From: [m--kb--y] at [oak.circa.ufl.edu] (Holy Moley!)
Subject: DragonCon Review [3 of 3]
Date: 19 Jul 1994 21:14:58 GMT
Reply-To: [m--kb--y] at [oak.circa.ufl.edu]


   It seemed like the "big" guests didn't sign down in the dealers'
room/artists' alley.  James O'Barr was set up somewhere else, but
I didn't have a chance to go get my Crow TPB signed.  Bess Cutler
Gallery which is handling O'Barr's original art sales had a whole
room to display their wares.  They also handle sales of Clive Barker
art.  If anybody is interested in this kind of stuff, e-mail me and
I'll be glad to give you their phone number and address.  I only
caught Whilce Portacio twice as I was walking around.  Once it looked
like he was trying to walk around the dealers' room incognito without
a badge.  I missed seeing him too, which was too bad since I wanted
to ask him why he sold Wetworks to Jim Lee...  Didn't see Boris
Vallejo, though he was supposed to be in attendance.  Missed a lot of
other guests I wasn't really interested in.

   The company booths were a bit lame this year.  Marvel and Dark
Horse didn't even bother to come to DragonCon leaving DC being
the only large publisher to set up.  Wildstorm and Extreme studios
both had little booths, with Extreme showing previews of the Young-
blood cartoon.  Looks about equal to the X-Men cartoon.  Valiant
had a decent booth that only really got crowded during the trivia
contests.  I thought people didn't care about winning platinum
Dr. Mirage trading cards anymore???  The Comic Book Legal Defense
Fund had a table where you could donate and receive a gift depending
on your donation.  For $75 you'd get the signed and limited hardcover
of Frank Miller's Sin City.  Diamond was great as they gave me a
free Cerebus: High Society paperback.  Now I just gotta find a year's
free time to read it...

   Didn't hit any panels except for the one about Kirby and Kurtzman,
and even then, it started late so I left before it began!  Everything
seemed so disorganized this year.  The Betty Page Look-Alike contest
was pretty lame this year.  It started off late and only had 7 
contestants.  However, for the lecherous guys (and gals too I guess),
there was one contestant who won the crowd over by exposing her
chest which was covered only by pasties.  She only came in 2nd place
though.  Personally, I thought it was a waste of time.  Missed out
on the CBG awards and the Masquerade because my friends and I wanted
to check out the Throb (a local Atlanta store) fashion show.  Leather
and lace were promised, but a band played for about an hour or so
before any girls came out.  The female drummer was grinning the entire
time -- as soon as I saw her, I had to laugh.  I was praying that the
band would finish their set and announce that the fashion show was
only a joke just so's I could have a good laugh!  However, the 
concentration of losers wanting to see some scantily-clad women 
was so intense that it would've been a blood bath.  =)  Anyhow,
for those of you interested, the schedule had it listed as "adult
oriented" but it was rather tame.  Unfortunately, I had missed the
Mark Bode Cartoon Concert which really deserves the label "adult 
oriented"!  (It's absolutely hilarious!)

   For future reference, the lunch buffet at the Hilton's restaurant
is absolutely terrific.  You'll pay $10 for lunch, but it's worth
every single penny!  Baked cod in dill sauce, grilled chicken in
port sauce, grilled stuffed tomatoes and spinach, spaghetti and
meatballs, etc... my mouth is drooling now just thinking about it!
And if you're not in the mood for AYCE, everything off of the menu
is pretty darn good too.  If you walk down the skyway to Peachtree
center, there's a large food court where you can dine more affordably
at Chick-Fil-A, Gorin's, Gyro Wrap, Chinese Take Out, and other
places.  If you're REALLY cheap, the con suite had tuna salad
as well as PB&J available with bread for you to make sandwiches to
your heart's content as your friends pig out on tortilla chips
and salsa or cookies.

   I put my name up on Jeff Mason's RACM note at the message board,
but in no time the board was in absolute chaos.  I was suprised that
his list stayed up as long as it did (about a day and a half).  Never
did get to meet any other RACMers except Patman.  However, there
were some pretty decent room parties going on as well as a dance
for those into the pseudo-gothic/industrial scene.  All I can say
was that I got free drinks every evening, and most everybody was
pretty nice.  DragonCon is a pretty decent place to party.  A warning
to female fans -- some of those guys looked pretty desperate!  =D

   Anyhow, I was beaten and bruised at the end of the show, especially
after finding out I had left my lights on and had a dead battery
in my car.  Still, as I drove away down I-75, I knew I'd be back
for more next year.  Hope to see you there in '95!

--m.
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As long as it's hot and wet and goes down the right way it's fine with me.
     -- The Duchess of York, Fergie, on tea.
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