Comic-Con Fever, by David Rhoades – The Guest Spot | @MDWorld

July 12, 2013 Victor El-Khouri 1 Comment

Hey everyone!

As of right now, we’re less than a week away from Comic Con, and the craziness here at Michael’s company is climbing to a frenzied pitch. The fact that I’m here telling you this, rather than Michael himself, should tell you about how insanely excited and busy Michael, Tatiana, and myself (as well as the rest of Michael’s varied team) are.

I’ve been working with Michael for about four years now, but this is the first time that I’ve been given responsibility over so many moving parts of the Michael Davis Comic-Con Machine™. As a result, I’m witnessing first hand how much work goes into a well-oiled Comic-Con.

 

 

For example –

• I’m fairly certain Michael has gone ahead and hot-glued the phone to his ear. He might as well – several dozen phone calls have been made in the last few days alone, planning his annual Comic-Con party, planning two major panels, as well as the various deals and things that are part of the biggest pop culture convention in the world. He’s been moving nonstop, communicating with major celebrities, power players in the industry, and other big names (99% of the time, these people are calling him).
• Last night, Michael and I were overseeing work on a video for one of the panels mentioned above, sampling different songs and working to make this year as high energy as possible. He mercifully sent me home at around two in the morning, but when I arrived this morning at the studio, I saw that he had done several hours worth of more work after I had gone.
• In addition to what I’m doing directly with Michael, I’ve been working closely with Tatiana this year, who I’m fairly certain has six or seven different tasks that would take up a normal person’s entire workweek. There’ve been no less than two dozen emails sent back and forth between all of Michael’s team the last few days, and each email has a different document or bit of news vital to this year’s Con. That’s in addition to our constant discussion over Facebook as we plan all the minute details we need to handle.

The amount of synergy and alertness required over the next few days, in order to make this year’s SDCC bigger and better than ever, is awe-inspiring.

I can’t disclose everything but I can tell you this:

• This year’s Black Panel is going to be insane.

• It’s Milestone Media’s 20^th Anniversary.  20 years since Milestone came together and changed the way people of color were represented, and changed the entire game when it came to distribution and publishing in comics. Milestone is still relevant 20 years later. Michael’s annual  Comic Con party this year is celebrating Milestone’s 20^th Anniversary,  and it’s going to be AWESOME. AND since I’m finally over 21, I can GO!

• The Milestone Panel – it’s going to be something you won’t want to miss. Trust me.

Of the inner circle, between Michael, Tatiana, and me, I’m the one getting the most sleep at a whopping five or six hours (ish) a night, and don’t take that as a plea for pity. I feel a little guilty about that. Tatiana is a champ at multitasking, doing several jobs at once to make sure Michael’s events run smoothly, likely sacrificing a healthy amount of rest in the process.

As for Michael…I’m fairly certain the last time he slept was some time in May. I caught him shooting up coffee the other night, and I wasn’t concerned so much as impressed.

And before you think that I’m just some hype-monkey trying to get you all riled up for Comic Con (I mean, let’s be honest, you should be regardless), let me say that I am truly excited for what’s in store this year. We’re working hard here at the MOTU™ Studio, but it’s because all of us genuinely love Comic-Con. All the crowds, the madness, the hype, and the (occasional) stabbings…okay, some guy stabbed another guy with a bic pen and he clearly did not mean to do it. That incident, at Comic Con, was like a drive by shooting where 50 innocent people are gunned down.

But what else kind of lunacy could drive a young guy to voluntarily sacrifice his weekends, sleep, and sanity?

Comic-Con Fever.

P.S. Maybe I’m exaggerating about losing sleep – after all, it’s only 3 am, and I’m going to be leaving soon.