The Moscone Center in San Francisco is filled with comic book fans, comic book creators and comic books. There are also a few actors and models and one hapless lady who has been assigned by the convention center folks to go up and down the aisles with a pushcart of snacks to sell. So far, she's the only one who doesn't seem to be having a great time. There's no real event to report and I don't expect there will be, but I'm enjoying myself.
Wandered the halls in the morning, did back-to-back panels with Sergio Whatzisname and Paul Dini. Saw a lot of fine comic book folks including Brent Anderson, Tony deZuniga, Dave Stevens, Al Gordon, Steve Leialoha, Trina Robbins, Kyle Baker, Darwyn Cooke, Bruce Timm, David Spurlock, Howard Chaykin, Scott Shaw!, Nick Barrucci, Batton Lash and Jackie Estrada. Whoever I left out, forgive me. It's late.
One thing I've learned, not so much about conventions but about myself is that I enjoy cons more when (a) I have no business to transact, no person that I have to see about some project. And (b) I enjoy cons more when I don't go to too many of them. There's a sense in which they blur together since one convention hall full of dealers and their tables doesn't look all that different from another convention hall full of dealers and their tables. There was a time when I'd arrive at one, walk in and have an overwhelming sensation of déjà vu, as if to say, "I've been to this convention before." For a while, I'd feel so privileged when some con offered to fly me in and put me up that I'd say yes, get there and think, "Why am I here?" One reason I've come to enjoy hosting panels and events at these things is that every one of those is a little different.
Favorite Moment So Far: A kid with a pad of paper comes up to a noted artist (one of those named above) and says, "I'm a big fan of your work. Would you do me a little drawing?" The artist asks which of the many characters he draws the kid would like him to draw…and it is instantly obvious that the kid has no idea who this artist is. He's just out to get free sketches, hoping someday one of them will be worth something. He stammers and says, taking a wild guess, "The X-Men?" (He even said it with the question mark on the end with kind of a hopeful note.) The artist says, "I've never drawn the X-Men" but he uncaps his pen to do the kid a drawing anyway. He puts down what look like the opening strokes of a Batman and the kid says, "Batman! I meant Batman!" After I post this, I'm going to check and see if it's on eBay yet.