On Preview Night, right after I set up my own space, I raced to the Archie Comics booth -- the first one they’ve had at Comic-Con in 12 years! Mike Pellerito wasn’t at the booth, and I didn’t know any of the people who were. So I sought out Dan Parent, who had his own table in the Exhibitors’ area, to find out what he knew. He told me that Mike wasn’t feeling well, that it might be food poisoning, and that he wasn’t going to make it to Preview Night. So I ended up chatting with Dan for a good long time about Kevin and all things Archie. He’s a great guy with a great love for Archie, so we had a lot to talk about.
The next day I learned that Mike was still sick, it might be E. coli, and he might just go home. I learned this from Nina Kester, one of Archie’s newer hires. She’s officially responsible for New Media, but also helps out with publicity and with -- lucky me -- submissions. She told me I was taking the right approach and that Mike was the right guy.
By the third day, Mike had appendicitis and traded his hotel bed for a hospital bed. Bummer for him and bummer for me. But at least I didn’t have to spend the rest of the Con chasing him around or, worse yet, reeling from a rejection. In fact, I found it liberating to spend my free time networking with other comics professionals like Howard Cruse (“Stuck Rubber Baby”), Rich Koslowski (Archie inker; “The Three Geeks”), and Maggie Thompson (editor, “Comics Buyer’s Guide”).
The biggest thrill was meeting the legendary Scott Shaw! on the final day of the Con and discovering that he’s a fan of “Jayson.” We both live in Los Angeles, and before I knew it, Scott invited me to be his guest at next month’s Comic Art Professional Society meeting in Burbank. For someone trying to move into the mainstream of comics, this was the perfect ending to Comic-Con 2010.
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