I arrived on Wed afternoon and made my way to the apartment which was just around the corner from the Louvre. The ladies were out but after about thirty minutes of 'uh-oh, they did remember I was coming today, right?' they returned from shopping and I got to look around inside the place we were staying. Very nice and a good locale - a few minutes away from the Metro and any number of sites to take in. Later in the evening we took a walk down through the Louvre gardens and down towards the Seine and the Quai de la Tournelle where much of the Highlander series was shot. As always my camera was surgically attached and I managed to get some great shots.
The actual Comic-Con event was interesting. Imagine two Wembleys full of people who looked as if they'd been caught in an explosion between Twilight, Pokemon and a Klingon war party. I haven't seen that much rubber and fur since... well, I'm not saying. I've spent years telling people cons are are more subdued, intelligent and snae than the press often promotes, however this event flies in the face of those denials. Over 160,000 people over four days and with outside temperatures regularly hitting 90+ made for... interesting times.The HL gang were all on good form and did signings and panels for much of the four days - generally all in good spirits. At some points they had to battle against some poorly-thought-out scheduling from the organisers/schedulers ( I mean, who puts a talking panel next to a weird Japanese musical outfit shouting to their crowd and playing instruments at top volume?) but the Highlander talks and War of the Worlds anime panel proved a success. I also managed to spend some time with Leinil Francis Yu, who is illustrating Mark Millar's new Superior project and we'll be sorting some coverage of that in the near future. He also gave me a limited edition sketchbook of his designs which is now autographed and being kept safe. Thanks to Mark who puts us in contact.
On Friday night we all went out for dinner (secretly to surprise Carmel with a birthday meal) and somehow I ended up being the one entertaining Lizzie's little daughter and friend the most. Is there no beginning to my talents?Paris isn't cheap, but I love the city. Everyone looks as if they're deeply in love and not afraid to show it and while I'm usually happy to shlub around in whatever I have to wear, there's also something to be said for dressing up and feeling great. I'd hoped I could get Jilly across for her birthday this summer, but hope to take her there when she can get across early next year.
But for now - after flying home on Monday - it's just back to deadlines and chasing the cheques and plotting for HLWW. ;)
C'est la vie.
