Okay, a week later, I now present my brief Seattle Emerald City Comic Con 2011 Report.
First off, thanks to Bill Barnes for hosting a pre-show party, and thanks to David Willis for his tips on tips. At the con I met Magnolia who draws Bob White, saw Ketina (and Ronelyn and the Historian) who told me about their Doctor Who Tardis Project blog focused on watching every single episode – if you want to do it, that’s the place for company. Kate (I believe) came by my table and suggested using paprika or cayenne powder for my fried green tomatoes recipe. Peter Gruenbaum stopped by, who does a SF comic called Coiled with Amanda Kingsley although it’s on hiatus for another month. I got to meet (and get a sketch by) Sergio Aragones (my girlfriend stopped by his table and he serenaded her in Spanish, sweet!), which was great as he was a huge influence growing up. Speaking of huge influences, I said “hello” to Phil, who gave me some good advice on conventions. Saw Indigo, Dylan, Erika, Steve, Scott, Dave, KC, Aaron, Malki!, Sam, Danielle, and many others who aren’t coming directly to mind. And of course, thanks to Topatoco for setting up the island at Emerald City, you guys are AWESOME (oh, AND for blogging up my book this past week)!
It was a fun convention, and good to see everyone there. There is certainly a pleasure in doing a convention where you live, I simply made tea and a bagged lunch and caught the 5 bus downtown — easy-peasy. So it was laid-back, and good times.
And please, show your support by visiting the store! 🙂
Yo, green man! If you don’t know how to get people to beat you up, Dimitri can help!
@Frank, Dusty’s not bad at it either. 🙂
It would be fun to tabulate a ratio of the times that Dimitri is shown with a glass of something in his hands to the times when he’s not. Somehow I’m betting it’s greater than 1:1.
That green guy reminds me of Zorak. 🙂
@Jordan, it’s kinda’ like Saint Sebastian with his arrows, just that object you usually see him with.
@lily, I did somewhat of a praying-mantis influence on that guy, for sure.
Dimitri, a safely set, one-track mind. Booze and broads (even if they’re alien). Typical Russian. Good job, Christopher. 😉
I fear for Fiyena, lust from Dimitri and jealousy from Emily. She’ll have to develop a spine.
I can never understand why good characters are always so quick to believe it when the bad guy claims their friends have betrayed them with no evidence to support anything.
And he didn’t spill a drop…
The Saint Sebastain is going to having me laughing for the rest of the day. Perhaps Dimitri needs an icon of the saint in his quarters?
@Rags: OMG, You’re right! I can’t believe I didn’t notice that!
Well, she shouldn’t have made that crack about hamburgers…
@Rook, I usually take it to be symbolic of the inner world. If this storyline was just symbolic of Emily’s head, Kuu-Drahc would be that little voice of insecurity and doubt (true evil is INSIDE us). If you look at it that way, it’s VERY real: when you feel love for someone but yet it’s not very solidly established, and suddenly they take off with someone else and “lose” your phone number, you have all the reason to doubt and no evidence to prove otherwise. This storyline is merely an outward manifestation of her heart.
And I know that probably sounds all like literary poo-poo, but I mean it quite earnestly.
@Rags, “didn’t spill a drop” totally reminds me of The Golden Child with Eddie Murphy. Although I’m not sure I should revisit that one.
@Libby, it had me totally grinning too as I wrote it. But Dimitri’s patron saint? Sebastian was the patron saint of Soldiers, plagues, arrows, and athletes. Somehow doesn’t sound like Dimitri. Which one is the patron of drinking and loving. Saint Bacchus?
Saint Vincent of Saragossa is the patron saint of Wine-makers, if that helps. He was killed for loudmouthing the local governor and his body was surrounded by Ravens so that the vultures wouldn’t get to it.
Or so Wikipedia says :S
@Frank, or Saint Nicholas (aka, the original model for Santa Claus). Among other things, he’s the saint of Russia, Children (Eebs?), sailors (spacemen?), merchants (tea cookie vendors?), prostitutes (ahem), archers (glock weilders). Hmmmm…..
St. Nicholas it is, then! You can work in an icon into the artwork, something Dimitri can hang on the wall and use to toast the memory of his mother.
(If you’re really feeling daring — and have a heckuva lawyer — you can also work in an icon of a rodent, a mouse, one that is worshiped throughout Dustinia, especially at his religious complexes in Southern California, Florida, France, and Japan.
@JK, you’ve lost me on the rodent comment. Are you referring to Frank’s icon? Disney? Some personal cheese fetish?
Why would she just accept what he said? Shouldn’t she have known of the rescue mission anyway? o.o
@Prior_Semblance, although she DID know of the rescue mission, she did NOT expect him to ditch their connection, the communicator ring, nor bring along some “floozy”.
and a spineless floozy at that … just imagine all the knots that that lady could get up to and not even get to the fineprint of the ‘SpaceTrawler Freedom Fighters Indemnity’ contract
@JKCarrol – not a clue there, it cant’ be a braindead Australian connection that your referring to, otherwise I would get it – it must be a clever reference, its the only thing that fits …
@Christopher and @Thomas, apologies. I was trying for a subtle jab at Disney. In the novella “Enemy Mine”, both the human and alien soldiers are taught phrases designed to drive the other side into a killing rage. The ones taught the humans were supposed to insult the alien’s most revered philosopher. The ones the aliens used all insulted Mickey Mouse. I was hoping to avoid your being sent threatening letters from the lawyers for the Disney corporation.
So, apparently my attempt at subtlety worked! It worked … all too well… hmm…
@Thomas, this could be a tipping point in the evolution of that spineless floozy’s species. After all, if she hope to win over Pierrot she’s going to have to stand up to Emily.
@JKCarroll, Ah! It all makes sense now. 🙂
What does it take to get Demetri to spill a drink?
@plane, offers of a bigger drink?
By the way, really minor comment but Dmitri’s line should really be “…WE men…”, not “…US men…” Us is an object, and he’s using the pronoun as a subject there. Take out “men” and read the sentence and you’ll see what I mean. 🙂
@Stewart, I blame the translator chip. (thanks! I’ll probably change it)
Chris, I recommend you don’t change it. I’m surprised I’m making this comment, since I’m usually the grammar police, but… “Us [collective noun]” [as a subject] is a common colloquialism and fits Dimitri’s personality. I don’t know if they use that particular formation in Russian, but if he said “we men” it would sound too formal and persnickity for Dimitri’s laid-back style.
Then Nomi you also know that people generally do not speak in complete sentences. Which is interesting for those who write dialog. Dimitri is one tough Russian. A sex fiend and Lothario. He also wants sex the way most people want oxygen.