Classic Think About It: Synthetic Kryptonite and Duck comics
Originally Presented on July 20, 2002
Last week in this column I brought you the epic tale of three intrepid young men daring the terrors of the open road and the goodness of Cracker Barrel to journey to the annual Wizard World comic book convention. This week, we continue that journey. If you missed last week, shame on you, and scroll back one entry in this blog.
JULY 5, 2002 (Continued)
• 1:20 p.m. We three enter the convention, a sheer geek’s Heaven, each with a specific goal. James is intent on winning the Lord of the Rings card game tournament, as well as procuring a souvenir from the CrossGen Comics booth for the cute checkout girl at his local comic shop. Mike is seeking a Superman poster by artist Alex Ross and I’m trying to find the nine Don Rosa “Uncle Scrooge” comics I need to complete my collection.
• 1:59 p.m. I find my first Don Rosa comic. Nirvana achieved.
• 3:30 p.m. My cell phone rings. It’s my buddy Kalon. “Hey,” he says, “I was calling to see if you felt like getting together tonight. Where are you?”
“Chicago,” I say, “But let me see if Mike thinks we can make it…”
• 4:43 p.m. James materializes behind Mike and I at the Dreamwave Studios booth. He lost Round 3 of the tournament, but can still take second place overall if he wins Round 4. Displaying the courage of the lion and the reflexes of a skinny guy who’s just plain good at cards, he battles on, eventually winning.
• 5:03 p.m. Mike and I attend a panel discussion with DC comics editor Eddie Berganza, writer Geoff Johns and artist Leonard Kirk. I realize how much Louisiana is in my blood when I am the only person to “woo-hoo” during the introductions.
• 5:41 p.m. Mike tries to take Johns to task for the accents he writes in the Louisiana-based “Hawkman” comic. Johns reveals that his fiancé is from Baton Rouge and she’s been coaching him. Mike sits down.
• 6:31 p.m. We go to the information booth to ask recommendations about somewhere to go for dinner. “I realize this isn’t technically your job,” I say to the girl, “but we’re from New Orleans and we’re totally lost.” The girl nods. “We’re from New York,” she replies.
• 7:50 p.m. We have eaten a satisfying meal at the hotel restaurant. While leaving I hear a father tell his small child, “Anakin, calm down.” Truly, we are in a geek’s Mecca.
• 8:00 p.m. Mike and I attend the Wizard Fan Awards. It begins with five people dressed like superheroes entering the hall and dancing to “Whoop, There It Is.” The Hulk moons the audience. The green body paint, I reluctantly notice, does not go all the way down.
JULY 6, 2002
• 9:24 a.m. We try to convince James to take a picture of the CrossGen comics guys eating breakfast in the hotel restaurant. “Tell them it’s for the cute checkout girl!” I exclaim. “They’re all geeks at heart! They’ll understand!” James, the pansy, declines.
• 11:20 a.m. After talking to artist Leonard Kirk for a few minutes, Mike and I each purchase a piece of original art from the Supergirl comic. It’s considerably more than I’d intended to spend on any one item, but it’s a beautiful page, Kirk is a heck of a nice guy and we want to help him pay the rent this month.
• 12:23 p.m. I introduce myself to Maggie Thompson, editor-in-chief of the Comics Buyer’s Guide, and give her a copy of my novel (“Other People’s Heroes,” now available for $13.95 on Amazon.com) in the hopes of getting a review. Now I’ll be sitting on edge for months waiting to see if one actually materializes.
• 1:25 p.m. Wandering the dealer area I encounter a sight that leaves me in absolute awe. We drove 1,000 miles through hardship and toil and where do I find myself? At the booth for Crescent City Comics on Elysian Fields in New Orleans. There is some major irony at work here.
• 2:30 p.m. The first of three panels I want to attend begins - “The 10 Worst Mistakes a Writer Can Make” with Mark Waid. There is literally nowhere to sit. Waid walks into the room, looks at the crowd and says, “Is there nothing else going on at 2:30?”
• 5:05 p.m. I meet Mike at the DC Comics slideshow panel. James, he informs me, is running around trying to get every CrossGen Comics creator to sign a T-shirt for the cute checkout girl. We may never see him again.
• 5:20 p.m. The slideshow comes around to action figures based on the “Smallville” TV show. The announcer says the Lana Lang figure will come with a synthetic Kryptonite necklace. The fact that she stresses “synthetic” gives me a great amount of relief.
• 6:00 p.m. Day two ends. The adventure continues...
Blake M. Petit will conclude this legendary tale next week. So wake up. Contact him with comments, suggestions or a neuralizer to wipe the image of the Hulk from his mind at BlakePT@cox.net