2007 Comic Book News Archives

Wizard World Texas 2007 - Ned and Margie Cox with Laura Vandervoort

November 21, 2007: Wizard World Texas 2007 Report

By Neal Bailey

EXHAUSTION

There's a point, ironically in a Hunter Thompson movie, as I parody and emulate his Gonzo journalism, where he is collapsed in a drug-induced haze, a tape recorder taped to himself, a lizard's tail on, in a room that is, quite literally, afloat in filth. He says, "The possibility of physical and mental collapse is... now very REAL. No sympathy for the devil. Keep that in mind" in that way that only Depp as Hunter can, absolutely mimicking the guy with perfection.

That's where I was Thursday. See, I put houses back together to support the ole writing. The first two took three years part time. In the interim I built a house from the ground up. And lately I've been sticking to taking the cash I've made from those houses and thrusting them into a fading, desperate market, trying to get enough to write and keep my head above water. It's called suffering, but I don't think it a big deal. After all, it's my job. However, diving into this last house, whereby I put together a house that was utterly decimated, in the process digging a hundred yard, two foot deep trench, replacing a roof, clearing a half acre of brambles, and taking a house from decimated and reeking of urine to saleable and with marble, I lost three months of my life.

You wouldn't know it. After all, the reports kept coming. Yeah, the Smallville reviews lacked a few videos. I was late on the Caption Contest once or twice.

Instead of the relative calm that implies, I was locked in mortal battle with wrenches, boards, pipes that leaked excremental demons onto legs, undermined foundations, rotted water heaters, a syllogomania madhouse filled with machinery, parts from bicycles, and remnants of what could only be methamphetamine manufacturing.

This was easy.

What was hard was dealing with three months of not doing what I'm doing today. Sitting and writing creatively. Exercising my noodle, to either an audience, no audience, or a little of both.

Time slipped through the hourglass, I looked at the clock, and what was supposed to be finished in November on the first finished the evening I was supposed to leave for Texas. Three straight months of twelve hour days with little fail, I boarded a plane and rose, rose, rose...

STEPHEN G:

I spent the weekend with Homepage member Stephen G. We met a few years back when he came up to the Northwest and visited. I think he treated me to dinner, and we hit it off, yakked a good bit, and talked Smallville... this is back when Smallville was really great.

This time, he met me at the airport and took me to Fort Worth, where we hung out, watched sports. It was insanely good to sit back, relax, become human and unwind again.

He gave me an awesome buck knife, knowing that we're both hunters. I don't know if you guys know how cool that is, but it's a really big deal. It's a Gerber, a fine piece, and I fully intend on carrying it and using it for my adult life. I've been meaning to buy a good knife for years, and finance, commitment to cheap imitations, and my own bull-headedness stopped me. It's an incredible tool, of endless use if you treat it right, and an awesome way to welcome a guy.

We popped over for Italian at a joint called New Yorker pizza, and the place rivaled Chicago. It puzzles me that I can say that, to me traveling was always something that was NEVER GONNA HAPPEN, BUB, but now I'm sitting here, trying to figure out what's best, Chicago, New York, or Texas pizza. The guys were obviously from the east, however, and we rolled all the way to the truck, it was so good.

WIZARD WORLD: DAY ONE

I set up the booth way ahead of time. I always do. I always end up sitting for a long time. It's great. I get to read. Stephen was worried, because he had to go to work, that I might end up spending some time waiting. When you're a book nut like me, though, waiting is great. It means you can get some reading done, something that doesn't happen when you're working on a house. This trip I read "Caught Stealing" by Huston, "A Drink Before the War" by Lehane, "The Handmaid's Tale" by Margaret Atwood, and a good chunk of "I Am America, and So Can You!" by Stephen Colbert.

In short, empty time in a world of demand is premium.

I surveyed the floor, which is usually one of the only times I get to walk around... and that's okay. After so many cons, you realize walking around is a way to get to spending or a way to miss talking to cool people, the readers, the potential readers, or the strange, strange strangers, and boy, are there some.

Turning to head back, I hear, "Hey, NEAL!"

It's Larry Ward and Noel Neill. I... Noel Neill knows who I am.

After they resuscitated me, I said hello, visited with Noel, and Larry gave me a copy of "Beyond Lois Lane," which I'll be reviewing shortly and giving you information on how to procure. It's the single best pictoral history of Noel I've come across, it's a fascinating glimpse into the most real actress I've ever known, and I can't wait to knuckle in and give you guys a detailed look in the next few days.

The first day is always a bit slow, but nonetheless, books moved, and I managed to meet people constantly who knew the website. When I first started, it was a few, now it's turning into a regular industry of folks running up, pumping hands. I've even got a few of the brave souls who disagree with me actually coming up and talking, and instead of fistfights, we degenerate into... CONSENSUS! It's a beautiful thing, and by the end of the first day, I was already slightly hoarse. That usually doesn't happen until mid-Saturday.

FRIDAY NIGHT

Stephen and I sat down to some sports, which I haven't had enough time to watch in a good long time. Hockey, point of fact, and also Smallville. I had to leave on a Wednesday, see, and so we ended up watching the episode, "Blue."

I thought...

Er, wrong article. Look for that later today or tomorrow, due to Texas rain delay. Hey-o!

Jet lag caught up to me, and I wimped out, collapsing early.

WIZARD WORLD: SATURDAY

I met most of the folks I knew from the Homepage Saturday...

Stephen Eden, for the first time, who graciously offered to have me over, and then I ended up lost in the sea of what was going on... my apologies, Stephen. I've done that before, and it's never personal, it's just my brain in eighty places. Stephen's a songwriter, a longtime friend, and a fine fiction writer.

I also met a KalEl, though I was a bad journalist and didn't take the numbers after. Regardless, a fine gent, we talked quite a good bit both Saturday and Sunday.

I also met two fine people from Heroes Alliance, a group of costumed superheroes who visit hospitals and also sport some of the better DC costumes I've ever seen. You can find them at their MySpace page, or also their main site.

Ned and Margie Cox played multiple parts in Texas. Ned played Superman, a Green Lantern, and a Batman that scared the holy hell out of me. Really chilling, and great work. Margie played Wonder Woman, and Green Lantern Soranik Natu of Korugar, Sector 1417.

Heroes Alliance is visiting St. Joseph's Children's Hospital in Tampa on December 22nd. That's my birthday, so if you guys want to make my birthday a good one, I'm gonna pop up an article in the next few days about how we can help make these kids have a good Christmas and holiday season, and you can pony up and help. I will. More on that soon.

Here's a few pics of them with Laura, and Noel... they took the pictures, I'm a horrible Jimmy Olsen:

Wizard World Texas 2007 - Ned and Margie Cox with Noel Neill Wizard World Texas 2007 - Ned and Margie Cox with Laura Vandervoort

COLTER'S AND JOLIE

I wanted to try local stuff, so I asked Stephen what a good local place was. He recommended Colter's, a BBQ joint.

BBQ usually sours me, mostly because it's crap stuck in my teeth, bones, and I'm just generally not insane for beef. Colter's changed my mind. I'm having Brisket for Thanksgiving. No kidding. This place had Okra like nobody's business, sausage and brisket BBQ, broccoli with cheese, and rolls that just killed me.

We went to Beowulf, which I'll review for Cinema Crazed if I can, but they had this strange theater that had office chairs and menus. Literally, a restaurant theater. Appletinis and cheesecake, the whole nine yards. Usually you have to scream at people talking. Here you get that light scrape of a fork on a plate. It was disconcerting. And awesome.

SUNDAY

Sunday was slow, but normal. Mostly I ended up yakkin with most of the people I'd met, and selling the last of my books. People in Texas either love to read, or it was a big fluke, because my books FLEW, and thank you all for that.

I sat beside Rebecca Hicks, a fine, bubbly artist and creator of Little Vampires, Vampires who want to be evil, but just can't be. It was a hit, and their fine work drew people my way, and might be responsible for those sales. We traded books, and I'll be giving you more info on that at Cinema Crazed as well, if Felix will allow it.

Rebecca's an artist and editor at Strange Matter, and also with Project Elohim.

I'm still digging into her work, but we talked quite a bit, she kept me sane through several of the "insane ones," and I can't recommend her work more. She gave me two Superman related sketches, which I'd have here, but my scanner is TOTALLY fritzed. It bugs me, but they're awesome. I have a vampire Supes, and a Supergirl, and she gave them to me out of the kindness of her heart. Give her some business!

Back to Stephen's, where we watched Boondock Saints, a fine movie I consider a comic book film. It's right up there. I'll be buying it.

ET AL

The next day we ate at Colter's again, I conned Stephen into it, and he took me to the airport. Seven hours in the plane, I'm reading, I'm flying, I'm home.

That morning I spent watching Stephen's TiVo and getting noted on Smallville, so the review's incoming, now that my reviews of "Superman Confidential #9" is in, "All-Star Superman #9" is canned, and here we are, back into writing. I just looked up at the clock and it's 9. I've been writing for 12 hours now. It feels like two. Happiness.

WIZARD WORLD TEXAS HONOR ROLL:

Stephen G
Mike Scigliano (Makes it all possible)
Noel Neill
Larry Ward
Steve Younis
Steve Eden
Ned Cox
Margie Cox
Heroes' Alliance
Rebecca Hicks
That chick who got me my appletini
Dan DiDio (for not stopping by the table)
and
Bob Wayne (for stopping by the table and forgiving me for saying, "Uh, hey, aren't you that... uh... where do I...)

If I forgot anybody, admonish in the comments. I will apologize. Best, and thanks!

Neal Bailey



2007 Comic News

Listed below are all the Comic News items archived for 2007.


Back to the News Archive Contents page.

Back to the Latest News page.