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.

B's Secret Invasion Part III

Friday. The thrill is gone. The novelty replaced with cold familiarity. The wonder has evaporated like so much evaporating juice. Still fun, but the sense of awe has made way for a sense of dutiful perseverance. The ever-gazing eye of Comic-Con cares not if you're tired. It cares not for the weight of your backpack. It cares not for ... well whatever.



So on the first day I posted that picture of me and David Mack. That got me a mention on davidmackguide.com, his unofficial-official website. Now I'm worried that David Mack will read my blog and see that I called him the sexiest man alive and then things will be all awkward.



I forgot to post the sketch he did for me. This is a character he created, and one of my favorites, Echo.

Friday morning I walked in and saw Tim Sale at his booth. He can be a hard guy to catch. He's always been a popular artist, but even moreso now because he does all the artwork seen on the show Heroes.

His hard-back art book was a pain to carry around for two days, but I did get this which makes it worth it and then some.

I love the simplicity.

Tara McPherson. I've been a fan of hers ever since I saw her book in a store and thumbed through it.

She handed me my sketchbook and looked up and smiled. I smiled back. Our eyes locked. I leaned in closer. Then she pointed at her shirt and then gestured for me to walk away. And walk away I did.

Skull flower!

Bigfoot!

Comic-Con is more than just comics. All the major movie studios were there getting the hype started early. There was a near riot at the Paramount booth when they gave away posters for next year's GI Joe movie (I got all five).

The crowd surged even more when they started giving away Blu-Ray DVDs. I pointed out that it was just the Nicolas Cage movie Next, and they dispersed in an orderly fashion.

Here's an inside joke (sort of) between me and Emily.

"Hey, great costume man!"

"What costume?"

Speaking of costumes, the number one theme was probably the Joker. I saw about three nurse Jokers.

Meanwhile, this fella CREATED the Joker. And nobody cared. You know, the Joker? Heath Ledger? Jack Nicholson? Caesar Romero? Hehehehehehe? One of the most iconic fictional characters around? You're all dressed like him? This guy created him? No? Not interested?

My friend Sean told me about a quote where someone said "Comic fans treat the characters like they're real and the creators like they're made of paper."

Is this Scott being interviewed by HBO? Yes, I believe it is.

It's tied into the promotional campaign for the new show True Blood. They said Scott was the best interview they've had all day. If I remember correctly it may eventually end up here, Blood Copy.

New game! Spot the Baldwin.

New game! Spot the teenage doctor.

This guy had a bug hat for no damn reason at all.



Scott is a man of the soil, so I guess he didn't mind. I didn't want that thing anywhere near me. And the bug creeped me out too.

This booth-

I guess every picture tells a story, but sometimes pictures try to tell too much story.

Ended up that night at one of the many faux Irish pubs that dot the Gaslamp. I think it was called Dublin Square? I'd look it up but I don't care that much.

Dear Cover Band at the Pub,

There are other Irishy rock drinkin' bands besides the Dropkick Murphy's. It's okay to play a Pogues song now and then. Furthermore, I question the wisdom of spinning a Dropkick Murphy's CD between sets.

Will I survive til the end?