Hayfamzone.com Springs to Life!

 

That's Jeanette in the photo above clarifying for you that Hayfamzone.com Springs to Life! was at 4:00 p.m. on Sunday, 15 April 2012. The Hayfamzone Panel at C2E2 has entered the annals of history! The panel that preceded me in the room (spotlighting the actor who portrayed Mr. McFeely on Mister Rogers' Neighborhood) ran a couple of minutes overtime but then they did clear out so I could get my computer set up for the festivities. Some technical difficulties were overcome and the presentation was off and running!

I started the Panel by saying that it was dedicated to Jack Kirby, just as the entire Hayfamzone Blog is. Then I projected onto the wall-sized screen Jeanette's animations of the cover to Big All-American #1 and to my Jack Kirby Jimmy Olsen splash page. Of course you'll want to look back here and here to catch another glimpse of those hayfamzone classics.

There was a Hayfamzone Trivia Contest to reward the faithful hayfamzonders who have combed over every paragraph I have ever written. The handsome prizes were Randy Bowen cold-cast porcelain busts of Baron Zemo and the Beast and Iceman from the X-Men; one of the statues was won by the C2E2 staff member assigned to our room, and that goes to show that everybody was involved with the fun!

I also had an easel set up with a huge pad of bristol board pages. To the music of Sabre Dance I did a fast drawing of Batman (as requested by an audience member), and it (intentionally) came out looking like Salvador Dali had visited Gotham City. Then to a much-slower-paced dual-tuba recording of Baby Elephant Walk I drew a more detailed Batman that two of my students in the audience were very pleased to get to take home with them. I also drew a Spider-Man to the tune of The Syncopated Clock, but I didn't get a picture of that one before it got away.

To put the icing on the cake of the Panel, I wrapped it all up by handing everybody in attendance a signed and numbered limited edition (only 100!) of The Hayfamzone Ashcan 2012! (I have an extra few of those 12-page minicomics and I'm thinking about offering one or two for bid over on ebay.)

Hayfamzone.com Springs to Life! was a blast and everybody who attended had a great time!