Agent Palmer

The Great Allentown Comic Con’s 5th Anniversary Show was this past weekend and I was there. I had three things in mind, buy some things to read either comic book or just book, buy some art and hear Nichelle Nichols speak. And I was successful on all three fronts.

So, why bury the lead, the last thing I did during my infiltration was go to a panel where Nichelle Nichols did a short 40 minute Q & A, it was fantastic! She is a fascinating woman. She spoke of the vision of the future that Gene Roddenberry had and of her fellow actors, directors and the new and old Trek.

She spoke of her work with NASA recruiting women and minority astronauts for the shuttle program and of the fact that she filled a void on Star Trek as a way to engage girls and women into the sciences. I’m not into Star Trek, I may attempt to get into it, but as of now it has never been one of my passions, but Nichelle Nichols has become a hero to me. Hearing her speak in eloquence with humor, she was and is the perfect role model, not just for women and minorities, but for everyone.

That takes care of one of my objectives, the second was to get some stuff to read, whether it had pictures or not. So after digging through long box after long box, I found a few comics and trades for my collection. Of note are The Valiant Era Collection, a reprinting of six of the most sought after Valiant Comics, because I haven’t really read many Valiant Comics. I also picked up The Maze Agency #1, because even though it’s well off the beaten path, I’ve enjoyed the Innovation Comics that I’ve read.

I also picked up PVP (Player vs. Player): The Dork Ages, because I picked on issue up along the way and am very intrigued to read more. I also picked up DC’s Camelot 3000 trade, because why not, which is also the reason I picked up the trade of Tales of the Starlight Drive-in, which is 31 tales of lovers, losers, whiners and winners. Both intrigue me and at convention prices, it’s well worth the gamble. There were a few other comic back issues I scored as well, but it’s not worth listing them all.

During conventions, I like to talk to the artists and authors and I met two very interesting people, both conversations led to purchases, not because I had to, but because I found them both great people, who I’d like to see their efforts.

The first was the enchanting Dawn Griffin. I picked up all three volumes of her Zorphbert & Fred webcomic, because she’s awesome and because it’s about two aliens disguised as dogs observing the “human experience.” How could that be anything other than hilarious, besides during our conversation, I became aware that we both see the world in very much the same way, so I’m sure I’ll like the observations of Zorphbert and Fred.

On one table, behind which sat Edward Miller, was a book which on it’s cover states “Crichton meets Hitchcock,” and I was intrigued. I asked him about the book, The Kronos Interference  and he sold it too me, with the time travel aspects being quite intriguing, although he had me at “Crichton meets Hitchcock .” He signed it for me, as most artists and authors do and I can’t wait to read it. In fact, it’s the next thing on my to-read list.

With that the objective to find some reading material was taken care of, only one more thing to do… Find some art!

Although there were a lot of talented artists there, nothing really struck me and then I saw it. A large Spy vs. Spy poster, which as the proprietor of a faux spy Agent Palmer blog, I just had to have, so I did the only rational thing there was to do, I bought it. Walking around one last time to see if I missed anything, I saw one other piece of art, that will hang in one of my two offices… A large wooden piece of art with the cover art of The Invincible Iron Man #47, which was subtitled “The Birth of the Power!”

And with that, the third objective was completed and the infiltration of the convention was a success. But there was one additional thing, I picked up that isn’t present at your average convention; spices!

If Hound Comics is at a convention, I always make a point to say “hi” to Luscious, because the guy is brilliant and funny. He even spoke to me after he found out that I have yet to jump onto the Dr. Who bandwagon. But enough of that, I just had to ask him about the Food Hound spices and he told me.

It’s a fascinating story, that I may be telling later, but suffice to say the guys at Hound Comics love food and their spices are brilliant. I picked up “Flavor Behavior” and “Tastebud Tango,” so I’ll let you know how they are when I actually cook with them.

Well, that’s about it for the infiltration, there was comics and conversation, good times and great laughs. All in all, it’s what I expect from a small convention and it’s the reason I thoroughly enjoy The Great Allentown Comic Con. I am aware that the creators are doing a new show in Philadelphia, but I hope they keep the Allentown one going, it’s great and after five years, it seems like it has create a little community unto itself. (Which is very nice to be a part of…)