Sorry, things were crazy last night and I was tired when I rolled back in about 1am last night. Sales were good, I did a bunch of commissions and I got to meet Gigi Edgley from Farscape. And hezmollah yes there are pictures. I'll post those as soon as I can.
No promises on today either, but I'll do what I can. It's the big day of the show, so things will be the high side of crazy. Wish me luck.
<>And now, to a Starbucks...!
No pictures today, I'm afraid. I took some, but it's late as I sit here and type this, and really I only took one of the booth that showed more product, so nothing you need to see.
I've mentioned before that the more entrenched I get in the industry, the less I can say. Well, today's very indicative of that. I have to go talk to someone about something tomorrow, and that's all I can say. But it's cool beyond all recognition of coolness should something break. If you've got time to pray to the God of your choice on my behalf, please do so.
The show started slow today. Some of that was due to a huge accident on The Five (as the Cali Kids call the freeway route 5) that blocked off the commuter traffic from LA for the better part of five hours. I can only assume that's why Hollywood didn't beat a path to my door today. But, by the end of the day, things were going pretty swimmingly. Both booth mates, Paul of Toon Tumblers and Bill of Lone Star Press had some assorted coolness happen. Let's hope good things for us all!
Then I went to the IDW party. A nice party, with great food and an open bar (which I dig muchly). A little thick with people, but that's never a bad sign, especially for a company you're doing business with. And then I went to the Boom Studios party and had an equally good time.
Comic companies who employ you/you want to employ you are like kids. They both have to be your favorites.
I ran into all sorts of Con Friends and made some new ones, too. It was a hard, long day, with much walking and then more walking, but it was verra productive. Bring on tomorrow!
So we've had the first day of the con. And I survived. That is all.
No, wait, there's more. Bob and I slept in today,because we know this will be the last day we get to do that for a while. We bought some supplies at Ralph's, went to Mission Beach for lunch, and picked up our friend Sandi at the airport. And then, before we knew it. It was Con Time.
So it's a lot of seeing people for the first time this weekend. It's a lot of quick meetings, just a "Hi, we have to get together later" stuff. Even so, I did manage to find Andy Cosby from Boom Studios, who I met last year and talk to him for a bit. You may have heard that they've announced that they will be doing Muppets and Pixar comics. That's just phenomenal.
Sales at the booth were pretty good. It's the first day of the show, and everyopne's still getting a feel for where everything is. I had several people come up and buy specific issues because they started reading last year and were now hooked. Someone even came up and raved about the book and, when I asked him if he needed anything, he said "No, I've already got them all." That's the best non-sale I ever made.
I saw Charlotte Fullerton, Dwayne McDuffie, Eugene Son and his entire lovely family, which was a nice surprise. I didn't know they were all coming even for Day Zero, and given that they were kind enough to house me during the Meetings last year, I have an especially warm place in my heart for them. And they're just nive people, too.
When the show wrapped, Bill Williams, Randy Lander
Then Chip Moser from Boom, as well as Matt and Ian, whose last names I didn't catch, joined us. They're all stellar specimens of humanity. Intellegent, witty, and if I may say, handsome each and every one. Not that any of them check blogs for mentions of their names. No, such gods among men would never do such a thing.
At midnight, I came back to the room, feeling like it was 2am. I have to get up in six hours or so to start this all over again. The show is fun, and even based on today's brief encounters, could spiral into more stuff. That's what keeps me going.
Well, that and coffee, of which there will be much tomorrow.
I'm officially out in California for Comic-Con. I've Twittered some of it, and from now until I return, my tweets and my blog posts will probably overlap. Can't really help that, but if you've been following the Twitter feed, I can promise improved spelling and capitalization when they're retold here.
Then my 8:45 flight became a 9:15 flight and then a 9:45 flight. By the time we left, around 10:00pm, I figure I was making $50 an hour. Still not bad, but not what I hoped for. I managed to sleep on the flight and catch the last Disney shuttle bus to the Disneyland Hotel where I'm typing this from.
I slept in far less than I expected to. Between sleeping on the flight and the bus, and the time zone change, I had about eight hours by the time 7:30 rolled around, so I headed over to Disneyland.
I haven't been here since 2002, the year of the first Raider trade. This time I scored a parkhopper, so I could check out California Adventure, Disney's other park. And I was doing it with Bob Ingersoll and his son, who'd been here for a couple of days already. They went over earlier than I got up.
Oddly enough, I ran into Gail Simone, writer of Wonder Woman (and man, or should I say WOman, is she doing some great stuff on that title) who was also doing the pre-Comic-Con Disney trip. She also had some kind things to say about Love and Capes, which I appreciate all to pieces.
Even at Disney, I'm networking. Makes the whole thing deductible, I figure. Right?
I rode a bunch of rides, some of which have been tweaked since the last time I was here. Jack Sparrow is now part of Pirates of the Carribbean. Space Mountain has a new track and new cars.
Which isn't to say that it doesn't have it's moments. The coaster is a lot of fun. It's got a cool looking Ferris Wheel. And the Toy Story shooting gallery is a ton of fun. I beat Bob and his son handily in that one.
Unfortunately, when we did the similar Buzz Lightyear ride, the smaller Ingersoll did beat me by 10,000 points. We both beat Bob by something like a billion, though, so that was good. They take your photo and then e-mail it to you. You can see my oh-so-intense shooting face here.
We stayed a little past midnight, catching both Fantasmic, which wisely eliminated the show-stopping (in a bad way) Pocahontas number, as well as the main fireworks show. I even got to watch Tinkerbell fly to the castle, which I swear I've never seen before. I remember my first trip to Disney and the winds were too high or something and she didn't fly that day. I think I've missed it for the thirty years since, too. It's a little thing, I know, but still brought a smile to my face.
Doubly-oddly, I was called by ABC News which wanted me to record a video message about who I thought McCain's running mate should be. I don't know if I have the time, and I don't know if I can get my iSight to do that. It could be kind of fun, so we'll see how I feel in the morning.
Of course, I really don't know who he should pick, either.
Okay, so I've had my day of play. Tomorrow, Bob's son will head back to Ohio, and Bob and I will head to San Diego to set up the Love and Capes booth and get ready for the fun and frivolity that is Comic-Con.
Only a couple hours left and then I'll be on my way to San Diego for Comic-Con.
Did I mention I'm going to Comic-Con International? I know I've said it before, but I want to make sure it's high on the blog to remind you I'll be at Booth #2000, splitting it with Toon Tumblers. I'll have issues #1-7 of Love and Capes, both Powerful Women sketchbooks, t-shirts and pins. I'll be doing commissions, signing anything you bring, and talking and chatting. Please come by.
San Diegos always a mixture of thrills and fears. It's a bit of a crucible for where you are in the industry. It's the show that's so big that if you're not there, some people wonder if you're anywhere. And, it's always a chore to get everything out there, get the booth set up and so on.
But...
I went out last year and directly from that show I wound up IDW doing the Love and Capes trade. I got my first meeting with Disney about getting one of my projects turned into a TV show. And I discussed doing some digital format versions of my projects, too.
The first of those three is fantastic. The other two, while they haven't materialized (at least not yet), they are my first step into a much larger world. I'm expecting even more. Soon.
Like maybe this week. Let's rock.
With just a couple days to spare, the second Powerful Women collection has arrived! I was blessed with some overruns, so I can send out the orders I've received before I leave, and still have the stock that I need to have. Yay, Jones Printing!
Don't forget, the special goes away on Sunday, so be sure to order yours before the prices go up.
I just signed off on the proofs for Powerful Women #2, so it's time for some pre-San Diego specials!
Until July 20th (the day I leave for California) you can get the second sketchbook for $10.00 plus shipping. That's $5.00 off cover price. And, if you order both of them, you can save $10.00 and get the 2-pack for $20.00 plus shipping.
The newbook features Scarlett from G.I. Joe, Princess Leia, She Hulk, Jade, Halo, Poison Ivy, Princess Aura, and many, many more. Click here to be taken to the commission page, where you can order the sketchbooks. They'll ship out from San Diego after the show.
It's lucky page thirteen! We're now more than halfway through issue eight, and Mark and Abby are going to a bridal fair. There may be another convention going on at the convention center, too, which we'll see in forthcoming pages.
As long as we're talking conventions, I should mention that I and Toon Tumblers will be sharing booth #2000 at Comic-Con International in San Diego. Paul and Toon Tumblers will be at WizardWorld Chicago next week. And neither of us are at this week's Heroes Con in Charlotte, but I've heard nothing but good about the show and intend to do it someday.
Okay, it's time for a victory nap... and planning out the next exciting page!
Yesterday was CAPE here in Dallas, sponsored by Zeus Comics. The event’s pretty unique: an outdoor Free Comic Book Day event with more than eighty talented creators as well as me, too.
And, while it was a big event with big names, there weren’t huge crowds or lines. Mark Waid, Robert Kirkman, and Gail Simone all had some pretty thick crowds, but it wasn’t so bad that you couldn’t drift over and talk to them. I know Mark the best, and at most shows we walk by each other’s tables, exchange a few witty bon mots, and then go back to our busy day. Here, I got to talk with him a little more, about things Super Friends and toys and comics. I got to meet Gail Simone for the first time, something really not possible for me at most shows because of her well-deserved crowds.And I gave her some copies of the book, of course. I did miss Robert Kirkman, who my cousin Jamie turned me on to with his Christmas gift of the Invincible hardcover . I would have liked to have told him how much I like his book.
The day was a little chilly to start. And windy. Chilly and windy. Jesse and Christine were real troopers with the weather. It wasn’t, but it certainly started out... unpleasant. Cold doesn’t bother me too much, although the wind certainly caused issues for my light and frothy books.
The event does seem to be a little bifurcated. Zeus has a shop nearby, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of cross-traffic. That could be just anecdotal, and that there was a good amount of crossover. CAPE certainly wasn’t hurting for people either way. I moved some books, a commission, even a t-shirt, which seem to be the hardest product to sell (and the one that takes up the most space in my suitcase, despite my cool space saver bags).
I also got to talk with Scott Hinze from Fanboy Radio, and more importantly now from Heroes for Heroes, an organization supplying our troops overseas with comics, MP3s, iPods, iTunes gift cards and the like. I’ll be donating a chunk of books to them for sure.
I’m very glad I came to CAPE. And I’d certainly do it again. Having said that, Free Comic Book Day 2009 is a year away, and there are still forty-eight states that I haven’t visited for the big FCBD event yet.