Status Quoted

I am going to share this anecdote at the expense of only one person in the world, but if that one person happens to be offended by this, please know I was totally endeared by your nerdness:

Day 3. James Jean is at the Giant Robot booth looking for Eric Nakamura. Eric isn’t there so we (the women at the booth) chat him up about the day.

Anne: I have a question, James. You’re at San Diego Comic-con every year but do you relish or loathe the cons?

James: It’s bittersweet. I mean of course I love it and it’s great to know I have fans, but I get a little bummed out when my fans are crazy. Sometimes I’m scared of them.

(Mild laughter. We would all sorta love to be in James Jean’s shoes: choosy with fans)

James: My fans aren’t as crazy as like, David Choe’s fans though. (David Choe was signing at the Giant Robot booth at one point, also.)

Not 40 seconds after James says this, a short, rotund Asian-American kid with eyeballs that would make Don Knotts blush, behind big black plastic glasses, steps right up next to James and slllloooowly turns and lowers his head to sternum-level where James’ comic-con badge hung.

Fan: Oh. My. God. OHMYGODOHMYGODOHMYGOD it’s you! You’re James Jean! OH MY GOD! Oh my god oh my god. You’re my idol!

(James looks at his fan. Smiles weakly.)

Fan: (rapidly) I was just on my way to the Chronicle booth to get your next book but I just got Fables 2 and now you’re right in front of me! Are you signing right now?

James: No, I’m just hanging out.

Fan: (rapidly) Is it OK if… can you sign my copy of Fables?

James: Sure.

(Fan scrambles through backpack and pulls out a copy of Fables 2, boarded and bagged.)

James: (Looks at the cover for a few seconds, then gives it back to the fan.) It looks like I already signed it. See? (Points at his signature.)

Fan: Oh my god. HAHAHAHAHA. Oh my god. You already signed it! HAHAHAHOhmygod.

Anne: Maybe James can visually notarize it for you.

James: Yes. It LOOKS like my signature… It IS my signature. I’ve notarized it.

Fan: Oh my god I can’t believe it James Jean visually notarized my copy of Fables 2!!! OK. I’m going to Chronicle now to get your next book. Oh my god I still can’t believe I met you.

(Fan spins around and runs, and I mean RUNS… STRAIGHT INTO THE WOMAN BEHIND HIM. Recovers, then scurries off into the Chronicle sunset. Suffice it to say we were dying laughing at the booth. Everyone but James. Ten minutes later the Fan comes scurrying back with a copy of something held up against his chest; like he’s a car service driver waiting at the airport with a sign for his fare of the night.)

Fan: Oh. He’s gone. Oh well.

(Turns around and walks off like nothing.)

Yep, David Choe’s fans aren’t HALF that crazy…

(I use this term a lot so let me just get the pedant out of my pants while I can)

Convergence: the approach of an infinite series to a finite limit.

Moving on…

If you’re in this Asian-American game and don’t know what “Secret Identities” is yet, I recommend you check it out immediatly. But don’t take my word for it.

The US government is recommending it too.

Now, the convergence occurs when the co-editor of said anthology, one Jeff Yang (San Francisco Chronicle columnist) and I finally become friends. It’s amazing when you can know a billion people between you and your next door neighbor, without a clue as to who the neighbor is. I moderated a panel composed of Secret Identity contributors at the last NY Comic-con, and was fully prepared to pounce on them, but you know what? Jeff et al are a solid bunch.

I know half of you will understand what I mean by this convergence. Six degrees of separation some call it. I think it’s a total misnomer. It’s more like, “what’s your dog doing on my lawn? Oh wait, that’s MY dog, and that’s YOUR lawn.”

Anyway, check out Secret Identities… not to be confused with another awesome book of the same title, Secret Identity: The Fetish Art of Superman’s Co-creator Joe Shuster, edited by another friend by convergence: Craig Yoe (who does one of my favorite comics anthology series ever: Arf).

Buy it:
Secret Identities: The Asian-American Superhero Anthology