Knowing Best

   If you hadn’t noticed I am pretty much a nerd. Now, I am not going to get into a silly argument about HOW nerdy I am or how OLD SCHOOL I am because really, who cares? What does it matter? What matters is I am nerdy. Beyond that it’s just trying to impress you and, again, who cares? Personally I lean more towards a movie nerd, and specifically a horror movie nerd BUT I love all manner of nerdery.

And what is nerdery, to me?

Nerdery is the deep seated passion for any old particular thing to which you border on obsession. You can be a sports nerd, craft nerd, comic nerd, whatever. To me it’s the passion, the obsessive passion to know that thing in and out that makes you a nerd. Keeping the word ‘pure’  by saying that it is only if you like comics or games or toys or science that makes you a nerd is silly. Being a nerd isn’t shameful, though it isn’t that cool to people outside of others interested in the same things. Come on though, you will never convince me that the person that knows sports stats and plays fantasy sports that they are not nerds. They are, they just act as if what they love is somehow more legit. It isn’t. It’s still nerdy.

The thing nerds want and need more than anything is to feel that their passion is not abused or taken advantage of – you hate to invest yourself into a thing only to have it changed to such a degree that it takes your interest out of it. That’s where a lot of drama comes up in the nerd realm – finding the line of how far something can be pulled from what you fell in love with before you walk away altogether.

I had a strange moment recently when I was watching IRON MAN 3 where as a nerd I felt that Marvel had gone too far. They had left the path and to such a degree that they left me behind. Now, the movie is a huge hit and beloved by millions, and that’s swell. I have no issue with that. And I am not the type that will cry SELL OUT when something gets popularized. I didn’t grow up on Iron Man comics so maybe I am not a great example here but I do dig the character and have read enough stories about the fella that I feel attached to him. The thing with IM3 was that it felt like Marvel felt so self conscious about fan blowback about the second film (some of that legit, to be fair) that they felt they needed to really up things for the third film. That’s fine. In doing so though they seem to have hired a director that didn’t want to tell an Iron Man story but wanted to tell a Robert Downey Jr. story and a Tony Stark story. Well, that’s fun, I guess, but when you start to play fast and loose with established tropes like the roles major villains for that character play it starts to bother me. It felt as if Mr. Black, the director, didn’t so much want to tell a story about the Mandarin but felt he had to. Just as Sam Raimi didn’t want to tell a Venom story in SPIDER MAN 3 but was compelled to so he did a lazy job of it. Same thing here. The main thing that the first two films had been building towards was barely touched upon to me, and thus created what felt like a waste of a story arc that had been established clearly from the outset of the first film. It was a wasted opportunity and a waste of two films.

I get the passion to want to tell your own story. To give things your own spin but you need to do so by taking into consideration the history of the characters you are working with and the fans that are invested in the work. And some of the failing comes from DC and Marvel themselves, who keep waffling on what they want their comic characters and stories to be and reflect. They want them to be fun fare for the fans but then they want to appeal to a new generation of readers. I can get that. But it seems silly to pander to people by changing the sexuality, the race, and the intent of established characters. ‘Hey, look, you’ll like this guy, he’s just like you now, he’s – fill in the blank’. Instead of creating new characters that can be NEW, that can start with a new slate and can be whatever color, creed, religion, sexuality, and gender you want the notion is to fake it by taking established characters and making them something they weren’t – which panders to the new folks and alienates the established fans. Just because you don’t like a villain don’t force them to be something you want them to be if they have an established past. Yes, evolve the character, add to their mythology, and make them reflect a modern world but to pull their teeth and change what and who they are and what they represent is like spitting in the faces of the fans.

DC and Marvel have no guts. They claim they want to make these GRAND and SWEEPING changes to their comics but never do. Not for good. No character is dead forever, no choice is ever long lasting, and nothing really changes. I love both companies and a lot of the work that has been done but they never make bold moves. Let some of the old characters go. Don’t kill them for a couple months for ratings but let them go. Let them retire. Let them die. You want to evolve? You want to grow? Don’t force change on established characters but create new characters that better reflect a changing world. A gay Batman doesn’t make you a noble company making brave decisions but a pandering company out to make headlines and with no respect for the established fanbase.

What Iron Man 3 represented to me, as fun as it was at times, was how fast and loose Marvel is willing to play with their long established tropes. I have read over and how Mandarin was a racist character that needed to disappear or change. See, the thing there is that if you are paid to write a film in a series you find ways to make the established themes, characters, and story work. Maybe you make changes, make you evolve them but you don’t throw those things out because it is difficult to make the things work. You think harder to make them work.

I love comics and have loved the current comic movies. There is some great stuff out there. The thing is that the films can be their own universe as long as they stay true to themselves. IM3 can be its own thing but it has to play by its own established rules and it didn’t. And there’s the problem with modern superhero comics in general – the rules are fast and loose and serve only to continue the money machine. There are some good stories still but the only surprises come when there needs to be a bump in revenue, not as a natural progression of the story, the character, and the brand. Maybe if the major comic companies put the same care into their comic franchises as they try to put into their movie franchises. Me, I’d set out a long term arc and retire characters and stories and work to create new brands to reflect ideas that are more modern.

Or don’t.

Whatever.

Just don’t spit in the faces of your fans, and your characters and then cross your arms and fall back on the old line of – fans just don’t want anything new. We do. We WANT to be surprised, but we want to be surprised within the worlds that YOU already established. By writing and rewriting and ret-coning stories it just alienates the fans and creates the deadzones that have plagued comics time and again in the past.

BOOM!

- c

www.meepsheep.com

Witness to History

     When you think of times when you were one of many people to witness history you think of things grand and great. Things that changed the face of the world, or at least your world. The historic moments are the ones that stay with you forever. What we forget though is that history is everywhere and that even moments that seem small and simple can change the world.

Even though it wasn’t that long ago, I remember, very vividly, the release of the last Harry Potter book – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows. I remember that event because as exciting as it was for fans of that series, it was also a sad day, a very sad day for the literary world. Ah, but why?

Sure, it was the end of that series and any long series like that, when it ends, there is bound to be some sadness. I am not thinking of that though. I am thinking more on the fact that I believe, in my heart of hearts, that that was the last time we’ll ever see people in such a frenzy, and in such lines for a book release. It is rare indeed that a book of any kind gets people worked up but to see the lines that formed at bookstores and stores that sold the book was incredible. Yes, there are still big books. You cannot deny the success of the Twilight books but there is rarely a book release that is a bonafide cultural phenomenon. It just doesn’t happen. People still read, yeah, but not the way they used to. I can recall rushing out to get the last books of the Dark Tower series when they were released because I had to have them. I had the same thing with record and movie releases but anymore, I don’t rush out for any media. The need just isn’t there – maybe I got old. Hmm. 

That wasn’t the case of The Deathly Hallows though. For that night I was a kid again, and I loved it. I had begun reading the books well after the first three movies had come out but when my friends kept telling me about the huge amounts of story that had been removed from the books in their adaptation to screen I felt compelled to read them for myself. What’s funny is that I wrote a ridiculous story for a friend who worked at a bookstore for her birthday and made a lot of fun of Mr. Potter. Shame on me. Anyway, this was back when the first couple books had come out and it was just starting to become a phenomenon.  But yeah, I picked the books up and tore through them. It was ridiculous. They are quick reads because they are so gripping but, wow, I read slow and I burned through them. And it was pretty funny that I had literally finished book six about a week before the last book was to come out. Hmm. Interesting.

    The release of HPDH was getting hyped pretty big and it seemed like every media outlet was in red alert mode regarding things. Heck, I remember all the ‘leaks’ that came out and proved to be false (unlike poor Ms. Myers and her vampire books, which had some aspect ruined by spoiler fans thus causing her to ditch that idea for a continuation of the books. Well done, fans.) but which were nonetheless gripping.   And so the big day arrived and to me, it was just a day, albeit one that had some vague intrigue. I was with my girlfriend and a friend of ours and, bored, we figured we’d  check out what the shenanigans were all about. It was sort of like – ohmigawd, will people be dressed up?

And yes they were. Boy were they. And it was wonderful. There’s the initial ‘too  cool for school’ side that comes out and says – oh NO! – but when you get past that it’s wonderful to see all these people dressed up as characters that began in a BOOK! How awesome is that? I cannot imagine how weird and wonderful it’d be if people dressed as characters from my stuff. It’d be crazy and fantastic. So the first place we headed was to the local Borders, here in Flint and there were SO many people, both young and old, just waiting. Lots were outside, milling about near a party tent that was set up for games and fun for everyone and inside there were just as many people wandering around dressed as wizards, witches, and the occasional headmaster or groundskeeper. It was so surreal and fantastic. I have done so many conventions it’s silly but this was all the same stuff, and all these different people, young, old, punk and nerd were all here for the same reason. It was great.

    After wandering around Borders for a bit we left, all of us feeling buzzed by the excitement, and we went by another store and saw it was not as exciting, but was still fun. There were not as many activities planned it seemed but it was still an event for a freakin’ book!

And then we drove.

And I got to thinking, thinking, thinking and I wanted so badly to go to buy the book but didn’t want to at the same time, the ‘too cool for school’ part of me trying to win the day but I refused to let it and we headed for a nearby chain that is our regional version of Wal-Mart. We got there and headed back towards the media area and there were already thirty to forty people in line. We quickly got in line and began the two and a half hour wait. And slowly but surely more people got into line so that it stretched through the back and then up an aisle. Happy with our spot in line we settled in for a long wait.

Long and aggravating wait.

I love nerds, love them, but sometimes they, er, WE, get out of hand. For reals. So we are standing in line and everyone is buzzing about the book, and the series and the movies and everything is coming up Harry. And me and my friends are being ridiculous. Well, behind us is a cute enough kid who is all aglow about Harry and he’s with his dad and they’re chatting about the book and behind them is a batch of nerds with big mouths. One of them turns to the twelve-ish year old boy and starts talking to him about Harry stuff and about what they ‘heard’ or ‘read’ what the book is about and they were getting hardcore spoilertastic. Now, I don’t recall for sure but it’s prolly a lot of crap they were spewing but really, to tell someone who isn’t asking for the info all the stuff you know about something is lame. It’s crappy. And it’s shameful as a fan. You have to respect one another and what one wants to know and not know. So the nerd starts dancing into the danger zone on spoilers and the kid and his father were none to pleased. Enter the Spoiler Avengers. So I spin around and say something snotty to the girl with the big mouth and as soon as I am done my friend lights her up with a devastating blow to her ego and with that she slithers back to her group and the father and son are joyful once more.

    And eventually midnight came and one by one we got our copies of the book and we’d all hold it like it was a treasured memento and then would leave, with less money but far more joy. I devoured that book. I couldn’t put it down. It was a horror and a pleasure to see what unfolded, pain and joy alike. I would get up early and read the book on weekends and drive my girlfriend crazy but I couldn’t stop. I had to know what happened.
And it was bliss.

    It saddens me SO much to think that we will never again queue up for a book again. We won’t because we don’t have to. We can download it instantly now, or wait, or whatever because we just don’t HAVE to wait in line. And maybe I will be shocked. Maybe a book will strike such a chord that people will be compelled to get it immediately. I dunno. I doubt it. And that’s a shame. As we evolve culturally we are moving away from our joy in the written word and we just don’t have time or interest in books. I hope I am wrong, I do. I remember waiting every month for the next release of The Green Mile book when it first came out. I miss that. I miss the thrill that books and literature can give you. Sure, sometimes it’s the gimmicks that draw us but it’s the stories, the stories that keep us there and stay with us.

And I hope that that continues to happy. Just as I hope for more books that capture all of us and spin us away into a world we had never imagined possible. To me, that’s the real magic, and it’s still alive and well, if we but keep our eyes open for it.

c

Motorcity Comic Con 2010 Day 3

And, it’s over. Take down the banners, put away the tables, and take a bow kids ‘cause the whole show is over. Phew.

Sunday is usually a drag of a day because it’s the slowest of the days, the end of a long weekend, and by this time I tend to be under-slept and over-sugared. Seriously, it’s like going to some sort of camp, this weekend – you eat for crap, act a fool, and are usually mauled by a bear. Or at least a furry.

The day began as a disaster for me and looked bleak but two book sales and the sale of a painting, both sales within fifteen minutes of one another, really turned the day around – and allowed me to buy a zombie toy. YAY!

Sundays are usually a great day to talk to people. The guests, famous and not, are tired and ready for the weekend to be over and are usually open for a conversation. Two big comic book names that were there were wandering around speaking to other artists and it was really great to see. Some amazing costumes again today, but not as many as yesterday. People on Sunday are out for the bargains, which they will find more times than not. I love the buzz that you get from this place when it’s ‘right’. You see how excited people are to meet an artist or celeb they admire, and it’s great.

The lameness of the day came from a neighboring table, which was held by a shrew of a girl I have seen at the con for years and years and years. For some reason she decided that a patron from the previous day that had come to her table and spoken to her was ‘creepy’ and ‘weird’ and went to great pains to tell all who would listen about the person. It was utterly uncalled for and ridiculous to make fun of people at a comic con for being who they are. Are there creeps? Boy are there ever. Creeps are a dime a dozen at these things, wanting to get as close to girls as they can.  But jeepers, this is a place where we can all fly our freak flags, and to act as if you are better than anyone else is a bit absurd.Lest we forget, we are not there, at these things, were it not for the impassioned (and oft-times smelly) people who come to the shows. We are all nerds here, so let’s have some darn solidarity! We all, every person on the earth, pokes fun at people from time to time, but there is a fine line between acknowledging the absurdity of people and making someone a target of bullying, whether they are there before you or not. This girl is the reason I don’t like cons all the time. Her awful attitude and sense of entitlement. Drives me nuts. I live for the few people that like what I do. I don’t really have ‘fans’ per se so I LOVE when people want to talk to me and get into my stuff. It’s what keeps me going. She’d be well to remember that.

It was a good con overall but there really has become too much of an emphasis on nude and Playboy models. Get them, sure, but only after you have pursued cult actors and others that may be a draw. There needs to be just…well, MORE. I hated, as a fan, knowing that I did everything while I was there. You’d rather people left wanting more, knowing they didn’t get a chance to do everything. That’s the fun. And get the celebs and artists out from behind the tables and interacting in some capacity.

It was a fun show, and one of the better ones I have had. I had a great time, talked to a lot of wonderful people, and met a rad writer I admire. The heck of it is that, for me, I dunno that it makes sense to do the shows any more. Fiction (red:non-picture) books are not what people are interested in there, and my art, for the interest it got at times, just doesn’t seem to work there. I really need to learn to promote though, seriously. That is what I need to work on. The books are good, but I am just a rough person to sell them because I am so close to them. For as much as a table costs, for as much as the ticket price is, I want more. Heck, as a person with a table I want a free show shirt, darn it. Gimme a shirt!

We shall see what the future holds on that front but for me, I am glad the weekend is over, and am back to promoting the books and art and move ever forward.

If you got here, to my blog-ranch, via the convention and were interested in my books or art, point yer mousey to the right there and you can find out more about me, my art, and my books, and will hopefully find something of interest.

Thanks for stopping by.

The Meep Sheep – $12

This Beautiful Darkness – $10

c

Motorcity Comic Con 2010 Day Two

Day two and another epic and fun day. So much fun. So many people…so few sales. It’s always a drag not to sell but, darn, it was such a fun day that it’s hard, very hard, to be bitter.

Saturday is always the huge day of the con and this was one of the biggest I have seen. Huge. And man, seriously, even with more space to wander in people just fill it with their stink and their duh. Lots of duh. Almost got run down by a Hover-Round while going towards the bathroom. Tragedy, and embarrassment averted. Phew.  People just go to this thing though and stop in the middle of the aisles and it is maddening. GAH!

Lots more friends today, and I sold some stuff to them, which was cool. It is so good to see friends at these things because even if you are having a bad day you can have some laughs that make up for it all. By day two you are getting wacky and so the jokes start to roll. This was also a huge costume day and despite a lot of people with similar gear on (really, must we ALL be Batman characters or the other major characters, really? Give a brother a Galactus. At least there were some oddballs, like Sinestro, that was fun.) but the costumes were fun, and not as sleazy as you see at some of the cons. Word spread of some celebs copping ‘tude but everyone I ran into seemed affable and to be having fun. Heck, I walked between Eric Roberts and a rassler of some manner talking in the exit. Fun.

Got stuff signed by author Max Brooks who wrote The Zombie Survival Guide, World War Z, and The Zombie Survival Guide – Recorded Attacks. Super nice guy and very fun with his fans. I appreciate when people sign stuff for free if people have it with them. I ended up being talked into giving him a copy of one of my books (This Beautiful Darkness) and he was really cool and thanked me for it. Boss!

Also got to talk to a few more guests there, and that was cool. So many creative people. It bums me out that so many of them have to do their versions of known or established characters in order to make money. How sad. Like going to an acclaimed artist and telling them you like what they do but could they do it THIS way instead? Really? Really?

No after party this year, which is super weak sauce but we had our own fun. Better day today but still need to sell more. Still not really selling the Meep Sheep which is nutty. I just am not sure how to pitch it. Darn it, it’s good, read it. READ IT! And I cannot bring myself to ‘bark’ out to people to entice them to buy. It just seems tacky to me.

Overall a great day. Had a blast. Still need to check the ‘green’ room. Oh, and Mandie bought me the Brooks graphic novel and she and friend Justin went in on a rad Earth X figurine for me. WIN!

Tomorrow is the last day, wish us all luck. Pics below. Oh, if you are just discovering me, the stuff for sale and the like is to your right. Feel free to browse but you break it, you bought it kid.

Motorcity Comic Con 2010 Day 1

Can I tell you how much I love the first day of comic con? Love it. It is like a dysfunctional family reunion where you are all smelly and weird but never have to deal with the drama a family does. Great! Setting up is a drag, a huge drag, but darn is it fun to see familiar faces. I am doing a split-table set up now where art is on one side and books on the other and it works great. GAH! My banner, cool as it is, keeps falling down though.

Lame.

Totally got to nerd out and school a kid working parking when we got there. So we roll up and the kid is laughing to his cohort that ‘this guy’ got upset because he was Danny Hicks and the kid should know who he was. I was like, oh, yeah, from Evil Dead 2, yeah, well, not many would know him. He was like, uh, yeah, I dunno him. HA! So you work a comic con and don’t know that movie?

NERRRRR…oh, nevermind.

So, the bummer of the day, for ticketholders, was that a LOT of the guests don’t come Fridays. Not at all. Some did, for sure, and they appeared approachable and cheery, which was good. But it sucks if you went for the celebs and not all are there. Though, I will say that the con does make it clear who will and will not be there all weekend.

For me, it was a bummer because I didn’t really sell much. Sold a small painting to a rad artist I met at an art fair I did last Summer, and sold a couple buttons. No books. BOO! The heck of it with these comic cons, at least in this area, is that the climate has changed. People seem to come for the celebs, for the comics and toys, and once in a while to see a comic artist but not for the whole experience. Maybe it’s the economy, maybe it’s that the damn celebs charge so much for autographs (and we did it to ourselves, I guess, by getting crap signed then rushing to EBay), or it’s that the cons themselves are SO pricey, I dunno, but I know that not many of us are making a lot of loot. I am having fun this year but the thing is that I need to make some dough, and maybe it’s just me, and maybe that having paintings and books are not things that will sell, but for me, it’s worrisome, for sure.

And why do I keep getting placed next to other ‘new’ writers that are doing better than me? GAH! What is with that? I need a gimmick, like, like, like dressing up like a Meep Sheep. Or a wizard or something.

Can I tell you how nerdy I still get when I walk past celebs? It’s hilarious! It’s like – ohmigawd, you are totally So-and-so. HEE!

All in all, day one was fun, but not fruitful. Hopefully day two is much better for everyone.

c

The Con Game (OR How Not to Fix Comic and Culture Conventions by Bitching)

Now, far be it from me to have an opinion on something like, oh, doing conventions, but I have done a few now – close to ten, I forget how many, to be honest, but closer to ten and since 1994, with some years of not doing them in between – but, well, I have some opinions.

I recently had the pleasure of doing another convention – second of the year, both small, both more fun than profitable but both genuinely fun – but the convention, as they all do,  brought up a lot of points that I figured it’d be good to make. For me, doing conventions is, more than anything, a chance to meet the people I hope to sell to. Generally I want to break through to the main stream, as that’s the way  you make a living at your passion, but cons are fun to do to make contact with people in person, to meet artists, and to just be around creative people. As much fun as they are though, they can always be better. Always.

But here is the thing, a thing I have seen a lot of lately from one of the guests – there is critique, there is suggestion, then there is being an asshole. Me, I choose to give suggestions and critiques. I don’t figure I know it all, and I don’t figure that any con is perfect, but I know what I see, I know what I feel, and I figure it never hurts to relay that. As a vendor, I see things the creators don’t, and have my own point of view since I am a writer, and have done all manner of cons and bazaars and what not. And I know creative people, so that helps. Ah, but then there are people who find it better to yell, and shout, and complain to get their point across. Sure, their points might be salient but it gets lost in the bluster. Cripes, I know I can get endlessly frustrated at cons but I never try to take it out on the people running them becaxuse I don’t know how hard it is to do them. Shit, they want a successful con more than I do, I’d wager, so there isn’t a need to treat them like kids. Or assholes. I hate that, more than anything. People who figure that, if they yell – even in a blog – that they’ll get their point across. And I guess I figure we’re all at least pretending to be professionals so it makes more sense to keep your more pointed comments between you and the intended person so you can keep it, you know, professional.

Ah, but these cons. I am still, after all these years, trying to figure the perfect way to do them. I mean, it’s clear that comic conventions are not the place to try to sell fiction. That doesn’t mean I won’t keep trying but seriously, comic cons are weird things. People come to see the celebs more than the artists and creators, and that’s cool as hell as that was why I always went, so you just have to get past that and push on. After the celebs though, you have all these comic creators who either look like carnies or aloof ARTISTEs, either pushing too hard to hawk their goods or seeming too disinterested to really engage you. For me, I never looked at stuff because I never could afford more than what I came for, so I always avoided artist alley. The older I get, and more aritsts I meet, the more I want to check the stuff but, it’s still awkward. I know, like they do, that you are there to sell, they are there to sell, and it makes me feel bad that I can’t buy. Again though, for me, I love people taking interest in what I am doing. It is cool to try to talk to people about WHAT I am doing. Now, I am awful at that part of it, for real. I just, I dunno how to tell people without feeling I am preaching or selling. But it’s fun to get that connection. If I had a suggestion, it would be to keep pros (as if I am some schlub that doesn’t take it seriously ’cause it isn’t my sole income, god do I hate that distinction) and amateurs and semi pro people together, mixed together, so that we all get the same exposure. And, really, let’s try to showcase more of the ‘nobodies’. You have to cater to the established people ’cause, well, they are your bread and butter, but, hell, if you don’t try to help the indie people grow then who the hell will?

Ah, and there is the rub, for me – who WILL help we, the creators? Each other, that’s who. I am tired of the attitude, from high to low, that we are in it alone and have to fight to make the dollar. Really? Really? The fact that there is so much division among the creative community is one of the big damn problems. I love going to these conventions and seeing how many people never bother to walk the hell around. Hell, I am there to work, we all are, but if you are too big, busy, or stupid, to realize that we’re all in this together. A big part of the appeal to do these things is to meet other passionate people who are trying to do the same thing that I am doing. And dammit WE know what would make these cons work better and if we have ideas we should share them. And if we will help one another, then the cons will be more successfur for everyone. Go fig.

Ah, celebrities. I love them. I love conventions because you get a chance to see some funky celebs, past and present, and it’s a great chance to interact and meet them. I have some awesome memories of interacting with people whose work I admired. Ah, those times have changed. Too many of these supposed celebs are in it for the money, and it shows. And I can appreciate that these people travel, take time from their lives, and don’t take jobs so they can do these cons, so yeah, they should try to make a buck but it bothers me when it’s solely for the money. I have been to too many cons where the celebs are treated better than the rest of us, charge outrageous amounts of money, and make it so it’s all a cattle call – step up, pay, what’s your name, get a pic, and please move on. Uh, great. So why the hell are you here? Shit, more than me, these are the people there because of the fans, so, uh, why not give something back? Drop your damn prices, and be available to connect with. Good grief!

Different, that to me is what makes a con special, is being different. Now, this doesn’t mean that you change the formula that works but that you add to it, you make it unique and make it special. Shit, one of the rad things at World Horror Con was that, as far as I saw, anyone could book a room to present in. How rad is that? It is risky, sure, in that you want to make sure the person has something interesting to show, or say, but damn, why not more of that? Let the talent sell themselves. I am tired of the tales of the business that they always have. I am tired of the anecdotes. Tell me something different. Tell me something real. That would be something. So would having this be an event. Not just a show, but an event. Make it so full of stuff that people can’t see or do it all. THAT would be something too.

I could sincerely go on and on with my ideas and thoughts on conventions because I am so passionate about what they CAN be. I have been to really good ones, and a couple lame ones and the lame ones were the really big shows that have been around so long the people behind them are lazy. This is something rare and special and should be treated as such. Sure, we may seem the same people at them all but that’s why you give the show more going on. The best thing that happens at these shows is the moment when a creator or a fan gets the revelation of – oh my god. And that OMG can be about selling something, meeting someone, touching a life, or just realizing that this is what you want to do with your life. It’s about connecting. I have done these things for a long damned time, and even I forget how long, and the one thing I get tired of are the people who go as guests who whine about things but rarely work to change them. We should spend more time supporting and encouraging one another and less bitching about shit we can’t change. A convention should never make or break you, it should add to what you are already doing. And shit, if we can make these things fun again and the people will start coming back. It’s not about economy, it is about fun factor. Have that and you have the people.

And you will have me, for sure.

…c…