From: [l--eb--r] at [darwin.bu.edu] (Steven Ian Lieber) Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc Subject: Lieber's con report Date: 4 Jul 1994 07:44:41 GMT Lieber's Con Highlights: Not much happened on Thursday evening-- I wolfed down FAR too much pizza at the complimentary party, and plugged Hawkman to a number of retailers. Later I finally had the pleasure of meeting Curt Shoulz, my inker. We really clicked and enjoyed the chance to talk with each other without mentally clocking the 55 cents per minute rate for international calls. Friday was busier than I expected. Lots of people told me how much they like the book and I gave away 30 or 40 of those little freebie Hawkman gesture drawings I do. "Roadways" sold like gangbusters. I sat opposite Sheldon Moldoff but never gathered up the moxie to introduce myself. He had these lovely Hawkman drawings at his table and I didn't feel right showing him my own brutal, gore-flecked renderings. The Hyatt was insanely busy. There was some sort of Bengali convention going going on at the same time as Chi-con and at any odd moment an auditorium door would open -hundreds of attendees spilling out, surrounding me with saris in every color of the rainbow. I was always a head taller than the crowd, and must've made a goofy picture- my pale, bewildered head bobbing on that sea of glossy black hair and jeweled faces. The DC dinner was terrific. When I realized that I had no business to take care of and that I wasn't up for shop talk, I was able to focus all my energies on scarfing down as much food and drink as possible. True gluttony, folks. Later, I made an imbecile of myself at the hotel bar. Saturday was another fine day for business. I managed to carve out some time to talk to some accquaintances in the small press. Lots more free quickie drawings, sold a page of art and about a dozen sketches. Airfare and Hotel covered! The rest is gravy... Had dinner with Curt in the Sofitel. Wonderful salmon, so-so baguette. I had to tell the waitress the recipe for Iced Coffee. Two thirds of the way through the meal , as Curt and I were tossing back and forth design ideas for upcoming issues, we were seranaded by the bass/accordian duo that works there. I asked for "Freddy Freeloader" but they didn't like that and "Round Midnight" wound up as the tune of choice. Usually I despise accord- ians but they weren't bad. Curt made the mistake of tipping so well that they played another number, this time "The Girl from Ipanema." Oy. Later, I made an imbecile of myself at the hotel bar. Sunday was quieter, but still a good day. A lovely, sweet faced college girl, hugging a black bound sketchbook to her breast, told me that she absolutely ADORED my work. She'd been a huge fan of mine since Warlord and Jon Sable... Not much more of interest took place. I had a nice chat with Bronwyn Taggart at Paradox Press, for whom I'll be doing a 2 page story, got to gush fannishly at my uber-boss Archie Goodwin, traded terrible puns with some favorite cartoonists, plugged my work and met the folks who read it, including a couple dozen RACers. (Did everyone get their sketch? If not catch me in Atlanta, Philly or Mid-Ohio. Apologies to anyone who caught me at a busy time- I still haven't mastered the art of conversation juggling. It AMAZES me how well some guys can handle it.) Harlan Ellison held open a door for me. I found a sketchbook that I'd lost and gabbed about proper hat blocking with Matt Feazell on the flight home. A very nice time overall. Steve