One of the most gracious moments I've ever heard happen at a convention occurred yesterday at San Diego's famed Comic-Con International 2008.
Hugh Jackman was flown in to appear as a surprise guest at the X-Men Origins: Wolverine panel. He had just finished filming and was resting in Australia. After a 10 hour flight, he jumped on stage where 6,500 fans stuffed into the room, erupted in cheers and applause.
The first thing Jackman did was crack some jokes, humbly thanked the fans for their support, then looked into the audience, pointing out Len Wein. Len is a newly minted Eisner Hall of Fame inductee (congratulations sir!) He, along with Neal Adams and Jim Shooter instilled my early love of comics and social activism - thank you! Working for Marvel in 1974, Len, along with Herb Trimpe and John Romita, Sr., created the character of Wolverine. Making Jackman a very rich star. Now if only Marvel would return creator rights like DC did, Len and the others would be pretty well set too. Just sayin'
Jackman told Len with complete sincerity, “I waited a long time to thank you personally and I wanted to shake your hand, mate. It’s one of the best comic book characters ever created and as an actor, it’s a challenge to play and I’ve just done it for the fourth time, and I still feel there’s more to find out and that’s down to you, from your great mind and heart creating a great character.”
Len's blog, doesn't mention it yet, but his wife, former attorney for the SFWA, M. C. Valada, apparently got a heads-up. She didn't tell Len, she just told him to "de-geek". She writes about it in her blog.
Watch the Comic-Con appearance on YouTube.
Here's the link to an EW.com interview Jackman did just minutes after his Panel appearance.
Nice post. I didn't know Hugh was going to jump off the stage. I thought someone was going to point out Len in the audience and throw a camera on him, which is why he needed to take off his hat. Believe me, it was much cooler having the amazine Hugh do what he did.--Christine Valada
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