Been kind of hectic the past few days with I-Con.
The convention itself seemed well attended. I arrived at my 11 AM solo panel and was astounded to discover the room was pretty crowded (and continued to fill up as time passed). I did a reading of an upcoming BID column plus a dramatic reading of the script for "Fallen Angel #12" which describes how Lee and Doctor Juris first met (making it an ideal stand alone for those not familiar with the series to hear.) The other panels were also well attended and quite lively, both from the company and also whenever Caroline was around. At one panel she climbed into my lap and wanted to drink water out of a cup. So I let her do so...whereupon she stuck her hand into the cup and started joyfully splashing water everywhere. Finally I yelled, "Kathleen! Would'ja get Flipper outta here, please!"
The most solemn panel was the Julie Schwartz remembrance panel. When you've got a panel that includes such old time greats as Murphy Anderson and David Kyle, my main goal was to keep my trap shut as much as possible and just listen.
For that matter, Julie's absence was so palpable that I really couldn't bring myself to go to the banquet that evening since I just wasn't ready to attend a function that he should have been at.
Rule changes at the university banned dealers in antique weapons from the floor. That was a crying shame. I've picked up some nifty swords and staffs at I-Con in the past, and it was annoying that they weren't there.
Encountered one teenage boy (I shall mercifully not name him) who was boasting that he was a complete trivia expert on everything having to do with "Lord of the Rings." Ask him anything, anything at all. Taking him up on it, I said, "What does J.R.R. stand for?" I will always treasure his blank expression.
I have to say, I-Con has the most thorough green room for guests to hang out in. Fully stocked for breakfast and lunch, and it's a great place to hang out and just sit and schmooze with folks whom you ordinarily would not have a chance to see. Peter Jurasik was there and was cheerful and personable as always. We did not get to see Daniel Keyes, author of "Flowers for Algernon" at the green room, but we did come to his autographing session. It was great meeting him, and Ariel was particularly excited since she'd done a speech about "Flowers for Algernon" in a speech competition and had done very well with it.
I just wish the convention wasn't as spread out all over the campus as it is. Makes it practically impossible to get from one panel to the next in anything approaching a punctual manner. I'm now hearing scuttlebutt they may move to a hotel. On the one hand, it would lose its unique character; on the other hand, less schlepping and less being subject to the randomness of the weather.
Oh, for those asking how I did bowling in the regional Pro/Am...eh. Not my best day. Rolled a 165, a 193 and a 198. I went to the owner of the lanes and told him that, if he does this next year, I'd like him to hold it on another day. He asked when. I said, "On a day my bowling doesn't suck."
PAD
I learned a valuable lesson about tape on comic bags :)
Call me stupid,but i didn't know what J.R.R. stood for either?
"John Ronald Reuel" for those who don't know
Now if i only knew what the hell kinda name "Reuel" is
one side note C.S. Lewis stands for Clive Staples Lewis which his mother no-doubt thought sounded better then Clive Office-Depot Lewis
I learned a valuable lesson about tape on comic bags :)
What lesson would that be?
I thought it was a good Con this year. The weather improved after a few hours on Saturday (one person told me, quite accurately, it wouldn't be I-Con if it didn't rain), the costumes were good, the panels worked well, [shameless plug] my first KNIGHTS OF THE DINNER TABLE reading went quite well, and the panels were a lot of fun.
I was surprised they banned the swords. I hadn't heard of any accidents or attacks, and this year, they were gone. (And if swords are outlawed, only outlaws wil have swords.) I *really* wish the I-Con folks could have posted info ont the marathon that cut off the main street to the campus -- took me an extra 55 minutes to get there Sunday morning, it did. And there seemed to be a scarcity of comic book dealers: In the massive dealer's room, there only seemed to be about 2 or 3 people actually selling comics -- and not a wide variety, at that! (I couldn't find Peter David's HULK: THE END. Back to eBay...)
Overall, though, it was a very good convention. And I'll be back next year, continuing my 7-year attendance streak. Hoody hoo!
Love the LoTR anecdote. So typical of fans - they take the time to learn all this stuff about fictional characters (which is so unnecedsary to memorize 'cause, you know, you can always reread the book) but know so relatively little about the real people who created or worked on them!
I was surprised they banned the swords. I hadn't heard of any accidents or attacks, and this year, they were gone.
In general, security at I-Con was much more of a presence. Campus security was all over the ISC (there never used to be four campus security cop cars parked outside the front door), and there were more door dragons. I suspect that this is a campus-wide policy that has nothing to do with I-Con and that I-Con was forced to conform to.
Call me stupid,but i didn't know what J.R.R. stood for either?
Yes, but you weren't declaring to a room full of people that you knew everything about The Lord of the Rings and challenging people to ask you anything, anything, about LotR and you'd know it. *big grin*
(I was there when Peter skewered the young man in question, and it was a glorious thing, especially when three people in the room then threw out the answer....)
---KRAD
I was told that the banned swords and tighter security was a "homeland security" thing that was dictated to them by the university. I'm also told the staff had to provide the university with photo IDs and such.
Ah, so that explains where Murphy Anderson was this weekend. He was originally scheduled to be at Planet Comicon in Kansas City.
Too bad I didn't get a chance to meet this legend of comics, but it sounds like he was needed elsewhere.
As it stands, I did get to hear some good Julie stories from Len Wein and Marv Wolfman.
-Joe
[Keith and Matt wrote about tightened security.]
I'm not disagreeing with you, but I'm not sure I agree with the decision. It's hard to imagine any terrorist group deciding a sci-fi convention would be the perfect target for an attack ("Once the Trekkies are demoralized, the military will follow!") and the lack of problems in the past should weigh in favor of allowing them.
I'm also not thrilled with the "absolutely no guns allowed" policy. I can agree with banning realistic-looking guns, but is a gray plastic Star Wars rifle really hard to recognize as fake? Pink and blue Nerf guns? Made the SHADOWRUN larp much less visually impressive.
And if the trend continues, next year they'll have to ban plastic Lightsabers because they're shaped kinda like the realistic swords that aren't there.
The classic "Y'know, maybe a weapons policy would be a *good* thing" moment happened a few decades back at a Disclave in Washington D.C.. Some mundanes saw what they thought were weapons (I'm fuzzy on this, but I think it may have had to do with a Logan's Run LARP) and called the cops. Who fortunately sent a SWAT team to the hotel.
Why fortunately? Because some idiot saw the SWAT team arrive and thought "Cool, people to play with" and pulled a fake weapon on them. The SWAT team recognized it as fake, and *didn't* open fire on the idiot...who was standing right in front of a relatively thin wall with a crowded panel audience on the other side.
Re: What J.R.R. stood for; the final night of the recent Super Millionaire run had what the R.R. stood for as a $100,000 question (which, under the new scale is question 10 of 15 and should be at a "tough but fair" level). The contestant, having used up their lifelines, bailed.
I didn't mean to say I agreed. It was ridiculous. Did they really need all those troopers shopping the dealer room? (…Though they did look darling in the new Dr. Who scarves) Is there an al-Qaida threat against Long Island's geek population? I lost track how many times the crack security force searched my son's diaper bag. It seemed to me, from what I gathered talking to the staff I knew, that the changes came from the university, not the ICON staff. That's all I meant previously.
I always thought "J.R.R." stood for the question you asked the people who were such wiseasses about the books. "Ju Really Readit?"
I didn't...didn't see a need to sacrifice a year of my life to three books, when Cliff's Notes summarized the plot for me without all that literature-professor allusional stuff to wade through. It's enough for my poor mind to have read all the "Harry Potter" books. (And no, I didn't know what the "J.K." in Rowling's name stands for, either. I thought it was "Just Kashed-in?")
Joanne Kathleen. Ain't Google grand? :)
I learned a valuable lesson about tape on comic bags :)
What lesson would that be?
Well, two things really; remove the tape (and probably the comic) before handing the comic to a pro to sign... and pay attention while you're doing it :)
What Matt's referring to is that, when someone hands me comics inside the taped-up mylar snugs to sign, I always say exactly the following:
"Would you mind taking the comics out of the bags, please? It's not that I'm too fabulous to do it myself. It's that I'm worried about snagging it on the tape. If you snag it on the tape and it tears, then it's, 'Oh, darn, I tore my comic.' If I do it, it's 'That idiot Peter David tore my comic.'"
Whereupon Matt proceeded to remove the comics from the bag and the tape promptly snagged on the back cover of one of them. He managed to remove it without damage, but it proved my point.
PAD
Here's my I-Con review, written for friends & geeks who didn't get to attend. Enjoy
* * *
Greetings, all! This year's I-Con finished yesterday, and it was another very good convention. I got there Saturday, bright eyed and, not being a Furry, non-bushy tailed. From the sign-in area, I got to meet Jon Rosenberg, author of GOATS; I got the first volume of strips (signed, as the last one, was, "James, Please continue to rock"; I will), two bumper stickers for friends, and another picture of me with a celebrity. I also met Scott there -- his first I-Con! From there we descended to the dealer's room. This year no swords or weaponry were allowed (I'm told due to anti-terrorist Federal regulations; 'cuz Long Island sci-fi fans are the #1 target), and a scarcity of comic book dealers and abundance of anime movies. I found two dragon statues for my niece & nephew, and my traditional cool-looking dice set.
Saturday afternoon I did my first Knights of the Dinner Table reading. It went very will -- Scott took on two different roles, I did every male role (maybe next year I'll get to play Sara), and there were some great readers! (Someone also appeared to wheel a kid in a wheelchair into a corner and leave him there -- can't be perfect.) Next year I'll have more strips for reading!
During Saturday I also hit the gameroom with Scott -- I came in 2nd at PUERTO RICO and played my worst game of CARCASSONE ever. They had a nice variety of games there -- 'twas nice to see it wasn't all M:TG and YU-GI-OH. And Saturday night I saw some more of the wonderfully sick sci-fi cartoon TRIPPING THE RIFT.
Sunday began badly. Unbeknownst to me, a marathon had shut down the major street leading to SUNY Stony Brook; took me an extra 55 minutes to get to the campus. When I arrived, no one was there for the MUNCHKIN Trilogy I was scheduled to start an hour earlier; but only 1 person had signed up, so maybe it wouldn't have happened anyway.
The day improved. I saw some good movie trailers, the nice AVENGERS episode "A Touch of Brimstone" -- love seeing Diana Rigg in a tight corset! -- and then came the Why People Suck panel by Jon Rosenberg and Rik Milholland (who does Something Positive). It was a great panel, from stories about other creators to the clueless brat who kept asking "Who are you guys?" and won the contest for an original piece of art for asking the most obnoxious question. And when one person asked how they got involved doing cards for MUNCHKIN, I remembered -- I still had my cards with me from the event I was supposed to run that morning! I now have signed cards for the Fowl Fiend and Redneck Tree. 'Twas very, very good.
And thus, I-Con ended. Another great year of Games, celebrities, cool panels, and enough caffeine to make someone break the speed barrier. I learned how to improve the KODT readings for next year, I got a ton of great photos of the attendees who dressed for fantasy, and I only have to wait a year for the next one.
And so, I leave you with these wise words from GOATS, followed by some from G.K. Chesterton:
"Everyone knows that you don't run away from your problems. Unless, of course, you want your pets eaten by mutant eggplants."
"Fairy tales are more than true: not because they tell us that dragons exist, but because they tell us that dragons can be beaten."
So true,
Jim Lynch
reupon Matt proceeded to remove the comics from the bag and the tape promptly snagged on the back cover of one of them.
Let's hope people don't approach you asking that you say nothing for fear of temporarily cursing them. :)
Sadly, I didn't manage to attend any of PAD's panels, but I think it was an average I-Con, which isn't a bad thing. There were a few more comic dealers this year. Granted, a handful of them only had two or three boxes worth, but it's still more than the last few years. Hell, I got DD #181 (death of Elektra) for 50 cents, so I'm pleased.
Peter, got a question for you if you happen to have an answer handy.
A fellow on a mailing list I'm on is curious to know whether you'll be attending Dragon*Con later this year.
There were a few more comic dealers this year. Granted, a handful of them only had two or three boxes worth, but it's still more than the last few years.
I only noticed three myself, but I only remember three from last year as well. I didn't spend very much time in the dealers room this year, anyway.
High point of the con: Winning the Comics Jeopardy game run by the Friends of Lulu. The competition was sharp, and lightning fast on the buzzer, but I had age and a head full of accumulated garbage on my side.
Low point: At the "Evil in Webcomics" panel (next door to Peter's talk, because his room was too crowded to get into), I (wearing a Green Lantern hoodie) was asked to stand up along with a young woman dressed as a succubus, to illustrate the point that Evil is more attractive than Good. (**grumble**)