Staggering rumors abound of convention attendance topping any level-headed estimates. God, was it crowded in the place today…though by the time the aisles were totally jammed, I was upstairs moderating panels, starting with the Trivia Competition between three comic book writers (Len Wein, Mark Waid and Kurt Busiek) and three reps from the Comedy Central game show, Beat the Geeks. The Geeks battled nobly but you don't tug on Superman's cape, you don't spit into the wind, you don't pull the mask on the old Lone Ranger and you don't win a funnybook trivia contest against any team with Waid on it. The final scores were pretty far apart but a good time was had by all.
Then it was over the Ray Bradbury/Julius Schwartz panel, the first half of which I moderated. I was there to open the proceedings and to bring in a surprise guest…Al Feldstein, the editor-writer of Tales from the Crypt and other EC Comics. Though EC adapted many of Bradbury's short stories, Feldstein — their editor-adapter — had never met Bradbury and we thought it was time he did. A packed house went wild as Feldstein took the stage and, a half-century after that classic work was done, first shook hands. Al actually choked up, describing the honor he felt in being allowed to compress Bradbury tales into comic book format. It was one of those moments…
My day closed out with a Cartoon Voice Panel and another celebrating 20 years of Groo. We had a nice little surprise at the latter, as some of the members of the Groop (the Internet-connected Groo Fan Club) had prepared giant birthday cards for Sergio and myself, and my wonderful friend Carolyn Kelly had baked Mulch Cookies for everyone in the room, "mulch" being an occasional running joke in the comic. Carolyn has promised to write out the recipe she devised and I'll be sharing it on this site and in the comic.
A lovely dinner (thanks again, Paul) and lots of wonderful conversation rounded out the day. What a wonderful time everyone seems to be having. Good night.