A memorable day at the San Diego Comic Con for the Collins contingent. We started off with a great breakfast at Richard Walker’s Pancake House, a tiny place with some outdoor seating and incredible food. We were seated by Richard Walker himself. Turns out the first of three Richard Walker’s Pancake Houses was and is in Schaumburg, Illinois, where Nate once worked and Barb and I frequently go on post-novel getaways. Fortified, Barb hit Horton Plaza for some shopping, while I did an art deal for a 1952 Buck Rogers strip from the Donnelly booth, where mindboggling comic art is for sale…pricey but great examples. In the afternoon, Leonard Maltin’s wife Alice got us into the very high demand panel (huge ballroom at the Hilton) announcing Triumph the Insult Comic Dog’s new TV show. Leonard moderated, good-naturedly taking feelthy abuse from Trimuph (and apologies from Triumph’s “trainer,” Robert Smigel.) This panel was crushingly hilarious, enlivened by the presence of Triumph’s new co-star, Jack McBrayer of 30 Rock (and Second City). This promises to be a classic duo, the sweetness of McBrayer and the sourness of Triumph. It should be a great show…”for me to poop on.” Then Barb and I (exhausted from laughter) returned to our hotel room for naps (yes, we are that old) before I returned to the convention center for a meeting with my producing partner, Ken Levin, about possible movie and TV projects. Next up was the Scribe awards, where I moderated a huge TV/movie tie-in panel (including one Nathan Collins) – there was just time for one question per panelist. I’ll provide all the winners later, but for now I’ll just announce that “So Long, Chief” by Spillane & Collins won Best Short Story, and that the panelists did just fine (and Barb helped greatly in what could have been a logistical nightmare). The evening ended with tropical drinks around the pool at the Marriott Marina.

Tags: Comic-Con, Comic-Con 2014