NoirCon Report: Part 2

The real action at any con is in the bar and NoirCon was no exception. Smuggling Butch into the Doubletree Hotel bar turned out to be way easier than I thought. I zipped him up inside his Sherpa carry bag to sneak him past the front desk and when I let him out, he just sat quietly at my feet the whole time.

In addition to all the usual passionate debate, complex and endlessly evolving in-jokes and non-stop double entendres, I was also asked for a most unusual autograph. I signed a baseball bat for Steve Weddle. Me and pretty much every other author in the building. A strange but ultimately pretty damn cool idea. I'll be posting photos of that when I get back to LA.

Meanwhile, back at my hotel, another convention was in full swing. Something to do with "Scientific Instrumentation." Let me just say, those science nerds put us crime writers to shame with their wild, drunken debauchery.

On Saturday, I let myself sleep in a bit and then cruised over to the theater to catch the later panels. Butch and I had sashimi with Vicki Hendricks and checked out the local comic shop around the corner. I picked up that hardcover edition of the graphic novel adaptation of Stark's The Hunter I've been coveting and chatted with the guy behind the counter about NoirCon. Hey Swierczy, how about moderating a panel on noir comics/graphic novels at the next NoirCon? Maybe coordinate with that shop to set up a small table selling the books by the authors/artist on the panel? Just a thought...

We had our big Damn Near Dead 2 panel that afternoon, which I was simultaniously dreading and looking forward to. I just wasn't sure how it was gonna feel, getting up there and pimping that book without the man whose passion made it possible.

In the end, the panel wasn't maudlin or depressing at all. Everyone in the room shared great stories about our late publisher and friend David Thompson. There were more laughs than tears. Unfortunately, things got all balled up at the head office and we didn't have any books to sign. Somehow the books we should have had got shipped to Otto in New York instead. But in the end, strings were pulled and the guys at Farley's Bookstore offered free shipping to anyone who ordered the book at NoirCon. Plus they also arranged for an emergency shipment of DND2 posters, which we all signed and which would also be included with each order. Way to go, guys. Thanks for your quick thinking and grace under pressure.

After the last panel of the day, I walked back to the Doubletree with Richard Edwards and Mike White. I was thrilled to finally catch up with Edwards, since I hadn't seen him for ages. I'd never actually met Mike White in the real world, but we hit it off right away. The three of us enjoyed some of the most profoundly, unapologetically geeky debate of the weekend. Those scientific instrumentation guys got nothing on us. The only thing missing was Shannon Clute.

I had to leave Philly very early on Sunday morning. See, like the Doubletree, Amtrak hates dogs. Butch and I got lucky and were able to hitch a ride up to NYC with Reed and his wife, but they needed to hit the road first thing in the morning in order to make an afternoon signing. It was a beautiful drive, in great company, but I'm real sorry I missed that Fantomas panel.

So that was NoirCon 2010. Thanks to Lou Boxer and Deen Kogan for pulling off another great event and for giving us writers an excuse to hang around and talk noir.