During Comic-Con 2012, I had the pleasure of being in the company of the talented Clare Kramer, known for many things including her role as the villain, Glory, on “Buffy The Vampire Slayer.” It seems we’ve ended up with some video technical difficulties so I will provide you with a magazine style observation of our meeting. It was one of those things that you can’t anticipate. I had been contacted regarding my interest in doing an interview and, after some back and forth messaging, I found myself part of the interviews Clare was doing on a pedicab around San Diego. Clare was doing the interviews. I was the only one interviewing Clare! One moment, I am searching through a sea of mingling people and then suddenly I’m seated with a member of the Hollywood in crowd who has left her footprint on pop culture and is now embarking on a new pop culture venture, a website dedicated to all things geek, GeekNation.com.
I should mention here that I was more than a little self-conscious. I’m not the Hollywood glamour type. I’m just a guy, I thought. I mean, I’m not one extreme or another. I am neither freak nor jock. I’m more the bookish type. My role model is Dick Cavett, for those who have long memories or care about pop history. Anyway, I’m a guy who actually toils away writing and drawing comics. I do stuff like this. I think I do it well, if I do say so myself. And I’ve gone on to take my unique experience as an artist and cartoonist and have also become a commentator on comics and pop culture. I’ve written about comics and pop culture for about seven years now. I gravitate towards quality wherever I find it, be it in the most obscure self-published mini comic or an offbeat graphic novel that deserves a shout out. I spend too much time indoors reading.
But I try to mix it up too. That’s how I ended up crossing paths with Clare Kramer. Honestly, I’d never heard of Clare Kramer before Comic-Con! I am certianly glad to know her, or know about her, now. Hey, her success did not fall on my radar. So, when I got the chance to interview her, I did my research and got caught up in her prestigous education in drama. After reading that she’d gone to NYU and acted in some serious stage plays, I guess I was thinking of conducting the interview with her like I was James Lipton, host of “Inside The Actors Studio” on Bravo. I’m not James Lipton so I shouldn’t have even tried that route.
Clare saved the day by simply being herself. I think she did a beautiful job of staying on point when she described GeekNation.com and the many shows you will find within the site that focus on various aspects of the geek lifestyle, be it “Doctor Who” or even just focusing on a geek connoisseur’s love of beer. It’s all there at GeekNation.com.
The bottom line is that Clare comes across as a fun-loving and sincere person. When I asked her if she’d had a chance to keep up with “Buffy The Vampire Slayer” comics published by Dark Horse Comics, she immediately said yes, and described in detail story arcs from “Season 8.” And when I asked her about her Comic-Con experience so far on that Saturday afternoon, she spoke with great admiration about geting to walk the convention floor at the beginning of the Con and getting to meet up with friends and then went into detail about panels she’d been on. Suffice it to say, it was a delightful exchange between us after she kept me from drifting off into platitudes about the actor’s life.
And then the ride was suddenly over and I was back on my own amid the sea of mingling people and wondering about what had just happened.
