92615_RAA_LooseCannon_Text_R1_PROOF

Man, I couldn’t get enough of that ride.

Anyway, my dad and I were standing in this line, and I think I started to actually vibrate with little-kid anticipation. I’m sure I started to mouth off, or something, because my dad stepped over, blotting out the sun, as he did, in those days, and said, “Listen, let me tell you something…” And there was just something in his voice that made me think I was about to hear One Of Those Things… those pronouncements that I was hearing quite a lot in those days about How The World Works. So I was quiet as we took just a half-step out of line. “Yes,” I squeaked my little six-year old squeak. Why is he torturing me, I remember thinking. That is a lot of people. “Now look this way,” my dad said. “See all those people behind us?” I had to admit that there were probably just as many people behind us in line. “This is how the world works,” my Middle-class American Dad said. “Sometimes there’re people ahead of you in line, and sometimes there are people behind you in line. Eventually, it’s your turn.” This tale practically hypnotized the old lady, and by the time she realized the Zen-like truth to the story, the guy behind the table was pouring her a glass of his vineyard’s Sauvignon Blanc and she waddled away on her way. And I thought entertainment in general and comic books in particular are just like that. Sometimes there are people ahead of you in line, and some times there are people behind you in line. There’s no need to get antsy; if you keep fighting the good fight, your turn will come. The second thing I realized, while the winemaker was talking about the var ious etiquettes involved with the “mystique of wine,” as he put it, is that like the things that go into making a good wine, there really are things that go into making a good comic. Like the folks who orchestrate an evening of different wines and the accompanying meals, or the many different sorts of stemware, or the abil ity of a good host to “make sure there’s a generosity of spirit around the table” as Karen MacNeil, chairman of the wine department at the Culinary Looking towards the ride, he said, “See all those people ahead of us?” This may explain the popularity of “All your base belong to us,” for exam ple.

36