Same Bat Time, Same Bat Convention Center in Denver

When the Denver Comic Con returns next summer (and it will—three times as many people showed up than what they predicted—oh yeah, we got a winner) I’ll be there doing my part to bolster the Mile High City’s economy, have a great time, and most of all, pick up some nitty gritty lessons.


First the fun stuff. As you can see by the video, the convention brought out the superhero in everyone. On my personal Facebook page, you can see some crazier pics I took with attendees. Then there were the unique conference goers such as in the picture of the young lady wearing the horse head and her friend with the coat and the opera mask. They stood still like that for about a half hour while everyone snapped shots of them. I applauded their originality.

Now the What-I-learned-at-the-Denver-Comic-Con-that-applies-to-writers portion of my posting. Saturday, I attended a panel entitled Between the Frames: Comic Voices which featured Billy West, Tom Kane, and Khary Payton. I’m not deeply into the comic or animation thing, but I recognized characters that West voices and I’ll bet they’ll ring a bell for you—most the characters on Futurama, and Ren and Stimpy.

Anyway, you may have read some of my past postings about notables in the other arts and how difficult their road to success was. So this tidbit falls right into that theme, celebrities or success stories with lots of bruises and war stories to tell about finally ‘making it’ and they were right under my nose at the con. The Comic Voices panel speakers said that people ask them all the time how to get into the business. Every one of the actors said, “You have to love it.”

How many times has a writer heard that?

So yeah, West said—and I’m paraphrasing—that you will get rejected. When an actor auditions over and over and the rejections crush you, it’s only your love for it that makes or breaks you.

Got to give a shot out. RMFW members and good friends of RMFW were on the New Horror and Urban Fantasy Lit panel. And they were—drum roll please—Stephen Graham Jones, Betsy Dornbusch, Jeanne Stein, Carrie Vaughn, and David Boop.

Cheers,

Gusto Dave

Dave Jackson is an urban fantasy and YA western steampunk author represented by the Belcastro Agency.