This morning, I was waiting in my hotel's valet parking area…waiting for Sergio to pick me up in the car that the valets at his hotel couldn't seem to locate. I got to talking with one of the valets and I asked him a question I often ask folks who are in jobs where they get tipped. I asked him how Comic-Con attendees compare with those attending any other convention. He said we were more generous than most. I usually get that answer and I tend to believe it's sincere.
I mean, they could be saying that because I'm about to tip them but I don't think so. If I was in that valet's position and someone asked me what I asked him, I think I'd say, "You guys are the worst. I keep waiting for one of you to turn out to be a decent-enough human being to tip me a few bucks so I can save up enough to get my kid that operation."
Then, of course, I asked who the worst tippers are. The valet this morning said "Lawyers," then thought better of it and said, "No…people who work for pharmaceutical companies. The cheapest! The absolute cheapest!"
I asked, "What do they do? Tip you a free sample of Tylenol?"
He said, "Not even that. I could use that. And the thing that galls me is that it isn't even their money they'd be tipping us. Every single one of them is here on an expense account. They brag to each other about how much they're charging to their companies…but tipping the guy who unloaded eight heavy pieces of luggage from their rented Infinitis and carted them up to their rooms? God forbid. One of them once gave me a dime."
Anyway, it was at that moment that Sergio drove up and we loaded my gear into his car. I put away the copy of Groo I was going to give him and tipped cash instead.
Sergio and I both had a good time at the con. He spent almost all of it behind his table. I, happily, spent very little of it behind a table. On Sunday, I didn't even go into the main hall at all. At 10 AM, I emceed the annual Jack Kirby Tribute Panel before a packed house. At 11:30, we had one of our best-ever Cartoon Voices panels with Chris Edgerly, Julie Nathanson, Misty Lee, Bob Bergen, Wally Wingert and surprise panelist — he was as surprised as the audience — Fred Tatasciore.
Photo by Bruce Guthrie.
As you know if you've ever seen any of these, part of the panel involves me giving the actors a script to read — one they have not seen before so they have to "cold read" it. The last half-dozen or more years, we've alternated between a script for Cinderella and one for Snow White. I retired the Snow White one after last year's Sunday panel and this year, I introduced a new one: The entirety of The Wizard of Oz condensed into 101 lines of dialogue. Don't think that's an easy job of condensation. Both the Saturday and Sunday casts did wonderful things with it, though in quite different ways. (Misty Lee, who I cast as the Wicked Witch, is also a very fine magician. She somehow figured out how to actually "melt" onstage…)
After that panel, I had an hour open which I spent at a meeting about an upcoming project that should thrill many people. Then at 2:00, I hosted Cover Story: The Art of the Cover, followed by The Business of Cartoon Voices at 3 PM…and by the time that was over, there was no more con. I'll write more about those panels later in the week if I remember.
Sergio and I made good time going to and fro on the freeway. He drove. I navigated, thanks mostly to a great app I have on my iPhone called Waze. I'm still learning how to use it most effectively but it's a great G.P.S. with social media undertones. Drivers alert one another to hazards and other things to watch out for. We didn't encounter many delays but it can be helpful to know that there are none…and Waze is good at recharting your route when necessary. It takes a bit of getting-used-to but the more I use it, the more I like it.
So I'm home and unpacked and trying to get back into what passes for normal life around here. My main regret about the con is that since my knees didn't allow me to walk the length 'n' breadth of the hall, I didn't run into a lot of folks I'd have enjoyed seeing. If you're one, sorry. Otherwise, a good time was had by me.