Friday, July 20, 2001
We waited in line outside the San Diego Convention Center almost 45 minutes, because we had not pre-registered. The Top Cow panel discussion with Anthony Cistaro, Eric Etebari and Mark Silvestri began at 11:00 a.m. and the Convention doors did not open until 10:00 a.m. Our line to register and get inside did not begin moving until 10:00. Surprisingly, we did get in with plenty of time to spare though.

We set-up early in the discussion room, so we could get some photos. The volunteer at the door told us we could not use flash, so with the bad lighting the pictures were not very good. There were lots of Witchblade TV series questions- which Marc Silvestri answered. Anthony took a couple and Eric one, I think. In fact, Eric would have had to put his chair against the wall to get any further away from the microphone. Anthony looked more comfortable with all the hoopla. A couple of questions went to Dave Wohl (Top Cow) and the head of Media (didn't catch his name). Mostly the panel was a chance to see the actors, not to listen to them.

Anthony and Eric discussed the relationship between Irons and Nottingham. Anthony focused on how Irons enjoys predicting how people (Nottingham and Pezzini) are going to react and anticipating their actions (including any changing loyalty by Nottingham). Eric said that the relationship will be changing from mentor/father-son/servant to a more adult/ businesslike relationship, as Nottingham begins to question Irons' orders.

After the panel, Anthony and Eric were mobbed by fans, but we waited patiently. After most people had moved away, I was able to talk to Anthony and thank him for emailing me some biographical information (relayed) through a friend. As such, he was aware that I was on a quest to get information for a fan's Witchblade site. He offered to answer any questions we (the fans) might have, if I would act as the coordinator. We talked about living in Boston (we lived there 1991-96 & AC from 1996-1997); his upcoming play "The King Stag"; the on-line community; swimming and the show. He is very charming and easygoing.

Eric seemed more relaxed speaking one-on-one with Heather than speaking on the panel. They talked a great deal about San Diego State University, his alma mater (because she works there), and athletics. He said that his background in football and volleyball helped to prepare him for the physical demands of this role. We had brought a player photo with us for him to sign. Anthony saw it first and was laughing so hard he could barely speak. Once Eric saw the photo he said "Oh my god! Where did you get that?" He guessed it was from his Freshman or Sophomore year, but there was no date on the back. We had some impromptu volleyball demonstrated for us as he went into a receiving stance. He is still playing volleyball with Mike Mattarocci, one of his former SDSU teammates.

Heather and Eric discussed the absence of Men's Volleyball at SDSU, the scholarship Eric had established there, and various ways that he could remain involved through alumni events that might promote the show and the school. We asked him what he is doing right now and he said he is looking forward to doing more movie roles. It was nice to see him relaxed, and SMILING! He mentioned that his part in Witchblade was so small that he did not know if his character would be back- not like he would not want to return, but that he thought no one had noticed him. We asked them, "have you been on-line lately?" Both he and Anthony seemed clueless about how interested people are in their characters, and in them personally. We gave them both the URL's for the yahoo boards, the Warner Bros message board and the Eric Etebari Fan site. Hopefully, they will get a chance to come by and read everything, because they seemed to be under the mistaken impression that David Chokachi would be the main male interest for the show (perhaps from the TNT press kit focus?).

12:30 p.m. we got in the line for autographs, which already had about 50 people waiting. We took some photos while we waited, for in addition to the actors, the gauntlet and Nottingham's helmet (one of them) were on display too. The guys were serious most of the time, but every time Eric looked up he would grin at us- I think it was that knowledge of the upcoming volleyball picture to sign- and then he would go back to being serious for all the cameras.

We spoke with the guys at the table again and Anthony wanted me to contact the TNT people too, so they would know that the fans want to know more about all of the Witchblade actors. Unfortunately, he did not have the TNT representatives' e-mail address, so I promised to contact him later and get it. He introduced the woman next to him as Michelle, one of the Witchblade writers (At the time, I didn't realize he meant THE Michelle Z.). We took a couple more photos, got a bunch of things signed and said goodbye. After that, it was a further tour of the Exhibitors areas.

An hour or more later, we found ourselves being flagged down by Anthony. He got on his cell phone to get the email address from his TNT contact, punctuated by Eric trying to dial in and Anthony momentarily ignoring him. He was with David Wohl of Top Cow and we got to talking about the Convention. Anthony asked if we were coming back on Saturday, to which we replied we could not afford to. He said he would be happy to give us passes if he had any, but he did not. At which point the words "Maybe Dave has some?" popped hopefully out of my mouth before I could stop them. I was a bit embarrassed, but Anthony looked over and said "Dave?" and we all trooped back to the Top Cow booth, so Dave could see if any were available. While he disappeared, we talked with Anthony some more. Dave was a hero! He came up with two passes, which he swapped for ours, and we "became" part of the Top Cow Professional Staff. I joked with him that he just knew we would feel compelled to read all the comics as a result of his generosity. Which was true. Heather bought Witchblade: Volume 1 the next day. He also took our photo with Anthony. (We hit the one-hour photo on the way home.)

Saturday, July 21, 2001
Picked up the photos and enlarged a couple to 5x7. As suspected, the panel discussion photos did not look too good because of the lighting. The rest turned out well though, for a couple of amateurs. Arrived at the convention center around 12:30 p.m. for the 1 p.m. session. Standing in line, Heather spots Anthony with Kelly, the TNT representative. He appears to be waiting in his own autograph line. Dressed more casually today, I go over and tease him a little. He says jokingly, " I want to know all about this Irons guy." Took a couple more photos of him and got back into line. Eric has arrived. Finally, we are back to the front again. They joke around poking fun at themselves in the candid photos, comparing the whiteness of their teeth (Yes, so the amateur photographers went a little crazy with the flash, ok?) etc. Heather and I win Witchblade t-shirts for answering trivia questions about the show, which were: What was the name of the theatre the shootout took place in? (Rialto) What kind of motorcycle does Sara ride? (Buell) What would you like to see happen to my character? The last question was from Eric. My answer: we'd just like to see more of you. Both of you.

They start to do serious faces for more photos, but we cannot help ourselves. "C'mon. We can get that from screen captures. Let's see some smiles." Anthony immediately says, "I can smile," and suits action to words. Eric does the same. These two play off each other really well. In fact, I'd say that they really enjoy hamming it up with each other.

The congenial and cheerful reception we received each time we spoke with Anthony Cistaro and Eric Etebari made the Comic Con more interesting for us than we had expected. The generous amount of time Anthony spent speaking with the two of us, and answering all of our questions inspired us to create a web page for him.