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I’d like to say “Chicago was a blast!” but I can’t really say that since I wasn’t really in Chicago. I was near Chicago, we drove through it on the way to the airport, where the convention was being held, but we didn’t get a chance to actually see and be in Chicago.
The convention? Yeah, that was a blast. Almost a little overwhelming at first, but it was really great to meet the people that make the comics, as well as being around all the comic themed merchandise and all that jazz. I was lucky I didn’t go ballistic with the store money. Right off the bat I got to meet Brian Bendis at the Marvel booth, and he signed a bunch of comics for the store and then my DC Comics hat, which he was happy to do because “there was no hate there.” He encouraged me to go to the panel he was doing with Geoff Johns on Friday, and I assured him that it was already on the agenda.
The panels were cool, seeing all the folks interacting and taking questions and seeing the pure fun that came from almost everyone there. The Bendis/Johns panel really was great because instead of it being a “DC vs Marvel” slugfest, they hijacked their own panel and called up a bunch of people and turned it into a joint Marvel/DC panel. I liked seeing them talk about lateness in comics, how the movies help or don’t help the industry and the different stylistic tones each company has right now.
I also liked seeing and hearing a little about the business side of things, specifically from Jim McCann at Marvel, who took a fairly hostile question about Marvel’s overprint policy (something I’d been wondering about myself, frankly) and turned it into some really good advice for those that want to help their retailer out, like pre-ordering using Previews, communicating with your retailer about what you like and looking beyond “the Big Two” for other good stuff because a lot of it is out there. It was really cool to hear someone from the Big Guy have some actual good advice to help out the little guy.
Handing out the comic to folks was…well, handing out the comic to folks. I did my best to not sound and act like a giant fucking psychopath, but who knows how well that turned out. It seemed like everyone I talked to as I walked away I wanted to go “Oh wait, I forgot…” and then it’d be something like introducing myself, or giving a business card, or buying something so I didn’t look like a self absorbed prick. I know self-promotion is part of the deal but it’s kind of hard when your nervous and you know that these people have probably been dealing with comic people all weekend and they have their own stuff to puddle and try to peddle and make money off of. But y’know, it’s out there now, and I get to check my e-mail on eggshells for the next couple of months before falling into a glum depression about how no one likes me.
Speaking of which, I need to get on the ball with the agent hunt. I decided I can’t sit around and just wait anymore because it’s driving me crazy. I must be proactive. All of the stuff coming up, which seemed like such a mountain before I left, now is just…hey, that’s coming up. Cool.
I’m going to try to find a way to get the .pdf of the comic up on the Writing page, so I can have it there to be browsed lovingly. Or not so lovingly, depending.
Am I relaxed now? Yeah, you betcha. Not a 100%, but way more than the mad dash of skull-fuckery getting ready for the trip was. I talked to Allie on the phone last night and she’s doing well. She’s learning the clarinet (she has an extensive “I tried to learn it” collection of instruments), wants to take hip-hop dance (in addition to the ballet and tap she’s already taking) and, most horrifyingly, in a twist that makes me want to smash my face through plate glass and into a vat of lava, is that she went to go get a haircut and make up and general prettying this past weekend and afterwards BOYS WERE CHECKING HER OUT. Melissia told me because she felt she needed to share this agony with me.
Super.
But she’s doing well, going to camp for kids of officers who have been deployed, and is taking a trip to see her in-laws (well, Melissia’s in-laws) on a cargo plane (again, deployed officers families get to fly for free, apparently). Fritz is doing well in Afghanistan, and they get to talk everyday, which is good.
Maybe, if you’re good, I’ll blog more now that the Crisis is over.
We’ll see.
Ack, i sympathize. Losing your HD really does make you appreciate the little things. I shudder to think of you listening to internet radio, but if you must take a peek at BBC 6 Music. I used to rock out to it in the library before work and greatly enjoyed it. Craig Charles (Lister, Red Dwarf) had a good show on there a few years back… then there was so alleged “crack usage” and I believe it was suspended. Anyways… good to hear you had a nice time in Chicago. Did you see Warren Ellis? You didn’t say.
my hard drive is threatening to give way. well, it’s pretty much my fault for dropping my laptop while drunk. because i welome our google lords, i generally mail drafts i finish to myself. i use google calendars. and google docs. christ, they own me.
and i went to a scifi convention in febuary. i hope yours was better, though i just went as my scifi writer boyfriend’s girlfriend (he called me his “handler”) and i didn’t know what star trek characters look like, so i suspect i was WAY more fish out of water than you.
we should email sometimes. i’m lousy at keeping in touch with you, it seems.
Dawn-
Yes, I need to blog about my warren ellis experience, because it was a lot of fun. He is truly a madman.
Heather-
This is funny because without seeing that you had left a comment for me, I left a comment for you on your blog. Clearly, it’s time for our annual “how are you?” series of emails. :)