"California Dreamin’… "

By Tony Lee

So this week past I was in another country. In fact, I was in another world, because it sure as hell wasn’t the one I came back to. It was a world of beautiful people, of scantily clad maidens festooning flyers on a willing public, of corridors filled with Boba Fetts and Darth Vaders chatting about the most recent Padres game, and where fat women could walk around dressed like Wonder Woman and not be laughed at.

Okay, maybe a little.

I write this on a Friday, two, three days even after I returned home, and the jetlag still hurts. A week’s worth of no sleep and long nights followed by early mornings does not a good sleeping pattern make. My Livejournal was the first casualty in the war, succumbing on the fourth day to the lack of time you have to actually have to do anything apart from sell comics, walk around in crowds and network, network, network, baby. But I came, I saw, and sweetheart, I pretty much conquered. Every writer that comes back has their battle story, based on pitches made, contracts signed, comics agreed, or even of pitches lost, of comics rejected – like it or love it, San Diego is the place where dreams are firmly put on the shelf. It’s up to you to decide how far up they’re placed.

Me? I had a good San Diego, or ‘SDCC’ as it’s known. Following the last two years (the first year was very much getting known, last year was pitching to pretty much anyone who’d speak to me) I walked in with my eyes open and my sights set incredibly low. With Midnight Kiss and two of my collected Starship Troopers trades now out finally, Hope Falls out in November, Dodge & Twist out in the early part of 2008, Robin Hood – Outlaw’s Pride out around mid 2008 and a couple of other things (including this month’s (issue 25) Wallace & Gromit comic and next year’s Raven’s Gate) in the works, I knew that I didn’t need to push myself much this time. Sure, it’d be good to see people, but I could take it easy. Relax. Maybe even not attend on a day or two.

How wrong I was. Wednesday was the busiest I had ever seen it, if you’ve been before, think how busy the Friday usually is – that was preview night this year. And of course that meant that Friday was even busier. And over the weekend I had meetings arranged with DC, Vertigo, Imperium Comics, Marvel, Wildstorm, Image, BOOM!, Moonstone, Avatar, AiT/PlanetLar, Top Cow, IDW, The Pack and Dark Horse. Most of these were ‘catch up’ meetings. One or two were with a specific product in mind. Several of these I even found that I (and in a couple of occasions, they) couldn’t make the appointed time due to the fact that a usual five to ten minute walk was taking well over half an hour. And added to this I had ‘Group Editor’ work to do while there, including taking pitches from prospective creators and speaking to William West at Diamond, who (although we kept dancing around each other, and switching meetings at the last minute) is a bloody nice guy. In fact he’s on my big board of bloody nice people.

And of course as he’s directly involved in the distribution of Hope Falls? A little sucking up never hurt.

It was crazy. Meetings were delayed to later times because the crowds caused delays. And then those meetings were delayed to a later time. Sunday, my lightest day turned into a long line of meetings, starting the moment the doors opened at 10am and ending an hour before closing at 5pm – the only time all convention that I was pretty much able to go shopping.

But that said, there was always time to talk to people on the con floor, albeit briefly, and mostly by chance. I bumped into Joel ‘Tripwire’ Meadows looking incredibly British as he dragged a suitcase full of issues towards the 4000s. Mike Carey showed me the art to his US The Devil You Know. Mike Oeming explained that Mice were the new Ninjas. Kieron Gillen, Jamie McKelvie, Rantz Hoseley and Derek McCulloch created a corner of the Image booth that was impossible to pass without being forced to buy something. I caught Phil Hester in the DC booth and Joss Whedon the other side of the Image booth, talking to Ivan Brandon. I found Ben Templesmith two hours before the end of the convention, and once more our chance for a beer was scuppered. Dave Hine was found in a party. Frazer Irving was buying a hat with Fiona Staples. Mark Buckingham was waiting for a plane. I know I’m still forgetting people. The good thing about these cons is that if you know people, you’re never lonely.

They of course might be wishing you’d bugger off.

I met and drank with people I both respect and admire – Warren Ellis, Dave Lloyd, Kody Chamberlain and Joshua Fialkov – well, maybe not the last two, but I love PUNKS, and you should go buy it. After writing for Marvel on and off (and more off than on) for four years I finally got to shake Joe Quesada’s hand. I met my co-conspirator on Rough Trade, Michael Wilson – who’s also the Consulting Producer on Burn Notice. Michael’s a nice guy actually, totally unimposing, and totally not what I expected. And then he’ll lean forwards and you realise that under that shirt? He’s ripped. The guy could break you with his thumb.

I had drinks with Steve ‘All The Rage’ Saunders who, at his first ever San Diego could be seen either smiling with glee or twitching in a corner. I got to have a beer with Jacen Burrows, and with him beside me pitch Sh!ts and Giggles to William Christensen. I think he’s still laughing at me right now. And of course I got to spend a little time with two of the coolest guys on the planet – Larry Young and James Sime. Larry of course is printing Dodge & Twist, and had eight pages of art to show me. And it is beautiful. So, so beautiful. So much so that we had a lot of movie interest based on just these pages and a high concept – ‘Ocean’s 11 by Charles Dickens’.

James Sime of course owns the Isotope, one of the coolest comic shops on the planet.

I did signings and meetings, Trailer Park Of Terror had a great stand and I once more signed my issue while shouting at passers by, and I came to terms with Joe Gentile of Moonstone on a one-shot which will raise a few eyebrows when it’s announced, but should be funny as hell.

I went to parties. I left parties to go to other parties. I gatecrashed bars. I danced to ABBA at Dick’s Last Resort. I was refused a Strawberry Dicksickle. I sat outside the Hyatt with enthusiastic and still partying creators when the Hyatt kicked us all out at the end of the night. I stared at the sea by moonlight. I stared down at Petco Park drinking free beer at a showbiz party while fireworks exploded above me. I managed to have a not bad curry with rock god Jazan Wild and his gorgeous wife Sharon (and, living in Birmingham, England, known as one of the best ‘balti’ places on the planet) this was no mean feat. Jazan was showing me some of the work on his upcoming book Dandy. Should be interesting. There’s talk of a musical and everything.

And I had three of the best hotel roommates I could hope for in Sean ‘Dreah’ Dulaney, Chris ‘Lost Squad’ Kirby and Barry ‘Western Gothic’ Buchanan. Well, apart from Sean who snores so loudly that even with industry standard noise reducing earplugs in, I had to kick him awake on one night.

It was tiring. Damned tiring. Getting to sleep at 4am to get up at 8am for a breakfast meeting, followed by a non stop day til 3am followed by another breakfast meeting the following day is not a recipe for relaxation., my friends. Especially if you’re so busy you forget to keep hydrated. And worse – keep your salt levels up. I was a victim of this by the Friday, even though I was drinking iced waters – my salt levels were stupidly low.

SDCC is one of the few places in the world where you can meet someone, shake their hand and they don’t take offence that you’ve just wiped them with Germalene or some other hand cleanser. Everyone does it. It’s more a Hollywood greeting than the fake ‘air kiss’.

But did I enjoy it? Hell yes. And I’ve already started planning next years. Did I get work out of it? Well, last year I had loads of meetings and bar one aborted one shot (which may still happen) the only work I got last year was with the guy I didn’t have a meeting with. This year? Already I have the Moonstone gig. And I think Rough Trade has a home for early next year. I may be doing something with Fangoria Comics. I have invites to pitch for a couple of other big name licenses.

But the weirdest one? I was getting on the plane to leave San Diego and I note the guy in front of me hasn’t done up his backpack – and I see his tag – name, address etc. It’s Rod Espinosa of Antarctic Press.

Now Rod and I have a history – he was one of the first guys I ever pitched over four years back, and although things never happened, I’ve watched AP with interest over the last four years. So I introduce myself (we’d never met in person) and we chat about how strange it is to meet like this, how I’ve become a bigger name since then – he’s been watching my own rise, it seems – and we discuss the character that I’d pitched for all those years ago. But then we board the plane. I say my farewells, we do the pass a card game and I go to my seat, promising to email.

To find Rod is in the seat next to me.

So for the flight to LAX, we discuss this character. I suggest ways to make her less ‘Cartoon Network’ and more HBO. Rod agrees with me. By the end of the flight I have a solid invite to pitch a new miniseries.

Of course they’ll never agree it, but hell, it was fun to talk about and it passed the time. Rod’s already emailed me. Apparently they’re all very interested to see what I’ll do. That’s usually a recipe for disaster.

But San Diego is one of the few places that while you’re there you’re often hoping it’ll end soon. When you leave, you’re already wanting to come back. I hung out with groovy people, the nightlife was great with my aforementioned room mates and additional people like ENGINE moderators Rachel, Jessica and Maddie, the incredible Yishan Li. There are of course moments that will stick in my mind forever – Mike Oeming for example, trying to explain to people how my British accent will win over anyone, and proving this by bringing over the Zenescope Marketing Director – who happens to be Australian, and therefore immune to my dulcet tones.

That and the fact that I’d lost my voice a day earlier.

I had my ego moment too – on the Sunday while walking through the convention, I passed two Manga cosplayers (people who dress up like comic characters) and we did the thing that all people do here – you glance at the badge as you walk by. After all, you never know if this person is important or not. As I continue I hear one girl go ‘Oh my god! That’s the Midnight Kiss guy!’

I flush with pride for about three seconds before I hear the other one go ‘Yeah. That totally sucked.’

Of course, that wasn’t the only thing I’ve heard about me while I was at SDCC – I seem to have the reputation as ‘the amusing drunk Brit’. Several times I had reference made to a top hat; they even found me a tree to climb.

I know, I know – I’m a victim of my own self publicity. When I started back in comics, I realised I had to brand myself. I had to make sure that my name got around. That I was known by editors when I approached, and not for the wrong reasons.

I had to create a persona. Mainly an internet one, but a persona nevertheless.

Four years down the line, and I still have it. But sometimes it's a help, and sometimes it's a definite hindrance. I'm known as the 'top hat guy', even though I only ever wore that bloody thing one night out of fourteen hundred odd. And yes, for the record, I was incredibly drunk that night.

Don't get me wrong, I revel in the fact that with Dan Boultwood we're Two Drunk Guys In A Bar Productions. And yes, we have the top hats in the logo up above, but again, that's branding. Two Drunk Guys In A Bar Productions was named because on the night when we met, we were. Not that we must be every time we meet. At the Golden Champagne Glass Awards at Bristol in 2007, I only had one Jack Daniels and one Smirnoff Ice all night.

So I’m Tony Lee the amusing Drunk Brit which, although nice - wasn't exactly true. And to be honest, a lot of my ‘partying’ was quietly sitting with good company in the bar. I danced on no tables. I pulled no wacky pranks. Well, apart from convincing a Mexican restaurant that it was Barry Buchanan’s birthday. Sunday night I had some very good and relaxed chats with Dave Lloyd and Bob Wayne, people I look up to in the industry, who've been involved in making the industry. But that said, this was the first time I'd had a proper chat with either of them (bar brief ones at Bristol), and I wonder that if they hadn't believed my press, would they have drunk with me earlier?

I really wasn't the drunkard people expected, because I was too tired to be. But my internet persona said that I was. I'm the wacky drunk funster. And people said that I was in their blogs, because that was what was expected of them. That's what they saw when they looked at me, no matter how tired and sober I was.

So. I'm thirty seven years old and at a point in my life where my breakout year has started. But this persona? This persona could actually cost me jobs. What if an editor who doesn't know me thinks I am a drunken, gobby Brit?

(notice my point here is drunken, and not gobby. :-) )

Do I stick with the persona, or do I dump it? I can still drink with my friends when I want to, but I can sit in a quiet group and not be expected to be wacky, can't I?

Oh and don't get me wrong - I can be a total dick when I'm drunk. But then again, can't we all? And should I be basing a reputation on that?

What mask will I be wearing next San Diego? Only time can tell. This year I wore more shirts. Next year I might move onto suits.

But I’ll not be wearing Top Hats again…

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Dan was supposed to have his section here, but he’s had a bit of a bastard time of it recently. Unable to go to San Diego he’s been down working – and also had his car towed which apparently gave him a nightmare afternoon / evening as he chased around London trying to find it and pay a bill with money he didn’t have. So I’ve let him off this week. But in two weeks? We have Dan back. And, we’ll have something more to tell you – something exciting.

Talking of exciting, some people still haven’t heard the news and, even though I mention it above, I thought I’d mention it again. I’m doing a book called Rough Trade with Burn Notice’s Consulting Producer Michael Wilson, and art wunderkind Scott James. We should have more news as the months progress, but it’s basically the tale of a twenty year old con artist who specialises in identity theft going on the run with a burned out ex-spook, dropping off the grid as several agencies hunt for them both. We’re hoping to do it in a slimline format, and we should have previews and art and suchlike for you down the line.

In addition, people have seen this on my site –



- and no, I’m not telling yet. Suffice to say it’s a tale of Romeo and Juliet in modern day London, where the warring factions are the Yakuza and the Triad – but rather than idly wonder where their love will take them, our starstruck lovers decide instead to kill everyone with stolen Russian weaponry. Five, six issue of ultraviolence for an ADD audience. Oh, and pathos and plot and shit.

So that’s about it, really. Buy Wallace & Gromit #25, out in the UK this week, purely for my story. Unfortunately my two pagers were the only ones that made it – Where Beagles Dare was due to come out after the comic was cancelled. But I’m sure it’ll appear somewhere. It’s too good a title to lose.

Right. I’m off to put my top hat on, drink a barrel of rum and climb a tree. But hey, you expected that of me anyway…

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Tony Lee is the award-nominated writer of things including The Tizzle Sisters with G.P Taylor and Dan Boultwood, Starship Troopers, Doctor Who, X-Men, and Midnight Kiss. Later this year Tony has stories involving Wallace & Gromit and Shrek coming out. At the end of the year he hopes to have Dodge & Twist out by AiT/PlanetLar. In 2008 he has Robin Hood – Outlaw’s Pride with Sam Hart.

Michael Moorcock says that ‘Tony Lee is one of the best story-tellers working in comics today’. He drinks, though.

Dan Boultwood is the critically acclaimed artist of things including The Tizzle Sisters with G.P Taylor and Tony Lee, and both Monster Club and Comicana for APC.

Together they have written and drawn The Gloom (out later this year as a collected edition) and the upcoming Hope Falls, out in November from AAM/Markosia. The website is www.hope-falls.com.

Tony’s website is www.tonylee.co.uk. Feel free to email him and interrupt his day. But don’t expect a reply. Because he is drunk, gobby and most likely climbing foliage.

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© 2008, Tony Lee

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