PAD & THE PINI'S SDCC INK ODYSSEY II

[MattBrady]

The long strange trip of Peter David, and Richard and Wendy Pini started Sunday afternoon at CCI: San Diego came to its appropriate conclusion last evening, with the end result of Peter now having a tattoo of Elfquest’s Leetah.

For the start of the story, albeit a second0ish hand one, click here.

Richard Pini (who took the photos accompanying this article, as well as graciously supplied them to Newsarama) added his account of the events on the original thread, and we repost them here with the photographic proof of Peter’s commitment to the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund.

Pini wrote:

“Wendy and I were going to exit the convention around 2 pm Sunday afternoon, but decided to stay on and attend a dead dog party that evening. This gave us another 3 hours to tour the show and so we actually made it to the CBLDF booth for the first time. Peter was there, autographing. On the table in front of him was a sign saying "Signing now Peter David."

”That was a sure opening if ever I saw one so I remarked to the folks at the booth, "So who actually is signing now Peter David?" Wendy took the lead and actually wrote her signature on Peter's forearm, using a fine point Sharpie. Peter, not to be trumped, came back with "Now draw a picture to go with it." Wendy did just that, adding a little doodle of Cutter. When it was done, she said (jokingly), "Now all you have to do is make it permanent by getting it tattooed!"

”(Aside: For years Elfquest readers have been coming up to us at shows, and sending us photos, showing off their EQ-related tattoos. At least one has actually taken a signature that I wrote in pen on her leg and had it tattooed into immortality!)

”At this point Peter got a strange look in his eye and announced to whoever was within earshot, "If someone donates a thousand dollars to the CBLDF, I'll get this tattooed."

“For a moment, silence reigned at the CBLDF booth, and then the snowball started rolling downhill. Charles Brownstein, the Fund's executive director, said "I bet Joe Quesada would throw in a thousand in an instant," and got working on his cell phone (I'm guessing to try to find Joe or someone who could speak for him). I wondered out loud whether or not anyone at DC (since Elfquest is now being published by DC Comics) would jump at the chance. Peter, wisely, took a moment to call his wife, Kathleen, to let her know of his newest potential adventure, and from what we could overhear, the idea was OK.

”At this point Peter had to go to the Marvel booth for a signing there, so he up and left. Wendy and I stayed at the CBLDF booth a few more minutes, trying to figure out how to milk this craziness - after all, just that morning we'd had a long conversation with our agents about ways to promote Elfquest. (I'm sure no one was thinking events would take such a turn!)

”(I should point out that Matt Brady, who made the original post, was at the CBLDF booth when, or close to when, this madness started. I remember him grinning toothily at the thought that this would be on Newsarama "within the hour!")”

[Newsarama note: Matt Brady rarely gins toothily, and is in no way related to the Joker. But this was fun to watch start rolling and rapidly progress from an quick aside made in the CBLDF booth to something which will Peter will be telling stories about when he’s in the old folks home for comics’ writers.]

”Wendy and I went to the Marvel booth to see if Joe Quesada was there, and were told that he had already left. Hm. That avenue seemed to be closed. I tossed out some names from the list of folks at DC, but none seemed "right" somehow.

”And then a very wild hair made its appearance. To whoever was gathered at the Marvel booth, but mostly to Wendy, I said "Wait a minute. This is an Elfquest character, and this is a crazy PR opportunity. Do I really want either DC or Marvel to get the spotlight??" And then I turned to Peter and said, "You've got your donation from Warp Graphics."

“We give Peter a lot of credit; he only blinked a couple of times at the realization that suddenly we were in a San Diego reality show.

”Events began to accelerate. Peter began wondering out loud about where and how to get such a thing done, would it hurt, how long would it take, and so on. Ever the pragmatist, he looked at me and said, "And you're paying for the tattoo as well, right?" Hadn't thought of that; oh well, how much could it be? "Sure," I said.

”Whether by design or chance, at that moment a well-decorated young lady came by the booth and educated us all a little on the current state of tattooing, mostly to the effect of "No, it won't hurt beyond what a sunburn might feel like."

”Then Peter and Wendy (with the rest of us onlooking) got into a discussion of, did he want to keep the drawing he already had on his forearm, or did he want something on his upper arm that he could "unveil" even if he were wearing a short-sleeved shirt. I don't remember who it was who suggested getting the character Leetah on his bicep, so that he could make her shimmy when he flexed, but everyone liked the idea so Wendy created another line drawing on Peter's bowling arm bicep.

”For a moment, we wondered where and how we could do the deed, as the convention was winding down. Matt Brady came to the rescue with the business card of a local shop that was open [Newsarama Note: handed to Brady after Peter David yelled, “Brady, you want to report on this happening, find a place that can do this!” and was handed a card by a fan watching the proceedings, who recommended a local shop], and that could take Peter as soon as the expo closed. Peter, Wendy and I piled into a cab (while Matt went off to write his post) and a few moments later we were inside "Big Bad SD Tattoo - Home of the Hardcore Hustlers."

”The whole process only took about half an hour, and aside from a couple of eye-clenched, breath-holding moments, Peter was his "Writer of Stuff" self. None of us had ever been in a tattoo parlor before, and the process was both fascinating and at the same time, a little prosaic. The artist finished his work, both Wendy and Peter pronounced it of "Wow!" quality, and off to dinner we went.

”(At the party later that night, the tale was already starting to circulate. Who knows what it will grow into by next year's expo? As Peter said, "I expect within a short time that it'll be circulating that I had a picture of naked Wendy Pini tattooed on my ass.")”

And – as a closing chapter to the saga Peter David sent the following note to Newsarama:

“Although my support for the fund has been unwavering over the years, I've felt as if I've had a more personal stake in what the CBLDF fights for ever since Fallen Angel started coming out. At the convention, both Dan Didio and Paul Levitz of DC (the company that's also publishing Elfquest), met with me for an hour, telling me how much they like the series, want to see increased fan and retailer support, and how they want to develop a major marketing push for future issues (so kudos to them and their desire for a long run of the series). But, y'know, marketing's a double edged sword, because the more you draw attention to a title, the more you draw a target on it for Those Who Want to Decide For You What You Should Read.

“So as the initially flip, kidding comment about the tattoo quickly spun into a full blown hare-brained scheme (Me on the phone: "Kath? Honey? I think I may have gotten myself into some trouble..."), and as the Pinis gave me every opportunity to back out, I figured, Y'know what? I gave my word. If I don't stand by my word, I got nothing (even though I'm deathly afraid of needles). If I can ask retailers to stick their necks out for my "mature content" title, the least I can do is stick my arm out (after saying I would).

“FYI: Anyone who wants to see it, you have to fork over $10 to the CBLDF to have a look, either in my presence or show me a receipt.”

[Christian Otte]

Could someone please re-post that one with "I simply adore the Pinis", so I can act all juvenile ?