"Marvelous" Mike Coppola
"Terrific" Taimur Dar
Featuring Capital One Banks*CBL "Disclaimers Look Cool" Disclaimer*
From the secret files of the C.B.L., finally comes the shocking truth behind the events of June 13th, 2009 –a covert distribution of copies of Bags and Boards Issue #4, “Spring Slaughterfest”, at the Big Apple Con…
Hey Leaguers and Leaguettes!
On a typically unassuming Saturday morning, two members of the group formerly known as Bags and Boards, “Terrific” Taimur the Sub Mariner and the ever lovin’ blue-eyed Mike (yours truly), launched a secret operation to inconspicuously attend the Big Apple Con at the Hotel Pennsylvania, where they would:
Buy comics and comic related merchandise
Meet writers/artists
And most importantly: spread the “word” –the word of “Spring Slaugtherfest”, which is, to date, known as the greatest comic published by the Comic Book League --that is, until the release of the highly anticipated yet-to-be-titled Comic Book League Issue #5 –hitting the greater New York area this December, pre-order now…which essentially boils down to asking the League to hold an issue aside, but that’s beside the point…where was I?
Oh! After investigating the 12th floor and disposing of a focused non-terminal repeating phantasm, or what they refer to as a Class 5 full roaming vapor (real nasty one, too), our heroes tried to gain entrance to the Con, but lo and behold, the dynamic duo were stuck in a rut! What could possibly put the comic-filled extravaganza on hold? Well, since Mike registered for the event late, he would not be allowed admission until after 2:00 –almost 2 hours later, but being men of action (and little patience), our heroes launched into action to correct the egregious error…
And about 10 to 15 minutes later, they found a local Capital One Bank and made their way inside in hopes of finding a copy machine. Using their superior wit, charm, and +10 charisma, the bright young fellows were able to get a pleasantly nice employee of the bank to make a copy of Taimur’s admittance flyer (after she stared at us strangely for a few moments) and things were back on track.
It was time to finally make way and actually enter the convention floor, which was filled with numerous back issues, trade paperbacks, boot leg DVDs, action figures, and whole lot of other stuff that one would usually find at a comic book convention (except for back issues of “Umbrella Academy: Dallas”…hurm).
They quickly made their way into the “Special Guests” room, and nestled in between random independent circuit wrestlers, washed-up reality show stars, and aged actors with past roles as ancillary background figures in science-fiction movies, was Dan Slott…that’s right, Dan Slott, the super talented scribe behind the Mighty Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man (as part of the Spidey-Brain Trust)(not to mention having written the awesomely good Marvel “Ren & Stimpy” comic back in the day…I still cherish those few tattered issues I have…)
Anyway, our heroes talked with Mr. Slott for who knows how long, because he was (and is) so damn interesting and funny, talking about his love of X-Box Live, Canadian snack foods, and sharing numerous anecdotes about his experiences in the comic book industry and working at Marvel.
They even showed Mr. Slott a copy of the “Spring Slaughterfest” and even though he declined to take a photo or endorse the comic (though, he did say this off the record: “Its ink on paper!”) he did praise the League’s efforts and said “This is how JMS writes his dialogue balloons” when reading through “Jack Krieger, Agent of T.O.R.C.H.” (for those few uninformed, JMS is J. Michael Straczynski, the current writer for “Thor” and a major figure in the Marvel bullpen…I won’t go into his Faustian deals with Mephisto and Aunt May today). He even likened “Everybody’s Got a Laughing Place” to one of the very first comics he and a friend put together.
The Leaguers even got a new minute out of their time spent with Mr. Slott:
12:50 Met the TRUE voice of Paris Hilton. “The TRUE voice of Paris Hilton is not a skinny blonde lady, but a forty something angry black male” (This is really quoted from a guy we met while talking with Dan Slott…he is a former colleague of Mr. Slott’s who currently does the design labels for Ms. Hilton’s clothing line).
Then it was time for the panel, which in the interest of simplicity, I’ll just post links to a 7 part series:
Hey Leaguers and Leaguettes!
On a typically unassuming Saturday morning, two members of the group formerly known as Bags and Boards, “Terrific” Taimur the Sub Mariner and the ever lovin’ blue-eyed Mike (yours truly), launched a secret operation to inconspicuously attend the Big Apple Con at the Hotel Pennsylvania, where they would:
Buy comics and comic related merchandise
Meet writers/artists
And most importantly: spread the “word” –the word of “Spring Slaugtherfest”, which is, to date, known as the greatest comic published by the Comic Book League --that is, until the release of the highly anticipated yet-to-be-titled Comic Book League Issue #5 –hitting the greater New York area this December, pre-order now…which essentially boils down to asking the League to hold an issue aside, but that’s beside the point…where was I?
Oh! After investigating the 12th floor and disposing of a focused non-terminal repeating phantasm, or what they refer to as a Class 5 full roaming vapor (real nasty one, too), our heroes tried to gain entrance to the Con, but lo and behold, the dynamic duo were stuck in a rut! What could possibly put the comic-filled extravaganza on hold? Well, since Mike registered for the event late, he would not be allowed admission until after 2:00 –almost 2 hours later, but being men of action (and little patience), our heroes launched into action to correct the egregious error…
And about 10 to 15 minutes later, they found a local Capital One Bank and made their way inside in hopes of finding a copy machine. Using their superior wit, charm, and +10 charisma, the bright young fellows were able to get a pleasantly nice employee of the bank to make a copy of Taimur’s admittance flyer (after she stared at us strangely for a few moments) and things were back on track.
It was time to finally make way and actually enter the convention floor, which was filled with numerous back issues, trade paperbacks, boot leg DVDs, action figures, and whole lot of other stuff that one would usually find at a comic book convention (except for back issues of “Umbrella Academy: Dallas”…hurm).
They quickly made their way into the “Special Guests” room, and nestled in between random independent circuit wrestlers, washed-up reality show stars, and aged actors with past roles as ancillary background figures in science-fiction movies, was Dan Slott…that’s right, Dan Slott, the super talented scribe behind the Mighty Avengers and Amazing Spider-Man (as part of the Spidey-Brain Trust)(not to mention having written the awesomely good Marvel “Ren & Stimpy” comic back in the day…I still cherish those few tattered issues I have…)
Anyway, our heroes talked with Mr. Slott for who knows how long, because he was (and is) so damn interesting and funny, talking about his love of X-Box Live, Canadian snack foods, and sharing numerous anecdotes about his experiences in the comic book industry and working at Marvel.
They even showed Mr. Slott a copy of the “Spring Slaughterfest” and even though he declined to take a photo or endorse the comic (though, he did say this off the record: “Its ink on paper!”) he did praise the League’s efforts and said “This is how JMS writes his dialogue balloons” when reading through “Jack Krieger, Agent of T.O.R.C.H.” (for those few uninformed, JMS is J. Michael Straczynski, the current writer for “Thor” and a major figure in the Marvel bullpen…I won’t go into his Faustian deals with Mephisto and Aunt May today). He even likened “Everybody’s Got a Laughing Place” to one of the very first comics he and a friend put together.
The Leaguers even got a new minute out of their time spent with Mr. Slott:
12:50 Met the TRUE voice of Paris Hilton. “The TRUE voice of Paris Hilton is not a skinny blonde lady, but a forty something angry black male” (This is really quoted from a guy we met while talking with Dan Slott…he is a former colleague of Mr. Slott’s who currently does the design labels for Ms. Hilton’s clothing line).
Then it was time for the panel, which in the interest of simplicity, I’ll just post links to a 7 part series:
On their way out of the “Guest” area and the panel room, the duo found the perfect place to distribute the “Spring Slaughterfest” –a table filled with free merch. Well, it didn’t take long for our guys to slip in a stack of their own comics on the end of the table and the mission officially became a success when they passed by later and found the issues gone…a clear indication of fan interest.
After spending time perusing the back issues and discussing the finer points of “Doctor Strange” and “Deadpool Vol. 1”, the “Marvelous” team up suddenly turned into a spectacular cross-over event when “Phenomenal” Phil Molnar aka the Humorous Torch entered the fray (bet you didn’t see that plot twist coming, did you?!). Of course, then it was non-stop excitement, thumbing through thousands of back issues, and finding a few diamonds in the rough: “Captain America”, “Ren & Stimpy”, even an old “Marvel Team Up” featuring new Sorcerer Supreme Brother Voodoo and the Thing, and a sweet “Thor” t-shirt. Phil, being amazing as usual, even brought more issues of “Spring Slaughterfest” to put up for distribution.
While not nearly being a massive Herculean effort as the publicly lauded “Publication Dayz”, the “Secret Dayz” project demonstrated the effectiveness of undercover Leaguers in a large public gathering, being able to spread the “word” to big wigs like Dan Slott as well as everyday fans…using a fun day with friends at a comic convention as cover wasn't a bad idea either
And remember Leaguers and Leaguettes:
Every morning, put on a pair of pants and shoes –it helps your work ethic.
Always be kind to bankers –you never know when you’ll need ‘em (besides, y'know, banking). Babies solve all your work problems –ask Sean Chen and Jamal Igle.
And finally, God bless banks, Dan Slott, and pants. *Transmission Closed*
I have been laughing for close to 15 minutes. I then tried to read some of it to the Ghana students...they didn't get.
ReplyDeleteMake Mine Marvel,
+10 charisma person/Humorous Torch