The Crew At Supanova Con 2011

This site is a strange beast in that we all hail from such different places. The Australian contingent is surprisingly high - and I say that because though I am Australian this site was created online. I had the whole internet (or my Twitter pals) to choose from and yet there are 4 Aussie tenures. The rest hail from Europe and while we lost out American connection we've now gained it back and got a Canadian to boot in the trade.

But with such space between us all, even the Aussies are anywhere from 3 hours to 12 hours apart, the odds of getting all the Tenures in a room together is slim at best.

And while we didn't get everyone together recently, we did get 3 Tenures together and it was a blast.

Supanova is a comic convention held annually across four Aussie cities and I was given a leave pass from the wife and kid to go up for a day. It's a 3 and a bit hour drive but I knew I'd be catching up with Ben and Sime while I was there. It was totally worth it. I packed into the car with @g0ofgnewt and a mate from work and the road trip was a blast.

After arriving at the con, and wandering the floor for a little bit, I finally managed to corral Ben and Sime into the same space. It was pretty awesome meeting these lads in person, finally.

So...many...jokes...

Sime really is the brooding heart of thoughtballoons (except for the fact he smiles all the time) and Ben didn't disappoint. He walked up to me, deadpan, with this massive brown leather duffel bag in hand. I wasn't sure if he had the tools with which to kill me or just Gwyneth Paltrow's severed dial full of head cheese. Creepy or awesome...I think you know the answer.

These blokes were a blast to hang out with, though I was only available for a few hours. We talked plenty of comic smack, so here's some eclecticisms on what went down:

• Ben owns an arcade machine. Did you know that?
• Sime wants to buy every DCnU #1 - whether he will, or can find the time to read them all is another question but at least he's got a goal.
• I told Sime he could write a massive The Weekly Crisis post full of paragraph reviews of each of the #1s. The offer still stands.
• Ben owns an arcade machine. You knew that, right?
• I am indecisive and don't spend enough money at cons.
• Ben knows how to spend plenty at cons.
• Sime was there to see me back issue dive for ages and come up with just one issue.
• Yes, the issue was Daredevil. It was issue #380 - actually excited to read it.
• I bought Dave Johnson's sketch book and a wicked Marvel print from him.
• Dave Johnson was the nicest guy ever. So extremely nice.
• I chatted with Ben Templesmith and he's also very cool.
• It wasn't until too late I realised I need to get Templesmith to sketch Franken-Castle for me. One day.
• Ben commissioned a very cool Deadpool sketch from Dave Johnson. You can peep it below.
• Sime is off on a work funded international jaunt. Lucky bugger.
• I managed to chat with an artist and actually get his details. Another nice bloke.
• Ben is hilarious and I need to make more time for the man. Much more time. Sleepovers are called for.

That was the con. Shooting the breeze with other comic writers and really enjoying it. There aren't enough peope in my life that 'get' this passion of mine so it was nice to sink into the nerdfest and just enjoy it. Oh, and since this is a script site here's a little script of just one thing that went down while at Supanova.

Ben, Ryan, and Sime in Peer Pressure

Sime: I'm going to buy all the DC #1 books.

Ben: I'm getting a few.

Sime: You getting Morrison's Action Comics?

Ben: No.

Sime: Seriously?

Ben: No.

Ryan: Aren't you getting Action Comics?

Ben: No.

Ryan: Even I'm getting that one.

Ben: I don't want to.

Ryan: Go on, get it.

Sime: Yeah, get it.

Ryan: Come on, Ben, get it.

Sime: Get it.

Ryan: Seriously, get it.

Ben: Alright, I'll get it.

Scene.

I propose a thoughtballoons writer's workshop next year. Whether official or at the pub, I've already put in for my overnight leave pass and we'll see what we can drum up. Maybe Supanova would be interested in what we have to say - or maybe a coffee shop wants to put us up for a few hours while we laugh and scratch the pads. I say coffee shops because it seems none of us are realy drinkers.

One year from now if you are at Supanova you should track us down. We'll be there, shooting from the hip, where will you be.

Oh, yeah, and the Rev Johnson's Deadpool. Really makes me jealous I didn't invest in an Iron Fist.