So I’m way behind on posting. The end of the quarter happened to me. How bad was it? Now I have to wear a brace when typing and writing. It literally broke me. Sigh.
However, the second I was done with grading and choosing the Prized Writing winners, I headed to Denver for their very first ComicCon and the adjacent literary conference. I got into Denver at 1 a.m. on the day I was to give my paper, took a shower, and went to sleep.
And then woke up with hives!
Something in the sheets did not agree with me. So I bought really expensive benadryl (’cause the 6, yes 6, allergy meds I’m on wasn’t enough). I was able to watch other people’s presentations while the hives went down and looked relatively normal by the time of my presentation. The guy before me was a reader (as opposed to a speaker), so I looked pretty good by comparison. A couple of people said I made the panel worth it. Then a woman came up to me who missed my presentation and said she heard it was good.
In between that and the keynote, I hit the bar and made friends with the bartenders.
Scott McCloud (the comic theorist) gave a great talk. But there was the odd moment when he showed a page from this book:
And then he asked, “Who gave the paper on Asterios Polyp today?”
And while I had done so, I thought he must be talking about someone else. But then about five other people in the room said my name. And then he said:
“That was brilliant.”
And then I didn’t hear anything for a while.
And then I was back at the bar with my bartenders, who congratulated me and gave me a free long island iced tea when I threatened to leave.
The next day, I looked out the window at the line going into the convention center: 
(That’s a bear staring into the center–there were lots of people in costumes for it to see.)
I got rid of Karma, got possessed by Zuul, and headed down. I saw, but did not pay to interact with, Pam from True Blood, Galen from BSG, Billy West, and Spike from Buffy. Met the woman who draws the little vampires. Bought a necklace. Went to a couple of panels. Didn’t get into the Doctor Who one because it was full. Saw this guy selling board games:
As I was too lazy to exorcise Zuul, I went back to the hotel bar, read my book, let my boys feed me, and made friends with the couple sitting beside me.
The next day, I dressed as Sandman‘s Death (which anyone who knows me knows means I dressed like myself but with more eye makeup). Did another whirl on the floor, said hi to the bear, and to these guys.
But then I’d sort of seen everything. And an awful Whedon panel assured me it was time to seek food downtown. Hit an amazing wine bar, where I had balsamic lamb and goat cheese beignets. Made friends with the server and the manager; I persuaded the latter to leave work, so we hit a beer bar before returning to close the place down.
Then it was time for home and sheets I’m not allergic to!
Since I’ve been back, I’ve been getting ready for summer session, which starts for me tomorrow, catching up on doctors’ appointments, saying goodbye to two dear Oakland friends, going on poetry dates with MD (we saw Robert Haas, Kazim Ali, and Sharon Olds read at the Crocker), trying to get over the tragedy of Prometheus (review: just a head shake), and briefly hitting the French Film Festival.
I’ve quit writing for Matchflick after four years, but if there are any really great movies, you’ll still hear about them here.
P.S. Here’s a great little comic recommended by Scott McCloud: http://imgur.com/gallery/uBYbJ (the artist was 17).
