Interviews, Panels & Trailers...Oh My!

What can you say about spending a weekend at Connecticut ComiCONN (re-branded next year as CT TerrifiCON) except that "real life is drag". Mitch Hallock, family and crew worked tirelessly all weekend to provide a first class experience and Mohegan Sun Hotel & Casino in Uncasville, Connecticut proved to be an AMAZING venue for the expo. If you get a chance to attend next year, take the opportunity.

Our weekend started with a bang as we bumped into Neal Adams during load-in and he was more than generous agreeing to do an interview with us about his "cup of coffee" at Charlton Comics. In fact, he wanted to do it either before or after the show hours so that he could give us enough time and attention to do the session. Thanks Neal!!! We spent the rest of Friday afternoon and evening meeting new friends like Mort Todd and spending time talking Charlton with him, Paul Kupperberg, Mike Zeck and others.

Saturday was the big day for Charlton at the show. Not only did we have our interview with Neal Adams to do, but we were excited and a little nervous about our upcoming panel that was to cover Charlton Neo and the movie project. The panel featured Mort Todd, Roy Thomas (yes, THAT Roy Thomas, Paul Kupperberg, TC Ford, and us from Charlton Comics: The Movie. What a treat and an honor it was to share the stage with the likes of the talent on that stage. Our panel ended with a screening of the first teaser trailer and the response since has been amazing. As we pointed out in the session, it had been a calendar year to the day since we attended a Charlton Comics panel at the CT ComiCONN 2014 which hatched the idea for the movie. Here we were a year later sharing the stage with Mort, Paul and Roy and screening a trailer for a movie that didn't exist as an idea until that day a year earlier.

A horrifically fatal auto accident on the I-95 freeway caused us to re-schedule our interview with Neal Adams to Sunday morning. That morning, Neal came down for what we all thought would be a quick 5-6 minute interview considering the fact that he wasn't at Charlton all that long at all. He was happy to lend his perspective. Ironically, nearly 30 minutes later, we had to cut the session short because the Con was about to open to the public and we were blocking ingress to the venue with our set up. Neal wanted to keep going! I guess we might have to pay him another visit in the future. He was charming and anectodal and gave us a few great tidings concerning the late, great Dick Giordano.

Following Neal's interview we pulled aside a few attendees who had some insight on Charlton including Angry Geeks host Lew Perry. We also approached AMC's Comic Book Men and former Marvel bigwig Jim Shooter for future interviews for the movie. The biggest surprises of the day came from Mort Todd and Jose Luis Garcia Lopez. Mort met a die-hard Charlton fan with a substantial collection of old issues who is all of 15-years old! Jose, who was ducking us and excusing his way out of an interview with us, conceded and did a great short session talking about his days drawing "pretty girls and pretty boys" in Charlton romace comics. Throughout the weekend, we ran into Jose all over the casino incluing bathrooms, coffee shops, you name it. Seeing him again and again warmed him up to us and when the ComiCONN ended, he actually sought us out across the venue to say goodbye on his way out. Jose: we LOVE you!

Packing up was bittersweet. Yes, we were physically and mentally exhausted, but the interest in our movie took on a new life. The trailer was being applauded everywhere we went and we now had budding personal reltionships with Jose, Roy, Mike Zeck, Bryan Johnson and Mike Zapcic, and of course our new favorite human being, Mort Todd. So, as tiring as a three-day run like that can be, there was some sadness saying good bye to some really great folks and we can't wait to spend time together again.

Up and Atom! (Captain Atom that is)