JanerBlog

McCloud 50-State Tour, Day Minus Two

So last night, we stumble home from the wedding at 1:30 am. Paul goes upstairs and plays the messages on the machine. I come upstairs a minute or so later, and after listening a second, say -- "Is that who I think it is?"

It was.

Scott McCloud and family, who're currently roaring their way from Southern California to New York City in time to kick off their yearlong Making Comics 50-state tour, were calling from South Bend, Indiana to see if we could hook up and take Bill Messner-Loebs his new computer. (Hooray for Mongol Express: When it absolutely, positively has to get there eventually...)

After a fanspazzy moment (Dude! Scott McCloud's on our answering machine!), we elected not to wake the McClouds in the middle of the night, and set the alarm to call them at a reasonable hour the following morning.

A few hours later, we were on the road to the 69/80/90 interchange in Indiana, where we picked up the computer. Our trip down saved the McClouds enough time -- by not having to divert their trip through the Detroit area -- that we were able to cajole them into joining us for brunchy stuff at a nearby restaurant. Okay, they'd already eaten brunch, but we cajoled them into yam fries and crabcakes, at least. And good yam fries they were.

Clan McCloud are such nice folks, and it was so nice to get a chance to hang with them in a relaxed, unpressured (i.e., non-convention) setting. Sky and Winter told us about their Nintendogs and Veronica Mars signings, and we talked everything from Sims-based webcomics to the Dresden Dolls and back again. Ivy and Paul also discovered they have the same taste in early-eighties music, by way of comparing notes on Magnetic Fields songs.

Making Comics' official release date -- and the official start of the tour -- is Tuesday, September 5th.
Be sure to keep an eye on the Tour Page for more info and scheduling -- and to find out when they're coming to your state!