I took the family today to the panel and the exhibit. I enjoyed the panel a lot but unfortunately Cheyl and Cami were hot and bored. Angela did okay but the panel did go on for about 90 minutes.
After the panel, we went to the exhibit. Diana Schutz was there! So I bought the Comic Book Apocalypse: The Graphic World of Jack Kirby and got in line to have her sign it to my buddy Mark. Diana was the fifth contributor at the signing. I thanked her for editing Stan Sakai and how much I enjoyed their work. She said she edited Stan for 17 years and when she got to issue 100, that meant something to her. She had never edited a comic for 100 issues before (and I assume, since). She said her assistant was now editing Stan and I said that Brendan had left. She gently corrected me, "Working there for so long, every one there was my assistant at some point."
. I showed her my Usagi watch and Scott Bukatman, Professor of Film and Media Studies at Stanford asked to see it. He said, "I was late to this (Usagi Yojimbo), but I have since devoured it all."
The best part for me was after I Introduced myself, Diana said she knew me from Facebook. That was nice. She also asked Cami if I had dragged her to the panel/show and Cami said, "Yes!" That was funny (and true) and Diana made Cami feel okay about not enjoying the long panel.
That was a thill to meet Diana and thank her for editing Usagi/Stan all those years. She reminded me of the Portland theater show in November. I told her I don't think I going to make the drive. She said plane tickets are not that expensive. Hmmmmmm. Now I have to think about that some more.
Thank you, Kyle, for letting me know about this exhibit. I the art was amazing. They had a original art from a whole issue of Thor and a full issue of Kamandi original art and pencils as well. Almost every period of Kirby art and creations were represented. It was an amazing collection. Go see it if you can.
But the unexpected thrill was being able to thank Diana for her work on Usagi. That is something I wanted to do but never thought our paths would cross. She was very happy and said she was enjoying her semi-retirement. What an awesome woman.
Peace, maka