Boy, I wish I had more to report about this fine comic convention I'm attending this weekend. I'm having a very good time but not in a way that yields gobs of anecdotes I can post here. Saw Russ Heath and Bob Burden today and spent some time talking to Tom Yeates, who is doing a very nice job drawing Dark Horse's new Conan comic book. I picked up a lovely new book that Manuel Auad has assembled of the work of Spanish comic artist Jordi Bernet, and chatted with the widow and son of another great comic artist, the late Alfredo P. Alcala.
Met a lot of people who read this weblog and that's always nice. Especially fun was to meet in person a sharp lady named Rephah Berg whom I have otherwise known only through e-mail. Whenever I post something here that contains a typo, which is way too often, there are about five folks who immediately send me a message about it so I can correct it before most of you see the thing. Rephah is one of my most valuable typo-catchers. If anyone reading this needs a great editor-proofreader, drop me a note and I'll send you on to her.
I didn't get to meet him (too big a crowd) but Sid Haig is at the show. Sid Haig is one of those great character actors who works all the time, almost always playing villains, impressing all who become aware of him. I first noticed him giving a standout performance in an otherwise dreadful Roger Corman film called The Big Doll House, all about women who are sentenced to prison and to the taking of showers. My friends and I all became big fans of his. I remember when we went to see a revival screening of Diamonds are Forever. There's a scene where a bunch of gangland-style hoods move in to surround Sean Connery and we all muttered, "Look! Sid Haig is about to kill James Bond!" If by some chance I find him unmobbed tomorrow at the con, I'm going to barge up to him and get an autographed picture. I don't actually collect autographed pictures but I'd like to shake his hand and tell him how many things I've seen him in.
We did a round of our Quick Draw! game with Sergio Aragonés, Kyle Baker, Scott Shaw! and Steve Leialoha and I think a good time was had by all. This is fast becoming one of my favorite parts of any convention, and I urge you to see the competition we're planning for the Comic-Con International in San Diego.
This evening, I dropped in on a party where the music was so loud that I could only hear about 20% of what friends were trying to say to me and I strained my throat, yelling back to them so they could hear me say that I couldn't hear what they were trying to say to me. I left quickly, then ran into some other friends who said, "Come with us to a party." They took me to another cluster of con attendees where I also couldn't hear, so I decided to come back up to the room and work on an article that's due shortly. I frankly have never understood why people feel compelled to have music at all, let alone at deafening levels, at parties where the main intent is for folks to communicate with one another. A few people were dancing at the second gathering but there still didn't seem to be any excuse for the volume. I am blessed/cursed (hard to tell which, sometimes) with the kind of hearing that picks up noises from all around whatever space I am in, so I assume it's not as bad for some others as it is for me. Still, when I become the Absolute Ruler of All Mankind, I intend to banish music from any party where the main premise is not to listen to music. I will of course also make Karaoke punishable by death but I assume everyone's in favor of that.
Tomorrow: One more panel and I'm off to the airport. I'll see if I can meet Sid Haig before I go.