Talking to the Pros

One of the interesting things about going to a Con is a chance to meet professionals whose work you’ve enjoyed or admired. What makes it interesting is how people react to this.

Yes, I am a geeky fanboy, but there are limits that my sense of decorum imposes. I don’t swoon. I don’t charge the front table after a panel. I don’t stand in long lines for autographs. I don’t carry around eleventy-zillion copies of everything every written by person X, and ask them to sign it when I see them.

I did, this time, for the first time, carry around a couple of TPBs by some folks I admire, in case I did get a chance for a signature. (“Chance for a signature” = “no more than one or two people in line in front of me.” I don’t do Autograph Lines, either on the Con floor, or up in the Autograph area, which, I’ll add, was very well organized this year, at least in terms of where they placed it.)

If I do see someone whose work I like, I’ll try to approach them, make eye contact (not interrupt their conversations — that would be rude, too, though I think there’s also rudeness when folks who are clearly there to interact with the fans are also deep in side conversations with other folks and avoid eye contact with others who show up), and say something along the lines of, “I’ve enjoyed your work very much, especially X, Y and Z. Thank you.” Most pros will smile and say thanks back.

(It’s taken me a long time to figure out this relatively straightforward approach. My natural impulse would be to swallow a lot and stammer out something inane. I try to avoid that now, as well as striking up conversations with them like we were best friends. It’s an odd relationship between pro and fan, and I don’t like straining it in ways that degrade either of us.)

If I don’t have something to sign, and I see something at their table that cries out to me, I’ll buy it and get their signature, if possible. That’s usually why the swag is there.

I don’t always seek out pros, though there are a few I checked the program for. The big nature of the SDCC makes it a common place to find pros — I’d say most of them who do the convention circuit make it there, except for the ones who are tied to the East Coast, the ones who only do local cons, or the ones who avoid the con circuit.

• Did say hi to Peter Gross, thanking him for his work on Lucifer.
• Didn’t get a signature from, or converse with, actor William Windom. He was busy playing chess.
• Didn’t get a signature from actress Virginia Hey. I didn’t have anything for her to sign, and didn’t feel like paying $20 for a color glossy.
• Talked with Greg Rucka and told him how much I was enjoying his comics and his books. Had a nice chat, and ended up buying a hardcover Queen & Country collection (which was up for the Eisner) and getting it signed by him and by the artist. Mary talked with him a bit about an upcoming Everest project.
• Didn’t get a signature from Stan Sakai, since he was tied up in panels a lot. Bought some pre-signed stuff from his booth anyway.
• Got the copy of the Girl Genius TPB signed by Phil Foglio, who’s a nice guy, but who definitely kind of keeps people at a bit of arm’s length with his humor.
• Said hi to J.H. Williams III, thanking him for his art on Promethea.
• Said hi and got a Supernatural Law comic signed by Batton Lash.
• Didn’t say hi to Terry Moore or Jeff Smith, both of whom had long lines leading up to them for sketches and signatures. Both are nice guys — maybe too nice for this sort of crowd.
• Talked a bit with Michael Jantze, who does “The Norm” comic strip. Bought some stuff, had it autographed.

I don’t go to the SDCC explicitly to meet the pros, but it’s a nice opportunity to express thanks (and, yes, maybe get a signature or two).