Friday 5 #4

Several things to talk about this week. I'm still trying to hammer out the format here. Mostly I talk about things that interest me (or have shown up on my radar during the week and warrant comment). I'm toying with the notion of a theme each week, like Spurgeon does. In fact, as I look over his theme for last week, I think I'll devote mine to the same theme. Curious? You know where to find me.

So Spurgeon's theme last week was "5 comics-related summer memories." Hell, I can do that. To wit (and in no particular order):

1. It's 1982, and all over the Bullpen Bulletins pages of that year's Marvels I'm seeing mentions of the San Diego Comic Convention. I'm all of 10 at this point, and I ask my dad if he can take me to what would later become known as "The Con." The conversation went something like this:
Me: "Hey, Dad? Can you take me to the comic book convention?"
Dad: "Comic book convention? I guess so. When is it?"
Me: [the exact dates escape me at the moment; I'm guessing sometime in July, maybe late
June.]
Dad: "That's a Saturday? I'll have to check with your mother, but I think we can do that.
Where is it?"
Me: "San Diego." (we lived in Barstow at the time, almost 3 hours away)
Dad: "SAN DIEGO?!?!"
Me: "Please, Dad? Pleeeeeease?"
Dad: "SIGH...I guess so. "
We got up bright and early, about 7 or so, and made our way south. This was back when the con was at the old convention center, and was split into 2 rooms, with the dealers in one room and the publishers/exhibitors in another across the main hall from each other. I remember 3 things in particular about that SDCC, although these are by no means the only things I remember:
1. David Carradine (of Kung Fu, a weekly favorite at my house) standing in one of the intersections looking at his watch, taking off his hat and scratching his head. I didn't have the nerve to say anything to him, again being only 10.
2. There was a Dragon's Lair video game that had a line 5-10 people deep the entire day. Which was just as well. I was horrible at that game (or would be, I later found out) and my time was better spent prowling the aisles for comics (I bought X-Men #137 that day for the princely sum of $13.00; by far the most I'd ever paid for a comic book up to that time).
3. I don't know why this sticks out, but the snack bar there had the best hot dogs I've ever had. Lunch was two hot dogs, a bag of peanut M&Ms, and a coke. Pop and I ate sitting on the stairs that led to...something up there; I never knew what was up there. Anyway, it was a great lunch. Yum!

2. Almost every summer of my childhood, through about 7th grade or so, I'd ride down to the Stop & Go (later Tony's Market) every Friday with my neighbor, Jeremy, and paw through the rack to find the new books for the week. We'd pop for a few comics, maybe a candy bar and a slurpee. Tony would put the candy and the comics in a paper sack, which we'd wrap around the handlebars of our bikes for the ride home (about 6 blocks). Sometimes we'd make it all the way home before we'd stop and read our comics. Other times we'd park it in the playground of our elementary school, which was between our house and the Stop&Go, and read in the grass.

3. Every summer, my best friend Ed and I would "organize my collection." At that point, I was living in the room above the garage, which was pretty much the biggest room in the house (and the hottest), and we'd spread out ALL of my comics; the old ones I had, the new (to my collection, anyway) ones I'd acquired, and tried to integrate them. We'd list them on 3x5 cards with parenthetical notations of important issues (you can tell I like the parentheticals, right?). There'd be comics everywhere, and we'd have to leave little "islands" of carpet so we could hop from one side of the room to the other. Of course, my mother wasn't fooled. She knew we were just reading, but it was good of her to play along. Incidentally, this practice hasn't really changed. The only difference is that the role of Ed is now played by My Buddy Rob.

4. Summer 1992, and it's my first solo trip to SDCC. I've got an uncle who lives in San Diego, so I stayed with him. During the con, I met up with several of the Epsteins, my posse, if you'll pardon the expression, had dinner with them (and Jason Pearson, whom they all knew from high school in Vegas), then proceeded to drive around looking for the masquerade venue with no idea how to get there. Oh yeah, and I've got 8 people riding in the back of my 1980 Toyota pickup. When the cops in the Gaslamp saw us coming, they must have felt like they hit the jackpot. It ended up being a rather substantial fine, but everyone chipped in $10.00, except for Jason, who'd bought us all dinner, and Ray, who was cheap and only paid $8.00 (and I say that with love, Ray).

5. I can't remember which SDCC this was; one of the late 90's, I'm sure. I'm wandering around the con with PJ and Joel, a couple of the Epsteins, when PJ stops at a boothe that sells statues. "Lemme see your Jimmy," PJ asks the dude. Then he and PJ just stand there looking at each other. "Uh, I mean your Jimmy the Hapless Boy," PJ chuckles. The dude chuckles and, as he's getting the statue down for PJ, says "I'd show you my Jimmy, but you'll have to buy me dinner first!" Of course, Joel and I are howling with laughter.

So those are my 5. Share yours if you wish.

Peace!