Geek Week

hollywood nerd

Posted by Jack Conway on Friday, July 20th, 2007

This is a true, drawn-out tale of a magical Wednesday and a sobering Thursday. Basically, a long story that explains what it’s like to be a huge nerd, and live in the entertainment capitol of the world.

Wednesday is Comic Book Day, and what basically keeps me going every week. I can’t really afford my comics habit, and usually over half the books I buy really let me down, but if I didn’t have that Wednesday trip to the shop, I’d be one seriously emo dude. A friend at work, Jenny, used to go with me to the shop, or at least print out the comics coming out that week and go down the list with me of “must haves” and “might flip throughs”. We’d meet at a desk and use highlighters and look really official, and when people asked what we were doing we’d look really grim, like the fate of our company depended on what we were doing. When in fact I had just highlighted “Great Lakes Initiative and Deadpool Summer Special”. Anyway, she quit two weeks ago, so even my Wednesdays aren’t quite as super-fun as they used to be.
So this Wednesday the 17th I snuck out to the shop closest to my work in Hollywood, Golden Apple Comics. Golden Apple is huge. I almost feel guilty shopping there, as I know the 3 or 4 strip mall comic shops on my way home really need my business, Golden Apple always has whatever you’re looking for, plus 20 other things you can’t afford but must have. So I leave Jenny a message about how she’s a doodoo head for leaving and I’m getting comics without her and she’s stinky. (I miss Jenny. Don’t tell her)
I get to the shop and grab all my books but one is missing, Gargoyles. So I go to the section set aside for kids comics and Manga (mostly Tokoyo Pop stuff, not REAL real manga) and I’m looking and looking. This guy is kind of in my way and I’m trying to dodge around him and we’re doing that weird “I don’t know what I’m looking for but I’m pretty sure you’re standing right in front of it” dance and I actually get a good look at the guy.

It’s Samuel L. Jackson

Okay, so that’s weird. Didn’t see that one coming. Now, I still want to find my comic. But I don’t want it to look like I’m orbiting because he’s…HIM! A girl that works there swings by and says “need anything, Sam?” and he says “Just catchin’ up on my manga.”

Samuel Jackson is catching up on his manga. heh. Wrap your head around that.

Anyway, I get the rest of the stuff I need and humor two or three stupid things I could say to him or see if he’d autograph a copy of Ultimates or something, and I decide that’s just dumb, he just wants his comics, I’m out of there.

As I’m leaving I remember there’s this awesome little art gallery next to the comic shop. I’m not… an art guy. My Mom was an art teacher, I know the classics, but I’m a nerd. I’d rather play Mario Kart. Well, I love this gallery because their last show just so happened to be art about video games.
So I pop in to see what the new subject is. The gallery is small, like the size of a restaurant in a mall food court, let’s say. 3 walls of art, plus a divider in the middle with art on each side. I go straight to the first wall and look at the first piece there and the subject is Donnie Darko. OH YEAH! The show is about Cult Films. The next piece I see is a painting of Jay and Silent Bob, and there are plenty of those as the show’s being supported by Kevin Smith and I have to assume half the artists knew that painting him would sort of give them a leg-up on the display side of things. I’m not a Kevin Smith fan. I was, I’m not. I don’t want to have a big blog thing about it, his films just don’t connect with me after Mallrats. His “Evening with Kevin Smith” stuff is pretty funny and I think he’s a great public speaker, but I’d much rather have lunch with him than sit through one of his movies. ANYWAY, by the third Jay and Silent Bob painting, I’m literally sighing and shaking my head back and forth. And as I’m in mid head-swing I see someone over to my right.

Oh, hi, it’s Kevin Smith.

And for some reason, at that moment, he’s looking at me.
I kinda nod, he kinda nods, goes over to talk to well-wishers.

So, okay, that was a little embarrassing. But then I realize someone should probably tell Kevin Smith that Samuel L Jackson is next door. It’s not going to be me, I was just spotted grimacing at Kevin’s visage. Then Kevin disappears into the back room of the gallery. Oh well, guess it isn’t happening. Door to gallery dings, in walks Samuel L Jackson.

My God. He’s following me. He must know me from Geek-Week. Maybe he wants an autograph. How awkward, I hope he doesn’t ask me “How’s Thor” or something dumb.

Okay okay, so Sam actually just came to see the art, but we seemed to keep crossing paths, it was weird. No, I didn’t really talk to him. We nodded and grunted at some of the same art side by side, that’s about it.

So I left, called Jenny and left another message to make her really jealous. Called my girlfriend and everyone else I could think of. No, it’s not that interesting of a tale because it’s not like I actually INTERACTED with any of them, I was just sort of in the same room.

Thursday:
There’s a MySPace bulletin from Tim Seeley of the comic Hack/Slash (I love this comic. Either you do or you don’t. It’s a simple pleasure and I convert everyone I can to this series) Anyway, I reply to Seeley’s post about art he’s putting on eBay and he replies to me. We go back and forth and it ends with him saying he’s going to ComicCon and since I offered to by him a drink at the Tiki bar next door he’ll draw a picture on a napkin for me or something.
I am ECSTATIC.
I print out the page that shows him saying this so I can have this in writing.
I leave work early so I can go home and show my girlfriend said page, after stopping to brag to my buddy at work who I also got into the series.

When I tell my girlfriend about this she she says “didn’t you see Samuel Jackson and Kevin Smith yesterday?”
Me: Huh? Yeah. Oh yeah, I guess so. But this is Tim SEELEY! Of Hack/Slash!!

We then had a conversation about what a reverse fanboy I am. There’s some better phrase for it, I’m sure. If Robert DeNiro asks me for a light, I’ll find fire somewhere, give him a light, and walk away. If Jim Cummings, the voiceover actor that did Darkwing Duck (and a schmillion others) approached me and asked for directions, I would FREAK OUT on him. Actually I would just be nervous and stupid and probably talk too loud.
I guess it’s all amatter of perspective. There are really really famous people that I have seen/bumped into/actually had conversations with in this town, and I forget the next day. But if master artist Arthur Adams shows up at the next table at California Pizza Kitchen, LOOK OUT!