I was about to write another sad, mopey tale of my life (I have one in mind, but it is still a bit raw, so I will let it simmer a bit longer), but Amazing Amy told me I was being a bit of a “Debbie Downer”, so I figured I would try to amuse for a while. Opinions will vary.
It is a good time to be a nerd. In 2015, we had the resurgence of “Star Wars”, an amazing episodic “Daredevil” and “Jessica Jones” (with a side dish of Luke Cage as a teaser for his own show), as well as an Amazon.com original series based on the Harry Bosch books I have loved for years. We saw the emergence of the multiverse on TV and saw a star-crossed Thanagian couple find themselves, once again united, a shape changing Martian Manhunter and a group of “Legends” fighting the immortal Vandal Savage across time.
This year we will have not one but two epic clashes between superhero titans that have been years in the making, two different movies with Benjamin Geza Affleck-Boldt as Batman, a new Joker and his main squeeze Harley Quinn, and even a new Harry Potter book. We have no less than 9 network television shows based on comic books not to mention the amazing things we have already seen and those yet to come on Netfix. They have even cracked the code on how to make Aquaman not an orange chainmail wearing octopussy and made me care about thecinematic version of Wonder Woman. What glorious times we live in indeed.
My love and I will celebrate our unionwith a viewing of the first of the aforementioned titan clashes, “Batman V Superman”, with 120 of our closest friends. (Not sure who I’m trying to fool-we have nowhere near that many friends. We will fill the seats with friends of the kids…but whatever) Kevin Smith will direct an episode of his new favorite show “The Flash” and it will air a month before my wife and I see himtape his podcast “Fatman on Batman” live at a comedy club in downtown Phoenix. I am also pretty sure I will see “The Adam Carolla” Show live again this year, and we are seeing Jo Koy on Valentine’s Day after a lovely dinner with my Amazing Amy.
I also attended my 3rd Amazing Arizona Comic Con with two of my step-kids, and met one of the authors of my childhood (ok, they didn’t really have words when I was a child…cave drawings were more our jam, but just roll with it), Chris Claremont. He was at the far end of a row of young, supposedly hip artists doing semi-nude covers of female comic book woman that, if they were real and someone drew them like that, would probably do horrible things to their genitals with their heat vision or claws or whatever abnormality made them comic book vixens in the first place. He sat at a table with nothing on it except a handful of markers, a cup of some formerly hot beverage, and a man that should be hoisted on the shoulders of every single fanboy in that convention center. Instead he sat all alone playing with his iPhone, trying not to be embarrassed he was there. I approached.
“You are Chris Claremont” I said as if he didn’t know that. He pointed at the sad banner hanging above him and told me he knew that already. I spent a few minutes telling him how he created the fairytales of my childhood and he let me know that I was closer to his age than I really cared to admit. He asked me my 3 favorite stories of his and let me know that one was “serious crap” but that I was correct that the other two were epic works to be respected. I thanked him for everything he did and I was glad he didn’t take the opportunity to point out he was still doing it. I got the feeling he was a bitter old man, but I did enjoy the interaction and have to say I saw a smile peeking through his hardened veneer. I was reminded of the time Bronx told me to never meet my idols. “They will let you down every time”, and he was mostly right. Mostly.
That’s my story and I’m sticking to it