DAY TWO
FRIDAY, JULY 24, 2009
Before we knew it, it was morning, and time for another meal. In our quest for healthier breakfast alternatives, we chose Denny’s, figuring any restaurant chain so big that its signs can be used as freeway mile markers would have a “low cholesterol” section on their menu. Once we got there, we actually couldn’t find such a section, but then again, the menu’s mostly made up of pictures (like a comic book!) so we might have missed it. It didn’t matter; there was a “Build Your Own Grand Slam Breakfast” special, so Sam chose the turkey bacon, chicken sausage patty, oatmeal (I can’t remember what kind of poultry the oatmeal was made from), and English Muffin. Sort of a “Grand Slim” breakfast (note to Denny’s: you have my permission to use this). I took the waitress aside and asked her to slip some antidepressants into the oatmeal, but I don’t think she took it seriously, because Sam, who under the best of circumstances isn’t a morning person, was at DefCon 5 surliness this morning.
He got over it by the time we made it to the parking lot. After the bus-rationing of the day before, we decided to return to the $10 lot we had used on Wednesday near the Petco Stadium area. We were disappointed: As part of San Diego’s effort to educate the community on the basics of economics, the price had increased to $20, but there wasn’t anything cheaper within the same hemisphere, so we took it.
There were more Mark Evanier-hosted panels with elder statesmen comic creators today… three consecutive panels all located in the same room. I got there early to secure a front-row seat so I wouldn’t have to use my ear-horn to hear the conversations. Ben came with me while Sam pursued other interests… I’m sure Sam and Ben had previously worked out a schedule to split custody of me during the Con, and this was Ben’s shift.
The first panel, at 11:00, was the “Spotlight on Gene Colan”, a comic book artist who was around when I first started reading comics five decades ago, and is still doing work today. Mark started talking with him at 11 sharp; unfortunately, it was via cell phone. Mark was there with us at the Convention Center, and Gene was still in his hotel room, apparently under the impression that the “Spotlight on Gene Colan” could be aimed through his room window. Mark explained to the audience that there was a scheduling miscommunication, and he had Marv Wolfman, a writer who had worked extensively with Gene, say good things about Gene while Mark tried to talk him in.
Fortunately, there were a lot of good things to say about Gene, because he still wasn’t there when the hour allotted for the panel was up. The next panel was “That 70’s Panel”, and its participants started arriving while Marv was still vamping. So while bottles of Geritol were being set out for the next guests, Mark explained that the two panels would be merged so that Gene could participate when he arrived.
About a half-hour later, Gene made it, and, though the format was a bit different than anticipated, it was still entertaining. Before Gene arrived, Marv had been telling us about how speedy Gene was, producing 2 or 3 comic books a month. But after he arrived, Gene shared how long it took him to draw, and how he wished he were as fast as other artists. (Marv silently disagreed by shaking his head at the audience while Gene made these remarks). I’m sure most people chalked up this discrepancy to modesty on Gene’s part, or faulty memory, or just a difference in perspective. But I didn’t see it as a necessary contradiction, especially when Gene made it clear (as did most of his generation who made appearances) that in his day, drawing a comic book was primarily a job that put bread on the table, not a career that gained you recognition as an artist. Marv was impressed by Gene’s speed because he produced 2 or 3 books a month. Gene, however, made it clear that he was working 16-hour days to come up with those books. So I guess the lesson is: if your first concern is providing for your family and having a work-ethic that includes honoring your commitment to a deadline, you only get credit for being efficient.
Besides the merging of these two panels into one, it was also notable because Mark Evanier, the host, stayed on his cell phone much of the time. Besides getting Gene down to the spotlight, there were other logistical snafus involving guests that required Mark’s immediate attention, so the panel was essentially self-hosted, with Marv Wolfman doing some of the heavy lifting. We were in the front row near Mark, so along with the panelists’ stories, we were treated to the undercurrent of Mark’s cell phone conversations. After he had guided Gene to a successful re-entry, he had to convince some Con staffers that another guest (Larraine Newman, once part of Saturday Night Live and who does voicework for animated projects) should be allowed entry even if she didn’t have her badge with her. This required a lot of phone calls from Mark, some of them to the Pentagon.
It was still a great panel, and Mark deserves a lot of credit for
pulling it off and getting these people together. But it wasn’t over
yet.
All material copyright 2009 Chuck Thornton