Amanda’s San Diego Comic-Con Journal – Vol. 1

This year I had my very first opportunity to go to the biggest party in all the land, San Diego Comic Con! I’m all about drawing pictures but blogging about my experience is new and frightening for me so I hope you’ll bear with me.

My friend, Jermaine “Lord Retail” Exum, manages Acme Comics in Greensboro, NC and they were nominated for a Will Eisner Spirit of Comics Award this year. He invited me to come along with the crew from the store and join the party. Me: “Really?! Awesome! What’s that?  We’re driving…we’re driving?? Whaaa?” It’s one heck of a drive from my home to San Diego- about 28 hours- and Jermaine had about 11 hours more than that. My first trip to the west coast wouldn’t be some leisurely plane ride nooooo.

It was worth a crazy drive at least once so I could see the Arizona landscape. I fell in love with the mountains and all the wild cacti and crazy rock formations and snapped a ton of photos from the car. This is beautiful, I thought, just beautiful! I love it here!

And then I stepped outside and burst into flame. FWOOSH. Human Torch. I don’t tan.

After I extinguished myself I sat in the car thinking about all the people who have told me that Arizona heat isn’t bad like Alabama and Florida. It’s a dry heat. Dry heat, my eye! 115 degrees is Hell! You people are LIARS.

But other than being beastly hot, it was amazing. We stopped to eat in Phoenix at Alice Cooperstown where I have wanted to go for a long time. The food was good but I was too chicken to try the 2 foot long hot dog, The Big Unit. I suppose there’s always next time. We also stopped in Jerome, AZ so that I could visit the Caduceus Cellers.  This was a special destination for me. I’m a bit of a fan of Maynard James Keenan so I had to go find a bottle of his wine. It was totally worth going to the top of a mountain to get it. On a side note, I apologize for Jermaine’s newly discovered acrophobia.

I was almost in California – and that’s when the C.H.U.D.s came at me.

To be continued!

xoxo

Amanda