The Geek Connection 2: The Wrath of Mojo Jojo

Continuing on my theme of marketing "Four-Color Heroes!" to the geek community, this past weekend I stuffed my bag full of CDs and postcards and hit the Emerald City Comicon. My primary mission was simple: to give out copies of my CD and postcards to comic book writers, artists, and other notables that I admire and maybe get a picture of them with the CD or with me. My secondary mission: to take pictures of costumed attendees with "Four-Color Heroes!" I also donated copies of "F-CH!" to ECCC for their hourly giveaways throughout the weekend, but I'm not sure if they were given away or not. Did you win one? Send me a note!

More (much more) after the jump!

On Saturday, AV came with me (super girlfriend points!) and after waiting in the giant self-organizing Disney-snake-style line and then the second slightly smaller self-organizing Disney-snake-style line, we arrived. After dropping off CDs and cards at the ECCC booth, we walked over to the Fantagraphics booth where we were surprised to find Jaime Hernandez signing and sketching with no line at all. "Love and Rockets" has been one of my favorite comics since I was a teenager, and AV is also a huge fan. Jaime was extremely nice and great to meet and talk with. He did an amazing sketch of Maggie from L&R for us and I gave him a CD. At this point, AV and I were still feeling a little shy asking to take pictures but here is a picture I took later of the sketch he did for us.

Next up, we talked to James Kolchalka of American Elf fame. I bought a copy of "Monkey vs. Robot" which he signed as well as sketched a robot speaking my name. I gave him a CD.

AV and I then tried to wait in line for Ed Brubaker, but it was very long and we weren't feeling patient enough. So we wandered off looking for the line for Matt Fraction. We didn't find the line, but we did find Matt himself ("I don't get lines") - he's one of the coolest, and most talented (and now Eisner Award nominated) writers in comics today, so I don't think he'll avoid having lines for much longer. I recommend "Casanova" and "Invincible Iron Man." I bought an "Iron Man" paperback which he signed, with Iron Man speaking my name.

Robot and Iron Man saying my name:

Closing off our Saturday at ECCC, we stopped by to meet Wil Wheaton. If you are only familiar with his work as an actor, you should definitely read Wil's blog or check your library for one of his books. He is a tremendously funny, down-to-earth guy who really likes Dungeons & Dragons, online poker, and all manner of geekdom. I bought the second-to-last copy of his book "The Happiest Days of Our Lives" which he signed, gave him a CD and took the picture above with him. Mission Accomplished!

After returning home for a short break, AV and I headed back out to Fantagraphics Books in Georgetown for the opening of their Jaime Hernandez and Stan Sakai exhibit. I first read "Usagi Yojimbo" when I was 12 or 13, possibly in the long-defunct "Albedo Anthropomorphics" (I still have a copy of #0). Meeting Stan was a true honor and a treat. He is simply one of the sweetest, friendliest people on the planet. He signed my copy of "Usagi" and a poster for the show, and I gave him a copy of "Four-Color Heroes!" He then proceeded to ask me to sign his copy of the CD for him. Definitely a top lifetime geek-out moment! I was too flabergasted to take a photo at the time, but here is Stan at ECCC on Sunday:

And the drawing he did for me:

I also met Paul Hornschemeier, and bought his book "Mother Come Home" which I look forward to reading. Paul also makes music and is an all-around talented guy.

On Sunday, I returned to ECCC solo (AV was smart enough to skip Day 2) with a newly refilled bag of CDs and cards. This time, I was determined to brave the big lines and take some pictures.

Here's me and Mike Mignola, creator of "Hellboy" and "BPRD", two series that I follow religiously. In the photo, I am about to give him a CD. I think I scared him a little.

If you've only seen the Hellboy movies, you should check out the comics. I like the movies just fine, but they don't even come close to the weird, gothic, alternately funny and creepy vibe of the comic series. The spin-off, "BPRD" is consistently awesome.

Right now, I'm reading everything with Ed Brubaker's name on it. "Criminal" and "Incognito" are fantastic modern noir serials, and his superhero work, especially "Captain America" is riveting. He's the guy who killed off Captain America a couple of years ago, which made the news both in the Daily Bugle and here in the real world.

After handing him the CD, we had this exchange:

EB: Is that the original Blue Beetle?
AB: Yes, the public domain Blue Beetle.
EB: (laughing) Right, the public domain Blue Beetle. (abruptly stops laughing, dead serious) You hope.
AB: (nervous laughter)
EB: (laughs again, now at my expense)

Brian Michael Bendis is another writer that I follow very closely. "Ultimate Spider-man" is highly addictive fun, and his run on "Daredevil" is essential (as is Brubaker's). He's also hilarious and friendly in person.

I also gave a copy of my CD to Colleen Coover, a cartoonist whose work I very much enjoy. I recommend "Small Favors" and "Banana Sunday" (or both!) depending on your age bracket ("Small Favors" is for grown-ups). Her work on Marvel titles is really fun and refreshing and I hope she does tons more. I bought these very cool prints of Mary Marvel and Marvel Girl.

Throughout the day, I also got some great shots of people dressed as comic and movie characters, posing with "Four-Color Heroes!" Here's Mojo Jojo:

And some color-coordinated guys from some movie or something:

To see more of my photos from Emerald City Comicon, visit my Flickr Gallery.

All in all, I spent way too much money (it is amazing how hard it is to resist "50% Off") and time at Emerald City Comicon, and sort of destroyed my shoulder with my bag of CDs and newly acquired comics. But I had a blast and got to meet some amazing folks and take some fun pictures. Hopefully, everyone who got a copy will enjoy "Four-Color Heroes!" and spread the word. If you got one, let me know what you think!