Monday, July 27, 2009

Thoughts of San Diego: Doctor Who, Crowds and More

Recovering from the last four days, unpacking the bags to find the new graphic novels that i'm looking forward to reading, realizing the body wash has exploded inside the bag and will be a huge mess to clean out, unpacking the art supplies. And downloading the pics from the iPhone, as there doesn't seem to be a way to upload them the same way that i'm posting remote texts to the blog.

The Doctor Who panel on Sunday was packed, and had folks queueing up overnight to get front row. I wasn't willing to go that far, but did get there around 6:50am and was about the 1000th person in line. A stellar line up, and one that got the chance to soak in all the good will of the last 4 years: Julie Gardner, Euros Lyn, Russell Davies and David Tennant. Random thoughts about the panel: Tennant is great in person, and not just a good Doctor, but a great ambassador for the series, ambassador in a way the Eccleston never would have been because its simply not in Chris' make up to be that way.

No Doctor Who movie is on the way, and while there are plenty of folks in that room who would love one, i have to say i think it would never live up the weighty baggage taht it would be saddled with. Everytime Davies tried to write the ultimate Dr. Who story, such as the Master 3 parter, it usually falls flat on its face. The final episode was like watching Horns of the Nimon: completely over the top and lacking all sorts of sense. Its usually the smaller stuff that sneaks up on you and becomes the classic. Girl in the Fireplace, School Reunion, Blink, Midnight, The Empty Child, Silence in the Library, Father's Day; these are the Davies Masterpieces that came on his watch, regardless of writers. Without Davies, this series wouldn't exist.

The Adam Hughes panel, and the Allison Sohn panel before it, were tremendously instructive. Adam is terribly funny as well as talented as an artist. The technical/shop talk in his panel was incredibly helpful to hear. Given that i've been inking Hughes pieces as part of my commissions, it was great to hear his approach to things. Why the Con put them into a room that sat about 50 people is a mystery. Bizarre situation.

I don't like Jim Lee's art. I know this is something that you're not supposed to say, but I don't. Its not bad, but it contains all those stupid little lines that pass for interesting andyet just remind me of everything that was bad about an entire decade of art. His Batman? So not my Batman.

i'm holding Detective #31, with what is, in my opinion, the most iconic cover ever. Action #1 and Detective #27 and Marvel #1 have history, yes, but this is the most interesting of them all, and immediately gives you everything you'll need to know to be totally intrigued to pick up the book. Its the only golden age book taht i've ever wanted. This CGC 7.0 copy is astonishing to look at. The corners have not even a single fold on them. i'm only holding about $120,000 worth of comics in my hands right then. Thanks Richard, from Houston's Bedrock Comics, for letting me get that close!

more tomorrow. I've got some new material to read as well, especially Grailpages, The Art of Harvey Kurtzman, and some others.

1 comment:

Brian Fies said...

I didn't make it to Comic-Con this year and am enjoying your reports. I understand your thrill in holding those comics (too bad the photo's not in better focus, but it's good enough to see the covers). I saw an Action #1 there last year--under glass, I didn't get to touch it--and it's a very strange, cool feeling to look up from a 70-year-old comic book at an entire enormous room of people and books and commerce that all came from that--that very object right there! From such humble beginnings . . .

I missed the con more than I expected to. Maybe I'll need to make an effort next year.