Comic-Con 2007: Day Four (and Final)

Inevitably, Sunday comes sneaking up on your Con, and you know that it's all just about over. Sunday at the Con means less in the way of panels, and the big stuff is mostly over with. You tend to see a lot of the frenzied Sunday-only-pass people running around, trying to squeeze everything they can into just a handful of hours, only to find that most of the big celebs are back in L.A. and much of the cool stuff has already been sold. For your reference, if you're reading this and plan to go to Comic-Con one day, you can still see a lot on Sunday, but you're cheating yourself if that's all you do. The stuff's there, but the excitement's gone. It's kind of hard to describe, but everyone who's been there since the start already has their brain halfway out the door. Artists you might meet are probably tired of answering the same questions from fans all week, and almost definitely aren't doing any more commissions (they may, in fact, be rushing to finish the last of their commissions on Sunday)...if the artist hasn't already left until next year. You're also forced to look through your schedule book and see all the cool stuff you missed the past three days. It's kind of like showing up with your family at Disneyland just a couple of hours before closing. Everyone else there is on their way out, tired yet filled with magical memories of the day, and the Friendliest Staff on Earth are already thinking ahead to getting everyone out of the park so they can go and out party (hopefully wearing the Goofy and Mickey suits when they do), and there you are, running around in a panic, checking your watch, trying to fit a couple of rides in and snap your photos and buy some swag while everything's closing down. In short, don't be that guy. If you're going to go to this thing, at least make it for the whole weekend. If you have a chance to make all four days, that's definitely the way to go to get the whole experience. There's just too, too much to see.

The good news for people with kids, at least, is that Sunday has become "Kids Day" at the Con. There's more stuff for kids, panels geared to them, free giveaway stuff, etc. Just be sure to cover your kids' eyes when you're having to walk them past the Erotic Comics booth on your way to the Sponge Bob panel... The Sunday's great for that because most people's kids don't want to be in any one place for hours on end, so you can take 'em around for a couple of hours, let 'em see some neat stuff, get 'em some freebies, and then take off when they start to get bored or cranky. And it's a hell of a lot cheaper than taking them to Seaworld and having the same thing happen.

Anyway, as for our group, our final Con day began with breaking off from Tony (for the moment) due to his son Christopher's birthday. A.T., Russ and I were heading out the door to the convention center as Tony and Wendy were getting the kids ready to head to Chuck E. Cheese for the birthday party (part one of it). Tony would meet us down there later, though, to bring the kids down for Kids Day. So while there was no panel stuff happening--for me, at least--it was going to be a good chance to roam the aisles and look for stuff that I'd missed. And I had another goal in mind, too. Every year I think about checking out the celebrity autograph area upstairs. There's a section up there (both a big indoor one and now an outdoor one) for celebs, big and small, to do their autograph thing. Usually, it's small. You will see some of the bigger names come out to this area after a panel. But for the most part, the area's populated by B- and often C-level (sometimes D...) celebs, often ones forgotten by history but still loved by a few. I usually see this area when I'm on my way back from or going to a panel. Sometimes you just shake your head and go oh, that's just sad. That's when you get, like, your Anson Williams-level celeb sitting alone behind a table, trying to sell autographed pics at $25 a pop when no one's coming by (except to shout "Sit on it, Potsie!" and snicker and run off or something). But there are some still-hot celebs showing up, the ones that get the longer lines. And sometimes there are some surprises...like a celebrity that may not mean a lot to many people but that means a lot to you. I've had a few of those moments, rolling on by the area, spotting someone I'd like to meet. But I'm always either in a rush to get somewhere or just dealing with my usual feelings about autographs and talking to celebrities. As a general rule...I just don't do it. Just has never made me feel good, being "that guy", going up to someone I don't even know and saying the same things hundreds of others have already said ("I'm a big fan! I loved you in (fill in the blank)". This is, of course, something in my own head. Other people do it just fine, and they walk away with a collection of celebrity stories. Most of my celeb stories end up being about being next to a celeb and having the courtesy to not talk to them. That is, what my brain tells me is courtesy, at least.

But I thought this year I might check it out up there and maybe talk to someone at one of the tables. So my goal was to do that. A.T. had a panel to go to (was this the animation voice-over thing? Can't recall), but he would head up with me beforehand. So the three of us were walking toward the convention center and past Petco Park, and Russ heard noise inside and noticed the gates were open. Giant Padres fan he is, he knew very well that there was no game going on. Suddenly, he remembered! That was the Sunday that Tony Gwynn was being inducted into the Hall of Fame! Russ quickly told us he'd catch up with us later and ran into the park, and ended up being able to be there for the San Diego ceremony that was happening. Very cool.

A.T. and I meandered upstairs and were just kind of talking and looking around the autograph area, when one of us spotted the sign up for Jane Wiedlin (can't remember which one of us). Now me, I'm a fan of Jane. A.T.? Uh...bigger fan of Jane. He was speechless, seeing her just sitting there by herself under a canopy, at her table, eating a sandwich. Let me go ahead and explain, in case you're not in the know, who Jane Wiedlin is, as I've had to do many times since returning from the Con. She's the bass player for the Go-Gos. She also played Joan of Arc in Bill & Ted's Excellent Adventure. And she's had some recent new fame by being on VH-1's The Surreal Life. Based on all this, I just assumed people would know who she was. Very few people do. So, if you're one of those, now you know.

So A.T. was actually pretty nervous, and wondering if he should go over there. I told him he ought to go for it (which is advice I should probably give to myself in situations like that one, too). So he started walking over. I was just going to hang out and wait for him, but then I realized he might want a picture, so I went ahead and followed him. Give it up for A.T., folks. This was a big personal celeb moment for him, and he managed to come off totally calm and professional. As I said, Jane was having a sandwich at the time, and no one else was in line, so we got to just hang out and rap with her. Oh, and A.T. got to give laundry advice when she spilled mustard on herself, too. She talked about what was going on with her, and the fact that the Go-Gos would be touring next year. But A.T. (score) also happened to mention the Nice Guy to her, which interested her. We talked about that, and what we were doing with it (A.T. being our marketing director and all...well, he was THAT day, at least...). In the end, Jane Wiedlin ended up with her own copy of "The Nice Guy: Pilot". I KNEW I was carrying a few copies around for a reason. Better yet, she traded us for it with an autographed picture of herself, and we used that opportunity to get her to make it out to Lynn, A.T.'s wife, who's a huge fan of Jane's. Very cool. She was just as cool as I figured she'd be. We said our good-byes, finally, and as soon as we got around the corner and out of her line of vision, A.T. dropped his cool and jumped up and down like a little girl. Told you he was a big fan. What we didn't do was get a photo with her, I'm afraid, but doing so just didn't fit the mood of the almost-peer-like conversation we were having with her, so no loss.

A.T. then left to go do his panel, and I had some solo time to kill, so I figured I'd check some of the other celeb tables and see if there was anyone interesting. I spotted the aforementioned (if you've been reading all these reports) Richard Hatch at his table, with just a couple of people lined up to talk to him. I realized I'd seen him in a few panels the past three or four years, but had yet to actually meet him. And I also realized I was needing to get some goodies for my buddy Martin, and he's a huge Hatch fan. So this seemed like a good idea. So I got in line and got to meet Mr. Hatch. I mentioned the Nice Guy, and he had all kinds of questions about it, and had a few pieces of web page marketing advice for me as well. In the end, Mr. Hatch got himself a free copy of "Pilot", too (way cool). And I decided, since he offered, that I'd get my picture taken with him, so I've got that going for me. I also took the chance to buy a hardcover Battlestar novel he'd co-written and get that autographed for Marin. There was a funny moment after that. I was packing up my bag when he stepped away from his table and walked over to talk to Jane. I had to pass them as I was exiting, and I said, "You know, Richard, I don't mean to brag, but even JANE WIEDLIN has her own copy of the Nice Guy..." He turned to her and said, "Ah, but the question is, has she read it yet?" To which Jane explained to him that she'd just gotten it, so no, not yet. Kind of a surreal moment. I sitting there goofing with Apollo and the Go-Gos bass player. Which I could send a note back in time to myself in high school and tell myself THAT story.

I headed inside and checked the other tables. There was some people I knew, but that didn't interest me quite enough. Tim Thomerson, for one, who's been in many movies you've seen (I tend to remember him best, for some reason, as the CIA agent in "Volunteers" with Tom Hanks who named his knife "Mike"). Patricia Tallman of B5 fame (also from the Dawn of the Dead remake), who I considered. Oddly enough, Erin Moran (Joanie from Happy Days? Um...I was kidding earlier about that Potsie thing) was there. Cindy Morgan was there, too. She's probably best known in geek circles from her role in "Tron", but males from my generation all remember her way too fondly as Lacey Underall from "Caddyshack". She's still looking great, and I thought about getting an autograph from her for my buddy Justin at work, who still regularly talks about Caddyshack AND her.

But I spotted David Lo Pan first.

I was a huge Big Trouble in Little China fan back in the late 80s. Can't tell you how many times I saw it. If you remember the film, you remember the film's main bad guy, the evil, otherwordly David Lo Pan, played by veteran actor James Hong. James Hong was also in Blade Runner, and it turns out there was some Blade Runner stuff going on at the Con to celebrate the release of the Blade Runner "final cut" on DVD. And I noticed there were three tables together, with people lined up to talk to all three actors there. The first was Joanna Cassidy. Another was Joe Turkel. And third in line was James Hong. This was big for me. I'd actually run into him a couple of days before, waiting for the elevator with the guys. James is in a wheelchair now, and was with his people, and they were waiting behind us. I almost said something to him then, despite my usual rule about that, but they got tired of waiting and took off to find another elevator. And now here was a second chance! Figured I'd better not blow it again. So I got in line, totally ignoring Joanna Cassidy and Joe, and got to James. He had a number of color 8x10s
from his different films, but it was the big David Lo Pan shot that drew me in...and I knew exactly who I needed to get that for. My friend Jon and I were obsessed with this movie in college, and watched it together and quoted it at each other all the time. I would call him a bigger fan than me, so I knew he'd appreciate the autograph. So I got to meet James and request the photo for Jon, which he signed not only in English, but then took out a gold pen and signed it in Chinese characters as well (which was good, because I had to wait around an extra couple of minutes for it to dry, per his request). I also loved the fact that in the English part he signed it "To Jon - I love Miao Yin's blood" (see the movie if you don't get the reference). Great guy. I did have to get a couple of pics with him, and he had his people get out his camera and get a shot of us, too. Like I said...while that wouldn't have meant a lot to some people, to me it was a big moment, and that's the fun of the autograph area. I'll have to make more of a habit of that. I've now found the secret to doing so without feeling like too much of an annoying fan--get autographs, but get them for OTHER people. And while I was talking with James, I'm afraid Cindy Morgan got up and left. Sorry, Justin. And I was going to have her autograph the shot to him with "To Justin - You want to tie me up with some of your ties?". Funny if you've seen Caddyshack as many times as I (and Justin) have.

So Russ showed up, back from his sports geek happiness, and joined up with me and A.T. We did a final prowl around the aisles downstairs, where I got a chance to drop in and say hi to my bud Dan Cooney, a fellow Sacramento comic creator, and the creator of "Valentine". Got to see Brian from A-1 Comics, too, the #1 supporter of the Nice Guy (who bugged me again about getting a second issue out. He's going to keep on us, and we need that...). We met up with Tony and his kids, and soon it was time to leave the Con behind again. We headed back to the cars and then back to Tony's place for a night of barbecue and birthday fun for Christopher, who got to open up all his presents, while Emily entertained us with singing and the two-year old Catherine learned, from her dad, how to say "iPhone!" that night. Had a great final night with Tony and the family, and luckily, it didn't have to be too early of a night, since all three of us were flying out in the early evening on Monday. That Monday we all went out to lunch at Rubios (so Russ, now transplanted to Idaho, could get his fish taco fix), and then our traveling trio said good-bye to Tony and headed back to the airport to return our rental car and get ready to fly. We had some cocktails downstairs first, then said our so-longs. Russ headed for Boise, A.T. and I headed for Sacramento, sadly heading back to the nightmare of the auto claims business (both of us trying not to think about how many voice mails had probably piled up while we were gone), but armed with great memories, and creative inspiration, from another winner of a Comic-Con week in San Diego. Next summer? Of COURSE we'll be back again! Have you been reading? All that for either $25, or for free if I pre-reg in time? Very few chances in life to get THAT much for your entertainment dollar. We'll be back. And hopefully, we'll see YOU there!

And if you'd like to check out all my photos from this year's trip, feel free to do so at:

http://theniceguycomic.com/photos12.htm