My Promised Land

If you read my blog at all it’s easy to figure out I’m a huge DC Comics fanboy. So when Vertigo/DC writer Bill Willingham invited me to take a tour of their offices in New York City I screamed, I cried, I jumped up and down…ok I’m in a wheelchair, I didn’t jump up and down but I did shake and buzz excitedly. In case you didn’t know, they have the coolest office EVER.

Covers and panels from all kinds of books hang on just about every inch of wall available in the building. I actually have a lot more pictures but this is just an example. One of the most interesting side-trips we took on the tour was to the library. It’s the room where they keep archived copies of…everything. The first thing I saw when I walked in was bound, hard-cover, encyclopedia style books of the Legion of Super-Heroes. As if being around all that history wasn’t enough, the best part of the room was the man in charge of it. He could keep you engaged for hours with the amount of knowledge in his head.

Besides your normal cover shots or movie memorabilia one of the greatest parts about roaming the DC halls is running into a cardboard cutout of Lobo.

Where’s Waldo? I mean, The Nerdy Bird. This is one of a few murals in the building and a really entertaining one at that. It’s an impressive sight but once you start to look closer you discover some interesting details. Like the fact that Wonder Woman’s hand is CLEARLY on Superman’s ass. You know, that kind of stuff.

I wasn’t able to fit the very last piece of this wall hanging in but it’s a great look at the progression of a comic book from script to finished product.

Mad Magazine also shares the building with DC and while there was a giant flying Superman in the one lobby I could have shown you, I thought this had better comedic appeal.

My girl! Besides saying hello to the many DC employees I already know, I got to meet a bunch of new people all of whom were really nice. One of the perks of working at DC is not having to buy anything to decorate your office with. I don’t think I saw one office whose shelves and walls weren’t lined with action figures, statues and comics. It’s majorly nerd-jealousy inducing stuff. Speaking of cool stuff, I also got a sneak peak at some DC Direct items while I was there. Now that is an enviable job to have.

The best was saved for last on the tour. The Batman floor!!

This is the Christian Bale Batman suit of course but I like that the mannequin face is his and not just generic dude. Why does he have to be like 6-feet tall? Bill Willingham was totally willing to help me hoist him onto my scooter but it would have been a little tough sneaking a man in a cape out the door past security.

Holy shadow Batman!

There’s a few things I’ve left out because of their super-secret-awesomeness status but fear not, you’ll eventually see most of it down the road. Thank you to everyone at DC for opening your doors to me and being so generous, especially Bill Willingham of course who set the whole thing up. I’m happy to come back anytime you need a crazy fan to tell you what a great job your doing. :)