Tag: Tori Amos

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Every year I think I’m ready for the Comic-Con crowds. And every year they astonish me. By the time I’ve gotten used to the crowd level from Thursday and Friday, it’s Saturday, and there are even more people.

Katie got up 2 hours before I did to make sure she got a spot in the Heroes line. She succeeded, and managed to get into the hall before I even made it to the convention center. Of course, that was in part because I wanted to grab cash, coffee, and a sandwich to hang onto for lunch before I got in. I think I stood in line for at least 10 minutes waiting for an ATM at a branch in the Gaslamp district. There were two machines, one of which was broken, and the two — just two — people ahead of me were both making deposits. And the machine was slow.

As for coffee, I figured I’d go to a Starbucks just because it was closer — but once I got to the nearest one, I realized I wasn’t far from an It’s a Grind. So I walked the two blocks, and passed another Starbucks on the way. 😕 So I grabbed coffee and something to eat, then spent at least 20 minutes at Subway. Then I had to wait for the trolleys so I could cross the tracks…

By the time I got to the convention center, they were letting the Hall H line in. It was running all through the park area at the end of the center, zig-zagging around, and reportedly went all the way to Seaport Village. Which doesn’t make sense, because IIRC Seaport Village is at the other end of the center, so maybe they were talking about the line for badge pickups?

I waited near the front, figuring I’d hand Katie her water bottle and crochet hooks on the way in, but then I asked one of the “Elite” staff when the line started moving — and it had been almost an hour earlier.

So I went back to Artist’s Alley to pick up that sketch from Todd Nauck. He was off doing a signing at the DC booth. So I went to the reservation desk to set up for dinner. Which took a while, since I went through the main floor, which was a very cattle-drive-like experience. At least my shoulders are starting to get used to the backpack again, though I’m starting to feel like I’m in that third-day convention haze. (Plus I had only a scone and coffee, instead of a full breakfast, which might have something to do with it.)

There are a lot more people in costumes here today. As expected, there are lots of Jokers this year — so many, in fact, that I’ve stopped paying attention to them except for the really good ones and the creative ones. I’ve seen at least two Nurse Jokers over the last few days, possibly three.

I’m waiting for the Tori Amos/Comic Book Tattoo panel now. I figured the line would be long, so I showed up about 45 minutes early, but it turned out they were letting people walk right into the Ralph Bakshi panel, so I wandered in, watched the end of it, then moved to a better seat at the break. The room’s packed, and there are about 10 minutes left before the panel. But I’m only 5 rows back, and a little off to the side, which is better seating than I’ve had at any of her concerts.

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First morning at Comic Con, we went to breakfast at Cafe 222. Harvey Dent would love this place — it’s 222 Island Ave., and it’s on the corner of Second Street. They have dishes like the Two Plus Two and the Two Plus Two +2. By the time we left, the line to get in was stretching at least 30 people. Great food, definitely recommended.

Arrived around 9:00 AM, about a half hour before the doors opened. I wanted to go straight for the Image booth for the tickets to the Tori Amos signing; Katie wanted to go straight for the Sci-Fi booth for the Big Frakkin Bags — and the lines to get in started at either end of the convention center. So each of us picked a different line, and waited for the doors to open.

Just after 9:30 a huge cheer went up from the front of the line over by A and B. They opened the doors all the way along, so I went in the first one that opened, and made a beeline for the Image booth… where I stood in line for an hour, talking with the people in front of me and behind me in line.

The missing books turned out to be on a truck that jackknifed on the freeway, if I heard correctly on a truck stuck in a massive traffic jam on the freeway. They’re hoping to get them in tomorrow or Saturday, in time for the signing itself. For now, they’re selling prints and offering the book for the price difference, at least for people who arrived in time for the signing “tickets.” I managed to get the 46th slot this morning, out of 75: I’m in for the signing!

After that I went back to Colleen Doran’s table to get Orbiter and A Distant Soil signed, and kicked myself for not bringing The Book of Lost Souls. JMS was standing there talking with her. I waited until he left and said something to that effect, and she said he’d probably be back at some point. But I got the two books signed, and she sketched a space shuttle on the inside cover flap for Orbiter. (Then I noticed a small stack of the Lost Souls trade, and realized I probably could’ve bought a copy right there and had both of them sign it. Ah, well!)

After that I wandered over to the small press area, and found myself in the webcomics neighborhood. I picked up Girl Genius vol.7, got it signed by both Phil and Kaja Foglio, and got Kaja to sign volumes 1 and 2. (They keep coming out right before Comic-Con, so I’ve ended up getting all of them signed… by Phil Foglio. This was the first time I caught them both at the booth while I actually had the books!) While I was paying for the book, Randy Milholland of Something Positive came over and handed the Foglios a copy of the Super Stupor comic book, then left. I’ll have to locate his booth at some point today.

After that it was up to Sails so I could drop some flyers for Speed Force off at the freebie table, where I caught up with Katie again. We wandered a bit, made reservations for dinner, then I headed back to the hotel (such a novel idea!) to drop stuff off. And decided to blog.

General sense: about the same level of crowd as last night. More costumes. Saw lots of Dark Knight-style Jokers, not all of them in purple suits — including one woman dressed as a Nurse Joker. As I waited to cross the street from the convention center, someone actually asked me if I was selling my ticket. 3 hours into a 4-day show? I don’t think so!

Now to grab some food and head back to the con!

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I’d been trying to decide whether to pre-order Comic Book Tattoo (the graphic novel anthology based on Tori Amos songs) or pick it up at San Diego Comic-Con next month. Now I know.

Colleen Doran reports that Tori Amos will be signing the book on Saturday. Tickets for the signing — just 200 of them — will be given to people who purchase the book at the con (limited each day, so that they don’t all go on Wednesday).

She’ll also be on a panel on Saturday from 11:30–12:30. Here’s hoping DC doesn’t schedule a “What’s really happening with the Flash” panel at the same time, ’cause if they do, I’m skipping the Flash news. Someone’ll post it online. (Oh, wait…)

I am so looking forward to this…

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So, what comic book event of the summer has me the most excited? Is it Marvel’s Secret Invasion?  DC’s Final Crisis? The release of The Flash Companion? Geoff Johns returning to The Flash for Rogues’ Revenge?

Well, that last one is close, but it’s actually Comic Book Tattoo, the upcoming ~500-page anthology of comic book stories inspired by Tori Amos’ music announced last December, and Comic Book Resources has a huge article about the project, including art.

(as last time, via Colleen Doran)

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Now this is cool: Image Comics will be releasing a graphic novel anthology with stories based on Tori Amos songs next summer! And Colleen Doran is illustrating one of the stories! (Her blog is where I heard about it.)

We went to Tori’s concert on Saturday at the Grove of Anaheim. The standing-room show was good, though there were some snafus getting to it, made worse by the fact that they opened the doors about 45 minutes late. So late, in fact, that they gave up on security checks and just started letting people in. By the time it started moving, the line snaked all the way along the side of the theater and down at least one side of the (rather spacious) parking lot.

Her current album, American Doll Posse, is based around a fictional quintet of singer/songwriters, each based on a different facet of her personality, and she performed as three different personas: Pip, Santa (no relation), and Tori. Which should have been more fun, but there was just a bit too much self-parody in the performance.

She brought a band again, which I think helps keep her from the slow-everything-down tendency she showed on the Originial Sinsuality tour (Katie calls it “elf disease,” after the way the elves of Lothlorien speak in the Lord of the Rings movies). Except for an endless vamp at the end of “Waitress,” this concert moved much more than the last two we’d seen.

It was good to hear stuff from Choirgirl Hotel again. It’s been notably missing from the last few concerts we’ve been to. And there was a surprising amount of stuff from her first two albums as well. (Full set list at Undented.)

I’ve seen Tori in concert 6 times: Once in 1999 at Irvine Meadows, when she toured on a double bill with Alanis Morissette, twice on the Scarlet’s Walk tour from 2002-2003 (Universal Amphitheater & the Pond), twice on the Original Sinsuality tour in 2005 (Royce Hall & the Greek), and this show at the Grove. My favorite was the Scarlet’s Walk tour. I reviewed the Universal show during the first few months of this blog, though I don’t seem to have written anything about the one at the Pond.

Update: The Beat has more on the comic project, including a title, Comic Book Tattoo and additional contributors.