"Nappy Hour," formerly an impromptu gathering of black cartoonists, had its first panel at Comic-Con, Friday. The meetings -- usually at Tivoli's Bar & Grill -- were the invention of acclaimed cartoonist Keith Knight ("The Knight Life,: "The K Chronicles"), who said he wanted to get to know other creators outside the sales floor of the San Diego Comic-Con.
As an attendee and observer to a couple of past gatherings, it was impressive to see fans of Knight, writer Dwayne Mcduffie and writer-artist Spike Trotman gather and fill up the meeting space.
Ned Cato (GeekRoundTable.com), a Comic-Con official, also joined the group.
"Ned calls himself the Negro whisperer," Knight said, jokingly. "Whenever there's a problem on the sales floor it's usually with me. So they sent him over -- He talked to me in Swahili..."
Yeah, "Nappy Hour's" Still a lot of fun, with plenty of laughs but none of the beer.
Like most Comic-Con gatherings, creators would impart their wisdom on the aspiring Independent artists and writers, but seldom is it in a rapid fire, timed format.
"This is going to be like PTI ("Pardon The Interruption") on ESPN," Knight said to the audience while holding a newly purchased timer. "We need to time this because you know Spike will take all day long."
And Knight had a point. Charlie "Spike" Trotman, creator and publisher of "Templar, Arizona," unleashed a series of biting, humorous observations, sparing no one, and kept the audience laughing.
SPIKE ON CO-PANELIST AND MAINSTREAM COMIC WRITER DWAYNE MCDUFFIE: "I wish my husband was here because this is the kind of stuff he cares about."
SPIKE ON MAINSTREAM COMICS: "The last comic I read was Excalibur, primarily for Nightcrawler because I'm a pervert."
SPIKE ON HOW TO BREAK INTO COMICS: "Go home, make a comic. Congratulations, you've broken into comics."SPIKE ON HER OWN BOOKS: "Please buy these so I don't have to take this (expletive) home."
The time went quickly as the three-minute limit for each of five topics blew by.
At the conclusion of the panel, there was a call to have a "Nappy Hour" gathering next year. I would welcome it too even though I know it would likely be another morning panel and not a sit-down at the bar.
But, of course, that also means it's open for everyone to enjoy.
Pictured above: Keith Knight and left, artwork from "Templar, Arizona."
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