Over The River and Down the Interstate to Comic Con We Go

Tomorrow we celebrate all things geeky with the hardcore fanboys (and fangirls) at Comic Con Orlando. Luckily we get to bypass any Giant Mice or child-chasing Pluto's ( a reference to the in-costume Disney character caught on video this past week obviously fed up with some bratty kid's hijinks - I wonder what he would have done with the kid had he caught him or the lady in the video (the kid's mother?) not shoved him to the ground).... but I digress. Over the River and Down the Interstate we go to Comic Con.



The last Orlando comic convention, Mega Con, was well-attended and offered many activites in which to participate, including Japanese Naruto-style battling. Of course, there were plenty of folks dressed in constume. The prerequisite Storm Troopers attended the festivities. The greatest joy for me is seeing how many middle school and high school age kids attend, usually in large groups dressed manga-style. Oddly, there always seems to be one John Constantine carrying a huge cross around. Whatever, floats your boat, man. Didn't seem to play out too well for the last guy.



What I remember from the Orlando Mega Con last February, however, was that Margo Kidder was signing autographs. Or, rather, Margo Kidder was sitting alone at her "celebrity" table off to the side waiting for what seemed a very long time for someone to approach and want an autograph. Lou Ferigino, however, had a crowd around him (of course he appears on King of Queens as the neighbor "Lou" - very original - periodically).



She looked so sad just waiting. I found myself watching her for quite some time, waiting to see if someone would come up and want her to sign a picture or ask her what it was like to be Lois Lane to Christopher Reeves' Superman. And how sad it seemed to me that after all these years she might need to attend a Mega Con in Orlando in February.



What I mean is that to me she was or rather is Lois Lane. That new chick..I don't even know her name...she's not Lois Lane...not even close...not even a smidgen. And Lois Lane wouldn't sit at an empty table, pushed off to the side, waiting for someone to notice her and care. Lois Lane would be off looking for a story somewhere or telling someone off or getting rescued in the nick of time. Margo, you are so much better than that. There are those of us that know you were the only one who could be Lois. You deserve so much better, so much more respect. So, I respectfully say, let us enjoy our memory of you...young and beautiful...and fiesty...and not someone who'd sit alone waiting. I guess I'm a romantic that way.



I wonder what or who we will see tomorrow....maybe a few Iron Mans or Transformers or maybe, but hopefully not, Gene Hackman or Patrick Stewart.

Enthusiasmos: The Official Comics & Classics Chronicle

This is our first post on Enthusiasmos and I feel compelled to explain where our blog title came from and why it was chosen. Enthusiasmos means the state of being "filled with the gods." It's the feeling of being pumped up with power and excitement and zest for life and for what you love. It is carpe diem and eating good chocolate and being in love (or lust) all rolled up and bursting forth as a raw, emotional fireball. It's what we hope for every day but rarely encounter. It's what my husband and I needed a good shot of about a year ago. So instead of giving up on excitement or turning to substance abuse or taking it out on each other, we did something risky, we decided to create our own enthusiasmos, throw caution to the wind, take out a home equity loan (thank you soaring home prices) and open a comic book/bookstore/art gallery.



Okay, so an ordinary person would have settled into their quiet despair or had an affair or taken a vacation, but we needed a bigger life change - something more permanent. I quit my job (16-year stint as a teacher...stories about that life may be forthcoming) and started reading everything I could about opening a bookstore. My husband (after much coaxing from me) agreed there was never really a good time to risk it all and start your own business. I think really he did it to shut me up at first but since has come to see that we could really do this.



We designed Comics & Classics as the bookstore we always wanted to visit - a fun mix of comics (his love), graphic novels, manga, pulp & mainstream fiction, and literary classics (my love). Then we threw in comic art just for fun. Neither one of us can paint our way out of a paper bag but we appreciate those who can and want to work to promote local artists working in the genre.



So, now we feel enthusiasmos and getting up in the morning doesn't suck as much (well it's still morning ... it hasn't turned us in to "morning people" freaks or anything). But, we have that passion and zest and carpe diem feeling we were looking for. Now if we can work out how to get rich off doing it, or at least not lose our shirts, we're taking enthusiasmos plus some!