Panel Discussions: A Comics Podcast

I rarely use my Tumblr, and have no idea how to properly respond to stuff, so I’m going to post this here and point Gail to it via Twitter.

This example has been around the block a few times (Ron’s already heard it at least twice), but feels worth repeating.

When I was 13 or 14, and was a great fan of Green Lantern (Hal Jordan, whom DC had just removed from the title role), I remember distinctly going to a convention and, in that way that 13 year olds think is cool, confronting Ron Marz with a combination of sarcasm and continuity minutia that I thought would reduce him to a sobbing mass. Or something. I was a kid, right?

Anyway, Ron (if you know him you can probably guess where this is going) was the most pleasant, polite and understanding guy you could ever ask to meet, answered my questions to the best of his ability (not to my teenage satisfaction, of course! How could the ring have killed Kilowog if it was designed not to do mortal harm? HE HAD TO PAY!), and in the end his personality won me over. I never completely warmed to Kyle Rayner, but bought the comic for as long as Ron was aboard and have followed him since. As a young fan, to enter into a conversation with someone you perceive as a bad guy and have him turn out to be a real prince is worth the cost of con admission on its own.

gailsimone:

I was recently reminded of the differences between a person’s online persona and their real-life personality during an online kerfuffle I was pointed to that involved Spider-man writer Dan Slott.

Now, I think very highly of Dan’s writing, and we have had some pleasant email exchanges in the past….