First of all, Shag – the artist whose work I adore – wrote me that he’d like to contribute to my giant monster book.   At the convention, we had talked about commissions, which he doesn’t do, but he had said he had a piece he could give me permission to publish.  I had told him my books were black and white, but now, in his email, he said he wasn’t sure that he had time to revamp his art in a way it would republish in black-and-white.  He said, if I wouldn’t mind using an image for a cover, that would be fine, because that way he could just send me the color image as is.  So I’m going to have a SHAG COVER for my next monster book!  I was thrilled.  I couldn’t believe my luck.  Unbelievable!  I absolutely never imagined such luck.

He emailed me FOUR options (!!!).  Did I mention I couldn’t believe it?  Here I assumed we would maybe take one of his old tiki paintings, maybe crop it down so that it was just the tiki, or something like that.  But he sent me FOUR paintings, full on compositions.  Giant monster compositions!  Attacking towns, dragging screaming women into the jungle, stomping through a villa.  This guy has DRAWN GIANT MONSTERS!  I had no idea he’d already contributed so thoroughly to my h’ouvre.   Or is it ouvre?

THE SKEPTICS SOCIETY

My contact at the Skeptics Society emailed me out the blue, after my baby came, that they have an official podcast, that was the number one independent podcast online for a while, before they had to take an unforeseen break.  But they’re just about ready to fire it up again, and want me to be a guest, hyping Dr. Debunko and talking about being a younger-than-fifty-year-old Skeptic trying to spread the word of Skepticism.  On top of that, he said he got word from the man in charge and my idol, Michael Shermer, that they want to be sure and talk me up in one of their e-mailers.  What great support!  What great news!  When my first comic was going to come out, they mentioned me on their e-mailer, and my website got over a thousand additional hits.  This time I have to be sure and be ready, and have plenty of info up, and my books and t-shirts available to buy.

STAN “THE MAN” LEE

Next on the list of unbelievable excitement: I called Stan Lee’s representative (whose contact info I got at the con) and told him who I was, and he assured me that he had gotten my book into Stan’s hands.  I asked if there might be any chance to get a blurb from Stan, and at first he said he didn’t think so, but then he rethought it, and by the end of the conversation he was asking me, So if Stan called me and just said something about my book, could I use that?  I was dumbfounded.  I told him, Well, you could just email me a sentence or two, if that would be easier.  He said he’d check with Stan and get back to me.

I assumed I would need to call back in a couple weeks, but before I had a chance to even think about it, I got a call saying Stan would do a blurb for me, and could I please send an email with an idea of what I might like Stan to say, and then Stan would rewrite it in “his own inimitable style.”  Uh…okay…  He wanted me to just send a couple sentences.  Man, what a lot of pressure.  So let me get this straight, I’m just going to write whatever I’d like Stan to say about my book, and then he’ll change it so that it sounds like something Stan said.  

At first I thought maybe they had actually just lost the book or thrown it out without looking at it, and that’s why they wanted me to give them a sample of what to say.  Upon looking at what Stan wrote, though, I see he must have seen the book.

So I thought over my dilemma for a while, then I finally sat in front of my computer and basically just brainstormed a bunch of outrageous, self-congratulatory, pretentious, pompous compliments about myself.  I ended up sending a full paragraph of what I thought Stan “The Man” Lee should say about my work, and here’s what I wrote:

“Quirky, kitschy, hilarious, odd, full of Lee-Kirby energy…and I know!  A loving homage full of bizarre and random characters, plot twists that don’t make much sense, kooky giant monsters, and a whole lot of exclamation points and fun!  Takes me back.  Kirby and I did giant monsters better, but Chris’s “Doris Danger Giant Monster Adventures” are next up on the list.  A great package, full of pin-ups by all my favorite artists, in a gorgeous over-sized format that makes me feel like a kid.  The truest, most heartfelt homage I’ve seen to my work.”

Oh, man, it makes me gag to think Stan “The Man” Lee, my idol, saw me write this stuff about myself and knew I wanted him to say these things about me.  But the following week, I had a blurb from my idol, and the man who wrote the stories I grew up with and loved so much that I dedicated a book to ripping off his style…Stan “The Man” Lee wrote me a blurb about my monster books!

Sometimes, I feel like I’m on the cusp of really big, really great things that are just about ready to tip in my favor.  But then other days… (See next exciting entrée, fans)!

Now we’ve had a chance to get back home from San Diego, unpack, have a baby.  The usual stuff.

My parents stayed with Elizabeth and I for a couple weeks, to help us out with our new little man.  Now that we’ve got a baby, it feels like there are always things that need to be done, and I feel like I’m never quite caught up with everything I need to do, and there is always something that needs to be done that isn’t getting done.  This is how my life will be from here on out, I’m assuming.  From a comics-self-publishing standpoint, I’m always a day or so behind as far as who I need to email, what I need to write, draw, send out, pack up to send out, and all that other self-publishing stuff. 

Here are some huge accomplishments as a result of San Diego.

POTENTIAL MOVIE DEALS 

I emailed one of the Hollywood guys who said he thought my comic looked good.  He said he seriously had my comics on his coffee table at home, and planned to read them that night.

Out of the blue, another film person emailed me, said he’d only taken the first issue, but could already tell it would make a good tv show.  He mentioned the Sci-Fi Channel and a show his friend had recently done, starting as a made-for-tv movie, that got spun into a regular series. 

I wrote back to him, asking what he had in mind, feeling a little skeptical.  He immediately wrote back that he thought it should be a Tales From The Crypt or Twilight Zone style format, with three vignettes in a ninety-minute pilot.

When he said this, I started getting really excited, because I never imagined anyone would want to take this approach with my stories.  I assumed people would like this character or that, and want to do a Dr. DeBunko series, for example.  But never to take everything and keep the whole Tabloia style and format. 

I wrote him back and spouted way too many ideas, and sent him copies of the rest of my Tabloia issues.  It’s now been a week or so, and I haven’t heard back again.

The other Hollywood guy wrote back once and mentioned he had read some of them and thought there may be some potential.  So by early August I’m feeling pretty studly, and as if potential live-action Tabloia isn’t exciting enough, I got Shag, Skeptic Society, and Stan Lee news.

San Diego 2006

A few more of the usual convention excitements.  I said the usual hellos to Matt Wagner and Jon K. Snyder, who I always enjoy.  I found William Stout and apologized I couldn’t afford to get a pin-up from him (we’d discussed the possibility through emails), and he was as friendly as can be, and even let us take a photo with him at our booth.  I got to visit a bit with Tim Bradstreet, who I always absolutely adore.  My wife laughs at me, because I have the biggest crush on him.  I tried to get him to hang out with me one evening, but we weren’t able to hook up.   He told me where he was planning to be one night, and I went there and stayed pretty late, and never saw him.  The next day I asked him, and he said, Oh yeah, sorry, that place was so packed, we went somewhere else.  The way he said it with such empathy, and since I’ve got such a crush on him, I didn’t get the impression he was sending me on a wild goose chase.  I asked about hooking up another night, and he said, Well, this night is the bladdy-blah party –  You’re familiar with it?  It’s an invite-only for professionals – I thought maybe you’d be going.  I spoke with other friends, who it turned out were also invited and going, and it made me feel low, not actually being invited.

 I got to visit a bit with Adam Hughes, who confirmed he couldn’t let me publish a pin-up by him since he’s exclusive with DC, and said he didn’t even think it would be a good idea if I got a monster sketch from him to post at my website. 

At one point, Elizabeth and I were just wandering around, and happened to see Ray Harryhausen just sitting quietly at a booth.  We ran up and got our picture taken with him.  I didn’t bother him about pin-ups, just wanted to see him.

When we had first checked in at our hotel, we bumped into Joshua Dysert, who I’d met at Wondercon this year.  And he recognized me and pulled me aside to say hello.  We wound up spending some time with him in a bar one night, and he told us how well his comics career has been going this year.  He said he hooked up with some editors at Darkhorse and DC, and he’s been offered so much work, he doesn’t know how he’s going to be able to do it all.  But he says he’s never been in this position before, and he’s really stoked that his career has gotten to this point.  That’s got to be a great feeling.

The night the convention ended, we went out for ice cream and realized we were sitting next to Roger Corman, but I was too timid, while he was having ice cream, to butt in and ask if he would take a picture with me.  I watched him get up and leave, another missed opportunity.

Even so, I got a ton of great photos with a ton of great comics professionals.  I think it will look real nice at my website.  It will make me look so impressive to the average passer-through-of-websites, don’t you think?  If I have met and rubbed shoulders with all these greats, I must also be a great, and then everyone will be bound to want to buy my books, right?  I’ll be “that guy who would have a ton of great photos if he hadn’t butted his face into all of the otherwise great shots.”  What an ingenious marketing ploy!

On the last day, Matt Silady, who’d shared the booth with us, said something that made me feel really good.  He said, It will be interesting to see where your career is at this time next year.  Because after this convention, it kind of feels like I’m getting close to the cusp of something, and I just keep waiting for it to tilt in my favor.

Ironically, a year from San Diego 2006, it would wind up being Matt and not me whose career seemed to really publisher-wise, critically, sales-wise, and media-wise just absolutely skyrocket.

But back to me.  If you look at each of my San Diego Cons (and just generally how I’m doing as a struggling self-publisher)…Even if it doesn’t look like I’m able to get work, and even if I continue to struggle every issue I self-publish (in that I lose money every issue, and I spend all this time and effort and money trying to get reviews, get word out, go to conventions, get my work better distributed, and just drum up more interest and it doesn’t happen)…even with all that, I feel like every year, I’m more and more professional, making more and better connections, getting just that little bit more known, building just a couple new fans, and more and more fun is happening!  Not to mention I think my art is getting better every year, my control and understanding.  I’m getting better and better all around at figuring this game out, and that feels pretty good.  And what a hell of a good time I had this year at San Diego!

And just like, another amazing San Diego Comic Con was over.

San Diego 2006

So here we are in the heat of the San Diego Comic-Con festivities, I’m at the usual bar, and I’ve just spoken to JH Williams about maybe trying to get published through Image Comics, and I glance over, and Jim is talking with Erik Larsen, the man in charge of Image Comics.

So I poke over, and I’m nervous and I’m whispering to Jim, with Erik standing over just a couple people. It’s as if I’m in seventh grade.

Me: I can’t believe you’re standing here with him right now. He’s the head of Image.

Jim: I know. I haven’t really spoken with him before. I just met him. You should introduce yourself.

Me: We’ve met, he actually bought one of my books at Wondercon.

Jim: Then go say hi.

Me: What should I say? What should I do? Do I look all right? Is my breath okay?

So I walk sheepishly over, looking down at my shoes, and dragging my feet. I introduce myself and tell Erik I do those Kirby-style giant monster comics. And he says, Yeah, I know, I remember. I liked your book. And I’m thinking, wow, not only does he remember me and my book, but he says he likes it too. So I say a couple pleasantries, and then a sheepish “Well, so long,” type of exit, before I say anything to embarrass myself. And then I hurry back around the couple people back to Jim, and I’m beaming, and I tell him, He remembered me, and he said he liked my book.

And Jim says, And?

So I say, And?

And he says, So why didn’t you follow that up with, So what can I do to get published through you with Image? And I say, Um… And Jim says, So go back over there and ask him. And Jim is practically shoving me, as if we’re at a Junior high school dance, and I’m resisting, and thinking, What should I say? What if he doesn’t like me?

So now Erik is speaking with someone, and I’m waiting and wondering how stupid this looks that I just spoke with him, and now I’m coming back over. When he finishes talking with the other person, he begins to turn like he’s going to walk away, so I catch his attention, and I say, “Erik, I just thought I would ask, since you mentioned you liked my book, if you might consider publishing it through Image?”

So then, Erik gets down to business. He says, Well what kind of numbers are you selling. And I think, Uh oh. I told him the original Diamond sales were 350. And he says, Yeah, those are pretty low. I don’t know that Image could help you much. I mean, your numbers would go up, but those numbers are still too low.

But despite this, I had the impression he would like to publish the books. And finally he said to send him an email, and send him the books again, and he would give them a look over. So on the one hand, it was problematic that he knew the book didn’t sell well. But on the other hand, he was willing to consider it, and look it over.

What more can I say? Erik is, of course, a huge Kirby fan, and has dedicated whole issues of his Savage Dragon to a bit character from Kamandi. So it seems to me that if I’m going to have a shot at getting a publisher, it would be through him.

I hurried back to Jim, once again like a seventh grade dance, to be sure and tell him everything that happened. What’d he say? I said this. And what’d he do? He did this. You see, It wasn’t so bad. Just like in Junior High.

San Diego 2006

All during the convention, we kept stopping by JH Williams III’s booth and telling him we wanted to spend some time with him, whenever he was free. Maybe dinner, if he was available. It turned out, he gave us a call one night about having dinner, but we missed the call and blew that opportunity.

We did get some nice time with him in the bars one night. He told me how he was disappointed with the Desolation Jones project, it had been giving him a lot of stress, and finally quit. He was very professional. He gave them plenty of notice, and finished the story arc he had started. Wildstorm, who put out Desolation Jones, is owned by DC, and so his editors switched him over to Batman. But he was still due to draw the bookend of Grant Morrison’s “Four Soldiers,” and so after doing only one issue of Batman, he’ll be pulled off that book.

He said that Grant Morrison is asking him to do insane things with the artwork, and one page took him four days. This in an industry where you’re expected to draw one page a day, and you’re paid by the page, so it just shows Jim’s dedication to assuring his work looks absolutely as fantastic as possibly, regardless of his paycheck.

He showed me the Batman book, which just came out, and he tried some interesting new things that got the editors a little nervous. He told me he was actually doing ink washes with these pages. With the way colorists do their work, I can’t tell anymore what’s done by who. I didn’t realize how much Jim is invested with his artwork. He has very high demands of his inkers and colorists (now he’s inking his own stuff, but he gives very specific instructions to the colorist, in notes and on the phone). He hadn’t worked with this colorist before, and was nervous how it would turn out, but he said he was pleased. He gave the colorist instructions, and the colorist told him, “Really, you want that?” and Jim said, That’s exactly what I want. And so the colorist did what Jim asked, and when he was done, told Jim, “Wow, that turned out really nice,” and Jim said, “I know that. That’s why I wanted you to do it that way.”

Jim said he’s got a list of “dream writers” he’d like to work with, and he’s been fortunate enough to be able to slowly go through and check all these amazing names off his list as he goes.

We spoke about my work a little, and Jim gave me suggestions for different publishers I might try and approach. He said it might be worth my while to try Slave Labor, and for some reason I was never sure if I would fit in with them or not. I told him I was thinking of trying Image. He told me that Image is basically set up where you self-publish, but that they help you out with an upfront loan and advertising. And of course, if your under Image’s banner, then stores are more likely to look through all the books listed there and give your book the benefit of the doubt. As opposed to being a self-publisher stuffed in the back of the order catalog, which no one will flip through. And of course your book will be listed in other Image books, things like that. So you are getting a number of bonuses.

I didn’t realize this about Image, that you’re just self-publishing under their banner. But it makes sense, knowing they were started because artists wanted to own their own projects. That’s the logical conclusion for how to own it. To literally be responsible for everything. Jim told me he knew one or two editors at Image, and he’d try and introduce me.

And then he wound up being responsible for me speaking to Erik Larsen, Mr. In-Charge-of-Image, at that very same bar.

San Diego, 2006

The year before, a fun security guard kept popping over to our booth and cracking jokes and telling stories and hanging out, and we became very fond of him. I saw him again this year, chased him down and said hello. I hoped he might have some advice or pointers, since it was very possible Elizabeth could go into labor while we were at the con. He said he’d get info for us, and when he came back, he introduced me to the emergency medical team, which happened to be parked very nearby. They said to bring Elizabeth straight back, and they would either get an ambulance to her, or maybe even just deliver the baby right there, in their curtained-off little area. They made me feel like any problems wouldn’t be a problem to them. One of them even said she’d delivered plenty of babies. That all made me feel much better.

So this year, our security guard friend popped by regularly, and continued hanging out with us and telling fun stories and cracking jokes. And somehow or other, as we got talking, I brought up to him that there are a few key people who I’d love to meet and try and get pin-ups from, or just meet, but they just seem so unapproachable (in that they’re so popular, they’re always swamped with hours and hours of lines), and since I needed to be at the table selling and pitching, or meeting with editors or artists, I just didn’t think I’d ever get the opportunity to wait for them and then hopefully maybe get to them.

He said, “Like who do you have in mind?” I told him, for example, Stan Lee, Frank Miller, and Quentin Tarantino, and also I heard Moebius was at the con.

He said, “Well tell you what, if I’m put on duty with any of them, I’ll pop over here to your booth, and bring you to meet them!” WOW!

I said, “Well for example, it says Moebius is doing a signing at the Activision booth, but it doesn’t say when.” So he sends one of his fellow guards over to the Activision booth to find out some information for us. UNBELIEVABLE! While we’re visiting, he suddenly says, “Hold on just a second,” are starts listening and talking into his headset for a moment. “Yeah? Yeah. Okay. All right. Thanks.” Then he says to me, “Moebius is signing at the Activision booth right now. Let’s go.” INCREDIBLE! So we march all the way to the opposite end of the convention together, and when we get there, STAN LEE IS SIGNING AT THE SAME TIME! FRIGGIN’ AMAZING!

The place is a madhouse. There are mobs and mobs of people swarming the area, and there’s just a feeling of tension.

I follow my security guy, and he goes around and says a quick hello to the security guard manning a station, and then walks through a roped-off area. I try to follow him, but this new security guard stops me. My pal turns back and says, “No, it’s okay. He’s with me.” And next thing I know, I’m coming through, into the inner circle, just outside where Stan Lee is signing. My buddy is talking with various people, who are pointing back and forth, and finally he comes back to me and says, “Stan is really busy, and as soon as he’s done signing, he’s got to get somewhere. Did you want him to sign a book? Because we can leave it with his rep, and get it signed, if you want.”

I told him, I didn’t have a book to sign (I did, but I had left it at my booth). I said what I wanted was to give the esteemed Stan Lee a copy of my giant monster book. My friend stepped me over a few steps (because we were in an extremely tight, cramped area) and said, you need to talk to this man. He’s Stan Lee’s representative.

I introduced myself and told him I’d been doing Kirby-style giant monster stories inked by Dick. The representative said, “Oh, I haven’t seen Dick in a long time. How’s he doing?” I gave him a very quick update, and told him I’d also had a chance to spend time with Larry Lieber when he came out to see me at a convention in New York a couple years ago. I told him I’m too young to have met Jack Kirby, but I would love for Stan to see what I’ve been working on. I was assured Stan would receive this book. As I left, I asked if there might be any chance, if he enjoyed it, that he could write a quick blurb that I could publish with my next book. The rep said that would be a possibility, and he gave me his card, and told me to ask for Stan, and that would put me through to him (the rep). Wow, wouldn’t that be something to get a blurb from Stan Lee?!

So I told my security guard friend that I was all set with Stan Lee, and he asked if I’d like to meet Moebius now. Would I!!??!

I waited behind the ropes a little longer, while my security friend was asking around, trying to find a way to get me to Moebius. While I was waiting, still roped off and cramped in the Stan Lee area, Moebius got up from his signing which was only maybe ten feet away, and headed my way, stepping over Stan Lee’s ropes. One of the security guards there stopped him and said, “I’m sorry, you can’t come through here.” Moebius was saying, “I just want to say hi to my friend, Stan,” but the security guard didn’t realize who he was stopping. When he saw an old man trying to muscle through and not obeying him, he got more assertive and gruff, and said, “You can’t come through here, sir. Please step back over the ropes!” And this guard was raising his voice and hand, and puffing out his chest like he would take Moebius down if he had to. I’m thinking, Holy shit this is ugly, and looks to get worse!

So Moebius is pissed, I mean PISSED, and he steps back over the ropes, and I’m sure he’s thinking, Dipshit! He’s thinking, Fuck you cock-sucking pricks. He’s waving his hand in disgust and stomping back over to his own table. As this is all going down, I’m telling Stan Lee’s representatives, “Oh my God! Moebius just tried to come over here to say hi to Stan, and that security guard wouldn’t let him through!” When I said this, Stan’s rep practically jumped and jerked his head around, and bolted away to try and get Moebius through.

But the damage had already been done, and Moebius was pissed. I could see Stan’s rep trying to smoothe things over, but Moebius sat back down at his own table, and he’s scowling and making a “waving away,” “don’t bother,” “I’m through with him,” “our friendship is over”-type of gesture with his hands. I could just imagine Stan’s rep explaining how sorry he is, and if only he’d seen Moebius come over he’d have let him through, and Stan would truly like to see you, and don’t worry, I’ll have the job (and maybe neck) of that moronic idiot who was doing security and didn’t realize who you are and let you through. Finally Moebius did come over with the rep and visit with Stan for a little while. Jesus that was intense to watch.

Finally my security guard (and did I mention he’s my new best friend?) popped back over and told me he didn’t know any of the guards who were on Moebius’ detail, and was trying to find an in. I pointed out that Moebius’s line had been capped off, and was now down to about a dozen people. He said, “Tell you what,” and he walked me over to the end of the line. He tapped the shoulder of the last person in line, who was holding a sign that said the line was capped and no one else was allowed to get in line. He took this sign, grabbed me and placed me at the end of the line, and handed me the sign. “There you go,” he said.

So within a few minutes, I was meeting Moebius, and he drew me a sketch of a giant monster, which I have posted at my website, under “fans of giant monsters.” I showed him my book, and he raised his eyebrows, as if to say it looked good. And I showed him some of the pin-ups, and named a bunch of names involved, and asked if he ever does commissions for pin-ups, and he shook his head, and then he stopped looking at me, and when I tried to speak with him some more, he spoke in French. So I guess that answers that question.

But what fun!

We didn’t see our security guard (who I felt so indebted to and grateful for) the next day. When he came around the day after that, he lamented, “I was assigned to Quentin Tarantino yesterday. I was with him THE WHOLE DAY, but I was so busy, I couldn’t get away from him to come get you!” Damn! Can you believe it! I can’t believe my luck. But what I mean by that is, HOW LUCKY I AM!