San Diego Comic-Con. To some it’s a Mecca; to some it’s a big question mark; to some it’s an excuse to spend excessive amounts of money. For me, it’s all of those things wrapped in a giant expensive summer trip ball. I’ve gone three years in a row now, and every time is a completely new experience. Sometimes it ends in a near death experience.
Cut to 2009: our spry young blogger is just a spry young college kid wasting his summer away at SDCC. I had gone with three others: my sister, her friend and my friend Alex. Alex had decided to go off to the beach half way through the day, and my sister and her friend went off to do other nerd related activities, so I was on my own.
The day was coming to a close, so I was headed the long walk back to my hotel room. As I walked the great hall of the convention center, I could see one man swaggering by.
It’s impossible to explain just how Thomas “The Punisher” Jane walked that day, but swagger is the best verb I can come up with. He bounced along with his blue-lens glasses and I decided to try to make an approach.
“Excuse me,” I tried politely. I swear I didn’t jump the guy; I just wanted a quick picture so I could tell my friends and have proof.
It was at this point I made my huge mistake.
I attempted to stop Thomas Jane by tapping him on the shoulder. As soon as I made contact, he wheeled around and locked eyes with me through his sunglasses.
“You just touched me,” he said without hesitating. “Yeah, are you Thomas Jane?” I said. “Yeah, but… but you just touched me,” Jane said.
It was at this point where I got really nervous. Had I done something wrong? Was I literally going to be murdered by the Punisher? Or was he just as high as his character in Boogie Nights?
Me: “I’m sorry; can I take a quick picture?” TJ: “Yeah…”
Epic picture you see above taken. This is the face of pure fear and the man who was going to kick my ass all in a nutshell.
Me: “Thanks” TJ: “I mean… you touched me. Do you touch strangers?” Me: “Uh… No? I’m sorry if I like did something wrong or anything…” TJ: “No it’s not that at all, it’s just… it’s a philosophical question you’re asking I mean… You touched me.”
At this point, another young stupid person with a microphone came up to Jane and started begging him for an interview for his blog or something. I saw my opening, so I bolted. It was literally fast enough to leave a dust cloud in the shape of my body.
I got back to the hotel where my friend Alex had already returned from the beach and proceeded to yell at him for several hours about leaving me to fend for myself at Comic-Con.
So what was going on with TJ you might ask? I’ve seen YouTube videos of his “interesting activities” and have heard other people’s stories about experiences with him, and I guess it’s just the way he is.
Comic books are everywhere, and you don’t even realize it. Movies like “A History of Violence,” bands like Fall Out Boy, and television shows like “Lost” have all had some influence from comic books. Non-Required Reading is here to explain all the links between comics and pop culture that you might not even know about. Expect reviews, opinions, ideas, recommendations and more every Sunday! Any ideas for what you want to see? Contact me at djacka@asu.edu.
