I had a blast and got to hang with a ton of different creators, which is always the best part of going to something like this. Some moments that stick out:
- The four-hour delay that began the trip. No doubt a good omen of things to come...
- Having my first meal in San Diego at this kickass Mexican joint with Mark Wheaton, Josh Fialkov, Kody Chamberlain and their respective fiancees. Always a ball.
- "I'm SO gonna fuck your ass tonight!"- Screenwriter Mark Wheaton on a cell phone call to a disgruntled (and probably confused) Gary Dauberman.
- Chatting with Gary Dauberman about my upcoming collaboration with writers Jason Rodriguez and Chris Stevens. Very glad he dug my stuff. There's preview art below.
- Meeting Tony Lee. Apparently, he'd already seen my work and was a fan. That's nuts to me.
- Dinner with director Clark Westerman. That dude is the shit. Talk about a surreal evening.
- Scheming with Courtney Huddleston and Mike Garcia. Two guys on the top of my list of guys I wanna work with.
- The amputee stripper postergirl for Grindhouse. I felt dirty and avoided that booth like the plague all weekend.
- Karl Kesel's blessing. I've been a fan of his work for a long time, and him loving my work had me smiling the rest of the con. Karl took the time to actually read through my entire portfolio. Doing that while sitting in the midst of the maelstrom that is Comicon is NOT an easy feat. Thanks, Karl.
- Joe Suitor. FINALLY, someone with a sense of humor as deadpan as mine. I salute you, sir.
- Dan Hipp. Nicest guy in comics. Definitely. Also, he's a giant. Did I mention that?
- Dark Horse Editor Philip Simon. Dude brings a smile to my face every time.
- Jonathan Hickman. Considering the explosiveness of The Nightly News, he was WAY more laid back than I expected. I expected sniper rifles and satellites. Nice guy.
- Frank Miller, stalking through the Hyatt in all black. Nuff said.
- Josh Fialkov and his fiancee Christina, pulling up to the hotel in a pedi-cab. For some reason, it seemed oddly appropriate.
- The free bum-fight we saw on the way to the con between a fat guy in a Rascal scooter and some skinny gangbanger. Bonus points to the gangbanger for evading the police.
- The tortured cries of small children being trapped in a rapidly deflating fun-jump. Seriously.
- Kicking it after-hours with artist Marlin Shoop. That dude rocks.
- Chris Kirby. The award for "Guy I Ran Into The Most Times In A Room Full of 125,000 Fucking People" goes to you, sir.
- Chilling at Coronado Beach with April and Kristie. Relaxation...
- Signing at the Ape Entertainment booth. Got to hang out with Dave Hedgecock, Kevin Freeman and all those great guys. Also got to chat with the awesome Chris Moreno while hanging there.
- Joe DiDomenico, co-owner of Teddy Scares, hooking up the free Hester Golem. Bonus!
- William Vaughan, showing me what sick things he has up his sleeves.
- Andy Kuhn, who gave me my first portfolio review years ago.
- Running into MTV VJ and former Road Rules star Blair Herter at the Hyatt. I actually went to highschool with Blair. He almost remembered me. Crazy...
- Seth Green, who is just friggin' awesome. He is also like 6 inches tall in real life.
- "Rob, I am FUCKED UP! Gimme some love!!!"- Writer extraordinaire CB Cebulski just before cuddling me like some drunken teddy bear. Love you, too, big guy.
- Tony Fleecs is the funniest man alive. For real.
- Kody Chamberlain is a fucking monster. As a friend and as someone I consider a mentor, that dude motivates me to get even better at my profession. Friggin' unreal.
- American Airlines for almost losing our luggage. The bastards.
- All the folks I'm not mentioning. Hey, I'm tired. Cut me some slack.
And here's some preview art for two projects I'm working on: a page from Teddy Scares Vol.3 for Ape Entertainment, and a test page for Made For Me: The Sam Cooke Story written by Chris Stevens and Jason Rodriguez.
Posts
3 comments:
Good stuff! Always fun to meet people you not only look up to, but who can look to you as well.
I worked with Blair many years ago. His mom and mine work together too, or at least did for a long time. I was riding with him when he clipped another truck, the only sort-of accident I've ever been in. Knock on wood.
sweet. sounds like the trip wasn't really a CON in the least.
As a huge fan of Sam Cooke, I hope this one takes off. His is a story that needs to be told. And luckily, since it is a graphic novel and not a movie, the fiends at ABKCO can't deny you rights to his music (as they have done to adaptations of other Sam Cooke films in the past.) Hopefully, a change IS gonna come.
Don
Post a Comment