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Column:
Comic Book Junkie
"My Lunch with Joe"
By Matt Yocum
Published: 02 April 2006
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On the weekend of 17 – 19 March, I found myself flying cross country from Washington, D.C. to attend the Wizard World Los Angeles Convention. Why make such a long journey for making merely one day of a convention? The first reason is that I’m soon to be stationed overseas, and I wanted one last great opportunity to fully geek out with my fellow brethren and be bombarded by all things comics. The second reason is that I’d won a lunch with Joe Quesada, Editor-in-Chief at Marvel Comics.
Thanks to ACTOR (A Commitment To Our Roots), I’d won an online auction to have lunch on Saturday at the LA convention with Joe Q himself. Flying out Friday, catching a few hours rest, and then hitting the convention the next morning, I spent time at a nearby sports bar and grill. What was supposed to be a one hour lunch with Joe turned into a two-and-a-half hour affair.
After sitting and ordering, I found myself engaged in conversation with Joe that ranged all over the spectrum. We started by talking about my job as an Air Force officer, and that led into his job as Editor-in-Chief, the good and the bad (or the rarely bad since he truly loves his job). We wove through stories about how I won this online auction, waking up at 2 in the morning to outbid any challengers, telling my wife the outcome of our diminished bank account. He then offered a story of his own about online auctions, how he attempted, and failed, to acquire a guitar strap from the late John Lennon, only to find out from an expert some time later the much lightened pocket of the new owner had bought himself a fake.
Conversation ambled during the lunch, from politics to stories about Stan Lee, Jack Kirby, and Steve Ditko, to whether or not Civil War will live up to its hype in changing the Marvel Universe, to why Battlestar Galactica is the best show on TV, to our families, love of comics, and his commitment to pushing the boundaries rather than re-accomplishing what Stan Lee has already accomplished.
I take from my lunch with Joe that he loves his family, his country, and his creations, that is to say, his comics. He is a passionate man, Editor-in-Chief of arguably the most popular comics company on the planet. He speaks and dines with legends in the field, learning personally from the likes of Stan the Man. And he likes iced tea. Joe is a normal guy. He is aptly named, for when you hear Joe Q, it makes you think of John Q Public, in this case Joe Q Public. He is us, the fan, the comics lover.
That day I sat and had lunch with someone who loves comics every bit as much as I do. And someone with the power to change the face of comics. Someone committed, sink or swim, succeed or fail, to doing something new in comics.
Thank you Joe for a great lunch, great conversation, and for being a fan of comic books.
Comments about my comments? Feel free to email me at myocum@comiccritique.com.
—CCdC—
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