WonderCon 2007

Went to WonderCon this weekend just passed. A first time trip, despite numerous trips to SDCC. Lots of things to say about it, so meet me after the jump.


Went solo to the convention as Mrs. Z. is 9 months pregnant, and she didn't feel like chasing the kids and her sister around SF (not that I blame her), so this was me getting in a last hurrah before I settle down for the final grind before the Winter Quarter's classes end. So what did I see? Well...

1. Tony Harris is the COOLEST! He was the main reason I went to WonderCon, because I really wanted to commission a sketch from him. What I wanted was American Gothic, but with Jack and Sadie; an Opal Gothic, if you will. He was sufficiently intrigued by the notion (and the fact that I had reference material both for A.G. and for Sadie helped) that he made that one of his sketches for the day! BOO-Yah! It's on sketchpad-sized paper, so I'm going to have to find a place to scan it for me, but once I do, it's going up here. Anyway, Tony is just cool as hell. He also did a head sketch of Jack for My Buddy Rob (Shhh! Rob doesn't know yet!), and all that cost me was a bottle of water. Which I was happy to get for him. Does it make me too geeky to be a little excited at being Tony Harris's go-fer? You know what? I don't care. And one piece of gossip--Tony said that he'd been talking to DC about doing more with Jack (presumably with James Robinson, although Tony didn't say specifically), so we'll see what happens.

2. On a related note, at one of the DC panels, Dan DiDio said that they (meaning DC) were interested in having James do more Starman stuff, but that it was a question of James's schedule. So, here's hoping the schedule clears up soon!

3. I'm not saying it was a lightly attended show, but the crowds were soooo much more manageable than SDCC! Holy Crap! Even on Saturday foot traffic was moving at a good clip and you could stop and not get run over by five people! And it was REALLY about the comics! Sure, there were some movie panels, but for the most part, the show was about comics! What a novel idea! I'm not saying I'm giving up SDCC, but I could definitely get used to making WonderCon part of my regular convention year...

4. Worked at my friend Scott's booth for a while on Friday and Saturday. That was fun. Passed the time, chatted with other fans and was able to sell a few comics. You know, Scott sometimes asks me if I'm interested in going with him to this show or that show. I think after Ziglett3 gets a little older, I might take him up on the invitation.

5. Got to meet a number of other folks whose work I admired, including Adam Beechen (Justice League Unlimited), who was super-nice, but is leaving JLU! NOOOOOOOO! Ah well. That's just the way it is, sometimes. Anyway, I also got to meet Trina Robbins, whom I "know" from the comics scholars listserv we both belong to. She's such a class act. Really, there's no other way to describe her. She's just wonderful to talk to. Also met Steve Leialoha (I'm sure I'm misspelling his name, and I apologize), who was very easy to talk to. He's been around the industry for a while, worked with everybody, drawn almost everybody, and still a very humble fellow. Wish I'd gotten to visit with him more. But I did get a sketch from him in the Starman book. Also got to meet Pia Guerra, who's drawing Y: The Last Man for Vertigo. She's also easy to chat with. In fact, I didn't meet one "not-nice" person the whole weekend! Man, that's...well,...nice!

I'll have more tomorrow, since I've still got some reading to do before bedtime...