New York ComicCon reactions! Thoughts on
fanboy life.
Hey guys. It's Raph. Yes I know, I haven't been doing my column that much. Yes I know, I don't post that much at the RB forum. Yes I know, you guys have been itching for another column. Since I last wrote, we got a new columnist on a new column. Welcome Omri Spirman to the column writers fold! His column, “The Funny Pages Ain't So Funny Anymore”, is located in the columns section under Crisis on Infinite Bullets. I sincerely hope that you and your column fly high.
I've scaled back on my Raging Bullets involvement it would seem. I love our little community, and I will always be a Raging Bulleteer, but things are changing for me. I'm going to be graduating soon. When I first started listening to podcasts, Raging Bullets was my only one for a good month, then I slowly branched out to CGS and others, then posting on their forums. Now, as many of you know, I am the host of Geeks Unite! For the past 10 years, I have been EXTREMELY enthusiastic and fanatical about comics, more so than most people. I want to work in the industry, I want to see it grow and thrive. To hear a teenage kid say that is one thing, and to be a teenage kid saying that is a similar thing as well. I'm becoming an independent adult and my desire is still there, but I need to act on what I say I'm going to do. Raging Bullets showed me it's possible to love something, talk about it, and draw others in and have them listen and interact with you. Sean himself started with CGS, and then did Raging Bullets. I'm just another link in the chain. I love comics, and I love comics podcasting. That was actually the main event for me at New York Comic Con.
I went to New York Comic Con last year. I didn't have a lot of comic book geek friends, and I also didn't know anything about CGS. I was there by myself, and I did my thing. I gushed to creators about their work, I looked Dan Didio in the eye and told him that I'd work for him someday as a writer, and I made a few friends. The majority of the people I met there I haven't talked to or seen since then, but it was really cool. I still felt lonely at the end though. My friends treat comics as a very casual hobby, which is okay, but it isn't good enough for me. I need someone who loves it as much as I do. I found that with Raging Bullets, the forum and the other podcasts. I thoroughly enjoyed the time I spent with all the podcasters. It was an unforgettable weekend.
I also saw some of the behind the scenes stuff of it all. I didn't have my own table, but I sat at Sean and Jim's table and Ian Levenstein's (Comic Timing) also. Recording with them, receiving copies of independent comics for review... I see what a lot of the industry is about, outside of the big 2. Being a creator is a lot of hard work and perseverance. You want to promote yourself as much as you can, on a tight budget.
I enjoyed a lot at NYCC. I only went to once DC panel. Funny story. Mike Norton is at the CGS booth, and I told him I'd ask DC to give him more work at the panel. I was the first one up, and I forgot Mike Norton. You can hear me on the DC Nation podcast from NYCC. Ian Levenstein of Comic Timing was kind enough to remind me of that. I asked him to go up and ask in my stead. He did, and I am grateful to him for that. Ian was the one who asked the question to Dan Didio, and Ian is the reason why the Internet knows Mike Norton is internet exclusive. You guys who read that bit of news on the forum or Newsarama, it was my idea to ask the question, but Ian did the actual asking.
I also bumped into Jeanine Schaeffer again. We met at Superman Returns. I asked her what she thought of it, and she enjoyed it. Jann Jones pimped Jeanine's group, Karate Monkey Death Car. Find them on MySpace. So it was nice to connect with someone I met a few months ago who's also (presumably) a comic book fan. I met a lot of creators, including Freddie Williams II (Robin), Thom Zahler (Love and Capes), Steve Bryant (Athena Voltaire) and Chuck Satterlee (Of Bitter Souls) and many more! It's always great, as a fan, to meet people who create the work that I love.
That's gonna wrap this up. As this
is REALLY late. My final thoughts: I loved NYCC. I can't wait for 300.
It was a pleasure to see Count Veritgo, Weitall (my new co-host),
Payback-SXE, Maxim Glory, the CGS crew and especially, Sean and Jim. I
loved my time with you guys at the con and I will be going to 300. I
hope to see most, if not all, of you there.