AMBIDEXTROUS: NEW YORK STATE OF MIND

[MattBrady]

by Brandon Thomas

Okay, so here’s what I learned first on this trip to the NYCC…never eat a hotdog while riding on an express train…

The road to New York actually began in Boston, where my girl had already spent several days at a huge conference for work. Which meant that I’d spent the week she was gone listlessly looking out the window with the dog, reading trades and watching an inhuman number of Thundercats episodes. Thursday morning I flew out to meet up with her, and discovered that in her brief time there she’d started to pick up a slight Boston accent, which combined with her moderate British accent sounded quite funny. But we took a train from there to Penn Station, and encountered the aforementioned hotdog, which I allowed her to eat despite the fact it looked to have been microwaved in the small plastic bag it came in. I felt pretty horrible hours later, when she’d gotten pretty sick from the thing, and even more so for having a bit of an outburst when checking into the place to begin with. This was to be her first comic-con and it was already turning into an unpleasant experience.

Next morning, while heading in on the shuttle bus, I learned that a couple other Archaia guys were staying at the same hotel, which was a cool surprise. We reached the con center and headed off in our own directions, with me ending up near the DC booth, where I found Marc Deering (Miranda inker extraordinaire) chatting with David Gallagher of Zuda’s High Moon. Never met Marc before, but I recognized him from a headshot that he took for the Miranda press kit months back. So we all caught up for a minute before Marc and I wandered off to talk Miranda business and really, to privately gush about the amazing, amazing stuff that Lee Ferguson has been turning in recently. And how we cannot wait for people to see it. And also how we’re fairly sure the Lee that drew the original Miranda opening sequence a couple years back is a completely different artist from the one we’re working with now.

I realize that in the large scheme of things, and considering the production time involved with other divisions of media, three months isn’t a long time to wait at all, but it always seems like forever to me. We’re all very keyed in on issue 297 and continuing to make every Miranda story a little more polished than the one before it, but it really makes me grin when I think of people actually seeing some of this artwork and how far he manages to stretch himself artistically. This particular issue will be shrouded in all manner of vague secrecies until it comes out in June, and keeping people from finding out why that is will become my job for the next several weeks. Which is made all the more difficult by this little column of mine, of course.

Marc and I both put a little time in at the Archaia booth and witnessed firsthand the true power of the graphic novel. I mean, everyone knows that it’s literally changed the way everyone does business, but to watch the other guys at the table, whose projects had reached that critical stage, being flocked by book company reps, librarians, etc. was very telling. This thing is real and means big money for a lot of people, and it made me think about how many more people Miranda Mercury will have access to once she gets her very own ISBN number. Marc had brought along some oversize prints of the three covers and nearly every page from the book thus far, which we judiciously showed to anyone interested, especially if they asked us when the next issue was out, which seemed the most common question of the day. That one made us feel pretty good about ourselves.

After that it came time to inadvertently begin souring my girl on ever coming to comic conventions. First, there were the problems finding an entrance we could both come onto the show floor through, as they’d penned all the “general audience members” within a certain area and didn’t have as many clear sings posted as San Diego usually does. Then she saw some of the, how do I put this, excesses of any comic-con. Half naked women and stormtroopers mostly, with a side helping of strange looking fans that actually weren’t in costume. Then I took her to a panel where she seemed incensed by what passes for a semi-intelligent question nowadays. Near the end of the day, I suspected she wouldn’t be coming back on Saturday, and ultimately it was my fault for not bringing her in more gradually.

The Black Panel closed out Friday, and I tried not to focus on the horrible time slot but on the sentiment of the crowd and the participants. This is always one of my favorites and despite some exhaustion, and the fact that it began with a video montage backed by a Montell Jordan track, it was a great way to finish out this first day. What could easily turn into a yearly bitching session is always kept positive, funny, and focused on the real question at hand---just how to ensure that minorities are well represented as both characters and creators in comics. Lot of people with good questions and ideas about the best ways to break into the biz, how to protect and market your creations, and how much hard work and perseverance is involved in these endeavors. Looking forward to the one that will undoubtedly happen in San Diego, and the day when I get to contribute more than a write-up to one of these.

Saturday was the big day for Miranda Mercury because on Friday there were mostly other pros and exhibitors milling about. Here was an opportunity to interact directly with the fans and I am so glad we listened to Archaia, who encouraged us for months to do this show. Saw a lot of faces, sold some books, met folks that I’d corresponded with online, and learned firsthand that there is a real audience for something like this---one that’s passionate and smart and persistent about supporting diverse material. David Brothers from Pop Culture Shock dropped by and got one of his friends to buy the book, and even before that, he was pretty cool in my book for posting an extremely flattering review of the first issue. But he hung out for a bit and we talked about upcoming issues, old things I’d pitched to Marvel with Lee (there’s a small collection) and my experience working with DC thus far. Also met colorist Felix Serrano, who is as cool and as talented as Marc is. Don’t know how I lucked into working with these guys, but it’s been so incredibly rewarding thus far. You combine this with all of the other people I managed to meet and greet and those two hours of signing really made the whole thing for me.

There were more cool developments to come though, and really, they only happened because of the buses. Unlike San Diego, the hotel shuttles don’t just run in an endless loop all day and instead worked in shifts, a couple hours in the morning and a couple more in the evening. Which is cool of course, but it left me with some time to burn, so I slipped into The Spirit panel. What I didn’t know (and obviously, no one else did either) was that it was going to start with Levitz showing up to deliver the new Dark Knight trailer, fresh from Nolan’s lab. The rest of the world gets to see it in a couple weeks, but yes, it still looks amazing and this clip could’ve been labeled “now with more Harvey Dent” as it’s obvious they’re grooming him for something huge. Wonder what that is, right?

Anyway, I’m not supposed to talk about it much, but it was a great surprise, as was being able to see the Speed Racer trailer on a decent plasma screen right before that. Look for Speed to be the sleeper hit of the summer, which appears to be the product of merging the look and feel of F-Zero and Mario Kart with the classic anime. Huge, incurable nerds (including myself) will no doubt have recognized the Mammoth Car, the nighttime “race” between Speed and Racer X on a rain-slicked road, and the Car Acrobatic Team from the latest trailer. Don’t know when I’ll get around to seeing it, but if I was twelve years old, it would likely be the only thing in the world that mattered to me.

Stayed until they aired the first actual teaser for The Spirit (also quite cool) and after leaving the panel had a bit of a moment. Don’t know if it was of truth, but only seconds away from heading to the shuttle stop, I decided to hit the floor one more time to look for some of the editors that I planned to touch base with sometime during the show. A couple of them more elusive than the others, but of course, I found one (THE one in fact) and we had a very good conversation about Miranda, etc. and I’ll be pitching him some very interesting things in the near future. Haven’t worked with him before, but been in semi-regular contact for several years now, so hopefully it’s time for the inevitable team-up. Also bumped into Mark Powers over at the Devil’s Due booth, who Ambi historians will recall was the first editor to take an immediate interest in my work back around ’03 or so. I always joke that my Syndicate pitch (which I later re-titled The Takeover) got him killed at Marvel, and he always asks me if folks have wised up and made me famous yet. Great guy though and always a pleasure to talk with him, and to see that he’s fashioned quite a career as a writer himself.

Couldn’t find the other two missing editors, but I felt so good about the one I did run into that I didn’t much care. Was already brainstorming story ideas and such, and had my first big one while flipping through a free copy of UVC magazine, but if I tell you what article I was reading, it’d give it away. Soon as this column is fired off to Brady though, the next couple days will be devoted to hammering the notes into workable pitches and seeing what happens. The launch of Miranda seems to have sparked some additional credibility and I’ll be doing my best to turn this into a few more assignments in the coming months. Arrived back at the hotel and that meant it was time to explore the city a little bit more with the lady, who did indeed skip out on more con madness.

It occurred to me that New York City is the perfect place for a comic book universe, since the city itself is almost too fantastic to exist. Think I first realized this on the shuttle back to the hotel, watching a mass of people dash across the street before ending up on the wrong side of the bus. It’s like the entire city is this living organism, everything is always open and running, nothing ever stops moving. The vibe is a lot different from the Chi, whose traffic and street congestion I believed were legendary until venturing over to Times Square on Saturday night. The scale of everything is weird and made me feel about two feet tall, like walking around in a dollhouse---the architecture is just so purposely massive and the amount of lighting is unreal. Can you see this thing from space? Will have to come back soon, as I didn’t get to see that much of the city, and currently my knowledge of it comes mostly from Marvel Comics. Was eating lunch on Friday afternoon and glanced down at the menu to learn the restaurant’s address was in Hell’s Kitchen. Again---incurable nerd. Also, street vendors? Chicago needs to steal that ____ right now. Will never have issues with buying a chicken kebab right off the street.

Skipped the show on Sunday so we could both relax a bit, and because I didn’t want to have any trouble getting to the airport on time. Did breakfast at EuroPan, a wonderful little European bakery on 8th and something, and headed over to Midtown Comics to redeem this little 25% off coupon they were handing out on the con floor. Really tight store, the first shop I’ve been to that had multiple floors and they appeared to have almost every trade currently in print. Their indy section was a bit disappointing and shoved into a corner, but having an entire floor of toys, statues, etc. was pretty cool. Left the place with James Sturm’s excellent FF mini Unstable Molecules, the Spidey Back in Black trade, and both volumes of the 24Seven books, since I’m still obsessed with anthologies. Looks like there’s another Popgun coming too, with a nice cover by Paul Pope revealed over the weekend. Might talk about this one down the line, if the mood strikes.

Okay folks, that’s all for the week---thank you to all the people that stopped by the booth with kind words (and money) to support the Miranda Mercury Movement. Next issue should be coming real soon and please wish me luck as I gear up for another wave of pitches and proposals aimed at your favorite comic companies. New York wiped me out so I can’t even imagine what San Diego has in store. We finish off with The Five…


The Five-

5. Captain America #37 (Ed Brubaker/Steve Epting)
I have read 37 consecutive issues of Captain America…something I would’ve believed impossible for a number of reasons, but here we are…one of the best books out there continues making it look easy…

4. X-Men: Divided We Stand #1 (Various)
When I saw Fraction’s name on this solicit, I never imagined that he’d become one of the writers on the main X-book, but man am I looking forward to that now…his story here is the standout, but there are also some great contributions from Kyle, Yost, and Skottie Young…

3. Ghost Rider #22 (Jason Aaron/Roland Boschi)
I wonder how many people realize that Aaron is actually writing a Vertigo book here…I haven’t bought a Ghost Rider comic since a Kubert brother was drawing it and after three months, it’s now one of my favorite books…think Fraction said this was going to be “the Iron Fist of this year” and obviously, he’s right…

2. Powers Annual #1 (Mike Avon Oeming/Brian Michael Bendis)
You know what…wasn’t feelin’ this one at all. “Forever” was definitely one of the stronger arcs in Powers, but I didn’t imagine the timeline following the infamous monkey sex issue would ever be revisited…actually enjoyed the comprehensive interview with a collection of top writers (printed in the back) more than the actual comic…

1. Amazing Spider-Man #557 (Zeb Wells/Chris Bachalo/Tim Townsend and friends)
Great end to a great story as Spidey continues to be slightly overmatched in his brawl with a Mayan deity…Bachalo is a natural for the character and it’s great to see that he’s doing more Spidey stuff in the future…Wells has gotten really good over the years as well, and with Joe Kelly, Mark Waid, and JRJR coming soon…come on people, it’s a wrap…

[Mangled]

NY con is Awsome

[apoehler]

You sure seem to blame yourself for choices your girlfriend makes and reactions she has.

[Ambidextrous]

Originally Posted by apoehler

You sure seem to blame yourself for choices your girlfriend makes and reactions she has.

Yeah, I probably should just start ignoring her completely, but it's this whole thing, you know...

B

[Derek Ruiz]

Midtown Comic is an awesome store. Surprised you'd didn't make it to Jim Hanleys or St. Mark comics.

[Ambidextrous]

Originally Posted by Derek Ruiz

Midtown Comic is an awesome store. Surprised you'd didn't make it to Jim Hanleys or St. Mark comics.

Didn't have the time, but will definitely check them out on my return trip. Thanks man.

B

[zenfroglet]

Nice review!

NYC is pretty cool, London pips it a bit, I think. As a city anyway.

Pity we don't have a comic convention here though (well a *proper* one). If anybody makes it over here you *have* to hit up Forbidden Planet, man, that is a nice comic store. Well it's layed out in quite a lovely way over two floors. The best shop imho is Gosh! though.

One day I'll make it over for the comic con there!

[RockSP]

Originally Posted by Ambidextrous

Yeah, I probably should just start ignoring her completely, but it's this whole thing, you know...

B

Heh heh...

[AlexLothos]

Arg! I missed seeing you at NYCC. Maybe WWC or SDCC?

[Ambidextrous]

Originally Posted by AlexLothos

Arg! I missed seeing you at NYCC. Maybe WWC or SDCC?

Yep, will be at both. Hope to see you there.

B