shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
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Post by shaxper on Jan 12, 2016 11:47:46 GMT -5
[But it's all not positive interactions form the fans. Have you ever had a student yelling at you from the back of the room that you ruined MacBeth for them and that now no one will publish MacBeth again and you are a hack while you are trying to have a conversation with another student and he is asking you to sign a stack of paperwork he wants done and have that student come back every time he is asked to leave the area and start up again then walk around the entire school screaming F*c$ that Shaxper guy, he is the worst teacher I have ever encountered and stopping random people to tell everyone how rude you were to him and you owe him because you pay his salary. Actually, yeah. That's pretty close to what I deal with daily. Then you also get the kids for who you genuinely are making a difference, and they are the ones who replenish you, much the same as a comic creator. I have two small kids at home, one forty minute window to get all my grading/planning/meetings/discipline done, and brief 3 minute windows of time in the day in which I must run all the way down the hall and back again if I want to pee. The specifics are different, but the idea is the same. I guess you've never dealt with students in an impoverished setting where family doesn't place an emphasis on education and there is little support from administration. There are MANY students who act out without fear of repercussion, and some will do a lot worse than what you've described above because, unlike at a comic convention, they didn't choose to come here. So my point remains -- it is entirely possible to deal with fans all day long and maintain a positive, courteous disposition. And if your personality isn't a good match for that scenario, then why are you appearing at conventions?
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 12:14:31 GMT -5
Do I have to buy tickets because Saturday is all sold out and I might be able to attend it if outside of ECCC. You can send me a PM about it if you like. No, the dinner is completely separate from the con itself. Rob Allen and I have been hosting the dinner for over twelve years. It's strictly an informal-get together, a chance for local CCFers (and those attending the con from out of town) to meet face to face and schmooze. We will, as always, post the details here as plans shape up. Cei-U! Seriously, you should come! Sounds Good ... You can PM me when the time is right!
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 13:04:20 GMT -5
I guess you've never dealt with students in an impoverished setting where family doesn't place an emphasis on education and there is little support from administration. There are MANY students who act out without fear of repercussion, and some will do a lot worse than what you've described above because, unlike at a comic convention, they didn't choose to come here. So my point remains -- it is entirely possible to deal with fans all day long and maintain a positive, courteous disposition. And if your personality isn't a good match for that scenario, then why are you appearing at conventions? I taught in an inner city alternate high school for 8 years where all of the students had failed out of and/or quit the regular high school and were coming back to try to get diplomas (not GED's), many of whom were forced into being emancipated minors because there was no family there capable of providing any kind of support (or were incarcerated or dealing with addictions or...) or were over 18 and were trying raise their own family at the same time as now finishing high school, where I was told by students on more than one occasion the only reason they were there was because it was a term of their probation or that they were there to meet girls and sell drugs not to learn anything so don't hassle them (those found their way out of the program fairly quickly), and it was still easier to be "on" there on a daily basis than it was at some of the cons I attended as a guest. I know the mantra, never let them see you having a bad day, and I was mostly successful doing that teaching no matter what the environment; it was much harder to do that when doing appearances at cons. I managed, but it took a lot more out of me to do so. You also had the benefit of several years of training and education to prepare you to be in those situations-undergrad classes, possibly grad work, student-teaching, evaluations and feedback from admins, CEU programs, workshops, in-services all designed to help you be better in those situations. Creators are trained(if they have training) in creating stories and art, not in public relations and are usually thrown into the fire without the benefit of having had an prep in being a public figure and have to learn it on the fly. Some may have years of experience doing so after being in the biz for a while, some may not. And many creators are at conventions because they have to be, not because they want to be, or because they are paid to make an appearance but would rather be somewhere else as well. They are there because it is their job to be there and often a requirement for the field they work in whether they chose to do the appearance or not. All I am saying is there's a lot more to it than what the fan sees that goes on behind the scenes and that creators have to deal with. People assume teachers have it easy with weekends off, work ending in the early afternoon, and summers off; they have no clear picture of what actually goes on and assume form those things it is easy to do it-after those that can do and those that can't teach--right? Don't make the same assumptions about how easy it is to be a creator at a con that people do about teachers. -M
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Post by MDG on Jan 12, 2016 13:13:17 GMT -5
I met dozens of creators at shows starting in the 70s. The only one who I felt was rude was Barry Smith. Folks who struck me as the nicest (in multiple encounters) were Wrightson, Williamson, Kaluta, Glanzman, Staton, Simonson (both Walt and Louise), and Sherry Flenniken (who I met when I was 14 or 15 developed an immediate crush on).
More distressing was becoming friends with a couple people on Facebook and discovering one seems attracted to just about any conspiracy theory and another (who I've also met socially) is pretty much the total opposite of me politically.
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shaxper
CCF Site Custodian
Posts: 22,872
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Post by shaxper on Jan 12, 2016 13:24:15 GMT -5
People assume teachers have it easy with weekends off, work ending in the early afternoon, and summers off; they have no clear picture of what actually goes on and assume form those things it is easy to do it-after those that can do and those that can't teach--right? Don't make the same assumptions about how easy it is to be a creator at a con that people do about teachers. I'm not. If anything, I think my experience makes it easier for me to understand how trying it can be for them. My point is that I reject the idea that it's perfectly understandable for them to be rude to fans who are not rude to them.
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Post by Prince Hal on Jan 12, 2016 13:37:02 GMT -5
Soke to David Anthony Kraft once back in 1977 or so when he was an writer and editor at Marvel and he couldn't have been more coureous and friendly.
Got Jack Kirby's autograph and I was too awestruck to do anything more than say thanks. His gentle smile at my obvious awestruckness showed what a mensch he was.
Also spoke to Norman Rockwell once. Called him at home to set up an interview back in my second year in college. His wife answered, I asked for Mr. Rockwell, and she did what any other wife would do: dropped the phone and screamed, "No-o-o-rma-a-an!"
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Post by wildfire2099 on Jan 12, 2016 13:52:53 GMT -5
I've met Pat Broderick and he's a really nice guy. He didn't charge me to have my books signed and talked to me for a bit his work on Green Lantern back in the day. I definitely liked him on Doom 2099. IIRC, he did New Warriors for a while. There was definitely a time when he was 'hot'
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Post by hondobrode on Jan 12, 2016 16:30:17 GMT -5
I've met a lot, mostly at SDCC. Most were really nice, but a couple who I've met on multiple occasions, were friendly and cheery one time and less so the other (Rick Burchett, Alex Saviuk, Bernie Wrightson).
Ones that were particularly gracious and warm were Jerry Robinson, Irwin Hasen, Mike Mignola, Don Rosa, Tony Millionaire,
Not so friendly were Michael Golden, Jeffrey Moy, Joe Staton (big let down)
Chris Claremont was a total jerk and Grant Morrison was the awesome-ist ! This was when he was on JLA but he signed the Vertigo one-shot Winter's Edge poster with all the Vertigo characters in line. He asked my name and I replied Hondo and he autographed it "to Hondo !!!!!!!!"
unfortunately it was left behind in California
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Post by Action Ace on Jan 12, 2016 17:02:31 GMT -5
In the mid 90's a rare vacation to Chicago Comic Con in 2003 and met in person Alex Ross, Mark Waid, and couple other guests as well and I only visit for a day and I did not stay long. I was there for 4 hours and did not buy anything because the crowd was not treating me very well. My one and only trip to a major comic book convention was that very 2003 Chicago Comic Con. I went on Friday and met Mark Waid, Alex Ross, Mark Millar and Brain Bendis. It took very little time because everyone else was in line to meet Jim Lee and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sadly, George Perez had to cancel. GUEST LISTI was there for five hours after that and bought over 500 comics for about $500. I went by a large booth filled with Godzilla merchandise, but I successfully avoided it for the rest of the day to keep my comics budget up.
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Post by Reptisaurus! on Jan 12, 2016 17:07:19 GMT -5
Robert Kirkman called me a jackass.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 17:10:38 GMT -5
In the mid 90's a rare vacation to Chicago Comic Con in 2003 and met in person Alex Ross, Mark Waid, and couple other guests as well and I only visit for a day and I did not stay long. I was there for 4 hours and did not buy anything because the crowd was not treating me very well. My one and only trip to a major comic book convention was that very 2003 Chicago Comic Con. I went on Friday and met Mark Waid, Alex Ross, Mark Millar and Brain Bendis. It took very little time because everyone else was in line to meet Jim Lee and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. Sadly, George Perez had to cancel. GUEST LISTI was there for five hours after that and bought over 500 comics for about $500. I went by a large booth filled with Godzilla merchandise, but I successfully avoided it for the rest of the day to keep my comics budget up. My bad, you were right and I apologized for making a comment that I met George Perez. But, I did win his artwork of the Justice League at that time. I saw the large group of Godzilla stuff and I was tempted to buy some of it too.
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Post by Randle-El on Jan 12, 2016 17:36:52 GMT -5
Creators I've met at conventions: George Perez, Jim Starlin, Marv Wolfman, Joe Rubinstein, Mike Grell, Mark Waid, Lee Weeks, Alex Saviuk, Jose Luis Garcia Lopez, Neal Adams, Greg Pak, Frank Cho, Peter Krause, J.G. Jones, Greg Capullo, Charles Soule, James Tynion IV, Marguerite Bennett, Sarah Vaughn, and Jonathan Luna. Of those, the ones that were "disappointing" were usually because it was just a quick couple of seconds to get some signatures and then moving on. Sometimes it was because the line was really long, other times it was because some other fan was taking up a lot of their time, so nobody else could get in a word edgewise. There was one artist who I noticed was a bit friendlier and spent more time chatting up the folks who were making pricey commissions, which was disappointing but at the same time I could hardly fault them for that.
I've also met a number of celebrities at conventions, and quite frankly, I find that I had the best experiences with the "B-list" celebrities -- i.e., those who were not currently active, or who were more well-known for older movies or TV shows, or who were supporting cast members. They usually had shorter lines, and were able to take more time talking with you. I find that it also helps if you don't act like a fanboy ("Gosh, it's such an honor to meet you!!") and talk to them like normal people. And in my experience, the women were usually friendlier than the men. Ones that stand-out in my mind were Allison Mack (Chloe from Smallville), Erin Gray (Wilma Deering from Buck Rogers), and Edward James Olmos.
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Post by Slam_Bradley on Jan 12, 2016 17:48:25 GMT -5
Robert Kirkman called me a jackass. Were you a jackass? Inquiring minds want to know.
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Post by adamwarlock2099 on Jan 12, 2016 17:51:45 GMT -5
Robert Kirkman called me a jackass. Were you a jackass? Inquiring minds want to know. Slam beat me to it.
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Post by Deleted on Jan 12, 2016 17:59:00 GMT -5
First artist I ever met was Adam Kubert (when his Ultimate X-Men book was hot). I was in my teens. He arrived at the convention as an invited guest but before he actually sat at the table to sign books, he chatted with my dealer (who was also in his teens, just 2 years older than me). My dealer was mates with the main organiser so we knew where Adam's hotel and room was and had access to the 'admin' part of the convention. But he was really down to earth with us, spoke to my dealer as though he was family for about 20 minutes before the show actually started. My dealer was just getting started in the actual world of wheeling and dealing in comics so it was really nice to have the personal attention of a creator who had a hot book on the market at that very moment. The only thing I didn't do was get my comics signed....I had misgivings about anyone writing on my books at the time
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