First off, let me start with an important matter. Here is a work in progress. It’s going okay so far—as you probably know, I’m fairly new at digital colouring, so I’m trying my best at making this look good. It still has a long way to go.
And now for some entries courtesy of the better other computer.
Mon Sep the 1st—Entry: Comic Conventions
It dawns on me now that I never really mentioned anything about the comic convention I’d attended last weekend. Well, the Canadian National Comic Book Exposition is the biggest annual comic book convention that hits Toronto. I went not really knowing what to expect. I mean, I’d heard a multitude of stories about the conventions from my friends, but I had never actually seen it with my own eyes.
Fortunately, the con’s gotten to the point where you can buy your tickets online. By the time I got there (an hour later than I had originally planned to because I was feeling rather lethargic that morning) with my innate sense of direction, I got in line to register. Yeah, the line was only about, oh, 150 people long. Yes, I kid you not. Fortunately, one of the volunteers saw my printed pre-registration sheet and advised me that the pre-registration kiosk was on the other side of the room. I looked across and saw a solitary kiosk with no line. Sweet.
Alright, so I register and get my ticket and program. Allow me to mention now that I did not once look at my program. Typically male. Maybe I should have—then I might have known what the hell was going on. But this is beside the point. Next year I will definitely be better prepared because in retrospect I was definitely not ready for what would be coming before me. As soon as I shot the shit with some dudes dressed up as Darth Vader and his Stormtroopers for a few minutes…
Casey: “I thought your ass was dead.”
Vader: “You dare address me that way?”
Casey: “Hells yeah!”
Vader: *puts his hand in a motion to use the Force on me*
Casey: *walks away SLOOOOOWLY*
…I made my way into the main event.
Holy crap. That was my initial reaction. My secondary reaction was “What the hell have I gotten myself into?” Granted, I’ve been reading comics since I was four (coincidentally about the same age where I started playing video games), but I wasn’t prepared for the love that some of these people at the convention had for comics. From grown men dressed in completely working Darth Vader costumes to people arguing over whether the eyeholes in Spider-Man’s costumes should move, it was crazy.
But do I have what it takes to be part of the action?
If I plan to get a table next year, that definitely means that I’ll need to get my act together with my site and all. Speaking of which I might be changing web hosts soon. Kenna showed me that she’s under a wicked one that actually allows subdomains. Something I’ll need so that I can separate my comics from the rest of the site easily. My host at webserve.ca is just being assy and not replying to my requests for assistance. So the change might be coming sooner rather than later.
But back to convention talk. So my buddy Zac, he had a table this year. He had a lot of graffiti and manga work (based on Neon Genesis Evangelion‘s mecha), and it was so bloody amazing that I bought one to hang on my wall. It’ll be up there soon.
Another highlight of the con for me was chatting with Ty Templeton.
If you don’t know who Ty Templeton is, he does a lot of writing/inking/pencilling for DC Comics, Marvel Comics, and Bongo Comics (the imprint that makes the Simpsons comics). I’d originally met him over at my job one day, and when I saw that he had a cheque from DC Comics, I raised my eyebrow. After finding out who he is, we kinda just started chatting about comics in general.
Now, that was idle banter at the bank. It wasn’t until the convention when I ended up hanging with him and his kids for an hour and a bit that we really got to have a good conversation and whatnot. He said my comics remind him of what his were like when he was starting (score)—and now I’m on a first-name basis with him. Shit, he brought me comics the last time he came into the bank. Now that’s cool. So, I’ll definitely be keeping in touch with him.
Wed Sep the 3rd—Entry: Daily Routine
Recently I’ve been waking up feeling rather lethargic. I awake rather early in the mornings (and believe me, not by choice) asking “Why?” I trudge out of bed towards my daily routine of work or errands that need to be done and perform them half-heartedly. It’s like… the motivation that drives me to do things has all but died out.
Sure, I can smile at work, but where’s the emotion behind it? I can laugh, but do I really feel the joke on the inside? I feel like I’m a completely different person from who I should be. Like I should be happy with the course that my life has taken so far.
But I’m not, and I don’t know why.
Sat Sept the 6th—Entry: And What Else?
So you might be wondering what I’ve been up to if you haven’t gotten the chance to talk to me in the last little while. Between compiling episodes of the new Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles cartoon and X-Men Evolution, I’ve been working diligently on getting things together for school, and a new site update together. And yes, that does include some comics. In fact, a lot of comics. Ideas have started to flow, and things are coming together. I finally have an excuse for all the reference material that’s been stockpiling in my room 😂
The new Doomz revolution. Coming soon.
Peace.
–case p.
