::Kate walks into the office, sees nothing but a giant fort made of comic books::
K: Dan? Are you in here?
D: Yeah, I’m right here.
K: Hello?
D: I’m right here – IN MY GIANT FORT OF COMIC BOOKS! <duh duh DUH>
::drawbridge of trade paperbacks lowers to reveal Dan sitting on a throne of back issues::
K: Wow. That’s impressive.
D: I had to do something with all of our loot from C2E2. And really, who doesn’t want to hang out in a comic book clubhouse?
K: Are girls allowed in your clubhouse?
D: Only if you promise not to ruin the comics by crushing them or getting make up on them. And don’t break the bindings. Or take them out of the bag and board. Let’s just go with don’t touch the comics.
K: I promise to play nice and I won’t acknowledge the comics.
D: Good because we got some cool stuff at C2E2 and I don’t want it ruined by some fake fangirl.
K: ::puts hands on hips:: Really? REALLY?!? You dragged me into this comics mess and now you’re going to accuse me of being a “fake fangirl”? I don’t think so, Smalls. Do you remember that girl we saw on the convention floor? The one with the sign offering “free punches for anyone that called someone a fake fangirl?” ::makes fist:: I have a free one for you right here!
Fangirl Rights!
D: ::holds up hands:: OK, Lady. Calm down. Everyone knows you’re not a fake fangirl. You’ve got top billing on the blog for crying out loud! I was just trying to rile you up. You can hang out in the comics fort. Now, where should we start with the C2E2 recap? I’ve got comics to sort through.
K: On the first day we were at the con we saw some cool stuff related to the KILL SHAKESPEARE comic book that’s put out by IDW. There’s a theater company in Chicago that is doing performances of the comic book. That was impressive! It certainly made the book more accessible to someone who has a hard time reading the Shakespearian English in the books.
D: That was cool. Having the panels from issue #1 scroll by on a movie screen while a group of voice actors read each part was a really imaginative way to get more folks aware of this unique and very well done book.
K: And then getting to talk with Conor McCreery and Andy B. about creating the book? Yeah, they’re…
D: They’re crazy. Nuts. Over the top. And totally awesome.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: YouTube interview will be posted to Crimespree blog shortly. Look for it soon!)
K: :: pages through Daredevil comics, shuffles through Goon books, sorts through Superior Spider-Man issues::
Friday really rocked. I mean, it has by far the lowest attendance for the 3 days of the convention, so we were able to cruise around the floor at McCormick Place. Most of the guests were at their tables, and there were hardly any lines!
D: Yeah! We were able to meet, and have our books signed by: Chris Samnee (the Eisner nominated artist on Daredevil), Eric Powel (the writer/artist of the Goon), and Spider-Man artists Humberto Ramos and Ryan Stegman! Not to mention British superstar Andy Diggle, and comic book legend Len Wein.
K: What did Len Wein do again?
D: Oh you know… just created Wolverine and Swamp Thing.
K: oh.
D: Yeah. Kinda puts a different spin on the term “Comic Book Legend.”
K: Friday was amazing, but what about our quest to track down comic book writer extraordinaire Mark Waid on Saturday? The guy is harder to find than Waldo.
D: True. And he doesn’t even wear a stripy shirt. He didn’t have a table and spent the entire con shuffling from one panel to the next, so it was difficult to find a time when he would be signing books, if he would be signing at all.
K: Thank heavens for your bladder.
D: ::raises eyebrow:: Huh?
K: If you didn’t need to go to the bathroom when you did and if the restrooms in the main convention hall weren’t full, we wouldn’t have been headed out towards the main entrance looking for a less-crowded bathroom, and we would have missed seeing Mark Waid and Chris Samnee signing at the Marvel booth. If those stars hadn’t aligned, we would have brought all of those books written by Waid to Chicago for nothing.
(EDITOR’S NOTE: This is a true story.)
D: Mr. Waid was incredibly nice and wonderful to talk to. I’m happy to have had the opportunity to chat with him as well as thank him for writing all of his amazing stories.
Kate, Mark Waid, Dan, Chris Samnee
K: Are you starting to cry?
D: ::wipes eyes:: No. I just had some bad fish for lunch.
K: You had PB and J for lunch. THERE’S NO CRYING IN COMICS!!!
D: Yell at me again and you’re banned from the Comics Fort.
K: ::scuffs floor with shoe:: Sorry, Dan. Can we talk about this year’s crop of cos-players now?
D: Of course! Did you see that one woman dressed as Ms. Marvel? WOW. No one wears red vinyl like her. ::rests head on hand:: And to think, I didn’t even get her number…
K: Riiiiight. I was thinking that the cos-players this year were more creative than the ones we saw last year. There appeared to be fewer Harley Quinns and Black Canaries. Of course there were the standard issue Spider-Men, Batmen, and Wonder Women, but some of the other cos-players put more thought into their costumes.
D: There were a couple Lady Dr. Stranges on the con floor even though there isn’t a female Dr. Strange book. I also saw an impressive Lady Clark Kent. She wore a suit with a skirt, had a spit curl, Daily Planet badge, and a Superman t-shirt under her blouse. Good stuff.
Russian Mobster and Kate Bishop
K: The best cos-players I saw were Kate Bishop and the Russian mobster from the Hawkeye comic book. The mobsters say “Bro” after every other word in the book. The cos-player mobster had a speech bubble with the word “Bro” on it.
D: And there was that guy dressed as Matt Murdock wearing a t-shirt that read “I’m Not Daredevil” along with his white cane and red-tinted sunglasses.
K: He was a cos-player? I thought he was someone’s blind friend at the con.
::radio suddenly blares from the bedroom::
D: My alarm clock is going off in the other room. I don’t want to leave the C2E2 comics fort and go back to the real world.
K: I don’t ether. Let’s just stay in here until the 2014 convention comes along.
D: ::brings Dog into the fort:: Good plan. Just don’t ruin the comics.
