EnnaEel Cooks

The green beans were blanched, and served with a little bit of tomato, garlic, and black olives. Nothing too fancy, just a lil somethin’ because I wanted some green.

I picked up some mahi mahi today because I decided I deserved it. I was lucky enough to have a week off to see family and friends and attend Comic-Con, but to be able to do so, I needed to work my totoros off the weeks before and after to make up for my absence. Needless to say, I’ve been exhausted. Though it was well worth it.

The first Comic-Con International: San Diego that I ever attended was in 1999. A high school friend invited me after getting several free passes from his mom.

What do I remember about my first Comic-Con? Lots of Padme Amidalas. Episode I had just come out, and I think there were perhaps 5 separate Darth Mauls performing for the Masquerade. I remember the group of boys I was with making fun of the nerdy crowds we were aimlessly wandering through, and I remember leaving them at some point to press my nose up against the glass window above the exhibition floor. My very cursory knowledge of comic books was garnered from the DC Comics Timmverse, but just being around the vendors and artists and cosplayers and writers made me giddy. Afterwards, I rejoined my friends to learn they were bored with the Con, and instead wanted to go see Brokedown Palace at Horton Plaza. Thus, the end of my first Con was spent perusing through cds at Sam Goody, probably picking up dinner from a Panda Express, and trying to figure out whether or not Claire Danes was in fact smuggling heroin in Thailand.

Fast forward 10 years, and I’m standing in top hat, tails, and fishnets in front of Bruce Timm and Andrea Romano before the Green Lantern: First Flight premiere and chatting about the Timmverse introducing the uninitiated to the wide world of comics. I made a serious attempt to avoid excessive giggling and voice-cracking, but I imagine that for a guy who had all 4,000 attendees at the premiere stand and recite the Lantern’s oath before the film, Bruce likely wouldn’t be too bothered by a giggly fan.

Every year, I seem to overhear the same conversation between Con-goers about how it’s “so bad this year. It wasn’t this crowded last year.” And I smile to myself, and try to remember a time when I was able to completely cross the exhibition floor in under 15 minutes on a busy Saturday afternoon. But I don’t know that I would describe the growing crowds as bad. In fact, I’d have to say that the people at Comic-Con are my favorite part.

For 5 glorious days I don’t have to explain to anyone that no, my totoro tattoos are not pokemon. I could strike up a lengthy and thoughtful conversation with a complete stranger about Booster Gold’s work in the timestream, and it’s implications across the DC Universe. And having worn a costume for the first time this year, I got to experience an entirely new aspect of my fellow attendees. I couldn’t walk 10 feet without someone asking for my photograph. I became accustomed to responding to “Hey Zatanna!” Though being the ridiculously fast walker that I am, I’d often hear “Hey it’s Zatann- and she’s gone,” as I darted from booth to booth.

Because of the costume, I didn’t carry around a schwag bag after Preview Night. I’ve picked up all of the freebies before, and this year I wanted to spend more time exploring, less time line-standing. So, one night as I was taking the Trolley back to my friend’s apartment in Hillcrest, I was chased down by another Con-goer. As I was about to hop off at my stop, this man held out his hands full of random freebie buttons and keychains and a usb drive shaped like a Star Trek communicator badge. He insisted that I take them since I hadn’t collected any of my own. I didn’t have time to explain, so I gushed my thanks before hopping off the Trolley with my heart feeling like it was going to burst.
Nerds are so great.

But there are some things I need to remind myself for next year:
1. No one is ok with a Zatanna that wears Chuck Taylors. Next year she will wear heels.
2. She also needs an extra pair of white gloves. Flip through the program book enough, and they will quickly become grey gloves.
3. Bring my own camera.
4. Meeting up with friends from Twitter requires more coordination. After 4 days of being just short of having “Yakety Sax” playing in the background while trying to end up in the same place, I finally got to meet my friend Daniel. Next year, I vote we pick a panel, any panel (except one in Hall H) and call it a date. (The more cheese-tastic the panel, the better.)
5. Have my story completed before the 41st Comic-Con. Not particularly for the Con, but it’s sort of an appropriate deadline to set for myself, I think.