The genesis of Driveway Con 2014 was during a conversation with Tom Batiuk, my friend and neighbor who does those Crankshaft and Funky Winkerbean comic strips beloved by millions. We were both special guests of last year’s Comic-Con International. Neither of us could attend this year’s Comic-Con International. This made us very sad.
Tom suggest we get together for lunch here in Medina during Comic-Con to ease our pain. I think he was planning to bribe the servers to ask for our autographs and take photos of us. Naturally, I took our “wish we were in San Diego” conversation several steps further and into the realms of madness.
I would turn my June 25-26 garage sale into Driveway Con. I would have prizes for anyone who came to the sale in costume or who could answer trivia questions correctly. Then, on Saturday, we would set up a table and hold an honest-to-Godzilla comics convention style panel in my driveway.
Tom agreed to be on the panel immediately because he is as crazy as I am. I called up Mike W. Barr, who lives in nearby Akron, and he also put his sanity into question by agreeing to be on that panel. I figured the worst that could happen with this plan would be that nobody would come to the panel and we’d go to lunch an hour early.
Fate turned the odds in my favor when the garage sale got all kinds of crazy publicity on multiple fronts. It would be one of the most busy - perhaps even the most busy - of any garage sale I had done in the past.
Digression. I wish I had been smart enough to take photos of the festivities. I’ll try to be smart enough in the future. I did get some photos from Nancy Johnson, who wrote that wonderful piece on Tom and myself for The Gazette. If anyone else took photos, please send them my way. End of digression.
Tom suggest we get together for lunch here in Medina during Comic-Con to ease our pain. I think he was planning to bribe the servers to ask for our autographs and take photos of us. Naturally, I took our “wish we were in San Diego” conversation several steps further and into the realms of madness.
I would turn my June 25-26 garage sale into Driveway Con. I would have prizes for anyone who came to the sale in costume or who could answer trivia questions correctly. Then, on Saturday, we would set up a table and hold an honest-to-Godzilla comics convention style panel in my driveway.
Tom agreed to be on the panel immediately because he is as crazy as I am. I called up Mike W. Barr, who lives in nearby Akron, and he also put his sanity into question by agreeing to be on that panel. I figured the worst that could happen with this plan would be that nobody would come to the panel and we’d go to lunch an hour early.
Fate turned the odds in my favor when the garage sale got all kinds of crazy publicity on multiple fronts. It would be one of the most busy - perhaps even the most busy - of any garage sale I had done in the past.
Digression. I wish I had been smart enough to take photos of the festivities. I’ll try to be smart enough in the future. I did get some photos from Nancy Johnson, who wrote that wonderful piece on Tom and myself for The Gazette. If anyone else took photos, please send them my way. End of digression.
Much to my delight, I got seven cosplayers: Supergirl, Darth Vader,Boba Fett, No-Face from Spirited Away, Iron Man, Hawkeye, and the New 52 version of Wonder Girl. Dan Guinto (Boba Fett) won the grand prize of $50 in Vast Accumulation of Stuff cash good at any of my remaining 2014 garage sales. Jesse Adkins (Wonder Girl) won second-place and $25 in Vast Accumulation of Stuff cash.
During the garage sale, at random times, I asked 22 multiple-choice questions of my customers. If the customer answered correctly, he or see got $1 in Vast Accumulation of Stuff cash. Adding the VAOS cash from both the costumes and the trivia questions, I handed out $33 over the weekend.
The first dozen trivia questions were all about my exciting comics career. See how many you can answer correctly without going to the Grand Comics Database:
During the garage sale, at random times, I asked 22 multiple-choice questions of my customers. If the customer answered correctly, he or see got $1 in Vast Accumulation of Stuff cash. Adding the VAOS cash from both the costumes and the trivia questions, I handed out $33 over the weekend.
The first dozen trivia questions were all about my exciting comics career. See how many you can answer correctly without going to the Grand Comics Database:
Complete this Black Lightning poem fragment:
“Justice, like lightning, should ever appear
“To some men hope and to other men ....!”
A) beer
B) fear
C) Pam Grier
What was the first comic-book story Tony Isabella wrote for Marvel Comics?
A) Haunt and Run!
B) Werewolf’s Lair!
C) When Titans Clash!
What was the name of the first British weekly edited by Tony for Marvel Comics?
A) The Daredevils
B) Doctor Strange’s Mystic Tales
C) The Mighty World of Marvel
Tony used Hydra in two different Marvel Comics titles? From these three choices, name the one he didn’t use Hydra in.
A) Avengers
B) Daredevil
C) Giant-Size Creatures
What was the title of Tony’s last Black Lightning story?
A) Armies of the Night
B) Blowed Away
C) Twas the Night Before Kwanza
What super-villain did Tony name after a comic-strip character?
A) Discus
B) Kite-Man
C) Pain-Killer
Who was the first author whose work was adapted into a comic-book story by Tony?
A) Robert Bloch
B) August Derleth
C) Harlan Ellison
Who is Tony’s favorite Western hero?
A) Ghost Rider
B) Jonah Hex
C) Rawhide Kid
Which of these comic-book TV adaptations did Tony write an issue of?
A) I Dream of Jeannie
B) Scooby-Doo
C) Welcome Back Kotter
Tony wrote nearly a dozen issues of Justice Machine for two comics publishers. Which of these publishers did he not write any Justice Machine issues for?
A) Comico
B) Innovation
C) Millennium
Who was Tony’s favorite member of the Justice Machine?
A) Challenger
B) Talisman
C) Titan
Which of these characters did not appear in Justice Machine?
A) Atom-Smasher
B) Blazer
C) Youthquake
The next ten questions were more general:
Which of these comic-book publishers didn’t publish Star Trek comic books?
A) Dynamite
B) Marvel
C) Tokyopop
Which of these comics publishers was the first to publish a Planet of the Apes comics?
A) Dark Horse
B) Gold Key
C) Marvel
Which of these heroes was an original member of the Guardians of the Galaxy?
A) Charlie-27
B) Martnex
C) Vance Astro
D) Yondu
Who was Marvel’s Misty Knight based on?
A) Eartha Kitt
B) Nichelle Nichols
C) Pam Grier
Which of these was not a Harvey Comics character?
A) Little Dot
B) Little Lotta
C) Little Slack
Which actor/actress will not be appearing on Marvel’s Agents of S.H.I.E.L.D. in that show’s second season?
A) Lucy Lawless
B) Ted McGinley
C) Patton Oswalt
Who created the Spectre?
A) Gardner Fox
B) Jerry Siegel
C) William Woolfolk
When Genma Saotome is splashed with cold water, he transforms into a...
A) giant panda
B) medium-size cockatoo
c) tiny elephant
Which of these was NOT a comic-book title?
A) Millie the Model
B) Outlaw Annie
C) Sherry the Showgirl
Which of these was NOT an Archie title?
A) Afterlife with Archie
B) Archie Meets the Ghostbusters
C) Archie's R/C Racers
How did you do? I’ll post the correct answers in my next Driveway Con bloggy thing.
© 2014 Tony Isabella
Never count out Ted McGinley.
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