I did my comic run nice and prompt this time around. It was a really good one, because nearly the entire band was back together! Victor, Justin, Lainey, Mark, (no) Nancy, and myself kicking it and talking comics. Just like the good ol’ days. Which were about two months ago. I can’t believe I’m getting nostalgic for only two months in the past.
As for comics I bought Secret Six (#22) and Demo (#05). Secret Six was as good as it usually is. Gail Simone has so much more talent than she gets credit for. The simple fact that she can make a character as lame as Catman into an actually interesting and multi-layered person is an achievement in of itself. But the rest of her characters are so well written, too. Each of them have a voice of their own, which is hard for a lot of writers to pull off.
Demo was pretty decent, but this second volume has been a little wobbly. I really liked Stranded (#05), though. I little time travel piece that would have lost steam if it was a series, but as a one-shot, easily entertained and had a great moral that its never too late to make yourself a better, stronger person. ESPECIALLY if you’ve got a nifty time travel power.
I headed to Norwalk for my usual work time. We had a Planning Commission Meeting that, for some reason, started nearly half an hour late. No one really knows why. And the Meeting itself went on for over an hour. Just a long night, I guess.
Topics of Conversation: Hemlock cupcakes, Ruby Quartz, cheap Baseball seats, the other F-word, Pretzel M&M’s, a true Poker face, new cell phones, documentation without informing the subject, Baconaise, Beat Box, etc.
-Nate
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label comics. Show all posts
Wednesday, June 9, 2010
Friday, June 4, 2010
The Charm of Corn
Because of Memorial Day, new comics did not come in on Wednesday, and were pushed to Thursday. Because of my work schedule on Thursday, I was not able to go to Comics Unlimited until today. AND I had work tonight at Norwalk to shoot a TAP (Teen Awareness Program) dinner. That’s just the way life is, but today could work out fairly well. I could go to Comics Unlimited in the day, and then head to work.
I got to Comics Unlimited and found that Lainey was running the store solo, which always struck me as both cool and crappy at the same time. On one hand, Lainey gets to run the store the way she’d like to. Listen to the music she wants to. Dance in place. Jump up and down. Doodle. Stare at the ceiling. Whatever. She’s a responsible person, so she won’t do anything that could hurt the store. I would love to run a comic shop on my own.
But what about going to the bathroom? What about lunch? What about being alone with strangers through out the day? Besides the occasional Regular (Ex.: ME), she’s got to be professional person AND run to the bathroom. I can see the downside to flying solo in a comic shop.
Moving on…
So I got my comics, Invincible (#72) and Demo (#04), and chatted with Lainey about everything and nothing. Mon (another Comics Unlimited worker bee) came in around 2:00 which is about the time I left for work.
I got to Norwalk and found that I was going to do some more Inventory. Mostly the stuff that hadn’t been found in the first two passes. I only found five or so things that weren’t already accounted for. I found just as many things that hadn’t already been on the Inventory list. Looks like we’ll need more tags made up, as well as some updating of the list.
My boss and I headed to the TAP dinner and found that we were nearly an hour earlier than we needed to be there by. It was odd, but I didn’t mind. We went over to a burger place nearby and grabbed some lunch/dinner. I had a chocolate shake as well that wasn’t too bad.
Finally the TAP dinner was ready and we shot all the festivities. The theme for this year was a Hollywood party. Corny, but it’s a teen program designed with all the passion of a Saturday Afternoon Special. These kinds of programs are forever cursed to be corny. But that’s its charm. The charm of corn. Don’t underestimate it.
All the kids seemed to be having fun, and the free food was pretty darn tasty. All in all a good night.
Topics of Conversation: Razors, kitten tattoos, writing, apprenticeships in questionable locales, sign language for “powerful,” girl smelly isn’t as bad as boy smelly, recent confidence, roast beef, Anime Wonder Woman, standing in front of calendars, the new breed of customers, chocolate covered licorice, etc.
-Nate
I got to Comics Unlimited and found that Lainey was running the store solo, which always struck me as both cool and crappy at the same time. On one hand, Lainey gets to run the store the way she’d like to. Listen to the music she wants to. Dance in place. Jump up and down. Doodle. Stare at the ceiling. Whatever. She’s a responsible person, so she won’t do anything that could hurt the store. I would love to run a comic shop on my own.
But what about going to the bathroom? What about lunch? What about being alone with strangers through out the day? Besides the occasional Regular (Ex.: ME), she’s got to be professional person AND run to the bathroom. I can see the downside to flying solo in a comic shop.
Moving on…
So I got my comics, Invincible (#72) and Demo (#04), and chatted with Lainey about everything and nothing. Mon (another Comics Unlimited worker bee) came in around 2:00 which is about the time I left for work.
I got to Norwalk and found that I was going to do some more Inventory. Mostly the stuff that hadn’t been found in the first two passes. I only found five or so things that weren’t already accounted for. I found just as many things that hadn’t already been on the Inventory list. Looks like we’ll need more tags made up, as well as some updating of the list.
My boss and I headed to the TAP dinner and found that we were nearly an hour earlier than we needed to be there by. It was odd, but I didn’t mind. We went over to a burger place nearby and grabbed some lunch/dinner. I had a chocolate shake as well that wasn’t too bad.
Finally the TAP dinner was ready and we shot all the festivities. The theme for this year was a Hollywood party. Corny, but it’s a teen program designed with all the passion of a Saturday Afternoon Special. These kinds of programs are forever cursed to be corny. But that’s its charm. The charm of corn. Don’t underestimate it.
All the kids seemed to be having fun, and the free food was pretty darn tasty. All in all a good night.
Topics of Conversation: Razors, kitten tattoos, writing, apprenticeships in questionable locales, sign language for “powerful,” girl smelly isn’t as bad as boy smelly, recent confidence, roast beef, Anime Wonder Woman, standing in front of calendars, the new breed of customers, chocolate covered licorice, etc.
-Nate
Saturday, May 1, 2010
Free Comic Book Day
Today was a day well in the making. It was Free Comic Book Day. And I had been looking forward to this almost as much as a geek could without getting a nosebleed. Yes, perhaps a bit… feverishly. I had even made a Facebook event page that had beat Nancy to the punch.
The plan was that I would treat this as a whole day event. Not only were Justin, Victor, and Patrick coming in for FCBD, but I had some new friends that I had made at the Anaheim Comic Con coming in: Jon, Carissa, Jimmy, Shawn, and Katie. I wanted to hang out with everybody. Throw in wanting to be able to talk to Mark, Nancy, Lainey, and Denise, and my dance card wasn’t just full, but I was starting to write in the margins.
On top of this Katie and Jon brought some peeps of their own.
ROLL CALL!: Juandel, George, Jamie, Anny, and Eddie!
FCBD had some signings from the Sullen Grey creative team, and since one of the artists had drawn a special issue of Shrek for Free Comic Book Day, they had a cool signing going on. The turn out for the shop was very impressive, and I was happy to see the store was very busy every time I either looked up from getting a caricature of me getting drawn or when I was talking nonsense with my friends.
Hunger eventually overtook us, and my crew wanted some pho. So I, Patrick, Victor, Carissa, Katie, Jon, Eddie, George, Anny, Jaime, and Juandel journeyed to nearby Little Saigon. We ate at a place called Pho 79, and the food wasn’t too bad. I liked the fried rice I ordered. After eating, we headed back to the shop to reconvene and let those that needed to take off do so.
The next plan turned into karaoke. Patrick suggested Ding Dong Dang up on Garden Grove boulevard. Carissa had to take off, but everyone else was game. We got a little lost getting there, but eventually found ourselves at the karaoke joint.
We all sang for over 3 hours. Pretty friggin’ crazy. I sang Buttercup, and even felt I owned it a little. Jon and his posse took off half-way through the karaoke list, and we finished the night at Denny’s. Jamie was really in a mood for ice cream… until we got there. Then she revealed she didn’t really care for ice cream.
I would like to clarify that Jamie asked for ice cream over 5 times.
ANYWAYS, Denny’s was pretty good, and we ended the night on some good laughs.
Topics of Conversation @ Free Comic Book Day: Pho, cupcakes, curfews, Power Girl’s creepy eyes, Ding Dong Dang, pimping out my friends, herding cats, pictures of ridiculous cuteness, ice cream, eating Shrek’s face, Victor’s magic trick concerning kryptonite, Lois Lane: Centaur, the “fake High School” experiment, etc.
-Nate
The plan was that I would treat this as a whole day event. Not only were Justin, Victor, and Patrick coming in for FCBD, but I had some new friends that I had made at the Anaheim Comic Con coming in: Jon, Carissa, Jimmy, Shawn, and Katie. I wanted to hang out with everybody. Throw in wanting to be able to talk to Mark, Nancy, Lainey, and Denise, and my dance card wasn’t just full, but I was starting to write in the margins.
On top of this Katie and Jon brought some peeps of their own.
ROLL CALL!: Juandel, George, Jamie, Anny, and Eddie!
FCBD had some signings from the Sullen Grey creative team, and since one of the artists had drawn a special issue of Shrek for Free Comic Book Day, they had a cool signing going on. The turn out for the shop was very impressive, and I was happy to see the store was very busy every time I either looked up from getting a caricature of me getting drawn or when I was talking nonsense with my friends.
Hunger eventually overtook us, and my crew wanted some pho. So I, Patrick, Victor, Carissa, Katie, Jon, Eddie, George, Anny, Jaime, and Juandel journeyed to nearby Little Saigon. We ate at a place called Pho 79, and the food wasn’t too bad. I liked the fried rice I ordered. After eating, we headed back to the shop to reconvene and let those that needed to take off do so.
The next plan turned into karaoke. Patrick suggested Ding Dong Dang up on Garden Grove boulevard. Carissa had to take off, but everyone else was game. We got a little lost getting there, but eventually found ourselves at the karaoke joint.
We all sang for over 3 hours. Pretty friggin’ crazy. I sang Buttercup, and even felt I owned it a little. Jon and his posse took off half-way through the karaoke list, and we finished the night at Denny’s. Jamie was really in a mood for ice cream… until we got there. Then she revealed she didn’t really care for ice cream.
I would like to clarify that Jamie asked for ice cream over 5 times.
ANYWAYS, Denny’s was pretty good, and we ended the night on some good laughs.
Topics of Conversation @ Free Comic Book Day: Pho, cupcakes, curfews, Power Girl’s creepy eyes, Ding Dong Dang, pimping out my friends, herding cats, pictures of ridiculous cuteness, ice cream, eating Shrek’s face, Victor’s magic trick concerning kryptonite, Lois Lane: Centaur, the “fake High School” experiment, etc.
-Nate
Sunday, April 18, 2010
Anaheim Comic Con - Day 04: The Great Signature Hunt of 2010
As quickly as the storm came, it passed. Sunday was looking to be a day of gathering all the things that I hadn’t been able to grab for the last three days. In an odd way, it felt like Sunday would be the day for volunteers. Where we turn the Con into our own little wandering playground.
And boy did I wander.
For me, today was about getting my shirt signed. I didn’t really have money to buy anything, but I had my rugged charm to use on people to get them to sign my retina-burning yellow volunteer shirt. But I didn’t just want autographs from the celebrity or creative guests, I also wanted all my fellow volunteers to sign my shirt. And piece by piece, I achieved this goal.
MY AUTOGRAPHS!: Ted Raimi. Doug Tennapel. Adam West. Jewel Staith. Burt Ward. Mindy Sterling. Jason Mewes. Ed Asner. Jake Busey. etc.
I narrowly avoided getting a penis drawn on my back, Christine signed my shirt 3 times, and I got a drawing of Earthworm Jim and Batman. The shirt looks awesome. I’ll have to figure out a way to display it so that both sides can be seen.
After the Con closed up for the last day, the volunteers and I went into the back to do some clean up. And then we got to grab our SWAG Bags. And these were special Volunteer Swag Bags. Their were 10 Hour, 20 Hours, 30 Hours, and finally, 40 Hours bags. Each pertained to the number of hours a volunteer put in for the whole Comic Con. I did 37 hours. Whoo boy. I got the 40 Hour bag and felt like a very tired Fan Boy.
Many thanks to all the people that helped make the Anaheim Comic Con rock. A special thank you to the first 19 on Thursday, as I will remember your names for a long time to come. I can’t wait to volunteer next year!
Topics of Conversation @ The Con: How to say Beardo, drawing penises on shirts, Adam We, the irresistibleness of David Tennant, baby Thors, being Vanilla, the parade of R2’s, Dollhouse spoilers, Ninja: The Game, suran wrap, trying to find a dinosaur poster, etc.
-Nate
And boy did I wander.
For me, today was about getting my shirt signed. I didn’t really have money to buy anything, but I had my rugged charm to use on people to get them to sign my retina-burning yellow volunteer shirt. But I didn’t just want autographs from the celebrity or creative guests, I also wanted all my fellow volunteers to sign my shirt. And piece by piece, I achieved this goal.
MY AUTOGRAPHS!: Ted Raimi. Doug Tennapel. Adam West. Jewel Staith. Burt Ward. Mindy Sterling. Jason Mewes. Ed Asner. Jake Busey. etc.
I narrowly avoided getting a penis drawn on my back, Christine signed my shirt 3 times, and I got a drawing of Earthworm Jim and Batman. The shirt looks awesome. I’ll have to figure out a way to display it so that both sides can be seen.
After the Con closed up for the last day, the volunteers and I went into the back to do some clean up. And then we got to grab our SWAG Bags. And these were special Volunteer Swag Bags. Their were 10 Hour, 20 Hours, 30 Hours, and finally, 40 Hours bags. Each pertained to the number of hours a volunteer put in for the whole Comic Con. I did 37 hours. Whoo boy. I got the 40 Hour bag and felt like a very tired Fan Boy.
Many thanks to all the people that helped make the Anaheim Comic Con rock. A special thank you to the first 19 on Thursday, as I will remember your names for a long time to come. I can’t wait to volunteer next year!
Topics of Conversation @ The Con: How to say Beardo, drawing penises on shirts, Adam We, the irresistibleness of David Tennant, baby Thors, being Vanilla, the parade of R2’s, Dollhouse spoilers, Ninja: The Game, suran wrap, trying to find a dinosaur poster, etc.
-Nate
Saturday, April 17, 2010
Anaheim Comic Con - Day 03: Hurricane Doherty
As was foretold by the Prophets of WizardWorld, Saturday descended into anarchy.
It was mostly due to the actions of one star. Not Adam West. Not William Shatner. Not Verne Troyer. No, gentle reader. None of these stars were able to achieve as much infamy, or generate as much general chaos as the one and only:
SHANNON DOHERTY.
It started out simple. As do all stories of hell unleashed. Doherty’s handler, a fellow named Mike, required the attentions of three volunteers to help escort Doherty, and fellow Charmed star Holly Marie Combs, to their autograph booth. As we waited for them, the number of volunteers needed grew to a total of six. 6 volunteers should have been overkill. I began to wonder if they would really need me. But Mike was resolute, so I remained with the large group.
The plan changed slightly, because Doherty and Combs had brought along their own photographer, and would need to unload the equipment nearby. They pulled their cars around the back, and entered through the loading dock. I ran to retrieve a cart to take the equipment. Emphasis on “ran.” It had been a farther distance than I had thought it would be. Argh.
We set up the autograph booth, and the fans arrived. About a hundred, if my math was right. Because there were so many, we had to separate the main body of the line. This was problematic because we would need to go retrieve small groups of the line to ferry over to the booth. But what really became problematic was the price. Because, in a word...
It was pricey.
Doherty and Combs were charging $40 to have their photographer take a picture of them with the fan. ON TOP of that, it would cost $20 for their autograph. EACH. So you were looking at a total of $80 by the time you were stepping out of the booth. Wow. But the fans agreed, and the line was still long and strong an hour or two later.
Then Shannon Doherty went on a cigarette break.
By the time she came back, the price for a picture with both Combs and Doherty went up to $60. And the price for each autograph? $30 each. EACH. So now you were spending $120 easy.
*CHOKE*
And like magic, the line got cut in half. What had originally been an hour wait, was now 15 minutes. Fans were pretty pissed. Heck, I was pissed. Honestly, if she had stuck with her original price, she would have gotten a hell of a lot more money in the long run. Tsk, tsk.
A little later, I got shifted around to other duties. I even got to hang out with Ted Raimi at his booth for a bit. After the madness of ShaDo, it was nice to talk to a genuinely nice guy like Ted Raimi. Let it be heard from the mountain tops! That guy is an okay guy.
I met up with Justin to catch my lunch and figure out the plan for later that night. My friend Jamal was going to have a Doctor Who night watching the first three episodes of the 5th Series with Matt Smith, the new, 11th, Doctor. Hopefully I would get out of the Con in time to watch it with them.
I began the slow process of collecting signatures for my volunteer shirt. I started with Ted Raimi, then got Doug Tenapel (creator of Earthworm Jim), and continued from there. But I wouldn’t be just segregated to celebrities and the such. I fully planned to collect the other volunteer’s signatures by the end of the 4th day.
After the Con, I hitched a ride with Justin AND Jamal, who decided to come along to show some love. We picked up some dinner and then headed to Jamal’s apartment. Ben joined us before the first episode was finished.
Matt Smith is really, really good.
I mean, wow. This guy has a really incredible grip on who his Doctor is. He’s weirder. He’s more sly. And he is the equal to every actor that’s gone ahead of him. My hat goes off to him. He quite possibly went into being the Doctor amidst more nay-saying and bitterness than Tennant had had to deal with. And he impressed me. Good going, Mr. Smith.
And Stephen Moffat, the new show runner, is going all out. With great writing and new creations to help bolster the already 50-odd years of continuity and rogue’s gallery. Though I think the new opening credits are a bit ridiculous, and the new version of the theme isn‘t quite hitting the right note with me, it cannot be said that the new run will go unnoticed. So my over-all feelings about the new Doctor Who? In two words:
I’m down.
Topics of Conversation @ The Con: Tasers, travel with no excuses, ferries, vicious lawyers, how can electricity be individually allocated, Hawaii fever, The New Doctor Will Skull-F**k You!, the kindness of burritos, Amy Pond, the genius of the green tongue, etc.
-Nate
It was mostly due to the actions of one star. Not Adam West. Not William Shatner. Not Verne Troyer. No, gentle reader. None of these stars were able to achieve as much infamy, or generate as much general chaos as the one and only:
SHANNON DOHERTY.
It started out simple. As do all stories of hell unleashed. Doherty’s handler, a fellow named Mike, required the attentions of three volunteers to help escort Doherty, and fellow Charmed star Holly Marie Combs, to their autograph booth. As we waited for them, the number of volunteers needed grew to a total of six. 6 volunteers should have been overkill. I began to wonder if they would really need me. But Mike was resolute, so I remained with the large group.
The plan changed slightly, because Doherty and Combs had brought along their own photographer, and would need to unload the equipment nearby. They pulled their cars around the back, and entered through the loading dock. I ran to retrieve a cart to take the equipment. Emphasis on “ran.” It had been a farther distance than I had thought it would be. Argh.
We set up the autograph booth, and the fans arrived. About a hundred, if my math was right. Because there were so many, we had to separate the main body of the line. This was problematic because we would need to go retrieve small groups of the line to ferry over to the booth. But what really became problematic was the price. Because, in a word...
It was pricey.
Doherty and Combs were charging $40 to have their photographer take a picture of them with the fan. ON TOP of that, it would cost $20 for their autograph. EACH. So you were looking at a total of $80 by the time you were stepping out of the booth. Wow. But the fans agreed, and the line was still long and strong an hour or two later.
Then Shannon Doherty went on a cigarette break.
By the time she came back, the price for a picture with both Combs and Doherty went up to $60. And the price for each autograph? $30 each. EACH. So now you were spending $120 easy.
*CHOKE*
And like magic, the line got cut in half. What had originally been an hour wait, was now 15 minutes. Fans were pretty pissed. Heck, I was pissed. Honestly, if she had stuck with her original price, she would have gotten a hell of a lot more money in the long run. Tsk, tsk.
A little later, I got shifted around to other duties. I even got to hang out with Ted Raimi at his booth for a bit. After the madness of ShaDo, it was nice to talk to a genuinely nice guy like Ted Raimi. Let it be heard from the mountain tops! That guy is an okay guy.
I met up with Justin to catch my lunch and figure out the plan for later that night. My friend Jamal was going to have a Doctor Who night watching the first three episodes of the 5th Series with Matt Smith, the new, 11th, Doctor. Hopefully I would get out of the Con in time to watch it with them.
I began the slow process of collecting signatures for my volunteer shirt. I started with Ted Raimi, then got Doug Tenapel (creator of Earthworm Jim), and continued from there. But I wouldn’t be just segregated to celebrities and the such. I fully planned to collect the other volunteer’s signatures by the end of the 4th day.
After the Con, I hitched a ride with Justin AND Jamal, who decided to come along to show some love. We picked up some dinner and then headed to Jamal’s apartment. Ben joined us before the first episode was finished.
We watched The Eleventh Hour, The Beast Below, and Victory of the Daleks. Let me first clarify that David Tennant is going to be my Doctor for all time. Nothing can, or will, change that. That being said…
Matt Smith is really, really good.
I mean, wow. This guy has a really incredible grip on who his Doctor is. He’s weirder. He’s more sly. And he is the equal to every actor that’s gone ahead of him. My hat goes off to him. He quite possibly went into being the Doctor amidst more nay-saying and bitterness than Tennant had had to deal with. And he impressed me. Good going, Mr. Smith.
And Stephen Moffat, the new show runner, is going all out. With great writing and new creations to help bolster the already 50-odd years of continuity and rogue’s gallery. Though I think the new opening credits are a bit ridiculous, and the new version of the theme isn‘t quite hitting the right note with me, it cannot be said that the new run will go unnoticed. So my over-all feelings about the new Doctor Who? In two words:
I’m down.
Topics of Conversation @ The Con: Tasers, travel with no excuses, ferries, vicious lawyers, how can electricity be individually allocated, Hawaii fever, The New Doctor Will Skull-F**k You!, the kindness of burritos, Amy Pond, the genius of the green tongue, etc.
-Nate
Friday, April 16, 2010
Anaheim Comic Con - Day 02: More Swag Bags
I made a deal with my Dad so that he could drop me off at the Con. That way, I didn’t have to pay for parking. He agreed, because he’s cool like that. I entered the Con, which was now alive and kicking. I stared at the DeLorean with loving eyes. And I took a deep breath.
After which…
I should remember what happened the rest of the day. I should. But I don’t. And I was just there. But it was a bunch of urgently getting things done. And at some point I ate a sandwich, before which I helped unload an entire pallet full of desperately-needed bottled water. I recognized Mark Lutz, the guy who played the Groosalugg in Angel. I handed out a friggin’ ton of Swag Bags.
I did meet some more new volunteers. Again, the bonding moment was the SWAG Bag assembly. There’s a magic in those bags, I think.
Brenna
Drey
Allison
Kate
(and others, please don't be annoyed at me)
I also saw Adam West in person. He’s looking older, but he sounds fantastic.
Topics of Conversation @ The Con: Scientific curiosity concerning lesbians, the infinite sadness of the D-list celebrity, Disney memories, Belgium, Verne Troyer being smaller than we had all thought, nicknames of infamy, etc.
-Nate
After which…
I should remember what happened the rest of the day. I should. But I don’t. And I was just there. But it was a bunch of urgently getting things done. And at some point I ate a sandwich, before which I helped unload an entire pallet full of desperately-needed bottled water. I recognized Mark Lutz, the guy who played the Groosalugg in Angel. I handed out a friggin’ ton of Swag Bags.
I did meet some more new volunteers. Again, the bonding moment was the SWAG Bag assembly. There’s a magic in those bags, I think.
Brenna
Drey
Allison
Kate
(and others, please don't be annoyed at me)
I also saw Adam West in person. He’s looking older, but he sounds fantastic.
Topics of Conversation @ The Con: Scientific curiosity concerning lesbians, the infinite sadness of the D-list celebrity, Disney memories, Belgium, Verne Troyer being smaller than we had all thought, nicknames of infamy, etc.
-Nate
Wednesday, March 31, 2010
Beer and Comics
Two comic runs in a row, and still raring to go! I had a late start of it, though.
I met up with Justin, Cap’n Josh, and a special cameo appearance by Victor at Comics Unlimited. It was good to see the guys again after my trip to San Francisco, and we caught up as much as we could. Nancy, Lainey, and Mark were running the store, and good times were had. I picked up Blackest Night (#8 of 8) and The Walking Dead (#1 Reprint).
Topics of Conversation @ Comics Unlimited: Vampires of the Black Forest, Dustin’ & Steamin’ & Coughin’, turning into a Frankenstein, yo-yo-yo-yo’ing gayness, the turn of events concerning the cat, palpable hatred, Super-Man-Bat-Man-creature, Grant Morrison: Brainiac, etc.
After the shop, Vic, Cap’n Josh, Justin, and myself headed to Brewbakers for lunch. I had a cheeseburger, as did the rest of the crew. I had to head out for work at Norwalk after a bit, and bid them farewell.
Norwalk was fairly easy, with some planning ahead for an upcoming shoot on April 13th for SEACCA. I mostly organized the cable Bulletin Pages and had a surprise come up in the form of a Traffic School class that needed a projector and laptop that everybody had forgotten to inform us that they needed. Annoying, but we dealt.
-Nate
I met up with Justin, Cap’n Josh, and a special cameo appearance by Victor at Comics Unlimited. It was good to see the guys again after my trip to San Francisco, and we caught up as much as we could. Nancy, Lainey, and Mark were running the store, and good times were had. I picked up Blackest Night (#8 of 8) and The Walking Dead (#1 Reprint).
Topics of Conversation @ Comics Unlimited: Vampires of the Black Forest, Dustin’ & Steamin’ & Coughin’, turning into a Frankenstein, yo-yo-yo-yo’ing gayness, the turn of events concerning the cat, palpable hatred, Super-Man-Bat-Man-creature, Grant Morrison: Brainiac, etc.
After the shop, Vic, Cap’n Josh, Justin, and myself headed to Brewbakers for lunch. I had a cheeseburger, as did the rest of the crew. I had to head out for work at Norwalk after a bit, and bid them farewell.
Norwalk was fairly easy, with some planning ahead for an upcoming shoot on April 13th for SEACCA. I mostly organized the cable Bulletin Pages and had a surprise come up in the form of a Traffic School class that needed a projector and laptop that everybody had forgotten to inform us that they needed. Annoying, but we dealt.
-Nate
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Back To Work and Comics (Not In That Order)
I had a shoot at 8:00 am for PCTA, in Huntington Beach specifically, and I very nearly didn’t wake up in time for it. I was exhausted from the entire weekend in Frisco, but I had to get moving for an early morning shoot right away. My vacation was definitely over.
It was an interview of some city officials about different city services. I was manning the teleprompter camera, which needed very little supervision except to make sure it didn’t get bumped, and remained in focus. The shoot went by very quickly, and I found myself with a few extra hours before I had to head to Norwalk, which gave me time to go to Comics Unlimited to pick up the comics that I still had on hold.
The shop was being run by Nancy, Mark, and *SURPRISE!* Denise! A cool girl, with funny-ass tweets. (As in Twitter people, do catch up with the times, and keep your nose out of the gutter).
Topics of Conversation @ Comics Unlimited: Robbing a car as a welcome, owning half a comic rack, one lone dirty sock, crazy mobs, why does a comic shop own a shovel?, the perils of Oakland, dust, payment enforcement, obvious lies, exact change, signatures written in urine, etc.
I picked up Blackest Night (#7 of 8), Green Lantern (#52), X-Factor Forever (#1), What If… (#70), The Great Ten (#01), and Major Bummer (#12). The first three were newer comics, while the last three were back issues from the 59 cent bin.
Blackest Night was fun, but the biggest problem with this issue (and most DC events to boot) is the fact that you really can’t read this 8-parter by itself. You HAVE TO read Green Lantern and, to a lesser degree, Green Lantern Corps in tandem. I think this is unfair for the casual reader, and a little annoying for admittedly hardcore fans such as myself. Hey, I’m already reading these issues, so give me something a little different, not the same exact story!
X-Factor Forever was okay. I liked the art, and Walt Simonson is the a great writer, though I’ve noticed, and this is similar for a lot of the older school comic writers, that the dialogue is a little off. It can get a little melodramatic, and sometimes the characters don’t have a very obvious personality. They don’t talk, so much as make statements. Its not easy to notice, but I’ve been reading too long. Maybe I’ll pick up issue #2, but I’m not sure if I’ll be reading anymore after that.
Major Bummer was fun, and made we wish I had followed the series while it was still around. What If was actually kind of dumb, and the art was really bargain basement. It look like the artist had called in a favor to get a chance to draw a comic book. But he was not ready. AT ALL. I hate bagging on people’s artistic endeavors, so I’ll just leave it at that.
The Great Ten, though, was really good! I’m going to have to dig up the second and third issues to try and catch up. I like the writing, but, and I might be a minority here, the art just isn’t that great. Scott McDaniels just does too fast a job for me. It doesn’t feel like he spends anytime on his art, just does a first draft and sends it in. But he’s still better than the What If artist was.
-Nate
It was an interview of some city officials about different city services. I was manning the teleprompter camera, which needed very little supervision except to make sure it didn’t get bumped, and remained in focus. The shoot went by very quickly, and I found myself with a few extra hours before I had to head to Norwalk, which gave me time to go to Comics Unlimited to pick up the comics that I still had on hold.
The shop was being run by Nancy, Mark, and *SURPRISE!* Denise! A cool girl, with funny-ass tweets. (As in Twitter people, do catch up with the times, and keep your nose out of the gutter).
Topics of Conversation @ Comics Unlimited: Robbing a car as a welcome, owning half a comic rack, one lone dirty sock, crazy mobs, why does a comic shop own a shovel?, the perils of Oakland, dust, payment enforcement, obvious lies, exact change, signatures written in urine, etc.
I picked up Blackest Night (#7 of 8), Green Lantern (#52), X-Factor Forever (#1), What If… (#70), The Great Ten (#01), and Major Bummer (#12). The first three were newer comics, while the last three were back issues from the 59 cent bin.
Blackest Night was fun, but the biggest problem with this issue (and most DC events to boot) is the fact that you really can’t read this 8-parter by itself. You HAVE TO read Green Lantern and, to a lesser degree, Green Lantern Corps in tandem. I think this is unfair for the casual reader, and a little annoying for admittedly hardcore fans such as myself. Hey, I’m already reading these issues, so give me something a little different, not the same exact story!
X-Factor Forever was okay. I liked the art, and Walt Simonson is the a great writer, though I’ve noticed, and this is similar for a lot of the older school comic writers, that the dialogue is a little off. It can get a little melodramatic, and sometimes the characters don’t have a very obvious personality. They don’t talk, so much as make statements. Its not easy to notice, but I’ve been reading too long. Maybe I’ll pick up issue #2, but I’m not sure if I’ll be reading anymore after that.
Major Bummer was fun, and made we wish I had followed the series while it was still around. What If was actually kind of dumb, and the art was really bargain basement. It look like the artist had called in a favor to get a chance to draw a comic book. But he was not ready. AT ALL. I hate bagging on people’s artistic endeavors, so I’ll just leave it at that.
The Great Ten, though, was really good! I’m going to have to dig up the second and third issues to try and catch up. I like the writing, but, and I might be a minority here, the art just isn’t that great. Scott McDaniels just does too fast a job for me. It doesn’t feel like he spends anytime on his art, just does a first draft and sends it in. But he’s still better than the What If artist was.
-Nate
Sunday, March 7, 2010
Comic Shop Boot Camp
I am under the impression that Nancy got me this spot of side work to shut me up.
You see, I've subtly and, at times, not so subtly, asked about any job openings at the shop. There are none. Why would there be? Its at a comic shop, for crying out loud. But it doesn't hurt to ask, and to be known to ask. Or could it?
Hence why I think Nancy trying to shut me up.
The work at the storage facility is... exhausting isn't a tiring enough word, but it will have to do. We started at 9:00 am, and we weren't done until 6:00 pm. We were tossing long boxes of comics around for roughly 9 hours! The sheer volume of comics that we have to go through and sort was staggering. If I hadn't been to Comic Con, or had a comic book pack rat for an uncle, I would say its the most comic books I've seen in one location. But if it ain't in second place, then that would be madness in of itself.
And the temptation. Great googly moogly, THE TEMPTATION! Every minute there are at least four comic books that I haven't seen before. And of those four, there are two that look really cool. And of those two, there is a single issue that I would fight a bear for a chance to read it. And I can't read it. I CAN'T READ IT. Its like that sad episode of the Twilight Zone where all that dude wants to do it read, and then he goes and breaks his glasses. It was painful at times, I'll tell you what.
But painful isn't something you know till you've lifted over a hundred long boxes, each packed to the gills with the one thing you want to read in the world. Each weighing at least 30 pounds. My fingertips have been rubbed raw. My brain is fried. And my muscles' muscles are sore.
I feel accomplished.
It was a long, tiring day, but it was of special note. I know that much. The number of comics was built up over years and years. The amount of work that had to be done in two days was uncommon. (Not for the buyer, he does it a lot). But it was nice actually seeing the headway that was being made. The storage place had been packed, but as we worked, more and more of the boxes were being moved out to the truck. And not one person slacked off. It was good to be around people that you didn't have to worry about any of them just leaving the work for you to do.
My only regret is that I forgot to charge my iPod the night before, so half-way through the day, it died. Though I don't know if the music was annoying other people. I was just sad that I didn't have it to help finish off the last stretch.
I'm not scared of hard work. But what I went through was Comic Shop Boot Camp. And I made it out the other side stronger than before. I ain't some green, untrained recruit anymore. I've been through the wringer. I was in The S**t. I bled for my shop. I even have other soldiers I can talk to about what we've been through.
So I guess what I'm saying is: Nancy, are you hiring?
-Nate
You see, I've subtly and, at times, not so subtly, asked about any job openings at the shop. There are none. Why would there be? Its at a comic shop, for crying out loud. But it doesn't hurt to ask, and to be known to ask. Or could it?
Hence why I think Nancy trying to shut me up.
The work at the storage facility is... exhausting isn't a tiring enough word, but it will have to do. We started at 9:00 am, and we weren't done until 6:00 pm. We were tossing long boxes of comics around for roughly 9 hours! The sheer volume of comics that we have to go through and sort was staggering. If I hadn't been to Comic Con, or had a comic book pack rat for an uncle, I would say its the most comic books I've seen in one location. But if it ain't in second place, then that would be madness in of itself.
And the temptation. Great googly moogly, THE TEMPTATION! Every minute there are at least four comic books that I haven't seen before. And of those four, there are two that look really cool. And of those two, there is a single issue that I would fight a bear for a chance to read it. And I can't read it. I CAN'T READ IT. Its like that sad episode of the Twilight Zone where all that dude wants to do it read, and then he goes and breaks his glasses. It was painful at times, I'll tell you what.
But painful isn't something you know till you've lifted over a hundred long boxes, each packed to the gills with the one thing you want to read in the world. Each weighing at least 30 pounds. My fingertips have been rubbed raw. My brain is fried. And my muscles' muscles are sore.
I feel accomplished.
It was a long, tiring day, but it was of special note. I know that much. The number of comics was built up over years and years. The amount of work that had to be done in two days was uncommon. (Not for the buyer, he does it a lot). But it was nice actually seeing the headway that was being made. The storage place had been packed, but as we worked, more and more of the boxes were being moved out to the truck. And not one person slacked off. It was good to be around people that you didn't have to worry about any of them just leaving the work for you to do.
My only regret is that I forgot to charge my iPod the night before, so half-way through the day, it died. Though I don't know if the music was annoying other people. I was just sad that I didn't have it to help finish off the last stretch.
I'm not scared of hard work. But what I went through was Comic Shop Boot Camp. And I made it out the other side stronger than before. I ain't some green, untrained recruit anymore. I've been through the wringer. I was in The S**t. I bled for my shop. I even have other soldiers I can talk to about what we've been through.
So I guess what I'm saying is: Nancy, are you hiring?
-Nate
Basketball, Comics, and Wonderland
March 6, 2010:
Thanks to Nancy, I had an opportunity for extra money on the side. This took the form of helping her, and others, in packing up the comics that was being kept in their very own storage facility. This collection was from the shop's 20 odd years of back issue inventory. She had a buyer from another state, and he would pay me and the other helpers to get as much of this done as possible. Pay? Money? I'm an American, I always have uses for money!
But first I had to get up at 5:30 to make it to work at Lakewood at 7:00 am.
I had a shoot at Del Valle park for the next round of kid league Basketball Championships. Apparently the rain forecast would have very little effect on the outside basketball court. Right. We got to the park and started setting up, all the while looking up at the incoming clouds. Yet again we had trouble with the power for the truck, and I'm still not sure how we got it to work properly. But we powered through, and were setting up for the announcer segment as the teams for the first game arrived. As soon as we started rolling on the segment, it started raining. We had wrapped up all the camera equipment in plastic, which turned out so much more necessary than we had thought.
The coaches called off the game as soon as they saw how wet the court was. We took the cameras back to the truck, and hoped against hope that the second game would be called off. It was not. The rain had stopped long enough for the park caretakers to decide that they could dry off the basketball court with push brooms and leafblowers in time for the second game. This was true, but the clouds were coming in dark and brooding, and it seemed as though the sky was just waiting to drop some more water on us. We set up the cameras for the second game. It didn't rain.
Not until the next opposing teams played for about 5 minutes.
Then it started raining harder than before. The game was called off, and we got the okay to break down all the equipment. Which we did. In the rain. And slightly annoyed. By the time all the equipment was in the truck, my head was soaked. Luckily I decided to convert a trash bag (not a used one, people!) into a makeshift poncho, which kept me relatively dry and relatively looking ridiculous.
Topics of Conversation @ the shoot: The kid and the new kid, gum, rain rituals, turning on the sun, chem trails, nicotine, how one can be the best around, staying positive, how to talk like Stephen Hawking, etc.
Since we were done a little early, I was able to head over to the storage facility to help Nancy and the buyer to pack up the comics. The biggest surprise from when I got the address was the fact that the place was incredibly close to where I live. I got to the place in time to be greeted by Mark, who informed me that everyone had gone on lunch. Which meant that I had a few minutes to kill and gather my wits. So I looked around the storage.
It was big. It was full. It was going to be a LONG weekend.
The job was simple:
1. Sort the comics by Company.
2. Pack the long boxes tight.
3. Throw onto a pallet.
4. Put it in the huge truck out back.
5. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
Everyone got back from lunch, at which point I got to meet the buyer, who was a very nice man. He's also an awesome professional in the field of comics books. He actually had a shop once upon a time that I had visited multiple times in the past. It was strange to actually be meeting him officially for the first time.
The work was exhausting, especially being on top of an already long day for myself. But the crew was focused and hard working, and it was comic books, so it wasn't like I didn't enjoy the subject at hand. Though I didn't have time to read anything, nor should I have been reading anything in the first place. This was only the first day, too.
After we finished for the day, I headed over to Tustin to hang out with Jamal and Ben. They wanted to eat at a Korean BBQ, watch Alice in Wonderland, and go to a bar afterword. I was down for the BBQ and movie, but I passed on the bar, since I had to help out at the storage again tomorrow morning. Dinner was really good, even though I felt distracted by the feeling that my head felt stuffed with cotton after such a long, tiring day. When we got to the theater, Alice had already sold out. Damn. We bought tickets for a later showing, and headed over to Barnes & Noble to kill time and talk.
Topics of Conversation @ Barnes & Noble: Revenge flicks, milk, pedo friends, bro codes, My Sassy Girl, a Batman idea, mysterious friends that continue to remain frustratingly mysterious, etc.
So we watched Alice in Wonderland, in 3D, and I have to say, that it didn't work for me very well. Plot points and character traits were frustrating for most of the movie. And the ending felt really forced and random. But the actress who played Alice was excellent, and each actor did a great job. But I have to hand it to Anne Hathway, as the White Queen. She stole each and every scene she was in. She was hilarious and interesting at the same time, with really subtle quirks, and one big quirk that never stopped amusing me. Actually, all the subtle stuff in this movie worked great for me. But this is not a subtle movie. This is a very obvious, colorful, and, yes, MAD film. An okay movie, but not worth the 3D price tag ultimately.
And what is it with Tim Burton and pale, blond women?
-Nate
Thanks to Nancy, I had an opportunity for extra money on the side. This took the form of helping her, and others, in packing up the comics that was being kept in their very own storage facility. This collection was from the shop's 20 odd years of back issue inventory. She had a buyer from another state, and he would pay me and the other helpers to get as much of this done as possible. Pay? Money? I'm an American, I always have uses for money!
But first I had to get up at 5:30 to make it to work at Lakewood at 7:00 am.
I had a shoot at Del Valle park for the next round of kid league Basketball Championships. Apparently the rain forecast would have very little effect on the outside basketball court. Right. We got to the park and started setting up, all the while looking up at the incoming clouds. Yet again we had trouble with the power for the truck, and I'm still not sure how we got it to work properly. But we powered through, and were setting up for the announcer segment as the teams for the first game arrived. As soon as we started rolling on the segment, it started raining. We had wrapped up all the camera equipment in plastic, which turned out so much more necessary than we had thought.
The coaches called off the game as soon as they saw how wet the court was. We took the cameras back to the truck, and hoped against hope that the second game would be called off. It was not. The rain had stopped long enough for the park caretakers to decide that they could dry off the basketball court with push brooms and leafblowers in time for the second game. This was true, but the clouds were coming in dark and brooding, and it seemed as though the sky was just waiting to drop some more water on us. We set up the cameras for the second game. It didn't rain.
Not until the next opposing teams played for about 5 minutes.
Then it started raining harder than before. The game was called off, and we got the okay to break down all the equipment. Which we did. In the rain. And slightly annoyed. By the time all the equipment was in the truck, my head was soaked. Luckily I decided to convert a trash bag (not a used one, people!) into a makeshift poncho, which kept me relatively dry and relatively looking ridiculous.
Topics of Conversation @ the shoot: The kid and the new kid, gum, rain rituals, turning on the sun, chem trails, nicotine, how one can be the best around, staying positive, how to talk like Stephen Hawking, etc.
Since we were done a little early, I was able to head over to the storage facility to help Nancy and the buyer to pack up the comics. The biggest surprise from when I got the address was the fact that the place was incredibly close to where I live. I got to the place in time to be greeted by Mark, who informed me that everyone had gone on lunch. Which meant that I had a few minutes to kill and gather my wits. So I looked around the storage.
It was big. It was full. It was going to be a LONG weekend.
The job was simple:
1. Sort the comics by Company.
2. Pack the long boxes tight.
3. Throw onto a pallet.
4. Put it in the huge truck out back.
5. Lather, rinse, and repeat.
Everyone got back from lunch, at which point I got to meet the buyer, who was a very nice man. He's also an awesome professional in the field of comics books. He actually had a shop once upon a time that I had visited multiple times in the past. It was strange to actually be meeting him officially for the first time.
The work was exhausting, especially being on top of an already long day for myself. But the crew was focused and hard working, and it was comic books, so it wasn't like I didn't enjoy the subject at hand. Though I didn't have time to read anything, nor should I have been reading anything in the first place. This was only the first day, too.
After we finished for the day, I headed over to Tustin to hang out with Jamal and Ben. They wanted to eat at a Korean BBQ, watch Alice in Wonderland, and go to a bar afterword. I was down for the BBQ and movie, but I passed on the bar, since I had to help out at the storage again tomorrow morning. Dinner was really good, even though I felt distracted by the feeling that my head felt stuffed with cotton after such a long, tiring day. When we got to the theater, Alice had already sold out. Damn. We bought tickets for a later showing, and headed over to Barnes & Noble to kill time and talk.
Topics of Conversation @ Barnes & Noble: Revenge flicks, milk, pedo friends, bro codes, My Sassy Girl, a Batman idea, mysterious friends that continue to remain frustratingly mysterious, etc.
So we watched Alice in Wonderland, in 3D, and I have to say, that it didn't work for me very well. Plot points and character traits were frustrating for most of the movie. And the ending felt really forced and random. But the actress who played Alice was excellent, and each actor did a great job. But I have to hand it to Anne Hathway, as the White Queen. She stole each and every scene she was in. She was hilarious and interesting at the same time, with really subtle quirks, and one big quirk that never stopped amusing me. Actually, all the subtle stuff in this movie worked great for me. But this is not a subtle movie. This is a very obvious, colorful, and, yes, MAD film. An okay movie, but not worth the 3D price tag ultimately.
And what is it with Tim Burton and pale, blond women?
-Nate
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