Adventures at Fan Expo
So I went to FanExpo this weekend.
My buddy Joel and I tried to get our tickets in advance, but they stopped selling them online the Monday before the Expo started. We opted to show up early and get tix at the door.
Sunday morning, hung over and tired, I show up. Joel and I walk to the Expo, and get directed to a lineup around the corner. Thankfully, as a Rogers Wireless customer, I’m told I can order the tix through my cell, and get in the smaller lineup. I do, and we’re off! Total time: 20 mins.
For those of you that have never been to FanExpo, it’s basically a huge marketplace for people to sell their wares. Posters, prints, comics, trade paperbacks, dvds, action figures, anime, videogames, clothing – pretty much anything geek related is available. It’s heaven.
The Adventures of Wizards and Unicorns
Flashback.
When Joel suggested we go to FanExpo, I was only mildly interested. After all, you can buy gear online, for roughly the same price. And thanks to my regular patronage of a certain store in Montreal, I get 25% off on all trade paperbacks or graphic novels I purchase.
Then I saw James Robinson’s name on the schedule. JAMES FUCKING ROBINSON. For those of you that don’t know, he reinvented the Starman series in the 90s, and owns the rights to the best Starman ever, Jack Knight. His Starman series touched me deeply, and taught me a lot about writing. But that’s an article for another day.
I read his name, and saw that he was giving a panel on Redefining Classic Heroes, and decided to go.
Unflashback.
So, it’s 10:30am, we’re shopping for wares, keeping in mind that at 2pm I’m going to the panel, and at 4pm will get my Starman Omnibus Vol.6 signed by James.
I see an awesome booth with new artists, one of which had commissioned sketches for sale, 10$ a pop. I walk up to the booth and make my request.
“For $10, I can get whatever I want?”, I ask.
“Um, yea, if we can draw it,” one of the artists replies. His friend nods her assent.
“Great, here’s what I need. I want you to draw me a wizard, riding a unicorn, on a rainbow, in space.” A homage to one of my favorite Penny Arcade strips.
He looks doubtful, and I feel he’s about to tell me he can’t draw it.
“I’ll do it!” the other artist exclaims, laughing.
“Ok, and can you make the wizard look kind of like me?”
“I’ll try,” she says. “Let me just take a picture of you first.”
She takes a snapshot, and tells us to come back in one hour.
Awesome.
We wander around some more, and after picking up two Flame of Recca DVDs and World Heroes Anthology, something amazing happens: my Sorbodar begins to tingle. That’s right folks: there’s a Kevin Sorbo in the building.
The Adventures of Hercules
I search for a couple of minutes, and sure enough, I finally spot him, between some other random stars, signing autographs. I turn to Joel.
“DUDE! It’s Kevin Sorbo!”, I exclaim.
“Um… ok?”, he replies. He gives me a weird look, like I’m insane.
“I need him to sign something. Help me find something for him to sign.”
He laughs, and we begin our search for any kind of Sorbo gear. Unfortunately, most vendors don’t sell anything with Kevin Sorbo on it. No Hercules toys, no Andromeda DVDs, no According to Jim special guest star action figure of Kevin Sorbo as Darryl Buckner… sigh.
I decide to give up and just go say hi. I really want to meet him in person and see how tall he is. As I walk towards him, a rippling muscle flashes in the corner of my eye, and I see…
A HERCULES PHOTO! SUCCESS! Ten dollars later, and I’m ready for Kevin.
Joel and I get in line, and wait for about 8 mins. All of a sudden, Kevin gets up and walks away, taking his backpack with him. A feeling of panic rises in my stomach.
I run up to one of the FanExpo employees, and ask what’s going on.
“Kevin’s going for his photo shoot,” he explains. “He’ll be back in a bit.”
Phew. Good thing I’m a patient man. I decided to put my Sorboner on hold for a bit, and go get some food.
The Adventures of Starman
Lunch is over, and I rush to room 717, excited for the panel with James Robinson. I get there with 5 minutes to spare, and am worried that I’ll be sitting in the back. Thankfully, Canadian geeks, like all other Canadians, are pretty laid back about lineups and start times, so there are only a handful of people waiting. The room slowly fills up as I get a front row seat, and wait for James.
He walks in, has a seat, and gets interviewed by a Canadian comics writer. It is the most incredible experience I have all weekend. James Robinson is eloquent, interesting, funny, and a very nice guy. He gives us lots of pointers on how to write a good series, how to tie up loose ends, and why he writes the way he does.
When asked about his writing method, he explains that he prefers to write on paper first, because of the organic connection between man, pen, and paper, and because he feels the computer adds an extra layer of mediation to the equation. But he amends his words with “that’s just my opinion. Some of you have no problems composing directly on your computers, and that’s ok too. This is just how I do it.”
I am amazed at the insights he gives me, and when it’s time for questions, I ask him quite a few about the Starman series. Again, I’ll save the details for my upcoming article on Starman. We chat for a bit, and the panel ends.
The Adventures of… Fuck it, BUY EVERYTHING NAO!
I find Joel, and we wander over to the Kevin Sorbo booth. My Sorbodar is no longer tingling, and I am worried. We discover that he came back, signed everything, and then left for the day. I missed my chance, and my Sorboner fades. I am a little sad, but also laughing at the irony of what transpired. Kevin Sorbo, if you’re reading this, I have a photo I would like you to sign. And I want you to know I thought you were hilarious in According to Jim.
I then engage in America’s favorite past time: SHOPPING! I start buying tons of random shit. It’s the last day, and people want to sell as much of their wares as they can. I am reminded of this Penny Arcade strip. I pick up a Street Fighter print, a random Ninjas print, a GIJoe print, a Hulk print, and a hilarious calendar, all in the space of ten minutes!
I stop by James Robinson’s signing booth, and get him to sign my Starman book. We chat once more, and he remembers me from the panel. He wishes me success on my work in television.
“Maybe next time we meet, you’ll be giving me a signed copy of something,” he says, grinning.
“I hope so!”, I reply.
And with that, Joel and I are off. Oh, and I pause to pick up one more thing on my way out.
