters, and an Ape from The Planet of the Apes! Later on in the Con, our religious exposure was extended when we saw "Buddy" Jesus (or whatever his name is) from the Kevin Smith film giving everybody the thumbs up. There was a black angel, Stormtroopers by the dozen, a very convincing Hugh Jackman style Wolverine (I really wish I'd caught a picture of him!), Klingons to spare, a bunch of characters/costumes that were from the Anime world I think... I can't really even remember them all, but suffice it to say, there was a LOT to look at while just meandering through the aisles. Marvel also supplied a reasonably convincing Spidey & Elektra for the crowds.
Back to the fans -- in addition to all the great fans that I got to rub elbows with throughout the entire convention, I was especially tickled to meet contingents of both the Colanuts and the Groop (Groo fans who hold Sergio in the same kind of esteem that the Colanuts hold Gene). It was soooo neat to finally put faces/voices with these folks, some of whom I'd been friends with for a good 2-3 years or more over the internet. Gene's online discussion list includes folks from all over the world: Italy, Switzerland, Australia, Canada, France, Great Britain and many other places. The list includes comics experts, published comics artists and writers, television producers, editors of nationally known magazines, best-selling authors, and more. When I think about it, I often wonder how I get to be a member of such an "elite" group of people. But when you hear them talk about how cool the stories are or how neat the drawings are, you realize that they're just a bunch of folks who share in their love of the comics medium. And while I had the very extreme pleasure of getting to meet and know a good half dozen or so of the Colanuts a little better (glad I got to say "hello" to you Adam, Jim, Cy, Glen, Blake, Marc, and others I know I must be forgetting right now!), I'm going to focus on embarrassing two particular Colanuts who played a big role for me at this Con, and who also both play a big role on the list as well: Dom and Dave.
Dave is an amazing fellow. With the ever present Harley style sunglasses, tattoos, dark blue hair, and imposing size, ol' Dave comes across like someone you would NOT want to meet in the alley behind the bar. At the same time, he'd be the coolest big brother in the world. He truly loves comics, he adores the Colans, and he makes everyone feel very welcome. He also put together a beautiful Gene Colan site that was as good or better than the official site I had designed for Gene, and, in fact, he took over Gene's official site after I left it a while back. On top of all this... (drum roll please!)... Dave's the person who did the art for Gene's cake. We ordered a custom cake for the special Gene Colan birthday panel at the Con, and Dave adapted one of Gene's drawings - colored it and added the appropriate birthday accouterments. THE EVENTS I was lucky enough to catch a number of events including the Golden Age panel, a reading discussion by Spider Robinson (the guy who did the Callahan's Pub books), the Bullpen Reunion, the Groo Crew, Comics in the Classroom, Gene's birthday bash, and Don McGregor's Detectives Inc. movie premier. Some of the events/panels I wish I could have caught include the John Buscema panel, John Romita Sr. panel, Women in Comics, Cartoon voices, some cast panels for some of the Sci-Fi shows, and a trilogy of panels about copyrights. This last would have been especially helpful for me running this website!
The Marvel Bullpen Reunion Panel was a kick and a half. To see Gene, Marie Severin, John Buscema, and John Romita all trading quips & stories back & forth was worth going to the Con all by itself! Marie was quite the prankster and often played jokes on the other staffers over the years. Buscema, for all his quiet and gruff attitude very clearly loves the field of comics, although he apparently can't stand superheroes! This brought a lot of smiles and head shakes from the audience considering what an amazing talent he is when it comes to superheroes! Romita was amazing. I think he was smiling every time I saw him. He seemed to really enjoy his colleagues on the panel and the fans when he was out on the floor talking with people. The panel was run by Mark Evanier (more on Mark later) and included a number of priceless moments when Mark kept pulling out examples of each artist's first work at Marvel from his private collection as he introduced them. Some truly BEAUTIFUL pages. The Spider Robinson reading/discussion was also extremely enjoyable. Spider and his wife both read from some of their various works, and being in the audience felt like being in Spider's mythical Callahan's Pub. And while I did enjoy the reading, the most remarkable thing of all was the unusual number of coincidences surrounding Spider, almost as if he was a character in one of his own books. Before the reading, Dom and I were taking a break from our interviews standing in line to have Spider autograph one of his books that I had purchased. Well, it turns out that Spider is an aspiring musician/composer, and Dom and Spider both know "all the same people" as they say. So, while Spider signed my book, Dom and Spider reminisced about mutual acquaintances. Then it gets even stranger: later Spider comes by Gene and Adrienne's table and bumps into Dom again. It turns out that Spider has admired Gene's work for many years. Dom and I couldn't stop grinning from how amazingly how small the world really was turning out to be!
CREATORS/CELEBRITIES While the Con itself is amazing, the fans are simply wonderful, and the events are just short of mind-blowing, getting to meet the creators is the reason above all other reasons to consider going to a convention like this. These are some amazing people, both as craftsmen and as human beings, and getting to rub shoulders with some of them was an honor and a privilege I'll remember for the rest of my life. The first and last creator I saw at the Con was Gene Colan. Gene's been drawing since...well, forever. He's drawn romance, western, horror, superheroes, etc. all with the same aplomb. We've all talked about, and with, Gene and Adrienne on Gene's fan list, but I'm still always thrilled to see them, and I feel like I'm the guy with the best backstage pass at the concert when it comes to Gene & Adrienne. I've only actually met them in person about 4-5 times now. And even though Adrienne & I have spent countless hours sending emails back & forth, and I've been lucky enough to chat on the phone with Gene & Adrienne a few dozen times, it's completely different to see folks in person as you all know. Well, I got there and the two of them gave me the same reception they always give the Colanuts (and all fans). Hellos, smiles, handshakes...like Gene's fans always say: you feel like you're visiting an old friend in their den on a fall evening -- which is quite a feat if you consider what the Con is like! I got to take a few breaks behind their table and just sit and watch Gene draw for a little while or just chat with Adrienne...VERY much needed grounding after bebopping around that visual and aural cacophony. As I said before, watching Gene bring something to life on the page is truly incredible. If any of you ever have the chance to hit a con or appearance at a store, I HIGHLY recommend watching Gene, or any artist, draw & bring the page into existence. It's something I just don't have the words to describe. You really have to experience it.
Marie ended up winning the Hall of Fame Award at the Eisner awards, but she told me the next day that she was shocked as she thought she had been nominated just so they had a woman on the list. She was also doing sketchagraph sketches for $10 each. They typically sell for at least $20-50 on ebay. I'm REALLY hoping that the fans who came by keep & treasure those sketches rather than hocking them. She said that they don't really take her that long and that she'd feel guilty if she charged any more than that. Sheesh! One interesting item of note was John Romita telling me that if he'd had his druthers, Colan never would have had the opportunity to do Daredevil. Romita loved the character, had fun doing him, and would have preferred to have stayed on that character. Even in retrospect knowing how he became so famous for Spidey, he says he still would have rather stayed on Daredevil. In fact, I haven't heard from a single DD artist yet who didn't say it was one of their favorite gigs.
My main "mission" this trip was to get him to do a Daredevil/Usagi commission with the two characters back to back facing each others' Ninja nemeses. Well, Stan wasn't comfortable doing a character he doesn't own the rights to. I suggested maybe I could convince Gene to draw just the DD character & Stan could do the rest... Stan said he supposed that would be ok, but he didn't know if Gene Colan would want someone of Stan's caliber scribbling on one of Gene's pages. (I couldn't believe he said that either!!) Well, after all this, I realized a couple things: 1) In my enthusiasm (those who know me know how hyped I can get), I'd come on a bit too strong to poor Stan, and 2) I had to have Gene & Adrienne say hello to Stan & his wife (who, like Adrienne with Gene, helps to keep Stan's life in order). Gene and Adrienne came by Stan's booth. Adrienne and Stan's wife chatted while Gene looked over a lot of Stan's work. Gene was sincerely impressed by Stan's talent, and Stan seemed surprised that Gene would be. For such talented individuals, these guys seem clueless as to how impressive they are to the rest of us mere mortals! Well, I told Stan not to worry about the whole commission thing (I'm still hoping it may happen down the road someday though, but I'll live if it doesn't), and I asked him if I could trade him a present for his kids in exchange for a special sketch in my book. I also apologized for being such an overenthused fan and pleaded that with this being my first Con and my being a little overwhelmed by all the neat people, I'd basically just forgotten my manners. Well, to wrap up the Sakai section here, his son loved the Dragonball Z binder & special cards I found (I asked one of his son's friends who happened to know what they were both collecting), and Stan added a superb picture in alongside the rest of the Groo crew. So, Kevin's a VERY happy camper, and he learned a valuable lesson along the way that he should have known already and just sort of forgot!
A word of caution: These artists/writers are just completely inundated & overwhelmed by fans, and all the fans want something! Which I can understand...I'd LOVE for each & every artist there to give me some really cool drawings of DD and a signature. Coming back down to earth, I picked the ones I was most interested in, and either traded something, or paid, or gave a gracious "thank you" to the ones who refuse to charge anything. Bringing one of these very special folks a munchie, a drink, or a small gift of some sort is a really neat thing to do and will often get you a smile and a bit of conversation you might not have had if you were just one of the throng. Amazing how far a little caring & courtesy can go, eh? I've also been told that many of the creators enjoy it when you bring some obscure thing that they barely remember doing rather than just bringing the same old "standard" item to have signed. As I come to the end here, I get to one of the most important and memorable parts of the 2001 San Diego Comic-Con: Mark Evanier. In fact, from what I can tell, he's a very integral part of every San Diego Comic-Con. For those of you who don't know him, he started off as a fan & historian, worked his way into writing (both comics & TV animation), and he runs what seems like a couple dozen panels every year. I think this year he averaged three 1½ hour panels per day. He was instrumental in making the whole Gene Colan birthday tribute happen, and he moderated the Reunion panel as well as many others. While he would occasionally have to put off folks seeking autographs just because he was so busy, I also saw him grab comics from 2 youngsters in the Silver Age panel and get them to John Romita & Buscema who were both mobbed when the panel ended, so that the 2 young boys could meet these legends and get their signatures. The guy has the heart of a lion and an encyclopedic knowledge of comics and their history. He's also INCREDIBLY knowledgable about MANY other facets of entertainment, and at one time or another seems to have met just about everyone in the entertainment field. I highly recommend you stop by http://www.povonline.com and check out his articles, features, etc. I guarantee you will spend major time at that site once you swing by there. Mark, I said "thank you" once or twice while I was at the Con, and a couple times since, but let me put it on the record in writing once and for all: "Thanks!" The Con would not have been the same without you, and it was a privilege and honor to meet you in person. I hope I'm lucky enough to spend some more time with you at some point in the future, if even just to grab a bite to eat and chat for a few minutes. Until then, I'll enjoy keeping in touch with you through your website, comics, etc. Take care! |