Of course, I'll blog during the show if I can, but no promises.
Anyway, over on his truly-excellent blog, Mark Evanier has announced that he's done a new Crossfire story. I knew this months ago, of course, mostly because Mark was kind (or desperate) enough to ask me to letter it. It was cool getting to work with Mark for the first time. He's a good guy and a better friend. The story came out darn fine, and you can read more about it here.
Some of you may remember the infamous 2004 Mid-Ohio-Con, also known as "Thom Gets Kicked in the Teeth a Lot." One of the big issues was the program books, which never arrived. (Brown, What Can We Do To You?) Fortunately, with new printers and new procedures, the program books haven't been an issue this year, they are done and they look fantastic! Right now, they are being driven in an unmarked van to Columbus by a handpicked team of Tony Isabellas. I choose to see this as a good omen of what will doubtlessly be the greatest Mid-Ohio-Con ever!
I mentioned that I did some commissions at Wizard World Texas. One of the things that helped, I think, was doing this Wonder Woman/Wonder Girl piece as a sample. I intended to finish it up as a color piece, and I had some time at Jesse's house while watching the Cowboys game, and later on the plane. I think it turned out pretty well, all things considered. I'm thinking about doing a series of super heroine illos, maybe throwing them together in a sketchbook or something. I'll post them as I get them done.
When I go to Texas for WizardWorld, there are always three constants: That I’ll eat too much in really great restaurants hoping the extra pounds won’t make it through airport security, that I’ll have a great time with Jesse and his family and friends, and that there will be talk of this being the last year for the show.
There’s a report of such talk by Aron Head over at Newsarama. His main blog is here, and certainly worth a look. And he's got a bunch of great pictures of the show, too. Anyway, he writes:
As I rummaged through the longboxes in the last minutes of the con, a conversation occurred just to my right between a dealer and a member of the Wizard sales team. The Wizard staffer stated that they’re not sure if the con will return to Arlington - or Texas - next year.
“We’re meeting immediately after the show to discuss it,” The sales guy said.
The dealer shared with the WW staffer what every other guy had told me. He had a great sales weekend. “You guys do this again next year,” He said. “I will be here.”
From my own observation, there were fewer dealers this year but more attendees. Bigger pie, fewer dealers with which to share.
WWTX is the biggest comic show to visit Texas this year or any year prior. The other cons we get here are local, regional affairs. They’re nice, but they don’t bring the juice that Wizard does.
True, Wizard World Texas was a bit light on guests this year. For instance, Marvel’s absence was keenly felt. And there was a lot of grousing about WizKids not making the show. Still, everybody I spoke with had a great time.
I’ve got my issues with Wizard shows, as I’ve mentioned elsewhere. But, to some degree, they’re like McDonalds. You know what you’re getting, and it’s pretty consistent mediocrity. But a big show’s a big show, and given this year at Dallas, I certainly can’t complain.
Wizard has shown an impatience with shows, from their one-year attempt at Boston to their unsuccessful attempts to unseat Heroes’ Con. I’ve been surprised that they stuck with Texas.
Texas is a great location, underserved by major conventions, and with this show I think they hit a solid level from which to build. The first couple shows may have been two big. Artists’ Alley was separate from the dealers’ room, which I think hurt the artists because it stunted traffic flow. This year, just about everyone I talked to had a decent show in terms of sales and interest. Even the dealers were content, and that’s a definite bellweather.
I’d hate to see them give up on the show now that it’s hitting its stride. As for my suggestions, for what they’re worth, I’m agnostic on the Friday start. Summer shows that start before Saturday make sense, because kids are out of school and vacations seem to be freer. The week before Thanksgiving, kids are in school, and a lot of people are saving time for the day after Turkey Day. I’d like to see them work around the Cowboys schedule as much as they can, especially with the Cowboys moving to a new facility next door. I like the November playdate, because it gets me out of the colder Ohio weather into the warm Texas nights, but if they had to move that, it wouldn’t bother me too much.
Oh, and I’d like the seating arranged to have Laura Vandervoort to sit next to me. Or Erica Durance. I’m not picky.
I woke up this morning with a belly still full of chicken fried steak and creamed corn. Jesse ad I toddled off to Church, and then to the last day of Wizard World Texas.
We got to my table and I’d wanted to grab a cup of coffee to start the day, but I had a problem: too many people wanted to buy stuff. Now, if you have to have problems, these are the ones to have.
First, I sold the remaining five books to the guy who thanked us for getting his girlfriend to buy a comic at all, let alone my book. She read the first and needed the rest. Someone wanted a sketch of She-Hulk. Then someone wanted Hawkgirl. Then another completion set.
That took the better part of an hour. Finally, I needed not only something to drink, but to use the facilities. “Jesse, if anyone comes up, pretend you’re me. Just sketch something in non-repro blue and I’ll fix it when I get back.”
Fortunately, Jesse didn’t have to be me, but he did have a clever drawing of the Atom so small he was only a dot coming out of a phone.
I did get to talk to more of the Comic Pants guys, who are just as funny and ebulent in person as they are on their podcast. You should really check them out here.
Things were generally slower than Saturday, but busier,
I got to meet Scott Porter from NBC’s Friday Night Lights. He’s a comic book fan and was just walking around, seeing what there was to see. And he was doing so without the security that Laura Vandervoot (Supergirl from Smallville) needed. He’s a comics fan, and Jesse, who is also a FNL fan, gave him copies of my book.
Scott said he’d hoped to read them while at his table, but was too busy because there was an internet rumor that he’d been cast as Superman in the upcoming Justice League movie. (He wasn’t, and, in fact, had been passed over as the Flash, too.) So tons of fans showed up with Superman stuff for him to sign.
I have to say, Scott was just a really nice guy. I hope he likes the books.
I didn’t take too many photos, and hadn’t had the time to mess with putting them up until today. So don’t think they’re all from today’s show.
The day then drew to a close, and we bade goodbye to our boothmates and con friends and headed back to Jesse’s house for some pizza and a TiVo-delayed Dallas Cowboys game. Shhh. Don’t tell us who won.
Back home tomorrow!
Second day, better than the first.
When I did Raider, a lot of people liked the story, but the art didn’t make much of an impact. That’s fine. Ever since my days at Kubert, I’ve known that on the baseball team of art, I’m a solid utility infielder.
But that changed when I did Love and Capes. I found a style that was more in my wheelhouse, to stretch the baseball metaphor, and people started to really notice. People have compared me to TyTemplton, Bruce Timm, and Darwyn Cooke. I’m nowhere near that good, but it’s nice to be mentioned in the same paragraph as them.
At conventions, people go around getting sketches and commissions from artists. Now, at WizardWorld Texas, I’ve become one of those artists. People are actually buying artwork from me, and that’s just so cool. Yesterday I drew Pathetic Fallacy from Fables, Ripcord from GI Joe, Firestorm (that’s what you get when you leave the choice to me), four members of the Justice League, and an slightly-inappropriate Supergirl wearing nothing but her cape and boots.
So, between the sketches and having the full six-issue set of Love and Capes done, printed and ready to sell, it’s been a very successful show.
* * * * * *
After the show, Jesse and his wife, and a couple of our friends went to dinner at a place called Babe’s. Don’t worry, it wasn’t some Texas version of Hooters, although some of the waitresses were pretty cute. It’s a fmaily style restaurant with great food. You go in and the vegetables are all you can eat. All you order is your drink and your meat.
We all had the chicken fried steak, except for Andy, who had the fried chicken, but he’s an Eagles fan, so he’s a little touched in the head anyway.
Man, Tesxas has good food. And a lot of it, usuallly all on my plate for some reason.
Afterwards, we headied to the Martini Ranch for some… surprise… martinis! I had a Wedding Cake Martini or two, a Grand French Martini (decided to try something different, and it was fine, but won’t be having it again) and finished off Linda’s Chocolate Martini since she didn’t like it. Waste not, want not, I figure.
By then, the night was over and we came home and collapsed to await Wizard World Day Three.
I’m out here in Dallas for Wizard World Texas. I get to spend some time with my friends Jesse and Linda, and some of their (well, now our) friends.So the show is always a good time, regardless of the convention itself.
Fortunately, the show was very good today.
First story. A couple (boyfriend and girlfriend, man and wife, I’m not sure) came over to the booth and we started chatting. She didn’t have that far off stare that some comic-book widows seem to get, so I figured her for a reader. She bought a copy of Love and Capes #1 and asked if I’d be there all weekend so she could pick up the rest. I assured her I was, and that I’d even give her the six-pack deal if she came back.
What surprised me is that as we left, her boyfriend turned to us and mouthed “Thank you!” to Jesse and me. It was obvious that she didn’t read comics, and that it was a huge deal that she actually bought a comic. We’ll see if she comes back tomorrow.
Second story. Much shorter. Someone comes up to the booth and says “Give me all six. I’m sick of reading them online.” That was good too.
I also got to go to the Heroes For Heroes party. It’s an organization raising money to send pop culturey things over to our troops. Books, DVDs, whatever, to help them pass the boring times (and let’s hope they have plenty of boring times). They had the party at the Diamond Club at the Ballpark at Arlington, where the Rangers play.
It was a cool venue, and cooler still was the charity auction. A dozen artists or so worked at easels making original art in front of the attendees that was later auctioned off. It was amazing to watch them work and see how they put the pieces together. It made me itch to draw, and given how much I work, causing me to feel that way is really something.
So, I sold decently and had some fun. Hopefully it’ll keep up tomorrow.
I just unloaded the boxes of Love and Capes #6 from the printer. Cooler than the other side of your pillow.
So, if any of you fine journalistic folk need a review copy, let me know who you are and who you review for, and I'll try to get you one. The book should be in stores by the end of the month, so you'd get the book a little before that.
And, I just sent the print files for the Mid-Ohio-Con 2007 Program Book to the printer. Two huge things in one day. Man, that's a load or two off my mind.
I've mentioned before a little show called Mid-Ohio-Con. It's my favorite comic convention for a lot of reasons, but maybe the biggest reason is the people I get to meet.
A while ago, I met Sergio Aragones, who is, hands-down, one of the coolest guys on the planet. Absurdly talented, demonically fast, and just a nice guy. He can draw and write, which makes him a double threat. And he's funny. A bunch of us were in a van being driven by Bob Ingersoll, co-writer of that Star Trek story I've mentioned a million times, and by day, a lawyer. As Bob was driving, an ambulance came up behindd us. Bob didn't get over, as it was obvious that the ambulance was going to turn before it needed to pass us. A bunch of writers in the car, and Sergio says "That's the only time I've ever seen an ambulance chase a lawyer." Damn his talent!
Sergio, or as I call him, Mr. Aragones, is doing the cover of the Mid-Ohio-Con Program Book. I got the opportunity to color his fine, frenetic work. I've been looking at Sergio's work since Mad Magazine and it's just indescribably cool that I get to work with him at all.
And, of course, you too could meet him if you head over to Mid-Ohio-Con on Thanksgiving weekend. You can meet me, too, but I'm sure that's not as much of a thrill.
Another story from the Baltimore Comic-Con...
I got to talk to Joe Kubert. Obviously we've met before, given that he taught me in my third year of school at his oh-so-appropriately named Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art. He didn't really remember me, but that's no surprise. I went there fifteen years ago, and in his class I was by no means notable. That's less a feature of my talent and more how I was dwarfed by classmates.
Of course, I say "genuinely pleased" and for all I know he was actually thinking of ways to kill me using a Hunt 107 pen tip. But, I thought he was being genuine, and in these cases, I find perception is reality.
As for why I was surprised, that comes from my experience at the school. I've referred to my time there as "boot camp for artists." It wasn't always pleasant. And there were times that it felt I was getting a good education in spite of the administration. I don't hold Joe responsible for that aspect, as I think he was pretty removed from the day-to-day operations. I also had some great times there, and made some fantastic friends there.
I was just surprised at how much I wanted Joe to be proud of me. With all those mixed feelings from the school, I would have thought I would have been a little more distant from Joe himself and that his opinion wouldn't matter. But it did, and it was kind of nice that it did.
Joe also has what a friend of mine describes as "a young man's walk." When he said that, my friend was referring to Stan Lee. It gives me hope that a lot of my artistic heroes, both in terms of style and business, seem to live so well so long. Viktor Shrekengost is almost 100. Al Hirschfeld lived to be about 100 and was still working. Carl Barks and Will Eisner both seemed to live long, full lives. Joe Kubert and Stan Lee are still doing really good work.
In an Uncle Scrooge story, Carl Barks suggested that Scrooge McDuck was so old and so spry because he was doing what he loved. I think there's a lot to be said for that and makes me appreciate that I get to do what I love for a living.