Monday, October 22, 2007

The Almost-Ran


This has ended up being too semi-ridiculous to not share. At ComicCon this summer I was asked to be interviewed by the lovely and congenial Ms. Olive Panter (yes, daughter of one Gary Panter) for that social networking juggernaut in Rupert Murdoch's army, myspace. I was told by Olive and company that the video would be up sometime in August. Sure, why not?

I don't recall how long the interview was, but it was quite pleasant, and all involved were extremely nice. When months had passed and I'd yet to run across any video of ComicCon, I assumed it had been scratched for one reason or another (or no reason, as is so often the case with corporations). But then I happened to see a link, when logging into to the time-wasting site last week, to this video. Here we're treated to a douchebag from My Chemical Romance (sorry, maybe he's a nice guy, but they're horrible (though their album artwork was done by James Jean, who can do no aesthetic wrong but isn't enough to save their horrible music... A further note: this guy's too douchesque to take off his sunglasses while both indoors and talking to someone? Two times the douche!). My interview wasn't in the video, but I noticed a couple of seconds of someone flipping through "The Three Paradoxes," which they'd shot right before or after my interview (I can't recall which). Strange. I'd become an establishing shot. Or atmosphere. Two things I couldn't be less appropriate for when it comes to the circus that is ComicCon.

Still, I noticed there was a Part Two to the video. And though the interview's not there either, there's another second or so of flipping through "Let Us Be Perfectly Clear." This is followed by Rosario Dawson and a guy I hung out with for about fifteen minutes in Farel Dalyrmple's apartment while halfheartedly watching "Mystery Men." So my interview was scratched entirely but my books remained. Maybe there's some analogy or metaphor waiting to be found there for me. I'm not sure. Either way, I loved it. Is somehow all seemed like a perfect document of independent comics' place at ComicCon.


Yet this interview wouldn't die! Days later, I was looking through Fantagraphics' Flickr site and came across this picture, photographic evidence that the interview occurred. Let the record reflect I am looking at what Olive is doing with the microphone and I resent Fantagraphics' (I'm assuming it was Eric Reynolds, the rat bastard) implications to the contrary.

But only God knows what I did under the table to Tim Hensley (one of my favorite artists in Mome). I'm ashamed. Ashamed.

3 comments:

farel said...

ha, that was an excellent photo.
p.s.
corey roolez.

Anonymous said...

dude, i was so excited for the interview with you to go up. of course, i was also super excited for matt greoning and paul reubens but guess who never made it to the final cut?

so consider yourself in the leagues of those two wonderful men. congratulations. you were all cut from myspace's coverage of san diego comic con 2007.

on a lighter note, it was rad finally meeting you there, as i am, at heart, just a fan.

Paul Hornschemeier said...

Olive, I'm honored to be in such company (and I apologize for only just now seeing your comment). And it was certainly equal portions of rad meeting you there.

If you're around in April, Farel (the first one to comment on this post) and I, along with someone to whom you're related will be signing at Rocketship in Brooklyn. Stop in and say hello, again.