Sleepy Hunger

Sketch class went well last night. Our show is this Sunday at 5:30. Please come! I didn't go to Harold Night due to my overwhelming hunger, something I need to figure out how to triumph over, and the rain. Okay, I know how to triumph over hunger, it's just that when you leave home at 5 p.m., it's hard to have consumed enough food to not get hungry the rest of the night. Of course...here it is, 12:17 and I haven't had breakfast or lunch yet. I should eat quick!

Yes, readers, I will be talking about my eating schedules on this blog, apparently.

I did a new Tales To Diminish last night out of boredom. Trying to figure out if that counts as today's or if I should do another one today anyway. I've gotten a lot of good feedback on this, so far. I would like for it to become sorta viral, or like, I don't know. It might be already. I can't figure out how to measure a tumblr's success. Twitter tweets about my blog, or other tumblr blog posts about it, seem to be the only way. I'm getting there, thanks to Dan and Ben. Tell people!

On the job front I....still haven't done anything. Geez, I am really succumbing to the unemployed lazies. I'm not getting up until 11 a.m. every day. That has to stop! I am theoretically going to start e-mailing comic sites for freelance work today.

Tonight I will be editing Cash 4 Skulls for inclusion in my class' sketch reading on Sunday, and hopefully making it to the P.I.T. in time for Improdome as part of my "perform more" promise to myself.

Brand New Day

I know I should have capitalized on all the heat I was getting last Thursday, but I chose to wait until Monday to make my triumphant (and highly scheduled) return to the world of blogging. So here it is.

I was let go, which fills me with all sorts of emotion...and a lot of free time. I got tons of great memories, lots of cool sketches and made some amazing friends. I've met some of the most genuine, honest, caring and talented people ever. And...I spent a year watching them get harassed, fired, let go, belittled, annoyed, infuriated, etc. I will miss all of them, but I won't miss seeing them emotionally destroyed on a daily basis and I won't miss being one of them getting destroyed. So, onwards and...well, not upwards yet. Onwards. Upwards in some ways, not bank-statement-ways.

This comes at a crazy time, right after my Harold audition experience and during a pretty successful sketch 201 class. If there was ever a time to focus on my comedy and making something of myself, giving myself some great experiences and credits, then now is the time. So I will, in theory, hopefully, be blogging here daily. Personal stuff, funny stuff, review stuff, comic stuff, news stuff, dumb stuff, all of it. I also have started this and will continue to update this. I will also be seeing more improv shows and sketch shows and, fingers crossed, start teching shows to make some cash.

I'm ready to focus on what's important, and that's being creative. And eating. Not dying, too. That's important. And "Tough Love." Seriously, you guys watching that show?

How's that for an update?

I think it's almost time that I started forcing myself to write something every day, even if I have no funny internet-bit to share or new revelation. I always fear that my memory is only as good as my blog entries and that any minute piece of my life will slip away if not cataloged here. So here are some random pieces of me. And I just had a Jewel flashback. And I now have "Who Will Save Your Soul?" stuck in my head. And now you do. Oh, this is bad for all involved.

The biggest recent event for me was Bad Data's one-year anniversary. We debuted last year on Setpember 1st and celebrated on the 6th with Bad Date III. It's been a heckuva year but I'm very proud to be part of a group that has now hit that landmark. It seems like only a handful of teams are still around from when we formed. Okay, I guess that's not so true, but only a handful still perform regularly. The UCB house team lineup is almost completely different, I can definitively say that. I can also definitively say that we've had some amazing group photos.

August 2007

November 2007

December 2007 (by Adam Bozarth)

April 2008

August 2008 (by Brett White)

The show was a great deal of fun. Despite the huge tropical storm and the show being in Long Island City, it was packed to capacity. Fat Penguin and The Scam had awesome sets, as did the lottery team at the end (thank you for not breaking that skull!). There was no dance party/improv jam at the end like normal, but hopefully we'll have all that sorted out with the venue (wherever that may be) in time for Bad Date IV.

I had the first ever MST3K Mondays gathering last night at my place. A very nice turnout, "Pumaman" and Flour Tomato Amy's Pizza Snack Fun Times got the week off to a solid start. Is it Friday yet? I think I'm going to try to have these every week. You know, doing things with friends that don't involve improv or bars is fun.

I'm trying to read more political stuff, but it really feels like trying to read 100 Bullets starting with issue #92 (which I've done...and it's confusing). I don't know so many basic things about government procdure and lingo that, in a normal sized article, there are maybe only 3 sentences I totally understand. I know I'll pick up on things by reading them but my eyes and brain actively resist reading political anythings. I try and I always, without fail, feel my brain withdrawing and thinking about anything else. I think the only time I feel my brain is when it's freaking out about having to read political stuff. I'm trying. If anyone has any tips or useful sites, let me know. I'm sure I could get passionate about politics, but I'm just too behind and uninformed to know where to start. It's daunting task.

My improv 501 class ends next week and this makes me sad. I have never had a class this talented and exciting and I doubt I ever will again. I've learned so much from the class structure and from seeing so many talented people work out their own personal kinks, it's been truly eye opening and entertaining. So supportive, committed, such a great class. We got to do a Harold as senior citizens on Sunday. I had a blast acting like a 70-year-old trying to remember all the things brought up in the pattern game.

I'm currently in the process of re-building my work's MySpace and Facebook pages. Please friend them.

That's about it for now. How's that for an update?

Bathroom Issues

I have weird bathroom/privacy issues, too many to list. The one you need to know for this story, or maybe you don't and I just want to share, is that I always use stalls. Always. I think growing up I felt that using a urinal was something that had to be taught to me, like shaving and tying my shoes. It was never taught to me. I started off using stalls and, well, never looked back. This has lead to many awkward situations but...okay, that's getting into the other bathroom issues.

Anyway.

You all know I work at a place where comics runneth like water. They're everywhere. They're all over my desk, on conference tables, stacks all over the place. It's pretty awesome. So last Friday I was in the bathroom, which is usually home to a recent-ish issue of ToyFare or Anime Insider, doing a number one. Peeing. Yeah, I think number one is the universal phrase for that, right? Anyway. I'm peeing and I see that, in the trash bin next to the toilet, floating somewhat at the top over kleenexes, toilet paper, bathroom stuff, is a comic book. I've never seen an actual comic book in the bathroom. It's face down so I can see the back ad, which is an anti-smoking one. I notice, while peeing, that there is a little Twin Towers emblem with a red, white and blue ribbon around it. I instantly recognize this as the emblem that was on all of Marvel's comic books for the six months or so after September 11th. So I've identified the comic, while peeing, as a Marvel comic from late 2001. I then play a game in my head to see if I can guess which title it is. I think Avengers, or Uncanny X-Men until settling on Amazing Spider-Man. I figure I'll turn it over and check it out, before washing my hands. So, after peeing and zipping up, I gently pick the comic book out of the trashcan between my index finger and thumb.

It's an issue of Amazing Spider-Man all right.

It's #36.

The September 11th issue.


The newstand variant that is worth, I kid you not, $80 mint condition. It's also the only issue of JMS and John Romita Jr.'s run on Amazing Spider-Man that I don't have...because it's worth $80.

After freaking out for a second that someone not only took the September 11th issue (you know, the one where Spidey goes to Ground Zero just after the events and helps dig people out of the rubble) to read on the crapper, but they threw it away afterwards...I was faced with a big dilemma.

Do I really need this issue enough to take it, in it's far below average condition, out of the bathroom stall's trash can, into my hands, and into my home? I decided no, I did not, and put it in the larger trash can next to the sink. I sorta regretted it but, honestly, I didn't want to relate this story and then have people freak out when I took it. So yeah, I wanted it but was more worried about what people would think. Then I related these events to my teammates during a stretch-and-share exercise in practice on Sunday and they all flipped out that I didn't take it. So yeah, apparently taking the germ-infested $80 comic from the bathroom actually is the right thing to do.

Knowing that we get the trash taken out like, once a week, I went back on Monday and there it was...still in the big trashcan with a couple paper towels over it. I grabbed it, immediately bagged and boarded it, and brought it home. I've gone through the issue looking for...unsightly stains...and I found none. So, that's good. The issue's not in great shape, I could probably resell it for maybe...maybe $3-$5, but I now have the complete JMS/JRJR run.

And whoever this mystery co-worker is, this week they left the recently published guide to Ed Brubaker's Daredevil in the same trashcan in the stall. I passed that one over. I mean, if I'm going to dig a comic out of the trash, it has to be worth at least $25.

!2YRS!

Two years ago yesterday I entered New York City (Brooklyn to be exact, Bensonhurst to be painfully honest) with hope in my heart and excitement in every step. At the time I was only coming up here for sixth months, any extension of that stay to be decided after I figured out whether or not I could live by myself in the big city. Believe it or not, New York City is a tad different from Murfreesboro, although New York state is nowhere near as civilized. I get scared up there, ya'll!

I've accomplished quite a bit since moving to New York...I think. Okay, yeah, I now have two entertainment institutions that helped form my opinion of comedy on my resume, so that's pretty awesome. It's quite weird to think about how much I owe to everyone at Late Show and them picking me to intern there two years ago. That opportunity, everything I've done, it all goes back to Late Show. If not for that internship, I have no idea how I would have made it up here. Sincere thanks go out to everyone there.

Two years ago tomorrow night I saw longform improv for the first time (thanks Ashley). It was Mother, Saturday night at 9:00, with Doug Moe, James Eason, Tara Copeland and Jon Daly. That was the four. Seeing that show completely blew my mind and caused me to go back, either by myself or with other interns (okay, just Jon and Ashley), quite often. I saw Mother regularly and eventually saw ASSSSCAT 3000 for the first time in mid-September. By October I had started going to see Death By Roo Roo by myself on a weekly basis. In retrospect, future classmates Beth and Phil were there too, as the intern and fellow audience member, respectively. I did this weekly, actually, and I would always be on the phone in line trying to explain to people why I saw this show every week.

My improv career started on October 15th, 2006, at 3:30 PM when I started my 101 class with Ari Voukydis. Now here I am, two years after seeing my first show. I guess now's as good a time as any to sort out what I've done and where I've come from.

101: Ari Voukydis - This was one of the reasons why my internship was so memorable. Not only was I furthering my career through a fantastic internship, I was taking matters into my own hands and taking a class in my spare time. I figured I was only in New York once and I should go for it while I could. I didn't know if I'd go to level 2 (because I didn't know if I'd still be in New York) and I didn't know what in the world I would use those skills for, but from that first class I knew it was something I was missing. Aside from going to ASSSSCAT a couple times after class, I didn't really hang out with many people from UCB. But it felt good to be a part of something, of a scene, especially being so new to the city. In between the end of my internship in December and the start of my 201 in February, I spent 5 or so nights a week at UCB, always seeing the same people but not talking.

I learned a lot from Ari that I still use to this day. I like to think that I'm pretty okay at object work and this is 100% Ari. I try to never let scenes be in just Improv Space, mainly because Ari did such a great job at making our scenes physical. That's stuck with me, on top of the solid job he did of introducing "Yes And" to me. Ari also boosted our egos by telling us how confident and advanced we were. I remember having game discussions in 101, which I don't know how often that happens. Ari wasn't at our graduation show. Bobby Moynihan filled in and I will never forget the congratulations he gave all of us after the show. He looked me square in the eye, smiling, and said "You were really good!" I'm glad that two of the most awesome guys at UCB were so encouraging and, of course, I had to go on to level 2.

201: Shannon O'Neill - I know I never felt as emotionally destroyed by 201 as others did, but I had a rough go of it sometimes. I don't so much remember what I learned in 201 as who I was learning it with. But if you're reading this far, you've already heard the countless Abe stories. 201 was influential since that's where I first met most everyone who would become Bad Data. My first ever practice group also happened in 201, at Matt Mayer's apartment in Hoboken. I learned a lot about character work in 201, I remember, or at least I tried to. My class show had a moving corpse in it...that really shouldn't have been moving. I did go to Under St. Mark's for the first time during 201, as well as the Magnet and PIT.

301: Shannon O'Neill - This started the very next day after my 201 ended. I know I focused a lot more on support work in 301, which is something that I really want to start focusing on more now. Plus, you know, there was more Abe and The Most Violent Harold In History in my 301 class. Bad Data formed during 301 and I was in and won my first ever Cage Match. Looking back at the lineup, I performed alongside people that would go on to become good friends and part of the thriving indie team community. Really, winning Cage Match during 301 was one of the highest highs I've had in improv. Golden Bullet Band for life.

202: Joe Wengert - This was an eye-opening class. I actually took notes in it that are back in my blog somewhere, if you click on the 202 tag. By the end of the four week class there were only 8 of us, so that last class was, as Joe said, "like Harold team practice." He was the first teacher to actually give all of us personalized notes and goals in front of every other classmate, and I highly appreciated that. And yes, sigh, we're holding improv dildos in that picture to commemorate the...the many improv dildos I introduced into the last Harold we did in the class.

401: Michael Delaney - Class is in session. This, actually, was the hardest class I've ever taken but not in a bad way. Delaney just doesn't let you pick anything to be the game, and he really forces you to your limit as a performer. But he also, at least in my class, really got to know us in a way. He would open up and spend the first ten minutes of every class just talking about his childhood or his son, or whatever came up. Still, I'll never forget the forty minute Harold I watched, or Old Timey Radio...it was great having class with Kim, Matt Mayer and Patrick though. Bad Data got a name and had their first show during this class, and I started interning at UCB.

501: Chris Gethard - Truly amazing. I don't know...I really don't know if I've had a teacher that really cared for us the way Gethard did. He took a personal involvement in making us better and also got great joy at seeing us succeed. Gethard did everything he could to make us uncomfortable (backwards Harolds, gibberish Harolds, etc) but it was exactly what all of us needed and so helpful. The level of trust I got in that class was pretty much a new thing and our second class show was phenomenal. I mean, I got to do a group game that started with "Okay all you Marvel superheroes, get in here!" Gethard also gave us all personal notes, which, man, is the exact same personal note I got in 201 and 401. I get game, I don't need to worry about that. I have to worry about my characters. System Error, the monthly show hosted by LD, TYR and Bad Data, started during my first 501. I haven't been able to make the last couple due to my current 501, but I like what System Error has become. It's always a fun, free time and Bad Data did some of their best shows there.

600: Porter Mason "The Documentary" - Probably, yeah, of any class I've taken, this one is the closest to my heart. I signed up for it to work on my characters after all the notes I had gotten from Gethard, Delaney and Shannon. In this class I learned how to stop freaking out, relax, and just take it slow and real. I've never been prouder of a show and never had more fun with a class. I mean, we kept doing it after class and did a show at UCB. Hopefully we'll keep going in some capacity because this form is so amazing and the people even moreso. Plus, Porter Mason as a teacher and coach was phenomenal. The notes he gave me really helped me out and he's also just a great guy that I can talk about X-Men with.

501: Shannon O'Neill - As awesome as my first 501 and the Doc were, this is it. I mean, okay, Gethard really improved my relationship with improv by being so compassionate and insightful. And yeah, the Doc form is so amazing and the team, coach, class, the shows, they were all such a blast. But this, this class has made the Harold exciting. Shannon splits the class up into teams and you stay with them throughout. Somehow, through doing organic Harolds, the 8 of us, most of whom have never performed together, have formed a truly cohesive unit. There is trust, admiration, camaraderie, and a real group mind that I've not felt before in a class. For 8 people tossed together randomly, we've come together in a great way, both halves. The class show last week (which I will now blog about) was the best thing I've ever done. All of us were on the same page and, man, there's no better feeling than having a good show (at least to me right now). That's why I do improv.

So here I am, seven classes and a handful of workshops later. What is my deal? I think I've become notorious for being hard on myself, which is in part because I think the world of my indie peers. Coming up with these people, with the generation that produced Fat Penguin and Stamp & Coin Club, getting to play monthly with LD + The Scientist and Thank You, Robot, I'm constantly surrounded by truly gifted young improvisers entering their prime. I am constantly trying to figure out where I fit in, but I think I realize that my low points come when I'm trying to figure this out. Most of the Doc was spent trying to justify my inclusion to myself. I have fun when I just don't care. I don't know if that's a good thing, but when I'm really cutting loose I feel great. I have to figure out how to connect that to doing good scene work, but I think Shannon's 501 and my practices with Bad Data and Iron Ruckus of late have been really helpful.

I think I'm finally figuring out where I fit in, which goes back to the notes Porter gave me a while back. I do have a goofy energy that is pretty infectious, and I know that when I'm committed and cutting loose, I get laughs. On the other hand, I really want to learn how to slow down and support more, get some range. I'm definitely an improviser that plays instinctively and through his emotions, so I need to harness that. I wish I had great notes and insights like my friend Ben does after two years, but I haven't taken notes regularly and I have a hard time remembering things. I'm going to change this, though. If I can remember, I'm going to start taking notes during every class and after practice. I just want to be all I can be!

Here's to two more years, am I right?

Chicagothon

I know this blog has been pretty dead lately for reasons both unreasonable and understandable, but I have a very good excuse for the last five days inactivity: Wizard World Chicago. Oh, and my car was busted into on Sunday night/Monday morning, so that explains the couple days before that. And I was in Tennessee for a couple days before that, so that's excusable too. Okay, enough with the excuses, on to the real meat of this here word collection.

Wizard World Chicago is the biggest convention we do. It is three full and long days with a preview night tacked on and, for the first time ever, loads of nighttime events that extended my work day well into the night. I stood a lot, I ran a lot and I shouted directions at aimless fans a lot, but I also geeked out a lot, laughed a lot, and awkward-danced a lot. It was pretty stupendous.

Adam, Jodie and myself got there early Wednesday morning and checked into the hotel which was located across the street from the convention center. I love hotels!

It was so modern! I mean, for a hotel.

Wednesday was spent stuffing around 21,000 bags with free Magic: The Gathering card decks.
That is maybe a third of them. Maybe.

I still don't buy that I actually have cobbled together enough social aptitude to function amongst people who I respect and admire, but that's what is still happening. I spent most of the weekend in Artist Alley where all the comic creators sit at their tables to meet fans and avoid the insane crowds of the retailer and lobby sections. There I talked to many people about many things (yes, mostly about comics and yes, mostly about X-Force), but also a bit about game shows and Nashville. While patrolling the Alley, I picked up three more additions to my X-Force project. I now have Freddie E. Williams II's Shatterstar...

...Chris Uminga's Sunspot...

...and Mike Norton's Cannonball to frame and place on my wall...or frame and leave sitting on the back of my couch.

Continuing with X-Force (of course), the creator of the team and many of its characters was present at this convention. Rob Liefeld and five of the other Image founders reunited for a two hour retrospective panel. Say what you will about Rob Liefeld, but I can't think of any other artist that brings as much energy and pure excitement to comics as he does. After I watched a guy in a very homemade Deadpool costume (sweatpants does not a merc-with-a-mouth make) hold a sword to Liefeld's throat for a picture at Liefeld's request, I shook the man who created Domino's hand and had him sign a copy of X-Force #1 that I bought about three minutes prior for a dollar.

So I got three commissions, two of which were from guys I personally invited to the convention and helped promote their stuff with online content, and one autograph from the...well, The Rob Liefeld. Artist Alley? Success.

On Thursday night we had our first after hours event, a Hero Initiative benefit displaying all 100 hand illustrated covers of the recent Hulk #1. Me and Wizard World's own Jodie were escorting Peter David, a name you guys might recognize from past sentences I've written including the words favorite, writer, and ever, to the event when I stopped to drop his backpack off in the show office so he wouldn't have to carry it all night. I then found out the show office was closing at the same time the convention floor was, which was right then. It was at that moment that I made a decision that I followed through on until a fateful hand guided me in another direction: I decided to carry and keep up with Peter David's backpack for him at the Hulk event. The man that wrote X-Factor #84, defined Multiple Man, named Wolfsbane, I owed him this. Until he saw me carrying it at the event and took it back for fear of being a burden before I could protest. That's Mr. David there, to the right, with his backpack and three other guys who got into the event for free by wearing torn purple pants. One guess what's in those cups, heyo.

Guest of Honor Warren Ellis did 'performance art' on Friday night. This consisted of him reading aloud from his upcoming book and answering questions, pretty much the norm for a panel. Why was it called performance art?
That sums it up, right?

Since it as already close to 10 PM and I was entering my fourteenth hour of on-my-feet nonstop work, I spent the first part of this event backstage eating pizza and chilling out max and relaxing all cool (which is a Fresh Prince reference which I'm just now remembering is appropriate for our last con in Philly and not Chicago...man it all runs together). I went out for the Q+A session which, really, was amazing. Ellis is really nice and personable, something that I would not have assumed from the sheer level of insane genius that is his body of work. But there he was, chatting with fans and answering their questions and giving life lessons for close to three hours when he could have been back at his hotel room with his self-proclaimed best friend, whiskey. Well, actually, his best friend was by his side at the podium so I guess he wasn't lonely. Anyway, he's truly a great speaker and the many hours went by quickly thanks to his darkly dazzling wit. I cut out early when I started falling asleep in the audience (from exhaustion, not boredom) and feared Ellis would make fun of me. He already told our photographer that he could kill him with his eyes. Success!

I made it a point to drop in on as many panels as I could since, for the first time ever, we had them every hour on the hour instead of leaving a half hour buffer in-between. I witnessed some truly great moments, most of which I were fairly convinced they were going to crash and burn. I helped put together a panel about podcasting which, to be honest, I didn't think would be a hit. It was assembled by a lot of Chicago's comic book podcasters (podcasting is BIG in Chicago I tell ya, BIG!) and moderated by DC writer and nice-guy-extraordinaire Sean McKeever. How many people were going to come out and see this? Apparently a lot. It was in the smallest room, yes, but there were no seats available. My knowledge of podcasting is minimal at best, but for the seven-ish minutes I was there I was entertained. Success.

I was also worried about Robert Kirkman's panel, only because I've heard he doesn't do many conventions and it was a last minute addition, but once again I was completely wrong. The man is hilarious and the only space left in the room was the safe distance people required around their highly collectible and newly purchased treasures. I've never laughed so hard at a convention, I would have to say. Success. Bendis versus Johns panel, success. "Moral Orel" panel, success. Pretty much every room was always jam packed.

Okay okay okay, I know you guys want to see people in costumes. That's the main attraction of conventions, right? Right? I mean, really, is that right? I have no clue, but here are some of the ones I remember...

...that I got sick of seeing...

...that I was greeted by...

...that I did not touch skin-to-skin...
...that I made fun of earlier and now think is kinda more what Deadpool would look like in real life...

...that I was amazed by...

...that confused me in so many ways...

...and two that trump all others.

Yes. A dad dressed as Mojo and his daughters as Spiral and Dazzler, shown in the above picture showing her dad the star that fell off her costume. If you ever wondered what concerned parent Mojo looked like, look no further. Here's a side view. This costume is insane.

The creepiest costume had to belong to the guy dressed as Granny Goodness. For some reason, guys crossing the gender line is even weirder when done in superhero costumes (see the above Supergirl picture). I saw this photo being taken on the floor and it weirded me out.

Now, I know that the photo is only as creepy as any other photo of a man with granny hair in spandex holding an unsuspecting baby. Now, imagine witnessing the granny man giving the baby back to the mother after the picture was taken...and the mother giving granny man back the camera.

...

The mother didn't want her baby's picture taken with Granny Goodness. Granny Goodness wanted his picture taken with that baby.

...

Moving on. Wizard World Texas is in November and since we have four months to plan for it, I think it'll be pretty darn amazing. On a side note, the Win, Lose or Draw game we played with comic book artists went pretty darn well. All I'm saying is that me hosting Match Game with comic book writers in Texas doesn't look that far-fetched now. After all, I have experience hosting Match Game.

Man, I had fun in college.

It's June?!

I have a million excuses for why this blog has been barren for the last two months, but none of which you care to read. I've been working way too hard over the last two months and have even traveled. I don't even foresee the blog becoming active again in the near future since, yes, I'll be traveling some more. It's crazy, I know, I never thought I'd get a job that would send me to the far corners of America but, well, here I am. Actually I didn't think I would get a job that would send me to the far corners of New York on a daily basis, but whatever. If we're friends on Facebook then you've been seeing the almost daily updates I post there. In my brief tenure at my new job I've interviewed and had conversations with many of the people whose work I admire, adore and obsess over. Hey everybody, Chris Claremont and Peter David have read my name many many times and responded to my e-mails. That's RIGHT.

I went to Philadelphia for my first Wizard World convention. I got a bag full of free artist sketchbooks given to me after interviewing them, as well as a couple of really awesome commissions (pictured below, just waiting for you to click on them to enlarge).


Work has been pretty overwhelming lately, and that's the main reason I haven't been on here. I spend all day writing press releases and transcribing interviews, so I usually don't feel like doing any extracurricular creativity. My new year's resolution to write five pages a week has completely tanked, obviously, but since I now have a "published" interview with Peter David I can't really complain.

Since I last blogged, I auditioned and failed at getting on a UCB Harold team, lost Cage Match, started performing with another improv group called Iron Ruckus (pictured right, which you can also click on to enlarge), had both Bad Data and (the soon-to-be-renamed) ImproVerite: The Documentary get accepted into the Del Close Marathon and started practicing a new form with a new coach in Bad Data. I was really hitting some performance high points before Memorial Day (playing David Letterman, Kurt Loder and a Rivers Cuomo wannabe all in THE SAME SET at ImproVerite's last show) and WW Philly took me away from improv for two weeks and caused me to return to the fold back at average. Ho hum. Improv is all about peaks and valleys, so I know it'll swing back around. I've enrolled in Shannon O'Neill's 501 starting when I get back to NYC on July 13th. That should be what I need.

Okay, well, that's about it for now. I may try to post mini-blogs or something daily-ish for a little bit, just to get back in the habit of this. For a while I was trying to make this blog more focused and not so "Hey ya'll, here's what I did blah blah," but I don't really have the time for anything else right now.

Going Con Crazy!

The last comic convention I went to was in 1995. I was in the 6th grade, chubby, and very much a bowl-cut enthusiast. I don't remember much except that I met Stan Lee and had him autograph an X-Men trade paperback that remained framed on my wall until I moved to New York.

Thirteen years later and I'm the associate editor of the Wizard conventions department and producing nerd heaven in LA, Philly, Chicago and Texas each year is in my job description. I've spent this weekend scoping out the competition (New York Comic Con) and pretty much having the best two workdays anyone could imagine. Wizard World's entire presence at the convention is to make contacts and introduce ourselves to as many people as possible. It's a brand new day in Wizard World and we're here to let the people know. I tell you, I don't know if there's a better feeling than being able to talk to creators that you straight up admire and then be able to offer them publicity on our website (which I pretty much write). These guys have given me my favorite stories, now I get to help them sell comic books. It's a pretty awesome feeling.

The list of creators that I got to introduce myself to and praise heavily is pretty lengthy. Paolo Rivera, Khoi Pham, C.B. Cebulski, Billy Tan, Fred Van Lente, Clayton Henry, Greg Pak, Mike Choi, Mark Brooks, Joe Kelly, Art Baltazar, Jim Calafiore, Mark Morales, Peter David, Aaron Lopresti, Tommy Lee Edwards, Bob McLeod, Emily Warren, David Nakayama, and Christina Strain all got a face full of me over the last two days! I have been incredibly surprised at just how nice and friendly and approachable all of these people have been. I went to a DC cocktail party on Thursday night where I immediately reverted into awkward middle school mode and stood in the corner most of the night. The only person I really talked to on my own was Art Baltazar (artist for the awesome Tiny Titans) and he remembered me when I went by his booth today. He's hilarious, as is his creative partner and Titans author Franco. The two of them have a comedic chemistry up there with Larry and Balki, except both are funny and neither are foreign. While I interviewed Art and Franco, Art drew the most awesomely adorable Nightcrawler I've ever seen.


I spent most of Friday introducing myself and handing out business cards, not really using the digital recorder I had on me. Maybe I was still nervous. Scratch that, I definitely was. I left yesterday determined to rack up interviews since I only got one with Mike Choi. On Saturday I managed to interview seven creators, interviews that were definitely helped by my ridiculously detailed memory of comic credits. These will be transcribed and put on Wizard World starting on Monday, theoretically. I'm pretty excited.

Instead of going up to people I really admire and giving them a business card and calling it a day, I went and grabbed my favorite issue of theirs (pretty much every comic in existence can be found in the bajillion dollar bins at the con) to gush about before giving them the wizard spiel. The first autograph was from Joe Kelly, author of Deadpool and one of my top three favorite eras of X-Men. I introduced myself by telling him that his work on those two books reshaped the way I view, read, and write everything...which is pretty much the absolute truth. The man is a living legend in my mind just from his work on Deadpool and X-Men. He was flattered and signed my X-Men #70.


The other big name to get was Peter David, the man I claim as my favorite writer of all time. The guy made Multiple Man who he is so that's enough right there. Meeting him was and actually being able to tell him to his face that he has made me love these characters was oddly rewarding. I asked if he wanted to promote anything for his upcoming Wizard World Philly appearance and he handed me a copy of his new novel Tigerheart, which I plan on reading so I can conduct an interview with him about it.

The other autographs were all great to get. I had Tommy Lee Edwards sign one of my favorite comics of all time. Even though he said he wasn't pleased with how the issue came out, I'm glad he drew it. Bob McLeod, co-creator of the New Mutants, signed an issue of the series for me. He is a true veteran and to meet the man who created Cannonball...priceless. I scored a two-for-one when I stopped by to see Mike Norton. He penciled the Gravity limited series that I really enjoyed and suggested that I get the writer to sign it as well since he was standing behind me. In one fell swoop I got Sean McKeever and Mike Norton's autographs.


I really wanted to commission Mike Norton to draw Gravity and Tommy Lee Edwards to draw Siryn, but I had already spent too much money and couldn't afford it. Most every artist at the cons will draw whatever character you like. The prices vary from $5 to $100 based on how popular the artist is and if you want a full body picture or just a head shot. When I got my Nightcrawler for free I decided that that was good enough. I walked around with my buddy Ethan all day Saturday (he was there blogging for Wizard) as he got artists to do sketches of the Mad Hatter. While wandering around we came across two incredibly lively young guys just outside of artist alley. They were loud, laughing, and drawing up a storm. Seriously, the crowd around these two guys was as big as some of the Marvel and DC people and they're still trying to make it. They were giving out headshots for $5 and the talent both of them have is on par with some of the big names. Ethan got them to do Mad Hatter for him and I gave them a business card. They're coming to Philadelphia and were ecstatic when I told them that I can promote them on the website. This is when I realized that I love my job and I can make a difference. I came across these two amazing artists who are waiting for their big break, and I can give them exposure. It's a great feeling! I commissioned them both to draw Deadpool for me, and I can't wait to pick them up tomorrow and possibly get an interview with these guys. I have one of their business cards (Antonio Clark). Check him out!

I've also decided that I'm going to commission artists to draw X-Force characters for me at every con. I may swing back by Art Baltazar tomorrow and get him to draw Cable for me.

My conversation with Christina Strain, the spectacular colorist for Runaways, was memorable. She was pleased that I love her work and I asked her some questions about it. We talked about Old Lace, Joss Whedon, the upcoming storylines, a great conversation. She said she likes doing Wizard cons but always feels like she's low on Wizard's totem pole. I said "Well, you're high up on my totem pole." And "Ha! I like your totem pole!" was how she responded. Christina Strain likes my totem pole. Awesome.

The only disappointment was not getting John Romita Jr. to sign Uncanny X-Men #210. It's my favorite comic cover of all time and it's also the wallpaper on my cellphone (which I would have shown him had I met him). I saw he was doing an official Marvel signing at 3:30 when I went by his booth at 2:30. I rushed around to find a cheap copy of the issue, finally finding one for $3 after finding two for over $20. I got to the Marvel booth just as they cut the line off, so I missed him. Oh well, I'll hold on to the issue for a future convention.

All in all a great weekend. I spent around $100 and got all this.