Monty Overbove at Comic-Con

From 2013...

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The world's most famous pop culture convention is happening just a few hours south of the corner of Wilshire Boulevard and Fairfax Avenue this weekend. Comic-Con International!

The Overbove cousins only attended for the first time last year. Monty took a day off from the motel to go down and catch a few panels. He persuaded Gomery to join, and they take the train down, NOT the freeway, which stays extra busy between Los Angeles and San Diego come Comic-Con weekend.

Poring over the schedule on the way south, Monty grilled his cousin on what he wanted to see, and they hit upon one or two mutual activities (like big sci-fi blockbuster-type stuff).

Monty stops talking when Gomery catches a 20-minute nap. He'd woken up during the night twice, once to help a cranky guest with a stuck door and once to see why someone kept honking their car horn out on Wilshire. While Gomery sleeps Monty makes several new friends on the train car, models a few superhero capes that other riders have stashed in their luggage, and gratefully accepts a cup of coffee bought by a friendly young woman dressed as Enid from "Ghost World."

Another woman, dressed as Bat Girl, drapes her cape over the sleeping Gomery at his cousin's request. Surrounding passengers "awwww," then return to discussing the convention schedule.

Gomery is not surprised, upon waking, to find that any of this has transpired.

Sutton drives down. She has also been to Comic-Con once, with a bunch of people from her junior year math team. She's a fan of genre television shows -- spunky girl detectives and mysteries, mostly -- and she wants to hear what the creators on various panels have to say about what's ahead for the next season.

She did not wear a costume but vows to return next year dressed as Wonder Woman or famous mathematician Emmy Noether.

Prior Yates and Clementine Hwang are both at Comic-Con, too, but for work, not play. They're there as panelists, Prior for two films and the crime show that sometimes uses the Motel Fairwil for a setting and Clementine for innovations in sound. She'll also give a demo with her reel-to-reel, explaining what she searches for when recording ambient noise.

Prior is kept away from his fans by a cadre of guards as he's shepherded off stage but Clementine hangs out on the convention floor, chatting up other audio enthusiasts and agreeing to listen to the samples of leaves crunching and metal grinding they want to send her.

Gomery and Monty walk by Clementine, and Monty pauses, wanting to introduce himself, but changes his mind, despite his cousin's encouragement. I wonder if Monty knows he'll meet her at the Mmm Mmm Cafe soon? (Shhhh. Don't tell him.)

Fair Finley does not attend Comic-Con. With so many international stars flying into California to attend, she stays busy at The Wilfair, which sees some convention lap-over after the event wraps.

If she could have gone, she would have totally attended one of the Prior Yates panels, because he's handsome and charming as can be. She'd love to meet him, one day.

Like that will ever happen.

I'm only sorry she didn't take the train with the Overboves, because that would have been a fun and spontaneous thing for her to do. The train to San Diego is called The Pacific Surfliner, and it chug-chugs by some gorgeous beaches and palms and coves.

Just a little one-day vacation for busy Ms. Finley. Though, on second thought, she'd probably have slept past the pretty sights, not unlike the tired man blanketed by a stranger's shiny superheroine cape.

cr: Kevin Dooley