[Groop] Brief (?!) con report

[Elie A. Harriett]

Before I regale you with the story of the tote bag, let me say how  
much fun I had at San Diego.  It was great seeing Eric, Gary, Kaytee,  
Mrs. G, George, Mark, Sergio, and the about half-dozen other  
Groopiers we bumped into at the con.  I have been out of mainstream  
comic reading for awhile and I think this con experience has gotten  
me enthused enough to get back into it.  I noticed a trend at this  
con that was new to me: I was much more interested in the comics and  
the literature panels, giveaways, and booths than I was with  
Lucasfilm, MGM, or any other media vendor as I had been in the past.   
Aside from not being able to get into a couple of panels that I  
really wanted to see and the tote bag incident related below, Janet  
and I had the time of our lives.  In addition to the Groo-related  
stuff that I enjoyed which both Janet and a dozen other posters will  
probably tell you about, the real highlights for me were meeting  
Steve Purcell - creator of Sam & Max (extremely personable guy).  I  
enjoyed meeting him so much I got one of his prints.    Also enjoyed  
meeting Austin Grossman - author of a new book "Soon I Will be  
Invincible".  Had never heard of him or his book before, but Janet  
and I went to two of his panels.  Again, I thought he was such an  
interesting person to talk to and listen to that I had to get his  
book.  Also met Anthony Tollin who was a pleasure to talk with and  
shared some stories with me about his time in comics (and about Tony  
Isabella).  ME mentioned Anthony Tollin on his blog a few weeks ago -  
he's the guy who is reprinting the old Shadow and Doc Savage Pulps.   
When I saw he was going to be there, I had to find a moment to talk  
with him.

Went to a lot of fun panels, got to meet some interesting con-folk  
(showers, people, showers).  Had a surreal experience at the  
Battlestar Galactica Fan Club Booth that I'll leave for Janet to  
explain or I will sometime later--once I figure out how to put the  
experience into words.  Don't want to go there every year, but every  
two or three, this is the greatest vacation a young couple could ask  
for!


Oy, the story of the tote bag....well here it goes.

On Wednesday night, we saw a really nice bag that a lot of people  
were holding and I told Janet I wanted one.  It was a large, canvas  
oversized bag with a promo for Smallville on one side and a promo for  
the upcoming release of the new Direct-to-DVD movie Superman/Doomsday  
on the other (for those who don't know, Doomsday was the creature  
that "killed" Superman back in 1992 -- also the storyline that got me  
interested in comics including Groo).  I found out it was the Warner  
Bros. booth that was giving the bag away, so we planned on hitting  
their booth first thing Thursday morning.

As soon as we were allowed into the exhibit hall, we made a beeline  
for the WB booth.  It wasn't too hard getting there, and when I did,  
they were already giving bags out.  The line started somewhat  
organized, but before even a minute passed, people were cutting in  
line, pushing through, and one guy even put his arm above my head and  
pushed me down (by the way, I'm 5'8").  Somehow, the girl giving them  
away actually put one in my hand and as I pulled it back, someone  
tried yanking it out of my hand.  Someone else pushed that guy's arm  
aside and I decided to hug the bag close to me if I wanted to keep  
it.  I turned around for the first time and saw the huge swarm of  
people behind me.  I couldn't believe it, but there were now more  
people forcing me down to the ground!  I was getting scared being in  
that line and I was beginning to lose my balance in that crowd.  For  
the first time I can remember since I was in elementary school, I  
actually muscled myself out of a crowd.

As soon as I was out of that swarm, I remember hearing a girl's voice  
saying "oh my god oh my god oh my god."  I don't know if she was  
referring to the danger of the swarm which she herself was a part of,  
or the fact that I actually had to forcibly push myself out of a  
swarm which she herself was a part of.  But I still hear her voice.   
By the way, considering what I went through to get that bag, I assure  
you it wasn't worth it.

If there is anybody that reads this that is one of the Comic-Con  
organizers: you guys are the absolute greatest at moving large crowds  
in an organized manner into the building, exhibit hall, and  
programming rooms - better than any organizers from any other con BAR- 
NONE.  But you had absolutely no control in that packed hall.  Warner  
Brothers created a near-riot for the sake of tote bags, and didn't  
seem to care if someone got injured.

To any Groopier thinking of going next year or sometime later:  first  
of all, this is my only bad memory among a huge cluster of great  
memories.  I really enjoyed myself and think anyone interested in  
comics or pop culture will truly have a blast there.  I am going to  
give you this piece of advice that I wouldn't have given in previous  
years: DO NOT TAKE A SMALL CHILD THERE!  At least not until the  
organizers at Comic-Con get a handle on the safety within the exhibit  
hall.

Elie