Thanks to the Santa Monica Comics Co. for allowing me and a bunch of other creators to be part of the first Free Comic Book Day at their new store in West Los Angeles! I'm fortunate that the store is pretty much on my side of town since I live less than 5 miles away either by freeway or local streets. (I'm partly re-posting the store's post about the day because I ended up not taking many photos myself, aside from a video I posted yesterday—and I'm in one of the cover photos lol!) I had a lot of fun meeting great, interesting folks. One 11-year old bought a few issues that his dad first carefully leafed through—he wasn't harsh or anything, but he understandably wanted to make sure my comics were age appropriate. In fact, he specifically asked me whether there was any profanity or sex, and I assured him that the issues his son picked up did not have anything gratuitous. As a dad myself, I respected his due diligence lol.
I also met a gentlemen who was in town on business to find investors for his hedge fund who was staying in a hotel in Beverly Hills—but was also a good Catholic who attended my local church whenever he was in town (he asked if I might be there on Sunday, and I said, no, that's why I called him a "good Catholic" lol); a mother who bought my baseball issue because she loves the sport; and a long time comics fan who told me the story of losing what sounded like a prized childhood comics collection to water damage (yes, it was at painful as it sounds!) We had fun talking about the great artists of our youth, like John Buscema, John Romita (and John Romita, Jr.), Paul Smith, John Byrne, and titles like Creepy, Conan the Barbarian, X-Men, Fantastic Four, and more! He really knew his stuff.
A lot of people, of course, were locals—my first college apartment away from home was in this part of L.A., so I still know it fairly well and this occasionally came up in conversation, especially with somewhat famous University High School (or Uni High) nearby. Some of the people I met were either current students or graduates. (Given its location, many of its alumni were celebrities or their children—I know that comics and television writer Mark Evanier also graduated from Uni, and occasionally tells stories about his time there at his blog.)
The NuArt Theatre, an arthouse theater, is just down the street, and was a favorite haunt for friends and me when it was one of many revival houses in L.A. back in the 1980s and ‘90s. Another arthouse theater, the Laemmle, is even closer on the same street—I actually saw actor Leonard Nimoy there in the lobby during a showing of Kenneth Branagh’s film adaptation of Hamlet, and once ate next to Randy Newman at a sushi bar that used to be next door!
Anyway, it was a fun event in a part of town that has many great memories for me. This side of L.A. also is known for its Persian restaurants and businesses, and one of our favorite such restaurants is nearby, Javan. Afterwards, to reward myself after a long day (I pretty much skipped lunch), I stopped there for dinner to go since it was on the way! Next up for me is Comic Con Revolution - Ontario in a few weeks, May 16-17!
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