It's taken me several days to recover, but I can finally talk about Celebration IV.

I've previously been to a Star Wars Celebration event, and my reaction will undoubtedly be tame by many accounts. That said, I had a blast. The party started for me Wednesday night, when my friends Star Wars artists Joe Corroney and Justin Chung got into L.A. from Ohio. I made the half-hour trip on the 60 and 10 Freeways to their hotel by the Los Angeles Convention Center to greet them.

After finding parking (no small miracle), I got into the hotel and made my way through the third level bar/restaurant to the patio outside where Joe and Justin were having dinner with several other Star Wars creators. In a surreal scene, I shuffled past Dave Prowse (Darth Vader) chatting with a fan, Kenny Baker (R2-D2) leaning over to tell the bartender something, Peter Mayhew (Chewbacca) grabbing a bite to eat, and doe-eyed Amy Allen (Aayla Secura) sitting pretty in a cantina sequence worthy of a galaxy far, far away. I shook the weird out of my head and continued toward the patio... this was going to be a very interesting week.

I saw many friendly faces, including my frequent collaborator Joe, sketch card artists Justin of World Famous Comics (which hosts my Philodoxer column), excitable Leah Mangue, and kind-hearted Cynthia Cummens, comics illustrator Jan Duursema and her tough-as-nails Quinlan Vos-model Doug Wangler, Essential Guide to the Force illustrator Chris Trevas, and How To Draw Star Wars artist Matt Busch. I also ran into Lucasfilmers Leland Chee and Pablo Hidalgo, and writers Aaron Allston, Enrique Guerrero and Mike Kogge. Then I made new friends like Star Wars artists Grant "Wild Man" Gould, Steve "McCool" Anderson, David "McFly" Rabbitte, and JAKe Steel, whose name has the ring of a movie star (of one sort or another). I also got to rap the Force (and wolf fighting techniques) with author Troy Denning.

I attended several panels, though contrary to my prediction, I couldn't make the drive down in time to get to the Continuity panel Saturday morning, and I committed myself to an important lunch when the Wookieepedia Trivia event was scheduled. However, I did get to see Billy Dee Williams spin his silk charm, an update on the progress of the Force Unleashed videogame, and got blown away by the animated Clone Wars trailer.

I also met and partied with lots of fans! On Thursday, I joined the mob of Star Wars bloggers at the Liberty Grill, and spilled Skywalker wine with Bob Vitas, JSarek, Rainbow Droideka, DJ Maul, Lord Hydronium, Simon, Mark, and Viago Angel, and chatted with the lovely ladies Hansgirl, Aadi_Rila (a.k.a. Punk Leia), and Carrie, and shared a laugh with The Stooge. I also got to meet Dark Spork, Arf_Maul, Bethany, Grand Admiral Sean, and Jedi Master Mina, and saw enough slave Leias and painted Twi'leks to make even a Jedi Master blush. I even saw Qymaen (a.k.a. Grievous) and Ronderu from The Story of General Grievous project I wrote and Joe illustrated! Few things are more bizarre and gratifying than seeing characters you helped create come to life.

It wasn't all play and no work, though. I also got to chat with a number of Star Wars licensee editors. My magic Quay ball says, "Outcome looks promising."

I came up on some cool exclusive merchandise too. The Wookieepedians made a gift for me of a snazzy T-shirt, and taking to heart a gag we discussed last year at San Diego Comic Con, Joe and Jeff Wedding surprised Justin, Doug, and myself with T-shirts splashed with the words "I SURVIVED ORDER 66," based on the fact that the three Jedi who bare our likenesses (Kai Justiss, Quin, and Halagad Ventor) did just that.

But easily the strangest and most memorable occurence of the convention occured when Leah and I were trying to get back to the convention center via the L.A. Metro late at night when we randomly ran into a friend of mine I hadn't seen in almost a year: eclectic musician and co-founder of Create (!) Orlando Greenhill. Orlando had found a lost 18-year-old girl on the Metro who was in a serious predicament: far away from home, with no cell phone (and therefore no contact numbers), her father in a sticky situation with the law, and her mother getting married the next day! Amazingly, the place of the wedding and Leah's home happen to be the same, and to which Leah was heading back that night.

When we found out the young lady's plan was to take a train to South Central (think Menace II Society), where she used to live, and look around for anyone she knew (at nearly midnight), we offered her to ride with us. After some hesitation, she agreed. We explained to the girl that we were a writer and illustrator for Star Wars licensees, both in Los Angeles for Star Wars' 30th anniversary convention. While she told us she loved Lord of the Rings, she admitted she didn't really "get" Star Wars ... though her two older brothers were absolutely fanatical about the films, dressing up as characters on the days of the prequels' theatrical releases, and spending exorbitant sums of money on collectibles. Leah and I exchanged looks of surprise ... the Force works in mysterious ways. "They're gonna be so jealous when they hear I met you guys!" she said.

After figuring out the Metro lines, we made made our way back to the convention center, where our new friend imparted that she'd moved away from Los Angeles to get away from the bad influences she'd been surrounded by, and had succeeded in turning her life around and getting an architectural scholarship to Florida, so she and Leah had plenty to talk about as fellow artists. I gave the ladies a ride to Leah's hotel, and from there they both headed out to find Mom. I called Orlando and told him everything's cool and we both sighed a breath of relief.

Despite all the cons I've been to, this convention was fairly unique. And after the aforementioned event, I felt I'd come away with one of those singular experiences that transcend the Star Wars phenomenon by the very virtue of our involvement with it. "I didn't think there were any nice people left in L.A.," our young friend said, though most of us can replace those two city initials with any number of places.

One day after Celebration IV, I turned 28, almost as old as Star Wars itself. And in my years, I've been from one side of this planet to the other and seen and done a lot of strange stuff. I've had success with my writing and in making friends; I've also been lied to, cheated, and mugged; I've hurt people and been hurt, and I've shown and been shown great kindness in the darkest hours.

That night, Leah and I were able to help a young girl who'd been shook around by life like dice in a cup but who clearly had a good heart. And for a night, we got the opportunity to make the right decision and do in a small way, but for real, that thing that Jedi do. And I re-learned that it's always up to each of us to prove there are still good people in all parts of the world.

Thanks to everyone who stopped by to say hello, asked me to sign something, or complimented my outlandish shoes from Tokyo. To those who I met but forgot to mention, no offense meant... I just probably had too much Jawa juice that night. Be sure to drop a line and say what's up!

Look forward to seeing you all again soon! ~ Abel G. Peņa

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