Before this last weekend I’d only been to the Portland cons — the Portland Comic Book Show and Stumptown. They’re small as cons go, though you will probably get to see Brian Michael Bendis, Aaron Lopresti, Randy Emberlin (all Portlanders), and maybe even Kurt Busiek if he can make the drive from Seattle. But besides that, there are only a few comic store booths, a handful of lesser-known writers and artists, and a lot of empty space. Also, the guy-girl ratio of attendance is about 7-3. So after going to cons faithfully in high school, I rarely went during college and pretty much stopped going altogether after graduation.
But when I heard Stan Lee himself was making an appearance at the relatively nearby Emerald City Con, I decided it was a pilgrimage I had to take. And when I got there I remembered why I love going to cons.
There is something about being surrounded by fellow self-proclaimed geeks that lifts the heart of a person. I was surprised how polite, friendly, and helpful people were. Saying “excuse me” in a place crammed like a Manhattan subway, cracking stupid jokes to complete strangers, giving directions in the line to see Leonard Nimoy…the camaraderie was refreshing…like Disneyland. Maybe that’s what Nerd Disneyland would be like. There were certainly enough costumes wandering around to make it so. Unlike tiny Portland cons where nobody dresses up, at ECCC you couldn’t look anywhere without spotting a cape or a mask. This was both delightful and regretful to me, because I had deliberately chosen not to wear my Lieutenant Athena costume for fear that it would be too nerdy. Well, there is no such thing as “too nerdy” at a con, I have learned. It’s quite the contrary. And for a $20 ticket, any nerd or geek can feel what it’s like to be normal for a few hours.
Me and an Ewok!
(If you want to see more pictures, I made a Facebook album.)
The first reason I started going to cons, though, was the chance to meet writers and artists — people I aspired to be like. One of the first times I went, I think I even wrote down questions to ask the creators I knew were going to be there. I always wanted to know how they got their jobs, why they wrote, and why they wrote for comics. I remember I was so thrilled when the editor-in-chief of Dark Horse Comics*, Scott Allie, offered to look at my work if I ever sent him a script. Since high school I’ve moved on from badgering creators with such life questions and worked on putting into practice the things they told me, but I still get a lot out of talking to them. This year wasn’t disappointing. I got my Ruse** and Kingdom Come books autographed by Mark Waid, who happens to be one of my favorites. I also got to meet Jill Thompson, who painted the first version of Great Expectations I ever read.
I guess I find cons inspiring. And every time I leave, I wonder how long it will be till I’m on the other side of the booth. I’ve loved comics as long as I can remember, and it would be a dream come true to write one that people actually read. Who knows? In the meantime, San Diego Comic-Con is around the corner…hmm, what costume this time?
Oh, I totally met Stan Lee. And got my picture with him.
Me and the Man. 'Nuff said.
* Did you know that Dark Horse is the fourth-largest comics publishing company, and it’s based in Milwaukie, Oregon?!
** Ruse is one of my all-time favorite comics. It’s a steampunk Sherlock Holmes kind of story, but with the romantic partnership element I have a weakness for. Also, it’s a CrossGen publication, which means that it was very good, but its survival was doomed from the beginning, sadly. Still worth a read, though!
Reading: Desiring God, John Piper; American Born Chinese, Gene Luen Yang
Listening: Trouble, Bonnie McKee (oldie but a goodie — I hope she does more stuff soon)
Watching: Legend of the Seeker (I’m absolutely head-over-heels for it. Can I PLEASE be Kahlan?!)
Playing: Uhh…nothing…need to beat LoZ!
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