By Jimmy Palmiotti

So, off to San Diego soon and as usual, the week before the con is hell for Amanda and I. Amanda starting Power Girl #5 and Justin and I getting everything squared away…that plus the past week I have done 24 interviews… I kid you not. Mostly for THE LAST RESORT, and some for pre-con announcements. I also had to do a lot of running around to promote the trade book release of BACK TO BROOKLYN as well. Seems it sold out in most stores and Amazon once already… but boy, am I glad I let the guys at Image talk me into printing double the order. It’s amazing, I was on Twitter the other day and asked the people that follow me if they bought their trade books online or in comic stores… and I would say about 80% of them said Amazon… I didn’t expect that. As a rule, if my LCS has it, I buy it there, each and every time… but its good to know Amazon is out there I guess.

Whenever possible, I tried to fit a movie in here and there and more about that below… I think its been a real crappy summer of movies so far… at least nothing that is really getting me excited too much. I use the “DVD” rule… when the movie hits DVD, will I buy it on disc? None so far I am afraid, unless the Hangover has another half hour of footage… or maybe Star Trek. I’d watch that again.

KNOCK ON MY DOOR: So, its around 3 am and I am working on the Last Resort script for the last issue and around six feet away from me is my front door to the house. I work on the ground floor away from Amanda so there can be more peace and harmony between us. Anyway, it’s quiet except for a drone of cricket noises outside when I hear a bang, then another bang and another, all on my front door of my house. Remember, its 3 am, and to tell you the truth, I was a bit freaked. I jumped up, grabbed my knife I keep by my desk and went to the front door and turned on the light. My front door is cornered by wall-to-wall glass; so on went the lights and nothing. Not a soul… so I opened my door and there on the ground was an armadillo the size of a big cat. As you can imagine, I was relieved… especially because I was writing a sequence of the book where one of the main characters are fighting the living dead in a hallway. Anyway, the little guy ran away the minute I opened the door and now I added an armadillo to my list of nature’s friends that drive me nuts on a daily basis. If you have been keeping track: fruit rats, owls, hawks, monkeys, snakes and turtles have all been visiting since day one here. For the most part, they just kill each other, so that works for me.

MOON: Enjoyed the hell out of this one… nothing like a little intelligent sci-fi to make me happy… after watching months of lame blockbusters. Solid story, wonderful acting and a cool setup. Do not want to ruin a thing here, except to say that I was happy with the resolve for a change.

I LOVE YOU BETH COOPER: This movie seems to be put together using a teen movie checklist. “Hot girl appreciates the nerdy guy and falls for him” story has been done to death. I am a hoping Chris Columbus, the director, was able to add a bit more to this formula, but credit goes to Hayden Panettiere, the title character. The screen actually comes alive whenever she is on it… not a compliment I throw out there easily and she is the reason I didn’t think the movie was a complete wash out. To Mr. Doyle’s credit, I heard his novel is 40 times better. This movie is for teenagers and no one older… and teenagers will enjoy it I think. I was better off on the moon.

FRANK CHO AND BRANDON PETERSON: Each year, these guys get a booth at San Diego, make a new print together and sell their work and sketchbooks. Well, this year, I was lucky enough to be given a sneak peek at the limited edition print they did together and it’s a killer. I also was lucky enough to have Brandon bring me a copy of his brand new sketchbook he has done and again, like the ones from the past years, it has some of the most lovingly rendered illustrations of your favorite superheroes and fantasy characters. I would suggest each and every one of you going to the con scoop up one of their prints and sketchbooks, because they are going to go fast, and if you check eBay, their old prints from comic con are going for some crazy prices. On a personal note, I want to thank Brandon for helping me on the Back to Brooklyn trade cover. If you haven’t seen it yet, he did an awesome job… his usual awesome job honestly. Enough gushing, check out there work posted here… and go say hi to those dudes at the big wow booth #4903, and say hi to my pal Tony DeZuniga while there as well.

SAN DIEGO AND ME: Well, I have committed to only a few things and I figured I might as well give anyone looking to say hi a place they can find me. A lot of the time I will be at the Fat Naked Rave booth with Amanda Conner, but when not there…. as it goes…

THURSDAY:   3-4 pm, will be doing portfolio reviews at the prism booth 2146.

5-6 pm, I will be at the JSA DC Comics panel.

FRIDAY:        12-1 pm, I will be at the Radical Comics panel.

4:30-5:30 pm, I will be a the Wednesday Comics panel room 5 A&B.

6-7 pm: Signing at the IDW booth.

SATURDAY:  3-4 pm: Signing at the DC booth for Wednesday Comics.

5-6 pm: Radical Comics signing at their booth.

SUNDAY :     1:30-2:30 pm: HERO booth signing #907.

3-4 pm: Prism booth signing.

Well, I must be packing now… my flights start early and I arrive early. Love that time difference from east coast to west coast. I really am going to try to take things easier this year… and I am looking at some time to cool off by the pool and maybe read a comic or two. We forget with all the insanity going on at the con that it is a celebration of comic books and its art form… and this is one of the coolest place to get a sneak peek at what creators got up their sleeves for the rest of the year. For all those going to the show…can’t wait to see you, and to all those not going, stay tuned to Newsarama, their con coverage, as usual, is going to be insane.

- Jimmy P

This entry was posted on Monday, July 20th, 2009 at 8:47 am and is filed under Listen to Jimmy Palmiotti, News & Views. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.