B's Secret Invasion Part VI

I can't believe it's over. What are we going to talk about now? We've all learned and grown so much over the past couple weeks.

Sunday. I don't even know what to say about Sunday. It felt more crowded than the other days. I think the reason for that is that a lot of people came to check it out just for Sunday. By that point a lot of the five-day attendees had probably bagged it, and this one-dayers came in and gawked all over the place. There was a noticeable difference in the crowd too. Sunday was the only day where I experienced shoving and elbowing and charging. And there were a lot more people there that fit the "social reject" stereotype. I'm just telling it like it is.

Didn't do much really. Just walked around taking it in for the last time. It was difficult to be enthusiastic about anything. I could have walked right past Alyssa Milano gettin' it on with Yoda on top of a pile of Amazing Spiderman #1s and I wouldn't have even cared.

I picked up a couple of prints that I'm happy with.

I also met my new love, artist Molly "please stop staring at me" Crabapple. [head's up, her website contains drawings of nakedity]. Someday I will meet her again and be able to make a better first impression. I mean, things went kind of well. She invited me to her party, but unfortunately her party was the night before.

I could have had an awesome picture of this group of Indiana Joes but of course some jerk had to walk in front of the camera.

I know you've had a lot to read, but it was all unnecessary because the entire Comic-Con experience can be summed up in this picture:

Finally it's over. See you next year. Goodbye, Giant Shroom Trip Face.

Goodbye, thousands of people crossing the street trying to not get hit by a train.

We ate at an Australian themed restaurant with some unusual seating arrangements.

No offense to any Australians that may still be reading the blog, but beets don't belong on burgers. I regret not getting the optional fried egg on my burger though.

Sunday night I did something I hadn't done since Wednesday afternoon: relaxed. Fresh air and a cool breeze trumps comic books any day.

Time to finish this up, Microsuede style.






The End.

B's Secret Invasion Part V

Well we're onto Saturday. Only two days of the con left. I honestly cannot distinguish Saturday and Sunday from the rest of the convention. Looking at the pictures sort of helps, but aside from that my memories are nothing more than vague snippets of capes and lasers and backpacks.

Here's some notable B. lore: this is the first comic I ever bought with my own money, back in 1992.

On that very same trip to the mall I also bought my first cassette, this single:

Back to the comic, I had my tattered copy with me at the convention and got it signed by artist Jim Lee. Now if I can just get that cassette signed by Courtney Love.

This is writer Judd Winnick, who you may remember from MtV's The Real World Season 3: San Francisco. I'm glad he's not on the Real World anymore, so he can start being polite again.

I guess Judd can read braille.

A couple Sundance's ago I saw Puck up in Park City, so I'm getting closer to completing my Real World 3 check list.

Hey wait I know this guy -

It's the guy from We Are Marshall!

I said "I'm glad you're here because I have about a hundred questions about Lost for you." and he looked up at me with sheer terror in his eyes before her realized I was kidding. Then he laughed and it was exactly like when Jack laughs!

These doppelgangers freaked me out. The resemblance is just too much.

The ironic thing is that those guys hate Star Trek, but as lookalikes it is their duty to answer the call. The call of Pretend Starfleet.

This Bender costume was great. The guy's beard kept trying to escape from the bottom of the helmet though. I think he had two costumes. If the Bender outfit got too hot he could take it off and be Tom Hanks in Castaway.

This guy wrapped himself in all the promotional garbage generated by the convention.

Doesn't it look like the guy in the black shirt is trying to fight him?

"You think litter is funny, punk?"

Hey, a sexy Joker. Someone should do a sexy Abe Lincoln next year.

Another costume from the good people at Gotham Public Works.

Alright Catwoman, you look amazing, but can you do any tricks?

Well, okay then.

My dumbstruck expression here is the result of her purring.

Can anyone venture a guess as to why this would be one of my favorite comic covers ever?

Passed this on the way back to the Island. The Island from Lost! Just kidding, Coronado Island. But remember when I met Jack? From Lost?

Holy shit, these things really exist???

Flamingos are mean. They bite.

From atop the balcony I stood, and I shouted across the bay, "San Diego! Bring forth your finest hamburger! Who will answer my call! Who will step forward and give me that which I seek?"

No one stepped forward so I had to use the internet instead. There are about three places in San Diego that make the "best burger" claim, but I chose Nicky Rotten's.

Unappetizing name for a food place, but son of a gun, it was the second best burger I've ever had. Keep in mind, I've had lots. I don't have a picture which is strange because I typically like to document my food. Man, I wish I was eating one right now.

Stayed there from burger to closing time. There's fun to be had at Nicky Rotten's.

I was fascinated by the bartendress who did not stop moving the entire night. It looks like the worst job in the world. That didn't stop me from trying to hit on her though.

"Hey, you must be a member of the Fantastic Four... specifically, the Human Torch... but a girl version... because you're so hot! Also I like to do this thing with my camera where I wobble it and the light streaks and when I edit the picture later it will look kind of like fire... um, did I mention that I'm also a Navy SEAL?"

Some things just aren't meant to be.

She may not have given in to my charms, but she was still lucky enough to get a free sketch from Scotty.

Hey, neon.

B's Secret Invasion Part IV (intermission)

Alright, I've been bombarding you this week. I don't even want to know how long it takes this blog to load. Three posts in three days, each with like twenty pictures. Well this one has a lot of pictures too, but it will be the last update until Monday or Tuesday. I'd like to give you time to catch up if you haven't been following this San Diego adventure. Or if you have been reading, feel free to read it again. I hear it's even better the third time.

Faced with the thought of looking through my 400 remaining pictures and choosing a handful for the blog was just too daunting, so today I'm going to show off some of the arts I got. I've touched this topic briefly, but part of the fun of the convention is meeting comic (and other) artists and getting sketches from them. Sometimes it's free, sometimes it costs a little bit, but original art is a cool thing to have. Gotta respect these guys for doing art on their days off from their day job of doing art. Personally, I refuse to provide customer service when I'm not on the clock. I won't even give a quick "how may I help you."

So there's this comic right? It's called Local. It was a twelve issue series following this girl Meg, and in every issue she's in a different city. Before the con I got in touch with Local artist Ryan Kelly (husband of Friend of Microsuede Kat Vapid) and arranged for him to do a picture of Meg in Salt Lake City. I sent him some photos of Trolley Square for reference, and this is the end result:

Click to enlarge (the actual piece is 11X14). It's one of the coolest things I own. This is good enough to be on the cover of one of the issues, but instead it's resting in my lair. My expectations were exceeded.

I got this sketch from the writer of Local, Brian Wood. Took him about two seconds.

This is another one my favorites, from an artist I wasn't previously familiar with named Cameron Stewart. Way nice guy, and I bought his art book and was very impressed. He's maybe best known for drawing Catwoman but I asked him for a sketch of an "original lady."

J. Scott Campbell was a big score the first day because it seemed like he wasn't really doing sketches. I happened to catch him at the right time and got a quick drawing of his character, Abbey Chase. He said "it's going to be a real quick one, okay?" as if I'd complain about this:


Is this boring to anyone out there that doesn't care about comics? Too bad! Start your own blog.

This was a tough one to get, Humberto Ramos. He was always so busy but finally after a few days of trying I got this, Nico Minoru from Runaways.

One of the best series' ever (along with Local) is Alias (no affiliation with Jennifer Garner). It's a good book for non-comic fans. Especially if you like a lot of cursing. Here's the main character of Alias, Jessica Jones, by the series artist Michael Gaydos.

Nobody does curves like Josh Howard. Nobody, you hear me! I had him draw this Rosie the Riveter for me a few months ago, so this time I had him draw another American icon, Betty Page.

Did you guys know that I like The Wire? Well so does Steve Lieber, so I hit him up for a McNulty and an Omar.

And finally, the best sketch of the whole convention.