Summer Shakespeare and a Final Comic-Con Callback

A Return to Theaters

Yesterday night, we went to a showing of Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. It was part of a summer-long weekly Steven Spielberg film retrospective at our local theater in Culver City—we missed Raiders of the Lost Ark last week, but plan to see Last Crusade next week, which concludes the series.

Like many people, Temple of Doom is my least favorite of the Indiana Jones films. Though I love the opening Busby Berkeley-inspired musical number and the terrific action sequence that immediately follows (which has a very strong Terry and the Pirates flavor to it), I had not seen the movie in its entirety beyond those opening scenes in many years. I primarily went to accompany my wife who really wanted to see it and ended up really enjoying it. Seeing it on the big screen with a nearly full house made it great fun. (Our 19 year old son also accompanied us—he’s seen the movie too but never in a theater.)

As you’ll see in the photos, people even came in cosplay as Indiana Jones and other characters! They all gathered in the lobby afterwards—one even came dressed as Shia LeBeouf’s Mutt character in his Marlon Brando-inspired The Wild One leather biker outfit, though I didn’t take a photo.

I assume showing films in repertory has been a success because the theater is now running several retrospectives concurrently. A few weeks ago, we saw Babe as part of a weekly family summer film series and watched The Iron Giant as part of the same series a few weeks before. Both screenings were also well attended. A horror film series, presumably in the run up to Halloween, kicks off shortly with Sam Raimi’s Army of Darkness. I should add these films are also at reduced prices—the family films were only $5.99/ticket while last night’s film was only $8.99/ticket (it’s reserved seating and they don’t even charge an online service fee!). Showing familiar classic films that people have a fondness for may be a way to get people back in the theater.

By the way, I had forgotten how intense and scary both Temple of Doom and Babe can be for younger audiences—during both films, in the middle of the show, I noticed that some families with young children left the theater.

I particularly look forward to a 100 Years of MGM retrospective that kicks off in September—it includes, of course, The Wizard of Oz, Gone With the Wind and Singing in the Rain, but also 2001: A Space Odyssey, as well as A Night of the Opera, Shaft and others. (I’ve seen all these films theatrically, including 2001 in 70 mm). I remarked on how I’d like to see Singing in the Rain and 2001—my wife initially said she wasn’t interested in the latter, but changed her mind when she saw the trailer for it that screened before Temple of Doom, because it’s so beautifully shot! What particularly makes the venue ideal for the series is because the old MGM Studios (now Sony) lot is in Culver City as well, just down the street from the theater.

This local theater is a multiplex that was once an ArcLight. It went dark during the pandemic when ArcLight declared bankruptcy, but was purchased by Amazon Studios, which is next door to the property at the historic Culver Studios, in downtown Culver City. The theater is on a promenade next to one of the studio’s entrances. Though owned by Amazon, the theater still screens first-run theatrical films, though I’ve occasionally noticed special events and screenings there. Indeed, the 2022 West Coast red carpet premiere for Amazon’s Rings of Power series was held there, when the theater was technically still closed—we saw the temporary red carpet area they had set up, which included the Prime Video logo over the top of the theater entrance (see accompanying photo). I thought it was going to be a permanent fixture of the renamed theater, but the next time I was there, it was gone, so I guess it was just temporary for the purpose of the event. The venue is now simply the Culver Theater, though it is indeed owned by Amazon.

Below are two photos from 2022 of the ArcLight Theatre in Culver City, which by this time had gone dark due to the pandemic, and had been purchased by Amazon Studios. Though the theater had not been re-opened, it was used for the West Coast red carpet premiere for the Amazon series, The Rings of Power.

Mock Corner Box Art

On a lark, I recently created several faux corner box art pieces for Rob Hanes Adventures...

They're inspired, of course, by the iconic corner box art that used to be a standard part of Marvel Comics' cover designs from the 1960s through the '90s, as seen below.

I recently created a new promotional image of Rob (seen in the third box above) and realized I've had several of these over the years and thought it would be fun to use them in creating corner box art of my own.

Legacy Theaters

Shortly before heading off to the San Diego Comic-Con, I heard the news that two classic movie houses in L.A. closing down at the end of that week: the Village Theatre and the Bruin Theatre, which both opened in the late 1930s. They’re classic movie palace theaters—they even have balcony seating (I remember seeing The Killing Fields in the balcony of one of the theaters, in a packed house.) The weekend before, we saw Twisters at the Bruin, which I guess is the last movie that played in that theater.

The theaters are across the street from each other in Westwood Village, just across the street from the UCLA campus. I’ve gone to those theaters since the 1980s, since that's where I went to college. Westwood was a real hotspot for young people and cruising during the ‘80s. As recently as a few years ago, the theaters were popular sites for red carpet movie premieres, such as the 1989 film, Batman, where I saw it opening weekend. I saw Blade Runner in one of those theaters too, along with many others.

During that era through the ‘90s, I often spotted celebrities walking up the street to attend a premiere at one of the theaters or just out and about, such as Pierce Brosnan and Sean Connery on two separate occasions. I bumped into James Woods twice on the street (while actor Jon Lovitz walked by) and in the restroom at the Village. Another time, Billy Crystal, Jane Seymour and Lou Ferrigno were at the same movie showing within a few rows of me. I sat behind Bill Campbell and Jennifer Connelly at another show, shortly after their film The Rocketeer had been released. 

The Bruin was recently prominently featured in Quentin Tarantino’s Once Upon A Time…in Hollywood. In fact, I made a point to watch that film there. When the theater was revealed during the movie in a drone shot, the audience laughed and applauded.

The Village actually was recently purchased by a long list of Hollywood players led by director Jason Reitman. It is being refurbished and will re-open to play first-run films and repertory programming. The future of the Bruin remains unclear, though like the Village, it is designated an L.A. historic landmark.

A few years ago, UCLA purchased an abandoned movie theater not too far from these theaters, renovated it into a performance arts theater, and renamed it the Leonard Nimoy Theatre. I wonder had the Bruin been up for sale earlier would it have been purchased by UCLA at the time; or whether that’s potentially in the cards in the future.

SDCC 2024 Post Mortem

Below is my annual report of the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con, held July 25–28, 2024. Or go straight to the photo gallery.

In terms of crowds, the 2024 San Diego Comic-Con felt like a return to form. The show is always crowded, but this year it felt moreso, even on my end of the floor in the Small Press. With the release of milestone issue 25 of Rob Hanes Adventures, sales were strong and steady, though 2022’s show—the first “regular” Comic-Con after the pandemic—remains my best year ever. Indeed, there seems to be an inversion law: whenever there is a level of buzz and activities outside of comics that excites and draws the crowds, that seems to slightly depress sales (at least for me).
Aside from the usual mix of longtime fans and supporters picking up the new issue and new people discovering the series, there seemed to be more than the usual number of memorable highlights for me at this show compared to years past.

The only negative note was that, for some reason, my Square app for taking credit card payments was sketchy the entire weekend—I believe it was due to a combination of both the app and poor data coverage. (I should add that I’ve been at this booth location for more than a decade and taken credit card payments on my mobile device even longer, and never before experienced such a chronic problem.) I even lost one sale though that buyer graciously returned on the last day, when the sale went through fortunately.

Sales of Original Art
Another boost to the bottom line was the sale of original art. While I have periodically sold pieces over the years, they tended to be more expensive cover art. Prior to the show, for the first time, I considered preparing and selling affordable sketches. So I did a few and brought them along, including a Will Eisner Spirit piece I had done earlier this year. I always exhibit my original art at my table and, without any signs or fanfare, displayed the sketches too. Several of them ended up being sold, along with a couple of original covers as well! In the future, I plan to include more sketches among sold items.

Catching Up with Friends and Colleagues
Even before Comic-Con kicked off with Preview Night on Wednesday evening, it started on a high note when I was on line at midday to pick up my professional guest badges. When I got on line, actor, screenwriter and comedian Thomas Lennon—who co-hosted the Eisner Awards this year as he has done a few times now—got on line behind me with a small group of companions. I didn’t bother him, but a few days later during the show, he walked by my booth. I mentioned I was a fan and handed him one of my comics (my Hollywood issue, as it happens, as that seemed apropos). He was delighted to receive it and when I asked if I could take a photo, he insisted on taking a selfie with me (see photos!).

While on that line, I also said hi and chatted a bit with TwoMorrows publisher John Morrow, and met and struck up a conversation with comics artist and writer Jimmy Palmiotti, who could not have been nicer. Then, when returning to my hotel to check in, I bumped into fellow cartoonist Andrew Pepoy in the lobby! We have known each other for years—he is a true fan of comics art and history. He has had a small press table just one aisle over from me for a few years now.

Other highlights included noted graphic designer Chip Kidd making a beeline for my booth after he spotted my work while walking by. I didn’t realize it was Kidd until after we’d been talking for a few moments. He complimented me on my work before moving on.

I also met Japanese manga artist and character designer Hitoshi Ariga, a guest at this year’s show, who was awarded an Inkpot on Thursday. After returning from a break, I found him looking through my comics and he seemed enthused by it. We chatted a little through his interpreter. Later, I posted about the meeting with a picture of the two of us on social media, and received a complimentary retweet from him! That was truly a great honor.

With manga artist and character designer Hitoshi Ariga

Other industry people I saw and chatted with include Tom Mason, David Olbrich, Charles Hatfield, Rik Offenberger, Barbara Kesel, Chad Frye, Nat Gertler, Mark Fearing, Matthew Schofield, Bill Morrison, Scott Shaw!, David Rios, Lonnie Milsap, Don Nguyen, Christie Shinn, and Craig Miller. My dinner with Andrew Pepoy included John Lustig and David Lucarelli, and his companion Jules. (Apologies for any omissions in the above list!)

Comic-Con Fever
But the enthusiasm of the crowds couldn’t be denied. There definitely was palpable excitement in the room, driven of course by Hall H programming that was back in full force after being in hibernation in 2023 due to the Hollywood industry strikes. Marvel Studios, of course, drove much f this, particularly in the surprise and last minute panels for Deadpool and Wolverine and then The Fantastic Four, which of course included the films’ stars.

From my Small Press exhibitor’s booth, the floor seemed incredibly packed, right from the get-go on Wednesday’s Preview Night. The Small Press gets its share of traffic—I’m nearly catty corner from the Charles Shulz Peanuts’ booth which often has a long line for its exclusives that snakes in front of my booth. It was even worse in the middle of the hall, extending out to the south end, where Marvel, the streamers (Hulu, Netflix, Paramount), toys (Lego and Funko Pop), and entertainment companies (including DC/Sony) all sit. Artist’s Alley is on that end of the hall along with the illustrator, comics artists and original art booths. When I walked to that end on one of the afternoons of the show, it was sometimes shoulder to shoulder! (I should add that I usually wore a mask when I was out and about in crowds.)

Because my focus is on selling comics, my time on the floor is limited, which means I don’t attend many panels or make many purchases, if at all. But being a huge fan of the Beatles, I did attend a “50 Years of the Beatles in Comics” panel that was moderated by animation historian Jerry Beck and included as a panelist Bill Morrison. I later picked up Morrison’s Yellow Submarine adaptation at Andrew Pepoy’s booth, after it sold out at the publisher’s booth where Morrison did a signing. Other purchases included a Will Eisner Spirit artist’s edition book from a French publisher and the Kong Crew #1 from the Stuart Ng Books booth and More Movie Memories by Craig Miller, a follow up to his fun memoir, Star Wars Memories, which I purchased directly from the author. (Since reading the first book I’ve become acquainted with Miller since we learned we live on the same side of town!)

Extended Stay
For the first time ever, I also stayed two extra days in San Diego, arriving a day early for the convention on Tuesday and departing the following Monday morning.

My usual routine over the years has been to drive down early Wednesday morning (departing around 4:30 am, usually arriving right before 7 am when the floor opens to exhibitors for set up, in preparation for Preview Night that begins in the evening.

While that has always worked for me, arriving Tuesday afternoon made things a little less rushed and hectic, allowing me to drop off materials at my booth in advance, and have more relaxed time with family who also arrived early before the frenzy of the show began. And while I similarly never had an issue driving home Sunday evening after the show, staying over until Monday allowed me to have a nice (if expensive) breakfast at the hotel that morning (I was really craving pancakes). I checked out and departed San Diego around 10:30 a.m. and was home in two hours!

Anyway, 2024 is now on the books. On to ‘25!

Below are additional photos from the show. Or click here to see the full gallery.