Cartoonists in Costume
More photos from the depths of my archives.
Jim Balent, former Catwoman artist just happened to marry this lady dressed as Catwoman. Nice to have a model in the house!
Artist Mark Hempel as Doctor Strange. This picture is evidence that Mr. Hempel has spent more time in tights than I have.
Dressed to drown! Here I am with author Ellen Kushner (OK, she’s not a cartoonist, but she knows all the right people, and she’s one of my favorite writers in the world), at the Titanic Ball. I am wearing high heels, and some sort of fancy thing on my head, and yet I am significantly shorter than the woman next to me. Told you I was a midget.
Oh, funny. The photo is water damaged. How apropos.
Delia Sherman (one of my other favorite writers on the planet) does my hair for the ball. My hair was dyed almost black back then and I don’t think it suits me, but for awhile I bobbed it ala Dorothy Parker.
Ellen and Delia have a marvelous excess of social dazzle genes, and so they took me to this event, held by a ballroom dancing society.
Bad news: I can’t dance at all.
I’ve come to realize men never believe that when you tell them so. Only after they have danced with me and gotten their feet stepped on do they realize I was telling the truth. It’s very sad.
Maybe I should just learn to dance.
Oh, boy! Ancient history! I do believe this is from my very first convention! I am dressed as Eowyn from The Lord of the Rings, and I won first prize. I am surrounded by a bunch of guys from the Society for Creative Anachronism. I don’t remember the name of the Crusader behind me, but he was really cute.
My boyfriend (who was way cuter) lent me a genuine sword and shield to use, and my mom made the rest of the costume.
Hope you can see this photo. It was pretty badly damaged.
c
May 27th, 2009 at 4:24 pm
I love the Eowyn costume! And in the water-damaged Titanic photo, it even vaguely looks like there’s steam, fumes, or water rising up from your feet.
I can’t dance, either. Flunked Basic English Country Dances four $%$^@& times at Faire before the instructor asked me politely to never try to take that workshop class again. After 20 years, you’d think I could manage the rufty-tufty, but nooo. I tried a few weeks ago to dance around the maypole… and I managed to tear my underskirt in spectacular fashion. Because I stepped on it.
And yet, I’m an athlete and martial artist. How is this possible?
May 27th, 2009 at 8:19 pm
Poor non-dancing ducks. So sorry.
Colleen, next time a guy asks you to dance, you can say, in all truthfulness, that you dance like a lumberjack …. because you are one.
May 27th, 2009 at 11:05 pm
LOL!
The problem with some men is the reality of what you are saying never seems to meet the fantasy playing in their heads.
They see what they want, and no amount of “No, I don’t want to,” or “No not interested,” has any impact on their brains whatsoever.
And it’s all about him.
If you say you can’t dance, it’s an indictment on him. You say you can’t dance because you don’t like him!
No, I can’t dance because I can’t dance. My not dancing has absolutely nothing to do with you, sir.
I also took martial arts, VT. I didn’t really care for any brief dancing instruction I had. At least martial arts had a pragmatic purpose. Maybe that’s why I like it. My instructor says I took to it very quickly, with no trouble remembering moves.
But haven’t done it in years. Couldn’t punch my way out of a paper bag, now, I am sure.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:18 am
Great pics. Pretty cute picture if you as Eowyn.
Too bad the shield and sword were not shown in the picture.
Thanks for the link to Ellen Kushner. I realized that I had not heard anything of hers in quite a while.
I think I told you once that you always seem to have a different hair color each time I see you. But its all good! -)
In defense of the poor men who keep asking you to dance, I recall my more awkward and socially inept years ( not that I am socially adept now!) when I used to ask women to dance. It took all I had to walk across the floor and actually ask for a dance.
May 28th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Hi Mik,
Being asked to dance is not a problem.
Being asked to dance, refusing, and then being grabbed by the arm in an attempt to drag little female ot the dance floor is a problem.
Then being barked at and called a bunch of not very nice names for refusing to cooperate is a problem.
But I can see how a shy guy might take it very personally when a woman says she doesn’t want to dance.
I can also see how a shy woman might take it personally when she’s never asked to dance.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:43 am
And BTW, I don’t mean to sound as if every man goes off the handle every time he hears no, but I think every woman has had that uncomfortable experience. It is sometimes as difficult to be the person doing the refusing as it is to be refused.
May 28th, 2009 at 12:24 pm
I’m not sure why most guys would ask a woman to dance because of the guys I’ve seen, most just bob back and forth. Fred Astaire they’re not!
It definitely feels personal when a woman says “no”, granted she may not want to dance at all, but some guys perceive it to be that she just doesn’t want to dance…with them. Then again, trying to dance may seem less mortifying than trying to talk to them.
Personally, I have no rhythm so a dance would be out of the question. A museum or some sort of non dancing event may be better for the more reticent males.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:16 pm
Well, I studied music for 12 years, so I have rhythm. I don’t know ballroom dancing, which is what everyone was doing at that Titanic party!
I’ve become very self conscious at industry events, so tend to avoid being footloose and fancy free anyplace someone might be using their camera phone.
I did try to dance with Will Eisner once. He was a very good dance and I am a very bad dancer, so it was sad for him.
May 28th, 2009 at 1:28 pm
I don’t blame you for being cautious. People today seem to have no problem posting online photos and blogging about not just themselves, but others as well. I was mortified having to dance at a recent wedding. My brother was a lot more carefree. Sometimes I envy him.
It’s interesting that some women are less inclined to dance. A lot of the ones I’ve seen in this area seem more gung ho about it. One shouldn’t judge the whole but the inebriated few!
May 28th, 2009 at 2:01 pm
LOL! Well, I am not a drinker, so that would not inspire me!
I won’t post any photos of people here if I think they will be embarrassing. Usually I ask first, but people in costume at events: um, you obviously want to be seen.
Getting burned some years back by an old acquaintance who was writing an unauthorized bio, feverishly spreading gossip about me to any fan he could email, and forwarding photos of me has made me a lot more cautious about my privacy.
I almost never discuss personal matters online (well, anymore, that is), but even so, things you write where you don’t name specifics – especially about your professional life – can get messy, as people draw false conclusions about who, what, where, and when.
Anyway, there are convention days you are absolutely desperate to scratch your nose, and you know you had better run for a safe place to do it. To say nothing of adjusting a clothing malfunction. I suppose being caught in an awkward dance moment is low on the list of things to have immortalized on the internet.
May 28th, 2009 at 2:39 pm
It must be a bit annoying when fandom gets too intrusive. Artists and writers are selling their work, not themselves. Sure it’s nice to learn more about the person behind the work, that they just aren’t “art robot” or “pencil jockey” but also have other side interests.
I think once some “lift the veil” as it were, some fans want more and almost to the point of obsessing about the person and not the work. This can be detrimental also when someone can’t separate the art from the artist. There are some that are jerks but have produced good work and that is tarnished. Likewise, if someone had an off day or was too busy to do a sketch or sign 20 copies of the same book, then some putz goes online and spews about how mean said artist/writer was.
While a lot of my friends are on Facebook now, I seem to be the straggler. 1)Because I’m private and 2)I’m not exactly all that interesting. I have a MySpace account but that was due to a previous friendship. People sure put up some “amazing” stuff online. I pity them when an employer runs a background check.
May 28th, 2009 at 3:38 pm
omg – blast from the past!! How fabulous we all look.
And of course they all wanted to dance with you – you looked stunning, if I do say so myself.
Thanks for posting these!
May 28th, 2009 at 3:55 pm
Hey! You ladies were wearing the most GORGEOUS Fortuny style gowns. So pretty. I loved them!
And thanks for the nice words, but alas, I’m a stinky blossom! No dancing feet on me!
Jeremy, most fans are incredibly cool and fun.
A published writer who is trying to sell a friend, or conflates relationships and credits is much worse than a fan who is a little over enthusiastic.
And, WHAT ARE THOSE PEOPLE THINKING??? Man, there is no way I would post some of that stuff on Myspace…or anywhere else. Geez.
May 28th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
That makes sense. I guess it’s the type (I forget what you called them) that have moved beyond being just fans, but are fans trying to become professionals that can cause a lot of headaches.
Seeing pictures of some of my friends and I in suits usually cracks us up. A friend of mine’s fiance said how “distinguished” and “mature” we all looked. Considering we’ve all done some really stupid stuff together, the pictures sure provide quite the facade!
Other than vacation and convention photos, I’ve posted zip on MySpace and am contemplating closing the account. I just don’t see the allure. I may change my tune but I guess I’m old enough to remember when I actually had to go outside to interact with others that outside of reading/posting on some blogs, I’d rather remain outside the whole social networking landscape.
Ironically I got my degree in Computer Science but I can be a luddite about some matters.
May 28th, 2009 at 5:08 pm
I actually tried to close my Myspace accounts and can’t seem to turn them off!
I’ve written before that one will rarely have a problem with a fan, but the frustrated pro or the aspiring pro is a devastating force of nature. That is, a pro who is not secure in themselves or their work, or an aspiring pro who has not gotten what they want.
I’d rather deal with any fan than with the thwarted pro type.
May 28th, 2009 at 11:20 pm
My niece actually got me started on Myspace but I haven’t done a lot with it yet. I did look up your Myspace page loved it. I was going to copy a lot of your layout. Speaking of embarrassing pictures, just had one posted of me from Emerald City Comic Con while I was in the bar having more than a few drinks with Barry Kitson and friends. I look like I am about to fall asleep at any moment!
May 28th, 2009 at 11:46 pm
LOL! Awesome! I feel your pain. I wish I could track down a few photos of me on the internet and burn them!!!
May 29th, 2009 at 3:35 pm
…I just realized all of my responses to this post make me sound like Bella Swan from Twilight…
“I”m so clumsy! Men just grab me and carry me around! I don’t know how to wear nice dresses! Waaahhhh…”
May 29th, 2009 at 7:07 pm
LOL! Aw, poor ColleenBella! And she’s so pretty and talented under all that insecurity.
No, fer real!
Except, Colleen, you’re nobody’s MarySue.
May 29th, 2009 at 10:28 pm
BWAHAHAAA!!!
A true Mary Sue seems plain, but strangely attractive, and so all the best fellows fall in love with her! She knows the square root of pi, solves all the story problems, and gets to boink Mr. Spock!
I mean, Edward Cullen.
Twilight is one of those books everyone snarks at but everyone’s read, isn’t it?
Stephenie Meyers gets last laugh.