My SDCC 2006 - Part One

My San Diego Comic-Con experience generally begins each year later than most. I didn't get to the Con until Friday this time, though I was downtown Tuesday to see a Padres game with my friend Marc Mason, a MoviePoopShoot and Comic Book Galaxy alum who is now making a go of his own site, The Comics Waiting Room. Check over there for Marc's own daily Con blogging.

I was encumbered this year by a garment bag, which I pretty quickly checked but had to get to before 7:00, as that was when the coat check closed. I needed to wear a suit to the Eisners that night, as I was sitting upfront at the judge's table, or one of the judge's tables. At least, I thought a suit would be nice; it's not like I expected everyone to do the same. This is comics, after all.

Anyway, the next thing I did Friday afternoon was to catch the Comics Blogging panel with Christopher Butcher, Tom Spurgeon, Heidi MacDonald, Graeme McMillan, Tom McLean (I think that's his name--he writes the Bags & Boards blog for Variety.com) and someone who writes for a book publishing news blog who was going mono with a beige long-sleeve shirt and beige pants. I called him the Manchurian Blogger both for the vaguely militaristic outfit and what I would call crazy eyes. I sort of met Heidi for I think the first time prior to the panel--she read my badge aloud and turned away--as well as Graeme, Kevin Church, and my Comic Foundry publisher Tim Leong. There was some question as to whether Spurgeon would make it, but he did, just a couple minutes late and admittedly sweaty, which is going to happen at SDCC even if you're not a big guy. The panel itself wasn't bad once the introductions and background was out of the way (there really are very few stories of how someone decided to start blogging that are interesting). Everyone was pretty interesting and all except Heidi were genial; if you're the moderator, maybe you shouldn't roll your eyes at a panelist's answers, even if you disagree. They are, after all, your guest. This only happened when it came to Spurgeon, though, and he and Heidi have a fascinating dynamic that kind of boils down to reverence and irreverence for quite different things. Butcher is a good panelist. Very bright and very much himself, no different than he is on his blog. I thought it was funny that he deferred his turn to talk to Spurgeon because he "wanted to have the last word." That's ballsy.

Didn't really have a chance to talk to anyone there at length. It would have been good to chat more with Graeme, as I quite enjoy some of the things he writes now, even as I once was in the minority of really not liking Fanboy Rampage. If I need to explain that, it's that I always found a lot of FBR sort of coy; he'd hint at something but rarely come out with a strong opinion, leaving readers to infer or amplify on the hint themselves in the comments section. For better or worse, I've always been more in line with Doane or Butcher or Hibbs, guys who have no problem expressing strong opinions, damn the consequences. Anyway, it's good to be in a place where that kind of thing doesn't bother me anymore.

After the panel, I told Spurgeon that he and Heidi should just "do it," to dispel all that sexual tension. I'll just leave you with that image. More soon.