JMS at WonderCon Feb. 22-24

[Jan]

This post from the moderated newsgroup:
Title: Re: Attn JMS: WonderCon event schedule
Author: "jmsatb5@aol.com" <jmsatb5@aol.com>
Date: Wed, 30 Jan 2008 02:38:15 -0800 (PST)
Message-ID: <78c3ee45-a230-4216-b5b4-7345840400bc@m34g2000hsf.googlegroups.com>


On Jan 27, 1:00 am, li...@larryr.com wrote:
> Joe,
>
> Do you know yet what events you will be participating in at WonderCon
> in San Francisco and when they are scheduled?
>
> --Larry

On Friday and Saturday I'm signingn from 2-3, and I have a writing
seminar/talk on Friday at 4, and my spotlight is at 4 on Saturday.
More things may be added along the way but those are the key events.

jms

I'm going. Anybody else? http://www.comic-con.org/wc/wc_guests.php

Jan

[*Starstuff*]

Lucky you!
"... love to, can't really, next time."

[Jan]

Anybody else going to be there besides me and Jon?

Jan

[SmileOfTheShadow]

Looks like we're the only real fans Jan...the only ones who are willing to travel through rain..sleet...snow...to get to see JMS for an hour.....

Well, I just have to drive 30 minutes. But...still. The thought's the same.

[babylonlurker]

Looks like we're the only real fans Jan...the only ones who are willing to travel through rain..sleet...snow...to get to see JMS for an hour.....

Well, I just have to drive 30 minutes. But...still. The thought's the same.

I might have come - if it was not for the fact that I have to cross the "pond" (- and all the hassle of entering the country)

[Jan]

Well, I just have to drive 30 minutes. But...still. The thought's the same.

Mmm-hm. I'll remind you of that the next time he's on *this* side of the country and it's your turn to fly across it. :p

Jan

[Jan]

Looks like JMS is going to have some major announcements at the Con. See the Comics Forum for a post about his going non-exclusive with Marvel.

Jan

[SmileOfTheShadow]

Looks like JMS is going to have some major announcements at the Con. See the Comics Forum for a post about his going non-exclusive with Marvel.

Jan

Well here's to a Brand New Day with JMS!!!

[Jan]

Well here's to a Brand New Day with JMS!!!

Now how did I miss this when you first posted it?! I must've mercifully blocked it from my consious mind. :p

Drat! I just wrote a long, insightful post about yesterday and my computer blinked and it's lost. :mad: :(

Short version: JMS had an autograph session and his writing panel yesterday. There was a pretty good line for autographs but nothing near what I've seen sometimes in the past. The writing session was really good. All of the questions were serious and the answers could be helpful to people really wanting to write. JMS's first, main advice before he opened it to questions is "Finish what you write." Nobody tried to get announcements from him at the writing session as sometimes happens. Questions ranged from how to stay focused to plot vs character to how detailed a comic script should be in describing panels for the artist. The audience was pretty evenly split among aspiring prose writers, script writers and comics writers.

Today he'll have another autograph session and his Spotlight. The good news is that my recorder worked yesterday so I have hopes for today (I have some *really* poor luck with recorders) so I'll be able to transcribe all or part of these once I get home.

ETA: Here's a good report at Newsarama (http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=147804)

Your intrepid on-the-spot reporter,

Jan

[*Starstuff*]

Jan, thanks for keeping us up to date! Enjoy the second day!

[Joe Nazzaro]

Jan, just out of curiosity, did you happen to see the girl wearing the 'cherish cat' smile? Would that have been somebody with a fixation on felines, or was just somebody trying to make a Lewis Carroll illusion and failing miserably? Either way, it made my day.

[Jan]

Joe, I'm assuming that the reporter meant 'Cheshire' cat smile so I think you're right about the allusion. ;) I did see her but she sat behind me so it was after JMS started talking to her so I didn't see the smile itself. I think all JMS said was that she had a 'knowing' smile, like she already knew the answers he was giving.

Okay, folks...I've made a list of the things people have asked about in the past few days. Dunno if I'll have the chance to ask him but I've at least got the list.

Jan

[DougO]

Jan, thanks for the update. I'm very interested to hear what happens at the Spotlight session.

-DougO

[Shabaz]

Seems like JMS is moving to do work for DC (http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/Wondercon08/DCCountdown.html). I'm fairly ignorant about the whole American comicbook thing to be honest, so not sure how to place that.

Besides his love of Superman, the only concrete thing mentioned with regards to JMS is that he hopes to do some B5 comics, and finally finish that B5 GN that been in the works for ages now. Which I am quite excited about.

[Jan]

Okay, folks, are you sitting down? Get comfortable, there's a lot to report... Ready?

I missed it but JMS did sit in on a DC panel. I only came in at the end and didn't hear of any projects.

At his spotlight session later, I was the first questioner and I asked the questions I'd been instructed to by the JMSnews folks:

- Book of Lost Souls: JMS is waiting on a determination on the status of this. The Icon line is sort of reserved as a prize for Marvel's exclusive writers.

- Dream Police: Ditto

- B5 comic with Wildstorm: JMS is looking to turn that in within a couple of months.

- Squadron Supreme: JMS decided to stop and regroup after he felt that he'd lost track of the story after the move to a team story rather than the focus on Hyperion. To be revisited later.

- Rising Stars Compendium: He doesn't know anything about it.

We now turn to the many other people who wanted to ask questions. ;)

- Asked about more Lost Tales: No new word on more. JMS retold how WB had started talks for more but refused to accellerate the process, thinking that there wouldn't be a writer's strike. The good news is that WB is now starting to realize that they've really got something in B5 ('bout time!).

- Asked about working with DC: JMS didn't give any specifics on titles though he mentioned that people who know the characters who've influenced him will know what he's interested in (I'd guess that to definitely mean Superman).

- He does have a deal to write two creator owned titles for Image. One is called "Justice" and the other "Ten Grand".

- Now that the writer's strike is over he's got seven other feature films lined up, two of them genre from film and print. When asked for hints, he simply mentioned how nice it was that Ron Howard had acquired the rights to the "Lensman" series.

- JMS is starting his own production company named "And the Horse You Rode In On Productions". I believe that he's looking to bring "Midnite Nation" and "Rising Stars" into this company.

- World War Z, the adaptation that he's written from the Max Brooks bestseller is, if production goes as currently planned, slated to be a big tentpole production with a possible 100 million dollar budget.

- The Silver Surfer movie he's written will be an origin story which is why that wasn't in the FF movie.

- For Marvel, he's got two miniseries planned: one SubMariner and one Captain America.

- Asked if he might ever write an autobiography, JMS told of having begun the "JMS Historical Reclamation Project" a while back by asking fans for pictures of the many places he'd lived as a child and that he's begun writing an autobiography focusing on how, if he could become a success, anybody can.

- He continued on by pointing out that he never sits when doing his spotlights, hasn't for a long time. The reason for that is because you always stand when reporting to your superiors and that's those of us in the audience who he looks to to create the next great stories.

And that's pretty much it. It was a lot of fun, as usual, with JMS joking with the audience and teasing the questioners. If I find anything else when I review the tape of the session again, I'll be sure to post.

Jan

[raw_bean]

That's really great news, Shabaz! We've not even heard anything from JMS's spotlight yet, and already have some good B5 news. :)

[Joe Nazzaro]

Regarding Superman, see my post of a couple of days ago. When I spoke to JMS some years ago, he told me a story that exemplified how important Superman was to him, so I always thought it was just a matter of time.

As for the Silver Surfer, a funny thing happened a couple of weeks ago when I was interviewing actor Doug Jones about his work on Hellboy 2 and a bunch of other stuff, so of course we get to talking about the Surfer movie, for which he's contracted but has not heard anything yet. Doug then started telling me about how he'd heard there was already a script by... 'I hope I'm going to pronounce it right' he said before getting his mouth around Straczysnki's name. I then pointed out that Doug had in fact worked for JMS before when he played an alien in Crusade and of course it all came together in his head at that point. Talk about a small world.

By the way Jan, on behalf of those East Coasters who are surreounded by six inches of snow and ice, thanks for your great and timely reporting.

[Jan]

If it's any consolation to you icy snowy east coasters, Joe, I was literally shivering all through JMS's spotlight. The convention center was freezing all day long and it's windy and rainy out. Hrmph...I thought it never rained in Califonia...:p

And you're very welcome. Thank *goodness* that my recorder cooperated for a change!!

Oh, I just remembered one side story JMS told about why there were sock puppets sprinkled in the Lost Tales diaries: When WB told him how much his budget was going to be, his response was, "For that amount of money I can do it with sock puppets, not people." Thought you'd appreciate that, Joe. ;)

Jan

[vacantlook]

Wow. I don't think I would have the energy to do even one of the projects like jms's, but he's just got so many things going on. It's crazy!

As for that snow and ice, grr! I live in central Virginia, and it was like the snow and ice was coming at us, separated, went around us on both sides, and recombined once it got past us. We got NOTHING. It sucks. We've had so insignificantly little winter precipitation this year. It's much like we've not even had a winter. :(

I'm envious... of both the snow and jms's capabilities.

[Shabaz]

Thanks for the updates Jan, and for braving the cold and wet California (which is kind of clashing with my mental image of the place being in a perennial state of toasty heat to be honest :p).

I know he dropped a hint about the Lensman thing on the newsgroup before, but I guess it's really real. Been meaning to read the books for years now. Guess I should finally get on that one of these days, though browsing amazon it looks suspiciously like there isn't a current, in-print publication of the series at the moment.

[luvB5]

Jan, thanks for the report. I know how much work it entails. Keep the good stuff coming. :)

[*Starstuff*]

OK, though I have never held a JMS comic in my hand (I guess it won't be easy to get these here in Germany), I am kind of interested in the idea of having B5 comics.

Jan, when you wrote
B5 comic with Wildstorm: JMS is looking to turn that in within a couple of months.
Does that mean he will be turning in the finished comics? Or just story ideas?

And Shabaz, could you explain please what you mean by "B5 GN"? I am not familiar with that term. Thanks!

So, WB is realizing about the potential of B5? Well, I guess we can't complain since they gave the show a chance in the first place, but it could've hit them earlier that there's a lot of people out there craving for more. I just keep my fingers crossed ... in my mind, need them for some writing today ;)

Jan, thanks again for leting us know! And when it's getting cold again, just think of the 63 degrees here in Dresden, Germany. Maybe that will keep you warm ;) (And no, that's not typical for the climate here, usually we are buried beneath snow at this time of year).

[Jan]

Starstuff, Shabaz and I are actually talking about the same thing. JMS has been talking about a Babylon 5 Graphic Novel (aka comic) that's been approved for a long time now but kept getting pushed back due to JMS's schedule and other things such as when we thought the feature film was going to be made. What JMS will turn in is a complete script with all panel descriptions and dialogue, just as he does for the other comics he writes.

Enjoy the warmth, Starstuff. At this point I'll be glad to get back to the nice, toasty Florida climate and I didn't expect to have to say that when posting from California! :eek:

Jan

[tarasis]

OK, though I have never held a JMS comic in my hand (I guess it won't be easy to get these here in Germany), I am kind of interested in the idea of having B5 comics.

Not really, depends on whether you have a good comic shop near you or not (though you could probably find somewhere online that could get it to you).

I live near Hamburg and I found a comic shop that mostly specialises in American comics in English and what they don't get in for themselves they can order in. This is what I have done with the IDW Transformers comics, they weren't getting them in but then now order them in for me.

I could send you the shops details if you wanted, I am sure they could post comics to you or possibly point you in the direction of a comic shop nearer you; whereever you are.

Rob

[babylonlurker]

Thanks Jan,

This looks really good ... btw temp here in NL is 10C (abt 62F), so not complaining.

Looking forward to (in particular) more B5 - comics or otherwise

*Starstuff* : I found a complete set of the B5 comics on eBay, and I have a few of the Spiderman/FF comics by JMS, got them from a specialist comics/SF shop in Copenhagen, so you can get to it here in Europe

[*Starstuff*]

@ Jan: Good morning! Though it must be in the middle of the night for you over there ;) Thanks for the clarification, now my vocabulary has been expanded again and I understand what we are talking about :)

@ tarasis: Thanks for the offer; I currently live in Dresden, though I don't know if I'll be staying here after I finish college (which should be somewhen in May/June). Right now I also don't have the financial means to get anything except the B5 Scripts, but when everything is sorted out and I know where I'll spend the next years, I will turn to you again for help regarding the comics. I hope it will be sooner rather than later. :) Greetings up north, I love Hamburg!

@Babylonlurker: eBay! Of course, why didn't I think of it? I am already braindead from writing my thesis, thanks for pointing that our for me, seriously! :)

[glindros]

Thanks for the info Jan.

It's about 80 and sunny in Florida. Come back soon, I'll keep the weather the same until you get back.

[*Starstuff*]

It's about 80 and sunny in Florida. Come back soon, I'll keep the weather the same until you get back.

And the moment he gets off the plane you'll change your mind? :D

Sorry for the OT ;)

[raw_bean]

OK, though I have never held a JMS comic in my hand (I guess it won't be easy to get these here in Germany), I am kind of interested in the idea of having B5 comics.

Though you'd have to go eBay for the B5 comics, if you can't find a comic shop near you there's always amazon (http://www.amazon.de/s/ref=nb_ss_w?__mk_de_DE=%C5M%C5Z%D5%D1&url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=j+michael+straczynski&Go.x=0&Go.y=0&Go=Go).

Or, for his specifically Marvel comics work, you could always subscribe to read them digitally (http://www.marvel.com/digitalcomics/).

EDIT: Also StarStuff, Jan is a 'she' not a 'he'. :)

---------------

It seems yesterday your post on the con happened between me reading Shabaz's post and adding my reply, so I've only just read all the info Jan. Thanks for that, some cool news.

Really looking forward to the B5 GN and any comics (wonder if they'd release collections of the originals again if more were being made), and glad to get some info on what happened with Supreme Power. I can see what he means about the story getting away from him when he shifted focus away from Hyperion, I really hope he's able to work out where to take it and gets back into it at some point.

All the positive film news is good, too.

[Jan]

I was afraid you might not notice my post, Raw Bean. Glad you noticed the other posts.

Yeah, I'm a she. If I weren't JMS teasing that my question(s) yesterday started off saying that he's a very attractive man goes in a whole new direction. :o

My wish for the B5 graphic novel is a good artist. I really disliked the art in the original books.

It's bright and sunny at the moment so I'm off to the con for a bit. No JMS panels today that I'm aware of.

Jan

[*Starstuff*]

Yeah, I'm a she. If I weren't JMS teasing that my question(s) yesterday started off saying that he's a very attractive man goes in a whole new direction. :o
:eek: Ops, sorry! No offense intended! In Germany Jan is a male name, therefore my mistake.

See, that is _exactly_ what I am writing about in my final thesis ;)

[Shabaz]

My wish for the B5 graphic novel is a good artist. I really disliked the art in the original books.The "In Valen's Name" issues were sort of ok, but good lord you're right when it come to the original 11 issues. Stuff was barely recognizable at times. They were kind of interesting (the two Narn issues aside, which felt really out of place), but the art did a good job bringing any decent writing down. Some of the covers were kind of neato though.

What I'm really curious about is what the story will be, and if any of the things that were in the works at some earlier point in time according to worldsofjms (http://worldsofjms.com/projects.htm#b5book) will end up in the final book. I.e.:
Straczynski originally planned to write a story that takes place before "War Without End" featuring both Sinclair and Sheridan and involving Mars, Minbar, Babylon 5, and a conspiracy. However, he later considered the option of writing a story that ties Babylon 5, Crusade, and Legend of the Rangers together. Regardless of the plot, Straczynski promises that it will be something that the fans want to see and that it will be something that works best in the graphic novel medium instead of on television.Not quite sure where he got his info from. Since I can't find anything in the newgroup archive, I'm guessing interviews.

[raw_bean]

My wish for the B5 graphic novel is a good artist. I really disliked the art in the original books.

I'm in total agreement there. I'm not as familiar with the stable of artists at DC/Wildstorm compared to Marvel, but someone who can make the characters from the show (assuming it features any) recognisably similar to the actors who played them would be great, and a nice step up from the previous comics!

[Jan]

:eek: Ops, sorry! No offense intended! In Germany Jan is a male name, therefore my mistake.

No offense taken, Starstuff. I once had a manager, male, whose name was Jan and I got *all* of his phone calls because here Jan is usually a short version of Janet or Janice.

This may seem odd but one of the things I like about internet communities is that you often can't tell whether somebody's male or female. I find I'm often wrong but I can't put my finger on why I decided that a person was one thing or the other.

Shabaz, I'm not familiar with that idea for the comics, either but it might have been from the B5 magazine, too. I know that at one point JMS also said that he'd been zigging and zagging depending on if there was the possibility of a B5 movie at that time.

One nice thing is that you don't have to consider budget when deciding what story to tell in a comic.

Jan

[raw_bean]

Indeed. Another factor, if I can put this delicately, is that you don't have any problems with the availability of actors, a la the Lost Tales mini-comic tribute to Richard Biggs and Andreas Katsulas.

I mention this because one dream I have is of seeing a detailed telling of some of the events of the previous Shadow War and Valen's part in it, and seeing more of the wonderful Zathras despite the untimely passing of Tim Choate. If that's what the GN was it would really make my day.

EDIT: comicbookresources (http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=13119) has a write-up of the spotlight as well. Mostly goes over the same ground but covers the odd detail that Jan hasn't mentioned.

[Radhil]

Book of Lost Souls: JMS is waiting on a determination on the status of this. The Icon line is sort of reserved as a prize for Marvel's exclusive writers.

*sigh*

The one thing I was really wanting to follow, and I know it's been absent for a while... but damnit.

Don't get me wrong, I love that we have hints of new B5 stuff here, and that he's got a gajillion movie scripts being juggled. I just feel like some of his more original and unique ideas are getting dropped. Suppose they have been for a while though.

[raw_bean]

Well, I'm a little sad about that too, but I wouldn't necessarily say BoLS was that original and unique, as someone who reads a fair bit of fantasy. Have you read any of Neil Gaiman's Sandman? In the absence of more BoLS you'd probably enjoy that instead, and you have the advantage of knowing the story's already finished. :)

[Radhil]

Um, yeah. Done that, have the set. Outstanding stuff.

Wanted more of that quality. Thus, Book of Lost Souls. (I had curiousity about Dream Police but it seemed to lose traction the same way everything else did)

And yes, I could probably find a modern fantasy or fifty if I looked (cue Jim Butcher). Finding a Joe equivalent is a little harder. Far as I know, there's only one complete story he did anything remotely like it, and it was one of the best things he did in my book (Midnight Nation). You could say there's never a unique story out there; even Sandman borrowed from every ancient tale it could. I would have liked a more unique Joe tale, that's all. Guess I'll have to wait and see what he does with his screen career.

[Whyruss]

OK, though I have never held a JMS comic in my hand (I guess it won't be easy to get these here in Germany), I am kind of interested in the idea of having B5 comics.



Well here in Austria u can get most of them in a local Comicshop. I guess it's the same in Germany... but often the orginal English comics are out of stoke so u have to wait and wait and wait till the get new ones ^^ (because buying the translation is a sacrigele ^^). Sometimes eBay is the better choice ^^

[Shabaz]

Yeah, same here in the Netherlands. There are comicbook stores around here, but you really need to seek them out, and know where they are. There are a couple of them in Amsterdam, but usually in a side street of a side street, and usually in places where you wouldn't happen across them by chance when shopping.

One place you could also check is English language bookstores, if you have any of those around. I know that the American Book Center in Amsterdam for instance has a pretty decent collection of American trade paperbacks of American comics.

Other than that, the internet is usually your best shot. Dunno if you have a credit card, but with the current Dollar value, ordering straight from the US Amazon or places like that is actually often cheaper than some of the alternatives, even with shipping cost added.

[raw_bean]

Um, yeah. Done that, have the set. Outstanding stuff.

Wanted more of that quality. Thus, Book of Lost Souls. (I had curiousity about Dream Police but it seemed to lose traction the same way everything else did)

And yes, I could probably find a modern fantasy or fifty if I looked (cue Jim Butcher). Finding a Joe equivalent is a little harder. Far as I know, there's only one complete story he did anything remotely like it, and it was one of the best things he did in my book (Midnight Nation). You could say there's never a unique story out there; even Sandman borrowed from every ancient tale it could. I would have liked a more unique Joe tale, that's all. Guess I'll have to wait and see what he does with his screen career.

Fair enough. I do agree that seeing where he was going with BoLS would be great, but as I still have Midnight Nation and Rising Stars to read yet, I'm not feeling as Joe-starved as yourself.

I'll have one more attempt at recommending things for you though. For specifically JMS writing, you could try diverging from comics - I saw today that his novels are available on amazon marketplace, at least here in the UK. Might Demon Night meet your craving, assuming you don't already have it? And did you ever read the Lucifer series that span out of Sandman? As for current Vertigo output, Fables is fantastic.

I'll pre-empt you by saying if you're ahead of me on these, I'll just shut up before I embarass myself further. :)

[JoeD80]

- B5 comic with Wildstorm: JMS is looking to turn that in within a couple of months.

Do I get a prize for calling that one ;) ?

[Radhil]

I'll have one more attempt at recommending things for you though. For specifically JMS writing, you could try diverging from comics - I saw today that his novels are available on amazon marketplace

I have tried to get these, actually. Last attempt was from Amazon (Amazon actual, not one of add-on sellers) they put my order on continually backpedalled delay limbo... 3 weeks turned to 6.... 6 turned to 3 months... and somewhere around the half a year point I just gave up and canned the order (and Amazon, in general). I might try for 'em again; maybe the outside vendors can come through.

[raw_bean]

Yeah, don't bother trying amazon themselves, they never seem to take listings down once a book is unavailable, try for second hand.

[mandragora]

I haven't read anything anywhere about the "top secret tv project" with the two mega film-makers JMS talked about at the end of last year. From what I understood, they were supposed to meet in January.

Jan, or whoever else was there, was there no hint at all at the WonderCon panel what's the status of this?

[Jan]

No, sorry, mandragora. Nothing new there.

Jan

[mandragora]

Thank you, Jan. Well, patience is indeed a virtue, it seems ;)

[vakie]

I then pointed out that Doug had in fact worked for JMS before when he played an alien in Crusade and of course it all came together in his head at that point. Talk about a small world.

Which alien did he play in Crusade? Couldn't find any mention on imdb or elsewhere.

[Joe Nazzaro]

The huge alien seen in the final shot of 'The Path of Sorrows.' Doug claims he was actually in two episodes, but that's the only one I know for sure.

[vakie]

Ah, thanks. Maybe the other one is the alien in "Appearances and Other Deceits"?

[Rom2099]

Hi ALL -- I'm new here, I just stumbled across the site by accident. Since I'm here, I'd like to share a nice JMS story - one that illustrates what a nice guy he is AND his "star power".

I attended WonderCon this year and read that JMS was going to be there. I'd met JMS at SDCC last year and had him sign what I feel is the most amazing comic book experience of my 30+ years of reading comics - MIDNIGHT NATION. I was thrilled to have JMS tell me that Midnight Nation was his favorite writing experience, and we chatted briefly about the book and I thanked him for the story. At WonderCon, I'd planned to have JMS sign the two Supreme Power hard covers.

So here I am at WonderCon - my wife and 10 yo son had come with me as it was my birthday. My son is really into the sci-fi stuff, but my wife is a civilian - she basically tolerates my obsessions, but I have had some success getting her to ready truly great graphic novel experiences - not drivel like Watchmen (just threw up in my mouth typing that title) or the character ruining Dark Knight Returns - no - great entertaining stories like Bendis' Ultimate Spider-Man - stories that capture the fun and excitement that should be comics. So, I'm reading Midnight Nation (monthly as it is published) and telling my wife she has to read this. Eventually she did and was absolutely blown away - she cried at the ending. But I digress -- I'm here at WonderCon and sitting in the movie preview panel with my son waiting for the Iron Man panel -- and it looks like it will be on at the same time that JMS is signing books. My wife asked if she could take them for me as she was bored with the panel and since I'd met the man at SDCC, I had no objections. So off my wife goes with my books, to meet JMS.

Now, you have to understand my wife at her FIRST comic convention -- on Day 1 she was basically telling me that my son and I could do the con and she was going to go shopping in San Francisco. What ended up happening was we all went to the autograph area and she met Lou Feringo, Noel Niel and Richard Hatch (and she immediately asked me if I had any blue pills after meeting him....what does that mean...?). So we meet these "stars" of the sci-fi genre and suddenly the magic kicked in -- my wife's childhood memories of seeing The Hulk, Lois Lane and Battlestar Galactica/Street of San Francisco all came rushing back to her and she was smiling like a little kid in a toy store. Still, on Day 2, my wife is wearing her civilian gear - she hadn't loosened up enough to go grab a Wonder Woman t-shirt or anything.

Back to JMS - my wife returns to my son and me in the panel room and she's all smiles again. I ask what happened and she's short of breath. I figured she'd either found a blue pill and grabbed Richard Hatch or she'd had another "Con Moment" that had taken her by surprise. For bragging rights, I was hoping for Richard Hatch....but, I digress (again). My wife tells me she just met JMS. Now, having met the guy, I know he's a cool dude, but let's face it - he's no Richard Hatch... So my wife proceeds to tell me how she stood in a short line to meet whom she hoped was JMS since she had no idea what he looked like. She handed him my two Supreme Power books and said they were for her husband and he joked about her being a nice wife for enduring a con for me, but as she thanked him and started to walk away she told him how much she loved his Midnight Nation – at which point JMS told her how much he really enjoyed writing it and how it was possibly his favorite comic writing experience, especially the ending. My wife told him she cried at the ending and JMS grabbed her hand and started telling her about the hard choices he had to make when writing that ending and about how much it meant to him, too, then he sent her back to me – broken by his star power. My wife sat there telling all this in absolute disbelief that she had just met and conversed with JMS and that it had had such a profound effect on her.

So, that’s all I wanted to share. A nice story about what a nice guy JMS is.

My son and I are attending SDCC this year, I hope to drag him to a JMS writing panel, so that maybe he’ll learn something and perhaps be inspired to do more with his youth than play video games.

Thanks JMS.

[Jan]

Hi Rom2099, welcome! That's a really great story, thanks for sharing.

Just to be sure you know, since you said
Thanks JMS I just wanted to make sure you know that JMS doesn't post or, as far as we know, read here.

Glad you found us!

Jan

[Rom2099]

Yeah - I figured he didn't post here, I hadn't seen any obvious posts indicating it was him -- but I've found that many celebs do visit sites and forums (or have their staff visit) to keep aware of what's being said about them. -- so "Thanks JMS" is sent out sincerely, in hopes he does secretly pop in here from time-to-time.

[raw_bean]

That's a really nice story. :)

Unfortunately, it would warm my heart more if not for the fact that you're clearly from some kind of alternate universe that bears little relation to my own:

...not drivel like Watchmen (just threw up in my mouth typing that title)...

:O