Post by dragonbat on May 1, 2006 16:23:04 GMT -5
[giddy fangirl] Sunday 5:15 pm. The convention is 45 minutes away from shutting down. I tried to get off work early but the calls volumes were high and I had to work my full shift. 4:32 finds me outside trying to catch a bus. The Gardiner expressway is closed and the traffic is slow. I start to wonder whether I'm positive that the Paradise Con is at the Exhibition. If it's at the Metro Convention centre, they'll be gone before I get there. I ask the bus driver, not really expecting her to know...
Not only does she know I'm heading in the right direction, she knows which building it's in! (The Exhibition grounds are huge...)
I hit the pavement running, get into the building, and head down a very quiet corridor. The convention's in Hall C. At the door a guard asks me for my badge. I explain that I'm coming from work and ask whether I need to go to the table to register. She realizes that there's less than an hour to quitting time and waves me in. $18.00 saved!
The convention is all in one huge hall about the size of a football field. The pros are ranged along the walls with dealers occupying tables in the middle... and yet, it seems like there are a few artists at least mixed in among the dealers. There's a crowd watching some guy getting his head shaved. I realize later that it's:
Peter Dixon, owner and operator of Paradise Comics and promoter of the Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon, has announced that he will give up his hair for charity…if comic fans do their part as well.
Now, maybe I should be paying attention to who's holding the clippers, but it's about that point that it hits me: maybe I should've taken amap when I went in? I go back for one and find out where Gail's sitting.
There's nobody at her chair. Just some contest blanks, convention buttons, and a half-finished bottle of water. I knew it. This close to shutdown, she's gone.
The gentleman at the next table sees me.
"I missed her," I sigh. "Didn't I?"
He smiles. "Gail? No, her stuff is still here. She should be back any minute."
I grin and start pulling out the three comics I'd brought for her to sign. The current BoP (because it was on the coffee table this morning); Action 835 (because that's the one she contacted me about months ago) and VU #6 (because I thought 3 comics was enough and I hit this one while digging my way down to Action).
The guy's eyes light up. He introduces himself as Dale Eaglesham. Yep! He drew VU #6. Nice guy. I chat with him and some woman I don't know on his other side, briefly.
"That's her husband, coming" Dale points.
As he approaches, I introduce myself.
"You're Esther? Gail LOVES you! She's been waiting all day to meet you!"
(At that moment, I don't think you could have drawn a clear distinction between my face and a tomato...)
It seems she's been delayed because... well, before she got into comics, she used to be a hairdresser. And the clippers that they were using on Peter Dixon were... kinda blunt. And it seems that if one uses clippers, especially blunt ones, when one does not know how... the results can be, er... painful. What grand good fortune that somebody at the convention DID know how, having been a hairdresser in her past! (I really should've paid more attention to the lady holding the clippers before. Nah. I didn't know what she looked like.)
Mr. Simone is asking me if I'd like some comics. (Umm... yeah, but I've got almost everything Gail's done. No. No, I don't have Rose & Thorn.)
And then Gail's there. Class act all the way. Turns out they're staying in a hotel not too far from where I work. So, she and her husband have been enjoying their first trip to Toronto. I ask her what the odds are of her taking over a or title. She mentions having turned it down. She explains that for her to take over a book with an established history it takes her months to plan and prepare. She needs to really get into the character and what's been happening in his life, etc. And with OYL, the timing wasn't right. Now I think about it, with BoP and the VU spinoffs, she's already working with the characters. She probably told the 52 team what to do with them. And the Atom book is an all-new character.
She does ask me how I'm enjoying Bruce Jones' run.
How brutal do I want to get? 
I hedge. "Well, after I read Batman/Scarecrow Y1, I was really excited that he was taking over. I really felt he had Dick Grayson's character cold. But after two issues of NW, it's really not doing it for me."
Mr. Simone (He does have a first name... I just don't remember if it's Stephen or Scott) says it'll probably improve soon. They're so nice I don't want to sigh and roll my eyes.
People keep coming. Mostly pros at this time, making the rounds. I don't want to overstay, anyhow.
Besides signing the books I brought, she gives me the "Of Like Minds" TPB, BoP #56 (I have it at home, but now I've got a signed copy) and she's going to send me Rose & Thorn. Actually she had #6 at the convention, but she said she'd only give it to me now if I promised not to read it until she could mail me the other 5. I don't make promises I can't keep.
I'm really glad I got to go... and here's hoping she comes back soon!
[/giddy fangirl]
Not only does she know I'm heading in the right direction, she knows which building it's in! (The Exhibition grounds are huge...)
I hit the pavement running, get into the building, and head down a very quiet corridor. The convention's in Hall C. At the door a guard asks me for my badge. I explain that I'm coming from work and ask whether I need to go to the table to register. She realizes that there's less than an hour to quitting time and waves me in. $18.00 saved!
The convention is all in one huge hall about the size of a football field. The pros are ranged along the walls with dealers occupying tables in the middle... and yet, it seems like there are a few artists at least mixed in among the dealers. There's a crowd watching some guy getting his head shaved. I realize later that it's:
Peter Dixon, owner and operator of Paradise Comics and promoter of the Paradise Comics Toronto Comicon, has announced that he will give up his hair for charity…if comic fans do their part as well.
Now, maybe I should be paying attention to who's holding the clippers, but it's about that point that it hits me: maybe I should've taken amap when I went in? I go back for one and find out where Gail's sitting.
There's nobody at her chair. Just some contest blanks, convention buttons, and a half-finished bottle of water. I knew it. This close to shutdown, she's gone.
The gentleman at the next table sees me.
"I missed her," I sigh. "Didn't I?"
He smiles. "Gail? No, her stuff is still here. She should be back any minute."
I grin and start pulling out the three comics I'd brought for her to sign. The current BoP (because it was on the coffee table this morning); Action 835 (because that's the one she contacted me about months ago) and VU #6 (because I thought 3 comics was enough and I hit this one while digging my way down to Action).
The guy's eyes light up. He introduces himself as Dale Eaglesham. Yep! He drew VU #6. Nice guy. I chat with him and some woman I don't know on his other side, briefly.
"That's her husband, coming" Dale points.
As he approaches, I introduce myself.
"You're Esther? Gail LOVES you! She's been waiting all day to meet you!"
(At that moment, I don't think you could have drawn a clear distinction between my face and a tomato...)
It seems she's been delayed because... well, before she got into comics, she used to be a hairdresser. And the clippers that they were using on Peter Dixon were... kinda blunt. And it seems that if one uses clippers, especially blunt ones, when one does not know how... the results can be, er... painful. What grand good fortune that somebody at the convention DID know how, having been a hairdresser in her past! (I really should've paid more attention to the lady holding the clippers before. Nah. I didn't know what she looked like.)
Mr. Simone is asking me if I'd like some comics. (Umm... yeah, but I've got almost everything Gail's done. No. No, I don't have Rose & Thorn.)
And then Gail's there. Class act all the way. Turns out they're staying in a hotel not too far from where I work. So, she and her husband have been enjoying their first trip to Toronto. I ask her what the odds are of her taking over a or title. She mentions having turned it down. She explains that for her to take over a book with an established history it takes her months to plan and prepare. She needs to really get into the character and what's been happening in his life, etc. And with OYL, the timing wasn't right. Now I think about it, with BoP and the VU spinoffs, she's already working with the characters. She probably told the 52 team what to do with them. And the Atom book is an all-new character.
She does ask me how I'm enjoying Bruce Jones' run.
How brutal do I want to get? 
I hedge. "Well, after I read Batman/Scarecrow Y1, I was really excited that he was taking over. I really felt he had Dick Grayson's character cold. But after two issues of NW, it's really not doing it for me."Mr. Simone (He does have a first name... I just don't remember if it's Stephen or Scott) says it'll probably improve soon. They're so nice I don't want to sigh and roll my eyes.
People keep coming. Mostly pros at this time, making the rounds. I don't want to overstay, anyhow.
Besides signing the books I brought, she gives me the "Of Like Minds" TPB, BoP #56 (I have it at home, but now I've got a signed copy) and she's going to send me Rose & Thorn. Actually she had #6 at the convention, but she said she'd only give it to me now if I promised not to read it until she could mail me the other 5. I don't make promises I can't keep.
I'm really glad I got to go... and here's hoping she comes back soon!
[/giddy fangirl]
Kidding!