A Good Day in the City

One of the things I’ve missed about not being in an office environment is seeing people on a drop-in basis. Yesterday, I addressed that for half a day.I had to be in NYC for the Watchmen press event at 4:30 so figured I should pay my respects to DC. Heading into the city was pleasant enough as I indulged in a book and then stroll uptown.I visited with my editors in Licensed Publishing, talking about two recently delivered projects (nope, can’t mention them yet), and getting to meet Ben Harper, a newly acquired editor for the group.Then there was lunch with Paul Levitz, which was two old friend splaying catch up, largely comparing the escapades of our children and advancing years. Afterwards, I wandered down the hall to introduce myself to Special Projects editor Jessica Lilly, whom I’ve done some writing for and it was nice putting a face to the voice.After that, I caught up with Karen Berger and Joan Hilty before a lengthy and delightful catch-up with Ivan Cohen. He and I have always gotten along and it was great talking about married life, politics, DC gossip and the like.I finally made it to the DCU and spent time hopping from office to office. Given the recent turnover in the assistant ranks there were an awful lot of young, unfamiliar faces but seeing Eddie Berganza, Joey Cavalieri and mike Siglain was a delight. I also spent time with Terri Cunningham, my former boss and a dear friend.Suddenly, it was after 4 and time to head out. I zipped a few more blocks uptown and arrived at the TimeWarner corporate center for the event. During the brief reception prior to the screening of footage, I had the opportunity to chat with artist Dave Gibbons, whom I had not seen in seven years. I could not be happier for an old colleague to receive the accolades his work has deserved.Paul introduced director Zack Snyder and you can check the full report over at ComicMix.As a fan of the material and a film buff, I have to say, the footage we saw was awesome. Amazing stuff that is incredibly faithful to the source material. Clearly, the entire maxiseries could not be captured but it’s evident that a great deal of love and attention was devoted to the comics. Someone mentioned they had visited the set and Snyder was seen with a copy of the graphic novel in his lap as he was directing, ensuring Dave’s visuals were properly represented.Going from the screening to the next room to see the costumes and props was a real treat. You wonder how actors can perform in such gear, especially Malin Akerman’s Silk Spectre.During the post-screening reception I also had a chance to catch up with former colleagues such as Fangotria’s Tony Timpone and finally got to meet Ian Spelling, a writer whose name and I work I have known for over a decade.Walking back to Grand Central was pleasant enough and overall the experience was terrific. Seeing old friend, familiar, welcoming faces, and getting a chance to report on something that looks like a mash hit was all in all a good day.