Replies

  • I only spent one day at East Coast Comicon, but I packed a lot in. Here’s the rundown:

    As you might have seen on Facebook, I met Dr. Demento. He’s responsible for so much of my sense of humor, and was a major part of the soundtrack of my childhood. Didn't even realize he was going to be there, so seeing him was like walking into a surprise party.

    2648351163?profile=RESIZE_710x

    Next, I bumped into John Trumbull, who introduced me to some cast members of Batman the Animated Series – Diane Pershing (who played Poison Ivy, and is also a film critic – we talked about the Juliette Binoche movies Non-Fiction and Certified Copy); Loren Lester (who played Robin & Nightwing, and will soon be touring the country in a production of The Band’s Visit); and John Glover (who played the Riddler, and Lionel Luthor on Smallville, and is charming as all-get out; at one point he did an impromptu face-time with a fan’s mom, but when the screen popped up, his greeting changed to concern, shouting “pull over, pull over,” as they’d interrupted the woman during a drive. (She’d actually already pulled over before she’d answered.))

    There was a great panel about the Kubert School, moderated by John Trumbull, an alumnus, with fellow alumni Tom Mandrake, Jan Duursema, Kevin Altieri, Tim Truman, and Toby Cypress. It was a really entertaining hour, as all these great creators reminisced about their college days (and talked about teaching at the school as well).

    Then I spent some time talking with Mike Gold and John Ostrander about Suicide Squad and Wasteland – particularly Wasteland, one of the oddest and most uninhibited books DC ever published. (And even then, Mike told me about a rejected cover that was spectacular in its bad taste.)

    Then I wandered over to Rick Parker, who greeted me like an old friend. He’s working on a memoir of his time in the military, and from the pages I saw, it pulls you right in. Rick’s art is open and engaging, which somehow leavens some of the truly horrible things he saw and experienced in boot camp, making it possible to confront them…

    But Rick – and when you’re at a convention, go talk to Rick – he’s always concerned not just with talking about his own art, but also talking about your art. He’ll make you want to put your nose to the grindstone and create, to tell your story the best way you can. He did this with me, but I also saw him do with a few other fans who came up to him as well.

    I had a few minutes before the George Perez panel, so I swung by Howard Chaykin’s booth, and we talked theater for a bit. He recognized my name from an article I interviewed him for a few years ago, and I promised I’d let him know how Burn/This was, since I was seeing it the next day.

    And then there was the George Perez panel. Marv Wolfman was supposed to be there, too, but he couldn’t make it because of health reasons, so the moderator used a list of Perez’s best works and asked him about them, one by one. It included fan-favorites like New Teen Titans and Avengers, and also less well-known runs like a series of Firestorm backups. Perez was cheery and gracious, and it was so much fun to listen to his recollection of these series.

    Afterward, John & I hit the hotel bar for dinner, and caught up with so many other people from the con, including organizer Cliff Galbraith (creator of Rat Bastard), Andrew Aydin (co-author of March), and more. Fantastic conversation, and pretty much the reason people invented bars. Also, there were approximately 200 French-speaking students from Montreal packed into the lobby at one point, while the hotel scrambled to create all their room keys. It was an incredible day, full of weirdness and fun, and I came home absolutely flying with good vibes. Can’t wait for next year’s show!

  • Sounds like a great Con. I didn't speak to him, but I saw Dr Demento in San Diego years ago. He was perusing comics for sale. He dressed the same, except we both had brown hair then.

This reply was deleted.