Comic Con Report

A few weeks back, I made my not-quite-annual trek to my old stomping grounds of San Diego for the giant crazy-fest now known as Comic Con International.

Ah, the good old days when I would hop in my Jeep and park a few blocks from the convention center in the abandonned factory district and walk up to a short registration line and into the con are so long gone. Long lines, packed floor, and visual/audio overload these days. But still a fun fest of all things dork.

On Friday, I did a signing at the Prism booth, and explored the con floor, and saw many old friends. That night I made it into Oni's Scott Pilgrim party.

Saturday morning was my big shopping spree: super fun t-shirt from the I Heart Guts booth, at long last I bought Kevin Dart's Seductive Espionage as well as Scott Pilgrim V6 and Super Pro K.O. from Oni. I tracked down some Sekowsky early '70s comics, too. I caught up with some self publishers who I admire and bought their latest work. Oh yeah, I went to Mistress of Halloween Elvira's pay-for-autograph booth, too. My friend Ryan harasses me every time I go to CCI to do so. She's SO NICE. For some reason, no one was talking to Matt Fraction at the Marvel booth so I introduced myself. He's the main X-Men writer, and he knew my story in the Nation X mini series, complimented me and thanked me for writing it. I was flustered and didn't give him my card. Way to go, Tim.

In the early evening, I felt honored to be on a panel alongside Dan Parent, Geoff Johns, and more. It's always easier to have professional conversations and interactions with people once they've been forced to listen to you on a panel. :) That evening I attended a pre-dinner and then a dinner, both lots of fun.

Sunday, I had another signing at the Prism booth alongside Will O. Tyler (who colored half my OGN Trust/Truth). I insisted we have a draw-off. It took us some time to agree on a topic, but in the end it was "lesbian with a tool." We randomly awarded and retracted points from the other, and ultimately ended with a tied score. His completed drawing was a vamp with a chainsaw surrounded by some body parts. Mine was inspired by my dear friend Paige Braddock...I envisioned her chopping wood. Will and I donated our drawings to Prism for some future charity auction or something. Then I spent time queued up at the Capcom booth to buy a Mega-Man "Proto-Man" toy as a gift.

All in all, another fun and crazy con!