walked the floor with Craig Yoe, which was really fun. we were later treated to dinner by Lauren and Anthony, the new Cool Superman Power Couple. we talked about everything but, which was GREAT.

got to see Pete Coogan, who had the best CAC yet and sometimes does channel the Astro-Force (I think). Also old OU pal Matt Smith, who came to the movie and very nicely gave me a copy of his new book The Power of Comics which looks really good. Selling out already!!

the panel was great too — totally and completely unprofessional and funny at times which is what I love about Comic-Con — no pretension whatsoever. Heated discussion was had! Note: this was not our line.

my favorite part, when it was all over, was the cool after-party we got into. SEEN: Paul Pope, John Cassaday, and Jim Mahfood did live art! Granted, I didn’t talk to any of these people but we were all on the same dancefloor when they played ‘Get it Together.’ Joe made it rain.

the real best part though (ok now it sounds like the movie) involved two excellent British girls (this isn’t them – still waiting for a pic from my brother) who associate producer Duke told to come to the movie as they sat next to us at some bar (smooth). They showed, and even went to the party with us. At the end of the night, one of them turns to me and goes “Your movie changed me. I had no idea it all started out like that.” That got me, not because of the movie ego, but because of the story. They were Dr. Who/Heroes fans, not into comics at all (though they were impressed I bought a sonic screwdriver). Anyway, she was right — if you are a lateral thinker, then this huge messy expensive hopeful imaginative pop culture explosion based in visual and physical fantasy did begin, all those years ago, in a cold house with a geeky kid haunted by the voice of his father.

Just like Shakespeare.

Why not?

Huge thanks also to Jeff from Drive-In Studios who helped me out of a last-minute jam.

by the end, everything was in tatters and the Anti-Monitor blotted out the stars and made us all cry but it was a sound and righteous battle.

Overall: the Con is a bit like Vegas: exhilarating but also somewhat depressing at the same time. Had lots of fun, bought stuff I don’t need, but didn’t get a Blue Lantern ring. I really kinda wanted one so I guess that makes me an Orange.

I also got to meet Darwyn Cooke. He gave me good advice about critics. Then he ripped Frank Miller.

Then the Entourage of Three came in (Joe, Duke, and Chris) and decided to stay at the pool….but they showed up later and walked around in the advertise-y t-shirts. Awesome that they showed.

back from san diego and this is what I feel like. more later…

and this little thing. of course they put us up against a giant Dr. Who movie (that I wanted to go to) and the line for the Watchmen Director’s Cut, but maybe those will fill up and people will wander in aimlessly, like Black Lanterns. Or maybe that’s not good.

If you’re going to the big show, don’t miss this fun hour with my pals Craig and Lauren.

The Wall Street Journal! Be sure and do the slideshow to see the house!

I teach up in Cleveland and once in awhile I get a class in the big, weird, awesome business school building. There, legions of MBA kids rush by me in heels and jackets and grab their complimentary copies of the Wall Street Journal while I shuffle by in jeans. I always wondered: why can’t the English Dept. hand out free copies of Zoetrope or something? So I took some slightly perverse glee in this (sorry, I admit it). Again: the lucky and the cool. Doug Belkin did this story like Clark Kent: interviewed everyone, came out to visit — not something you see much of anymore. Master of the obvious time: real journalism is a disappearing craft.

I hesitate in putting this up but I do want people who weren’t there to see what it was like. It was pretty cool.

Read Laura Siegel Larson’s very nice comments here.

Watch the WHOLE ceremony (MCed by Mike “The Voice” Olszewski (who is working on his own documentary). Whole thing filmed by MeeksMixedMedia.com

Nice review from David Cox at Supermanhomepage.com, which should be a daily stop for all.

Back at the convention, the Superman events included a showing of “Last Son”, a documentary of his creation by Siegel and Shuster. It played at the nearby Hanna Theater. This is a very interesting documentary by Green Door Films. It covers Siegel, his father’s death, in more detail than Shuster. What really impressed me about the film was seeing the reference material that Shuster used for some of his most iconic images of Superman. The film shows the actual photos from weight-lifting magazines that were the basis for the covers of Action Comics #1, Superman #1, and the Superman breaking through chains on the back of Superman #1. I was also struck by the clips from the Max Fleischer cartoons used in the film, not because of their rarity, but for seeing them on the big screen for the first time. The cartoons really make an impact when seen so large. I wish there was a more permanent venue to view these cartoons on the large screen to feel that way about them again.

Thanks, David — and you totally get it. Somebody once told me that when you make a movie it should be at least slightly, well, pornographic. Meaning that you want to have moments in it that are just indulgent. The old Superman cartoons are my favorite out of anything Superman so I just wanted to show them as is — people come for a movie about Superman, you better give them some Superman. And since they’re in the public domain, I can do so. But actually I think it’s fate that these are — that way anyone can get them and enjoy them. But he is right, they looked great on that giant screen. An overdue, in-the-ether thanks to the long-gone Fleischer Bros. and their Florida animators — their brilliant, brilliant film-making still makes new fans every day.

you ever told me when I started this thing that someday I would be on Jerry Siegel’s front porch giving Joanne Siegel a framed copy of the ad she placed that led to her meeting Joe and Jerry I would have said you were nuts. Add in that the house I went into five years ago and almost cried over was now sparkly and restored, we had a comic convention downtown, all the families and relatives had a get-together at the Union Club with a big author, and oh yeah my movie played on Playhouse Square. This is not bragging — this is UTTER DISBELIEF. At least 3 times during the whole weekend I turned to my buddy Mike San Giacomo and said “Is this really happening?” and he would give me that big smile. An awesome, devastating weekend.

The movie was not perfect — plagued by some technical demons out of my control it made me twitch in spots but I hope nobody noticed as much as I did. I realized what went wrong only after — we were playing in the Hanna Theater, which, if you’ve seen the movie, ties in directly with someone I say might have been an influence. And not necessarily a good one. Curse you Luthor! But it was fine and completely overshadowed by the greatness of the weekend — really cool.

I’ll post more pictures later — here’s one Mike took on the porch — the back of Joanne and Laura (who were extremely nice people) and me using my phone to take a picture of the crowd. What a dork.

Read mike’s excellent recap here.

Ingenuity/Tiki-Con info here — next weekend! Happy 4.