Better Late Than Never Chicago Recap
The topsy-turvy whoosh of Chicago is in the rear-view mirror and things went great for Hero. The Ultimate Spider-Man #100 Project book sold great guns, and Paul Jenkins shooting pool was quite the hit. Shouts goin’ out to the Westside:
• Massive thanks to our volunteer crew of Chris Klamer, Wendi Freeman, Mike Fleming, Stephen Olle, Dan Corbett, Chris Neseman, David Price, Ron Richards, David Fowlie, and I-pray-I’m-not-forgetting anyone.
• Big Ups, as the kids might say, to our talented writers and artists who helped with signings and sketchings including Phil Hester, Gene Ha, Tim Seeley, David Michael Beck, Arthur Suydam, Brian Pulido, Gordon Purcell, Tim Vigil, Joe Benitez, J. Scott Campbell, Michael Golden, Francis Manapul, Alex Saviuk, Jim Starlin, Jim Valentino, Matt Wagner, and I-pray-I’m-not-forgetting anyone.
• Kudos to Joe Quesada and Mark Millar, who showed up to shoot some stick (HEY! Mind outta the gutter!) against The Mighty Jenks.
• Salutations to Maggie Thompson, Steve Borock, and the CGC Forum crew, and especially a brave/foolish man named Kenny Sanderson. At the CGC Forum dinner, Kenny offered to eat and entire BOWL of sour cream if all Forum members ponied up $5 each for Hero. They did, and $270 later, Kenny increased his caloric intake by about 2000.
• Warmest regards to the Wizard World crew and the denizens of the Great Midwest. BELIEVE me when I tell you this: I go to a lot of these things, and I observe. Even more, I count the cashbox at the end. The Wizard World Chicago crowd is a buying crowd. They love comics. They get it. And they’re not afraid to reach for their wallets. The San Diego audience, to a large extent, thinks it’s Halloween. They get a giant bag, and they want you to fill it up with candy. I spent half of Wednesday at San Diego running halfway down an aisle saying to people, “Sorry, Mac. That’s not free, it’s $5.” Not so at Chicago.
• The greatest thanks are reserved for Paul Jenkins, who worked his balls (billiard balls, that is) off all weekend, and Michael Turner. Turner, sporting what he calls his “stylish new walk,” showed up to challenge Jenkins to a best-of-9 9-ball tournament on Sunday and gamely hung with the master. Final was 5-3, and you could see the flopsweat marshalling on Jenkins’ brow. Turner’s right leg ain’t what it used to be, but he can still play. It was great to see Mike get out and have a little fun shooting some stick, and I hope he enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed having him there.
Okay, I lied. The GREATEST thanks of all, as always, are for Lou Malnati’s, the finest pizza in Chicago (and that’s sayin’ sumpthin’!). Did you know—DID YOU KNOW—that Lou’s has a pizza that has a crust made of sausage? I’ll say that again: A CRUST MADE OF SAUSAGE! It’s not crust! It’s sausage!
No, actually…it’s heaven.
Jim McLauchlin
