SDCC 2008: T-minus 2 days

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.

My flight out was long and self-delayed. They oversold my original flight, and were asking for volunteers to take a later flight for a $250 travel voucher. I jumped on that. I fly enough that I know I can use it, and it'd delay me by three hours, so that's roughly $83 an hour. I figured that was worth it. I even got a meal voucher, too.

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.

The first ride I checked out was the new Finding Nemo ride, a retheming of the previous submarine ride. It was pretty cool. I remember being on the Florida sub ride when I was a scant four years old and liking it a lot. It was cool to be back. The Nemo stuff (and hidden Atlantis stuff) was fun to see.

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.

And I'd not been to Disney's California Adventure before. It's a smallish park, which, while fun, I wouldn't pay full price for. It's got that Disney Animal Kingdom vibe to it. Sure, it's cool, but is it on a par with the Magic Kingdom? No.

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.

California, that's the place I oughtta be

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.

The Difference... Timing!

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.

Shadow of the Bat

I'll be a guest on Bob Frantz's show, in the Stump the Panel segment that happens around 11:15. We're going to be concentrating on Batman trivia.

In the words of the Black Knight, "None shall pass!"

So listen to WTAM-AM 1100 on Friday.

Ladies Love the Capes

Love and Capes has gotten another mention on a podcast. This time, it's the Two-in-One Showcase. I'm mentioned fifty some minutes into the 'cast, but give the whole thing a listen. There's some great discussions on Batman, who I think may have a movie coming out this week.

Podcaster Blake mentions how his girlfriend Erin, to whom he's introduced a bunch of comics, was the one who introduced him to LNC. Way to go Erin!

Burritos for Justice... well, Schools!

I did caricatures for the Malone Golf Tournament yesterday, which provides college scholarships to some deserving kids. It is uniformly a great event, and the kids are fantastic. The scholarship is through Cleveland Scholarship Foundation, which is a great organization with a stellar percentage-donation rating. I'm honored to work with them.

And, today, if you're in Ohio, get thee to a Chipotle. All sales (not profits, but sales) up to $35,000 go to the Malone scholarship program. Big props to the Chip for that.

Jimmy Malone, of course, is part of the Lanigan and Malone morning radio show on WMJI-FM 105.7 here in Cleveland. Just figured if I was plugging stuff, might as well plug it all.

A little more

Still not saying what the mystery cover is, but here's a little more of the image, and now in color!

Soung Lyric Answers, Part III

Here are the song lyric answers:

17. "Is this your name or a doctor's eye chart?"
Dyslexic Heart by Paul Westerberg. From the "Singles" soundtrack.

18. "I'm so tired of being here"
My Immortal by Evanescence and the "Daredevil" soundtrack.

19. "We weren't meant to be, at least not in this lifetime."
Something to Remember by Madonna. From "I'm Breathless", songs inspired and from "Dick Tracy".

20. "Turning and returning to some secret place to hide"
Take My Breath Away by Berlin from the "Top Gun" soundtrack.

21. "Why are there so many songs about rainbows?"
The Rainbow Connection by the Muppets. From the first Muppet Movie soundtrack.

22. "No mortal man can win this day"
A Kind of Magic by Queen's "A Kind of Magic." The songs from and inspired by "Highlander."

23. "So whatever your hands find to do, you must do with all your heart"
Through Your Hands by Don Henley from the Michael soundtrack. And one of the most profound lyrics, borrowed from a line from the Bible. This line alone helped me keep Raider on track. Here's the full lyric:

So whatever your hands find to do
You must do with all your heart
There are thoughts enough
To blow men's minds
And tear great worlds apart
There`s a healing touch to find you
On that broad highway somewhere
To lift you high
As music flyin`
Through the angel`s hair

Man, I love that.

24. "So you feel like it's the end of the story"
The Hero from the Flash Gordon soundtrack by Queen

And, obviously, they're all from movie soundtracks.

And since the book is done...

With major operations done on Love and Capes #8 you know what it's time for:

So whatever your hands find to do you must do with all your heart

If you're following my Twitter feed, you know that I finished issue #8 yesterday! Well, technically it was this morning, I think. And the book itself isn't done completely. I still have to do the trade dress (the bio and recap section, ads, stuff like that) and draw the cover for #9 so that I can advertise it in the back of the book.

Once again, the dialogue is blurred out. Further, for the last page, I'm just showing part of a panel. I appreciate everyone who bops by here to check the progress out, and I don't want to reward you with spoilage.

I like this issue a lot. I think it's up there with #5 and 6 which are personal favorites, I think. Hopefully, every one has gotten better, but occasionally I'll have an issue where I don't quite have the "feel of the ball". To use a metaphor from a sport that's no longer played professionally in Cleveland. Baseball.

Now, I did have a last lyric for the lyric contest. So the one for page 23 is at the top of this post, and the one for the last page, which I find to be exceedingly appropriate:

So you feel like it's the end of the story.

Answers will appear in the next day or so.