Category: Shop News

Naturally, it was raining the day of the Cates-Stegman signing at Midtown Comics downtown. It was a few blocks from where the towers fell in 2001.

I claimed my spot in the line. Person number 145. It was 5:50pm. I’d been there since 5, and the signing (officially) went from 6-8pm. I wouldn’t leave until 10:37pm.

The line wrapped around an entire lower Manhattan block. (Cates took a video, and at the 1:07 mark, I’m screaming like he’s all 4 of the Beatles.)

The masses were told that we could get 3 signed copies of whatever Cates and Stegman worked on together. A lot of people brought Venom comics, but I was there getting all the main covers signed for Secret Society on my heroic quest to bring a taste of Manhattan to South Florida.

Sketches cost $50 (cash) to be paid up front to Stegman. Here were my ideas for the cover:

• Donny and Carnage getting married
• Carnage with a tattoo of Donny Cates’ face
• Cates and Carnage on a(n emotional) roller coaster

I read CARNAGE: MIND BOMB the morning of the event since Donny Cates has cited it as an influence for his script for ABSOLUTE CARNAGE. I had a canned conversation starter that I was gonna unleash on him. Something like “Yo, MIND BOMB is messed up!!!” (It really is. You should read it.)

I was in line for 4 hours. During that time, I thought about a lot of things, like Carnal Knowledge would make a great name for the Steg-Man and his Amazing Friends podcast. I talked to some fans, like this really handsome guy with a Carnage tattoo on his forearm, who also happened to be drinking beer from a paper bag. I talked to some kids, who were mostly just hangry. We were all making history.

As night fell and I approached the front of the line, I was mere feet away from Donny’s Dark Queen/fiance/cofounder of Devil’s AdvoCates, Megan Hutchison. She was, of course, wearing all black and smoking and looking very cool. I also thought of what I’d say to her. When the time came, I said, “Killer job on the cover for this!” since she colored Donny’s inks.

After I said this to her, a group of 20 people (including me) were herded up the stairs to the shop. Donny and Ryan said they needed a 10 minute break. The suspense continued to build, and I was convinced they had carpal tunnel by now.

Good things come to those who wait. As I approached the signing table, my heart wasn’t beating faster than usual, which surprised me. Maybe it’s because I felt like I knew Donny and Ryan from their Twitter, where they’re effortlessly themselves.

The first thing I said to them? A lie. “So when I told Megan nice job on the cover art, she actually told me that Chip Zdarsky wrote and drew all of ABSOLUTE CARNAGE.” Cates said, “HOW DARE YOU” or something like that. Then I forced both of them to take a “silly and serious” photo with me.

I forced my non-comics-reading coworker to attend the signing with me so we could get more grails sent to the shop for y’all. When it was his turn, he made a comment that they must be tired, and they all joked about a certain way to get around that… (Only in New York.) The guys were entertained, so Ryan decided to give us a quick headshot sketch of Carnage — even though they cost everyone else $50, and we didn’t even ask.

After it was all said and done, I thought, “Midtown employees are American heroes. They’d been standing there for hours, sorting CGC paperwork, answering our repetitive questions. “

The whole experience reminded me of why I love comics. Creators really do engage with fans, and the community is SO diverse. Don’t let #ComicsGate tell you otherwise.

Comics are basically an intellectual property factory for the more “respected” mediums of TV and film, and I know that ABSOLUTE CARNAGE will reach a bigger audience (AKA China) in the coming years. I’m just happy to have been there since the beginning.