Before I give my recap of Thursday, here’s my schedule for Friday. A cute boy asked me to switch times with him at the Prism booth, and since I tend to not be able to resist cute boys, please make a note of the new time.
9:30 – 2:00 FBOTU @ Prism Comics
1:00 – 2:00 Bloom County‘s Berkeley Breathed: The Secret Sex Tapes
1:00 – 2:00 Some Matty Crap
1:45 – 2:45 Batman: The Return
3:00 – 4:00 Superman: Man of Tomorrow
5:00 – 6:00 Spotlight on Drew Struzan
6:00 – 7:00 BBC America’s Being Human
8:00 – 10:00 Batman: Under the Red Hood
9:00 – 10:00 Worst Cartoons Ever
Now, let’s talk about Thursday. My marketing team did some field research and found that most people find me to be “cold” and “unapproachable” and that the size of my head is “freakish” and “not right.” To improve my likability and minimize my lower-ranking qualities, the team decided I should…wear a hat. They promised this would camouflage the head problem and give me the appearance of being “just one of the guys” or “someone I want to have a beer with.” So, off to the milliner I went to secure a hat. I chose a simple Superman design, resisted the rhinestone version and decided against the Batman because of his less-than-friendly personality. No one wants to have a beer with Batman. (Well, I do. But not beer. Maybe tequila shots.) Why am I telling you all this, essentially drawing back the curtains here at FBOTU, Inc.? Because…I think it worked.
I had such a good time on Thursday, meeting and interacting with the crowds. People were very friendly, talkative, and absolutely no one maced me. I got to meet several site members, plus lots of fun and friendly gay geeks. Plus, I met three potential new contributors to the site, which is very exciting. But it wasn’t all just site business and magic hats. No, I also managed to hit a few panels. Starting off the day, I dropped in on the “Divas and Golden Lassoes” panel, which I couldn’t remember the name of, so I kept telling people it was the “Why Gays Like Wonder Woman” panel. The consensus? ‘Cause she’s fabulous. It was a fun discussion, but I had a very hard time paying attention, since I kept imagining panelists Phil Jimenez and Marc Andreyko making out. Really, they shouldn’t have been allowed to sit next to each other. It was too distracting to the audience.
After the big Wonder Woman revelation, I went to the Caprica/Battlestar panel, which was really the “Bear McCreary Fan Club” panel. I started playing on my iPad and planning my escape when a guy got up and revealed that he played some BSG music at his son’s funeral. It was a really unexpected and powerful moment, and Bear was clearly moved by it. It proves a couple of things, I think. First, you never know what might happen in a panel. And second, these shows or comics or movies or whatever have very real impact on the lives of their fans. And because I tend to be morbid, I started thinking about what music I’d want at my funeral. (Which might contribute to that whole “cold” and “unapproachable” thing.) I think I’ve decided on “Princess Leia’s Theme,” which has always been my favorite piece of Star Wars music. Then, my second choice would probably be “Rainbow Connection.”
I skipped out of the booth early to attend the “Writing Queer” panel, since three of my favorite writers were speaking: Gail Simone, Greg Rucka and Judd Winick. Rucka told a great story about interviewing Lt. Dan Choi and how his story influenced Batwoman. Gail summed things up nicely, by simply stating that adding gay characters to any story about the human condition is just the right thing to do. I resisted the urge to follow Gail around the rest of the evening and went, instead, to the “Why Is Batman Crazy?” panel. The material was pretty clinical, and I thought for sure the good doctors were losing the audience, but people were really into it and asked some great questions about psychology, trauma and what makes a supervillain. Turns out I exhibit 9 out of 10 warning signs for supervillainy. And not just regular supervillainy, but cartoonish supervillainy. So, you know, stay tuned for a list of my demands.
I’m sad that I couldn’t get into the Being Human and Doctor Who screenings. Those would have been fun to see with a Comic-Con crowd, but there was no way I could spare two hours or more to stand in line. So, I’ll be watching those at another time.
My thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth to say hi and keep me company. Be sure to follow my exploits on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. See you at the con!
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Before I give my recap of Thursday, here’s my schedule for Friday. A cute boy asked me to switch times with him at the Prism booth, and since I tend to not be able to resist cute boys, please make a note of the new time.
9:30 – 2:00 FBOTU @ Prism Comics
1:00 – 2:00 Bloom County‘s Berkeley Breathed: The Secret Sex Tapes
1:00 – 2:00 Some Matty Crap
1:45 – 2:45 Batman: The Return
3:00 – 4:00 Superman: Man of Tomorrow
5:00 – 6:00 Spotlight on Drew Struzan
6:00 – 7:00 BBC America’s Being Human
8:00 – 10:00 Batman: Under the Red Hood
9:00 – 10:00 Worst Cartoons Ever
Now, let’s talk about Thursday. My marketing team did some field research and found that most people find me to be “cold” and “unapproachable” and that the size of my head is “freakish” and “not right.” To improve my likability and minimize my lower-ranking qualities, the team decided I should…wear a hat. They promised this would camouflage the head problem and give me the appearance of being “just one of the guys” or “someone I want to have a beer with.” So, off to the milliner I went to secure a hat. I chose a simple Superman design, resisted the rhinestone version and decided against the Batman because of his less-than-friendly personality. No one wants to have a beer with Batman. (Well, I do. But not beer. Maybe tequila shots.) Why am I telling you all this, essentially drawing back the curtains here at FBOTU, Inc.? Because…I think it worked.
I had such a good time on Thursday, meeting and interacting with the crowds. People were very friendly, talkative, and absolutely no one maced me. I got to meet several site members, plus lots of fun and friendly gay geeks. Plus, I met three potential new contributors to the site, which is very exciting. But it wasn’t all just site business and magic hats. No, I also managed to hit a few panels. Starting off the day, I dropped in on the “Divas and Golden Lassoes” panel, which I couldn’t remember the name of, so I kept telling people it was the “Why Gays Like Wonder Woman” panel. The consensus? ‘Cause she’s fabulous. It was a fun discussion, but I had a very hard time paying attention, since I kept imagining panelists Phil Jimenez and Marc Andreyko making out. Really, they shouldn’t have been allowed to sit next to each other. It was too distracting to the audience.
After the big Wonder Woman revelation, I went to the Caprica/Battlestar panel, which was really the “Bear McCreary Fan Club” panel. I started playing on my iPad and planning my escape when a guy got up and revealed that he played some BSG music at his son’s funeral. It was a really unexpected and powerful moment, and Bear was clearly moved by it. It proves a couple of things, I think. First, you never know what might happen in a panel. And second, these shows or comics or movies or whatever have very real impact on the lives of their fans. And because I tend to be morbid, I started thinking about what music I’d want at my funeral. (Which might contribute to that whole “cold” and “unapproachable” thing.) I think I’ve decided on “Princess Leia’s Theme,” which has always been my favorite piece of Star Wars music. Then, my second choice would probably be “Rainbow Connection.”
I skipped out of the booth early to attend the “Writing Queer” panel, since three of my favorite writers were speaking: Gail Simone, Greg Rucka and Judd Winick. Rucka told a great story about interviewing Lt. Dan Choi and how his story influenced Batwoman. Gail summed things up nicely, by simply stating that adding gay characters to any story about the human condition is just the right thing to do. I resisted the urge to follow Gail around the rest of the evening and went, instead, to the “Why Is Batman Crazy?” panel. The material was pretty clinical, and I thought for sure the good doctors were losing the audience, but people were really into it and asked some great questions about psychology, trauma and what makes a supervillain. Turns out I exhibit 9 out of 10 warning signs for supervillainy. And not just regular supervillainy, but cartoonish supervillainy. So, you know, stay tuned for a list of my demands.
I’m sad that I couldn’t get into the Being Human and Doctor Who screenings. Those would have been fun to see with a Comic-Con crowd, but there was no way I could spare two hours or more to stand in line. So, I’ll be watching those at another time.
My thanks to everyone who stopped by the booth to say hi and keep me company. Be sure to follow my exploits on Twitter, Facebook and Foursquare. See you at the con!
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