{"id":1122,"date":"2013-02-04T09:20:00","date_gmt":"2013-02-04T17:20:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/?p=1122"},"modified":"2023-12-14T09:30:06","modified_gmt":"2023-12-14T17:30:06","slug":"maggies-world-002-squeeze-the-day","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.comic-con.org\/toucan\/maggies-world-002-squeeze-the-day\/","title":{"rendered":"Maggie’s World 002: Squeeze the Day"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n
\n
\n

KATIE’S FIRST DRAWING TUTORIAL!<\/span><\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Maggie’s World 002: Squeeze the Day<\/h1>\n\n\n
Maggie Thompson<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
\"Toucan<\/figure><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
\n
\n
\"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

As we advance into 2013, I\u2019m considering what I\u2019ve done in the past to see whether I can do better in the future. I was<\/em> going to call this exercise \u201cSeize the Day\u201d\u2014but then figured we all do that already. When we go to a comics shop or attend a convention, we\u2019ve already<\/em> grabbed the opportunity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But maybe we can get more out of that opportunity. \u201cSqueezing the Day\u201d seems an appropriate approach. (I\u2019m not the first to morph the saying this way; a Google search comes up with a variety of interpretations. In this<\/em> discussion, I\u2019m using the term to explore ways to get even more than usual out of adventures in our pop culture world.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The French have a term for what so many of us have experienced: l\u2019\u00e9sprit d\u2019escalier<\/em> (\u201cThe spirit of the stairs\u201d) is the response that hits us long after<\/em> something we should<\/em> have said. It\u2019s what occurs to us as we\u2019re going down the steps, leaving the party, instead of coming up with it as a brilliant response in the course of conversation at<\/em> the party. A good preparatory goal, then, consists of considering who will be where we\u2019re going and what we might want to communicate to him, her, or them.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Obviously, countless columnists (including me) have pontificated about how best to attend conventions. Comic-Con International itself has a tradition of providing guidelines. (Editor\u2019s note: We will have more stuff along these lines as we get closer to the show. Stay tuned to Toucan!)<\/em> Let\u2019s consider a plethora of comics-oriented activities that will let us squeeze those days (not just con trips).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In advance:<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re going to the comics shop, do you have your want list with you? Do you have a question to ask, a piece of news you\u2019re looking for, a specific person you hope to meet?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re going to a small show, have you figured out how much money you can afford to spend? Can you be flexible? Is there an advertised creator whose work you may have heard of but haven\u2019t fully investigated?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re going to Comic-Con, have you set aside preparation time to familiarize yourself with (a) the schedule and<\/em> (b) the scheduled guests? Given that, are you after information, an autograph, a photo\u2014or something more?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I should mention something that hadn\u2019t occurred to me until now (and that occurs to me now only because my son experienced a house break-in in 2012). Do you have (and carry with you) a list of serial numbers of the electronics (including cameras) you intend to take? (Digressing here for a moment: While you\u2019re at it, have you maintained a list of serial numbers of your household<\/em> electronics?) Such items are often being recovered these days, when the owner has available a record of the information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you\u2019re in the midst of works in progress (including the flash memory card in your camera and electronic documents on your iPad): Have you backed up whatever\u2019s on your portable devices before you leave? (A memory card I was using went berserk at a show and destroyed hundreds of photos that will never be seen again. And, yes, I did<\/em> pay a restoration service to try to recover them. \u201cBerserk\u201d in this case meant<\/em> \u201cberserk.\u201d)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Would you have recognized Frank Miller as he appeared in 1982? Con attendees change over the years.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
At the event:<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s where the whole \u201csqueeze the day\u201d attitude comes in. You\u2019ve already<\/em> seized the day, because you\u2019ve left home to get where you are. You may have prepared carefully\u2014or you may have stopped by the event on a whim. In any case, the idea here is to get the most you can from where you are and what you\u2019re doing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Activate your peripheral attention. At a Chicago Comicon in the 1980s, someone complained to Don and me that Frank Miller had been advertised as a guest but that he was nowhere to be found. We suggested that the fan check out the central courtyard by the swimming pool, where Frank had been sitting for most of the day. Keep your eyes open; more than once at Comic-Con, I\u2019ve seen Stan Lee without an entourage, just cheerily hanging out at a hotel near the show.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Once you\u2019ve spotted someone you want to approach (especially a well-known professional), what works? What will give you a happy memory instead of a cringing desire to forget? I repeat what I\u2019ve written many times before: When you have nothing more to say than a compliment, that\u2019s sufficient, but the conversation ends with \u201cYou\u2019re welcome.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you admire a creator, chances are that you have a question about something that he or she has produced; if you have the opportunity, do say, \u201cThank you,\u201d but follow that with your question. You might<\/em> just get an answer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

(Despite my own sage advice, mind you, I\u2019ve more than once found myself simply babbling in admiration. I told Joss Whedon I loved his work. I told Frank Frazetta he was great. I told Jim Dale I\u2019d enjoyed his performances as far back as the \u201cCarry On\u201d movies\u2014to which he responded, \u201cHow old are<\/em> you?\u201d After nearly 60 years of con-going, I also have to realize there will be times I don\u2019t take my own advice.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

By the way, realize that, especially for actors, a convention appearance is part of the job, and their being nice doesn\u2019t mean the person is your new best friend. And sometimes celebrities are stuck with being in public while they\u2019re just trying to get on with life. It\u2019s a bad idea to intrude at inappropriate times.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Don\u2019t take it personally if a celebrity can\u2019t schmooze. At Comics Buyer\u2019s Guide<\/em>, we made it a point to edit out complaints from letters writers who griped that some pro or other was unfriendly. It\u2019s true that pros come to a convention for a variety of reasons, including self-promotion\u2014but complicating factors may impinge on public relations. An artist may have the flu or conflicting appointments or any number of other impediments. Look at the entire<\/em> situation. Is the pro trying to get to the restroom? Recalling another Frank Miller experience: At one Comic-Con, Frank had made it a point to attend despite the fact that he had just had a death in his family. Having promised to attend, he had kept to his commitment\u2014but, because of emotional overload, he also had to limit the number of events in which he could participate.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
Nick Cardy<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Getting out and about is always preferable to withdrawing from activities. At the end of a Comic-Con years ago, Don and I were exhausted and talked about winding up the show by crashing in our hotel room and ordering room service. But, hey, we might miss something\u2014so we opted to go to the hotel restaurant for its Sunday-night meal. Only one other couple was in the restaurant. \u201cWere you here for the convention?\u201d they asked. We said we had been. So they asked us to join them, and we had a lovely evening with Don and Norma Martin.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At another convention, I\u2019d gone out to dinner with Kurt and Ann Busiek, and when we returned to the hotel we met Nick Cardy in the lobby. He asked whether we\u2019d had dinner\u2014and, though I didn\u2019t need more food, it was an opportunity not to be missed. So My Dinner #2 was with Nick: the first time we\u2019d met, a thrill I still remember, and the beginning of yet another wonderful friendship.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Always be ready to take advantage of unexpected opportunities. Among the attractions of the 2003 Dragon*Con in Atlanta was the appearance of many members of the cast of Buffy the Vampire Slayer<\/em>. The setting for cast signings was, unfortunately, not sufficient for the number of attendees who yearned for an individual moment with the admired performers. The signing area was in the dealers\u2019 room, and the dealers\u2019 room itself had to be closed at one point because of the crowd. I\u2019d have loved to have my own one-on-one moment with the stars, but I also had little desire to contend with the crush, so I gave up and went on to enjoy the (many) other entertainments.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"
You can use what’s available when it comes to autographs.<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

You can use what’s<\/p>\n\n\n\n

available when it<\/p>\n\n\n\n

comes to autographs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The last day of the show featured a final (delightful) Buffy<\/em> panel for questions from the audience, and following that, the con was winding down. As I drifted through the dealers\u2019 room one last time, a crowd handler pointed at me and said, \u201cYou\u2019re the last in line.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

And there I was: the last in a relatively short line of people who were grabbing those final moments to talk with performers who had entertained us. However, the handler also announced that James Marsters had no photos left, so we should provide our own autograph material. I had nothing, so I pulled out my spiral-bound notebook. After all, I was paying for the opportunity to ask him about the Dark Horse comic book he\u2019d written\u2014not really for his autograph. But the woman sitting next to him looked up at me, as Marsters talked to the person in front of me. \u201cYou want him to sign your notebook?\u201d \u201cI don\u2019t have anything else,\u201d I said. She smiled. \u201cHow about your membership badge?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Think on your feet, folks! I was able to ask him about his comic book work\u2014and get that autograph!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We are lucky folks. We get to go to events that let us interact with people we admire, collect things that we treasure, and share those things with others!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A final reminder:<\/strong><\/h6>\n\n\n\n

Keep that peripheral vision active. Let me share an anecdote from the 2011 Friends of Old Time Radio convention. U.S. Handball Association Hall of Famer Stuffy Singer attended the convention as one of a number of former Old Time Radio professionals. (As a young voice artist, he was heard in entertainments as varied as The Jack Benny Program<\/em> and Walt Disney\u2019s Peter Pan<\/em>.) On one of the FOTR panels, he spoke of an experience he\u2019d had while dining with three other men at New York City\u2019s Carnegie Deli in 1971. The four had been brought together because of the Frazier-Ali boxing bout, but the other three were friends who didn\u2019t know or pay much attention to Singer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

As they were eating, another man in the restaurant approached Singer. \u201cSnapping his fingers, he goes, \u2018I know<\/em> you!\u2019 and he\u2019s pointing at me<\/em>, and he says, \u2018Stuffy . . . you came through [Akron] and you put on a clinic and an exhibition. If I could get your autograph and take it to these guys . . . \u2019 He said Akron would just come apart. And there\u2019s dead silence from the other three.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Singer signed the autograph, and the man turned around and left, never noticing the other three sitting at the table. They were Alan King, Burt Lancaster, and Frank Sinatra. \u201cSinatra,\u201d concluded Singer, \u201clooks at the other two and he says, \u2018Well, I guess that\u2019s what happens when you\u2019re famous.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s my final tip: Squeeze the day by paying attention to as much as you can. You may come across a treat that others are missing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Maggie’s World appears the first Tuesday of every month on <\/em>Toucan!<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

\n

Written by<\/p>\n\n\n

Maggie Thompson<\/div>\n\n\n

Published<\/p>\n\n\n