I attended the Comic show at Madison Square Garden today. Saw old friends such as Walt Simonson, Chris Claremont, a buffed, bald and unrecognizable Joe Rubinstein. Colleen Doran was kind enough to escort Ariel (not to mention Bob Greenberger’s teen daughter, Katie) over to meet Rutger Hauer and Warwick Davis, and Ariel got an autographed picture of Davis as Wicket the Ewok.
A gorgeous girl named “Solange” walked up to me and asked if I make use of models. Being a writer, I have no use for them whatsoever. Naturally I said “yes.” She gave me her card. Ðámņ. What a time not to be able to draw. Also met “the Ferret Man,” a local fellow who is head of “New York’s Ferret’s Rights Advocacy” and drew the ire of no less than Rudy Guiliani because of his concern about the rights of ferrets. I got his card, too. Solange’s has a picture of Solange on it. His has a little drawing of a ferret. If I could only save one card from drowning, it wouldn’t be a tough call to make.
Also met WWE wrestler Raven, who told me he’s a huge fan of “Captain Marvel.” He offered me wrestling tickets for Saturday night at the Garden, but my show “Checking Out” is still running at Molloy College, and so I had to be back in Long Island Saturday night. More’s the pity. I’ve never been to a wrestling match, but since so many people have compared my tussle with Marvel to wrestling, I am now intrigued to see at least one match. And with free tickets, why not? Raven is a very pleasant and amiable fellow. At one point he was trying on t-shirts at a dealer’s table. I saw passing women (and a couple of passing men) trying not to look at his bare chest and utterly failing. Ideally I’ll be able to take him up on his offer at a future date. And hey, if “Captain Marvel” is outsold by “Marville,” maybe Raven can put Bill Jemas in a headlock.
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Scott Levy (Raven) has been promoting comics subtly for years by the shirts he has worn to the ring, although in his current run with the WWE he hasn’t done that as much. It was always neat to see him come out wearing a Silver Surfer or Dr. Strange shirt.
From some interviews I’ve read of him,(and Levy has a really high IQ and is a great read)he’s mentioned that a number of the wrestlers read comics to help pass the time between shows. They actually did an angle last summer where one wrestler, Shane Helmes, got berated by Steve Austin for his Green Lantern tatoo to the point that he changed his gimmick into that of a superhero, the Hurricane, a throwback to the cartoony wrestling of the 80s, that’s become quite popular with the crowds, and is a pretty entertaining act.
By the way, Levy’s issue of Tangled Web (co-written by Brian Azzarello), issue 14 is a great little read and hopefully it’ll lead to more comic projects for him.
Matt
Another thing about Raven. Back when he was in WCW, he used to wear Savatage T-Shirts to the ring as well. I don’t know if he is a fan of the band or if it was part of the character itself, but it was a very cool thing to see my favorite band getting some air time.
They are a metal band, and they’ve done three concept albums that are just killer. They also have a side project called Trans-Siberian Orchestra that has done 2 Xmas themed albums, and a non holiday concept album called Beethoven’s Last Night. On Savatage’s most recent tour I got to hang back stage with them, and cooler guys can’t be found.
http://www.savatage.com
http://www.trans-siberian.com
I just read Raven’s issue of tangled web last night. I know it was co-written by Azzarello, and it was about wrestling, but I thought it was actually pretty dámņ good. For those who haven’t read it, the plot is the story of the wrestler who Spider-Man beat in his 1st appearance and what led him to be wrestling the fans for money. Good stuff.
I know he’s done a lot of good things at Marvel, and God knows he’s better than the last guy, but Jemas in a headlock?
This is a good thing. Heh.
Solange? You *must* find some use for this model. Tell her you are basing a character in your next project on her and have her come and pose for you in your office. Then get ChrissCross to draw her up somewhere in CM after you’ve memorized every curve….
Sorry, gotta get back to work now…
-Joe
I know of at least one other WWE wrestler who is a big comic fan.
Edge frequents the store i used to manage here in Tampa and i see him quite often there. I do believe he also read Capt.Marvel.
My favorite writer and my favorite wrestler conversing?? Saweet!
Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find Raven’s issue of Tangled Web yet. D’oh!
Hmm..If Raven’s a fan of Captain Marvel, that puts it in pretty good critical company, with Neil Gaiman’s stuff and Robinson’s Starman (he has the symbol tatooed on his shoulder) being among his favorites.
It might be worth mentioning that WWE/F fans have a tendency to buy things with the wrestlers in it with an obsession that perhaps surplants comic fans, if you take my meaning…
You know, I wouldn’t mind seeing Raven put Jemas in a headlock. Throw in Al Snow and Joe Quesada, and you’ve got one heck of a pay-per-view event.
Whoo-hoo!!
Finally found myself a copy of Raven’s Tangled Web issue. It only took me three stores to find it, but hey it was one hëll of a good read. I suggest anyone that hasn’t to go check it out! Although I wonder how much of it was Raven’s doing and how much was Azzarello’s? Hopefully Raven had more part in it than just the “smart” wrestling terms.
Now lets see if I can post this message just ONCE!