I also needed the nurturing I got at NC Comicon's Bull City Con over this past weekend!
First, I was pleased to see that it was not too big, as Cons go. It was small enough, but had more than enough guests and dealers to be perfect. Of course, I was there to meet the one and only Howard Chaykin (see my previous blog post about that) and get a couple of head sketches and hopefully a good chat out of him.
Mission accomplished. And Chaykin could not have been nicer. Sure, he's not one to censor himself. He tells you what he thinks and is not shy about it. But the notion that he is a grouch or overly cranky is greatly exaggerated. He is warm and welcoming at his table, inviting folks to come close and treat it like a pub, where we're all hanging out chatting it up. There's no shortage of tales to tell, and opinions to share. He's a natural performer and he loves his audience.
To say that I enjoyed meeting him is understatement. I am very happy to have met him.
My old high school pal Donald, who lives in Durham, planned to join me at the Con on Saturday. We had gone to Heroes Cons together in the late 1980s, and we both cut our teeth on Chaykin's American Flagg! back in the day.
I think it is safe to say that Donald and I were both very pleasantly surprised, and honored to spend time with Chaykin as he held court. In fact, we both felt like he kept us at his table extra long, because he was enjoying the chat. Others came up to get him to sign books, which he did, as he kept talking to us. Those who wanted to stay were welcome to. And when we departed, Chaykin said to us something like "Come back and see me when you get bored. And you will get bored."
In fact, the highlight of the weekend may have been the dressings down we witnessed Chaykin give to a few folks who had him sign Star Wars issues. He was happy to sign them, but was also freely giving his opinion. We heard his opinion of Neal Adams, and we heard him describe how he has no hope for Hollywood and his works.We even got TV recommendations out of him. No topic was off the table, and he didn't circle back for you if you couldn't keep up. But this one kid (maybe 15 years old) came up with Star Wars issues. Chaykin signed them, and quickly told the kid that they were complete crap and that he should seek out other works of his. The flustered kid was brave enough to try and engage Chaykin in reply, but was in WAY over his head.
Of course, all this happened, perfectly timed, with Chaykin stating that a big problem in comics is that they are being written by 50 year old men, and read by 50 year old men. Then he proceeded to terrorize a teenager who was eagerly approaching him.
Donald and I got a photo with Chaykin to end the day, and once I saw it, I stated that it was pure poetry. (See it below)
I picked up some great deals and I had Chaykin do a couple of sketches for me. One of Indiana Jones:
And one of Black Canary:
(No one tell my wife: this is a gift for her for Christmas)
When I asked him about it, he said he was happy to, often telling folks, "I'm here for you. Whatever you like, I'll sign it or draw it." But funnily enough, He had no paper, so I had to go find some for him to draw on.
Klaus Janson was nice as well, and gave a great panel with Cully Hamner about drawing Batman.
I'm also happy that Darrin and Ruth Sutherland dropped by on Saturday and we got to visit for a while, catching up and snapping a few photos. Two nicer people you could not find, in podcasting (listen the their RaD Network of shows on Mike Grell, Ron Randall and Mark Schultz) or in the world. Such a great couple, and true fans and friends. I saw that they too had a great time with Chaykin at his table.
All in all, it was a great weekend, at a great Con. And it reminds me again of how great the geek culture is. So much positive energy in the building, so much love and celebration.
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