COMIC CON 2009

The Players:

me, Jennifer - the comic book/graphic novel buyer for Sam Weller's Bookstore.

Zatanna - also me, with my new black hair, dressed in costume (cosplay). Etinu dlrow eht fo sdraziw!

Comic Con - the largest comic book convention in North America, happening for the last 40 years in SanDiego. It's an epic four-day event.
me + "the con" = special

The Props:

Top Shelf, Dark Horse, Fantagraphics all had great graphic novels at their booths. (Weller's stocks many titles.)

There were major book publishers pushing upcoming fall titles. Noteworthy: The Magicians by Lev Grossman. Read it, devoured it, loved it. Scary, fantastical magic for adults & teens. It comes out August 11 from Penguin. (Weller's will have it.)

Century Guild. Fine art dealer specializing in Art Nouveau. The most elegant booth. Gorgeous Mucha prints. Epic absinthe posters.

Steampunks. Followers were abundant! Essentially, steampunk is the idea of industrializing/mechanizing the Victorian era. An ideal of modern science mixed with romance and novelty, it feels unprocessed as everything is done by individuals. The comic The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen is an excellent example. One of my favorite webcomics Monster Commute had a booth - follow them to realize the creative world of steampunk.
Uglydolls! So squishable & ugly they're cute! My favorite has been discontinued - forget his name, but he had chest hair. (Sam Weller's is getting new dolls!)


The Play:

Exposition:

I attended Comic Con for five straight years (reveling solo in my girlish nerdom) until 2006, when suddenly being nerdy wasn't so passé. That last year was overwhelming (x12). The aisles were extremely crowded - I was run over by baby-strollers on Sunday. A good chunk of floor space (the convention center is enormous!) was devoted to manga/anime and video games (both are fine hobbies, but not my cup of tea). I experienced overkill of free schwag, panels and film premieres in Hall H ...the ominous Hall H. These downsides accompanied more of the wonderful: artist alley, indie press island, comics for a dollar! Also, the coolest film presentation ever held in Hall H: the panel for King Kong: Adrien Brody, Naomi Watts, Jack Black - followed by a half hour performance by TENACIOUS D!! The Serenity panel was also pretty hilarious, too.


Climax:

After a two year hiatus (I opted for Europe instead!) I returned to Comic Con this last weekend.

Still enormous and overcrowded (over 126, 000 attendees!!) the con did not seem so overwhelming to me this round. The secret? Doing the opposite of what I'd done the previous years: I didn't spend every hour of every day ogling awesome stuff. My friend Spidey & I walked through once and bought only a few tantalizing comics. There was too much to choose from, so I didn't. (I'm sure I'll regret later not having picked up more books or art.) I saw lots of people dressed as Watchmen or manga/anime characters or steampunks or Princess Leia, but didn't bother taking pictures. You can view a few cosplayers (including Zatanna!) from this great photographer Tim Wong.

I only sat at three panels: Harry Potter fandom and another for the Fables series. (Bill Willingham is delightful!) The other panel was a discussion between clever James Cameron and Peter Jackson (producer District 9) who is adorably scruffy and brilliant.

In the evenings I ate delicious dinners with friends and went out to parties. Eoin Colfer is another delightful author. (He's written the newest of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy series! October 10!) I fawned over Edward James Olmos (of BSG - swoon!). I met (& frightened) Matt Selman, a Simpsons writer and witty guy. Where was Seth Green?!!


Denouement:

It's certainly an experience to be had for book lovers. Comics aren't only for kids.

Bring on the nerds and their thick rimmed-glasses . . .

From the Quarter Bins: Time Masters #1

Occasionally I like to dive into the Quarter Bin Comics because you never know what you might find. A little background for the uninitiated: The Quarter Bins can be found at the back of any comic section. At Sam Weller's there is a box sitting atop the graphic novel section. These comics are most likely loose issues sold for cheap. Here you can find discarded treasures which brings me to today's choice: Time Masters #1.

This comic was released in February 1990, written by Bob Wayne and Lewis Shiner. Penciled by Art Thibert and inked by Jose Marzan, Jr. I picked it up because I dig time travel stories and the awesomeness that is Rip Hunter. Rip Hunter, as he is introduced in the first few pages, is a doctor studying time travel whose lab gets blown up. Hunter is torn up because he's lost his assistant and his boss, Magnus, will be pissed.

In a cool flashback we learn that Rip became obssessed about time travel when his grandfather gave him a clock. (BTW his grandfather kinda looks like Gepetto in Pinocchio which makes me wonder whether this is for real or not.) It turns out that his lab has been sabotaged by the Free Masons who we learn about in an awesome 2 page spread. There's a great combination of Knights, George Washington, and a spooky guy in a hood.

The latter half of the book is lightened by an appearance from 80s hero Booster Gold. I was delighted to see Booster Gold because I loved 52, where he's featured, as well as his current namesake comic Booster Gold. I think Booster Gold is a wonderful self-serving jerk of a superhero. However it is his partnership with the incredibly earnest Rip Hunter that stops him from total jack-assery. Booster agrees to help him find out what happened in return for more fame and glory.

Now even I will admit that all this is ridiculously silly. The art is very old style as well. But part of the fun is how bad some of these comics are. It's okay to laugh at comics. And for the low price of a quarter that is an incredible bargain.

If you are interested in any other of my book musings click here.