From: [d--nc--r] at [aurora.cis.upenn.edu] (Johanna Draper)
Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.info,rec.arts.comics.misc
Subject: Draper's Capers: Mid-Ohio Con
Date: Mon, 11 Dec 95 02:07:49 GMT

Whew! For a bit, I thought I'd lost my con notes. Not a big deal, except
they were written on the back of my want list, and as any anal-retentive
fan knows, you just can't stay organized without a want list. And I know,
that's not a very good excuse for being two weeks late with the report. The
main reason I'm even doing one after all this time is to win a bet, so if
you like this, thank Mike for motivating me.

If you've read Elayne's report, you know the basics of the Thanksgiving
night arrival at Leah's in preparation for the Friday morning gang road
trip departure, so I'll just take this time to say thank you: to Dave, for
giving me a real Thanksgiving dinner and playing chauffeur; to Ed, for
keeping me entertained in the van; to Leah, for the crash space, raising
great kids that actually listened to me, and doing all that driving; and to
Elayne and Steve for a lovely arrival party.

Their get-togethers are always a great chance to catch up with old friends
and make new ones. At this shindig, I met some wonderfully artistic Titans
fans (who, in spite of that, were great people <g>) and Paul Storrie, who
shares my particular sense of humor, which really scares me. The party
really got hopping, though, when Sidne, Chris, and Joanna showed up.
Suddenly we had bets being made (Sidne and Elayne over the San Diego trivia
grudge match) and voiceover competitions going on (Paul and Joanna, dueling
accents), but maybe the champagne had something to do with that.

We shortly adjourned to the bar so Elayne could practice her stalking of a
certain Brit. I don't know how the bartender guessed that I was the one to
ask if we wanted the dance floor set up (could it have been the way I was
bouncing up and down and making remarks about the music?), but he did and
it was. Of course, itUs not a real con if I don't dance myself silly every
night, so I did my best.

The next morning started for me at the Friends of Lulu table. John Byrne
had agreed to start off our signing schedule, with Joanna and I working the
table. On my part, that consisted of asking the long line of people to stay
against the wall and offering them kisses (chocolate ones only, you gutter
minds; it's a Lulu tradition). I followed that up by doing a circuit of
artists' alley, the high point of which was chatting with George Perez and
getting my picture taken with Spider-Man and the Green Goblin. I did the
latter under protest, but it seemed to make Dave happy. (You still owe me a
copy of that photo, Dave!)

Lunch was a Legion gathering, except not really. Well, sort of; Roger Stern
was kind enough to join us, but we didn't talk much about the Legion.
Actually, I didn't talk much about anything, since I was making sure to
finish in time to make it to the Comic Book Squares, which I was co-hosting
with Joe Edkin, a truly great master of ceremonies. The squares consisted
of Mary Bierbaum; Beau Smith (a southern gentleman, contrary to what he
might have you believe); George Perez (who finished a gorgeous sketch of
Wonder Woman for me while there; thank you so much!); Joanna joined by Mark
Evanier; Roger Stern; Leah; Bill Messner-Loebs; Tom Bierbaum; and Bernie
Wrightson and Joy. Even though I picked the contestant cards, I promise
that I had nothing to do with two of my friends winding up as the
semifinalists. Mark and Ed competed fair and square.

Then it was off to be interviewed at the Lulu table for a column in
Subliminal Tattoos, which looks to be very interesting even though I
haven't had a chance to look through the issue given me yet. (That's not
unusual; I also haven't yet had a chance to look through stuff I was given
at San Diego. It's been a busy [but terrific!] year.) Bill M.-L. had what I
heard was a great signing at the Lulu table around this time, but I was
suddenly out of energy, so all I remember is staring at people while trying
to figure out what language they were speaking (most of the time, it was
English). I think that's when I got sketches from Stan Sakai (who did one
in my sketchbook and one in my Usagi Yojimbo Book One after I enthused
about how much I love the rabbit's topknot), Wayne Wong (buy Primitives! or
they wonUt be around long enough to print my story!), and Paul.

I had somewhat recovered by that evening, when we went out for the
traditional sushi dinner, which featured great food but rotten service. (I
should have suspected something when the servers started arguing over who
was going to wait on us: "You." "No, you.") My recollection was that the
following people were there: me, Elayne and Steve, Mark Rogers, Ed, Richard
Fish (Elayne's Firesign friend), Sidne and Chris, Dave, and Paul. Over the
second round of sushi, we had what I thought was a fascinating discussion
touching on all sorts of hot-button issues: censorship, civic
responsibility, and so on, but I've since been informed that we bored Ed.
Sorry about that; next year I'll do my best to only talk about comics all
weekend.

We returned to the hotel in time to miss all the good music at the Motown
party. Just as we walked in, they began the costume contest, which featured
Michael Davis making jokes about the contestants for half an hour while
everyone else stood around and waited for the music to start up again. We
also missed Mr. Perez dancing with Wonder Woman; oh, well, I didn't have my
camera anyway. We later adjourned to the bar, where Sidne and I had the
pleasure of dancing with Matt Feazell, who cuts a mean rug.

Sunday morning we actually managed to meet for breakfast in the food court
(and it wasn't bad, either). After comparing notes on how everyone's con
was going, I worked the Lulu table while Steve Lieber signed (and drew
gorgeous sketches, as always). Later that morning, I finally found time to
slip away and do some shopping. Among other things, I found a book I'd been
looking for since Chicago: Brave and the Bold 63, aka "Supergirl and Wonder
Woman go to Paris". A true classic, this issue shows our favorite
"super-chicks" giving up the hero biz to find fashion and romance.

And the afternoon only got better from there. After lunch with the "girls"
(Sidne, Elayne, and Joanna), I got to live out a dream. I moderated the
last-minute Wonder Woman panel of John Byrne, William Messner-Loebs, and
George Perez, and as soon as I got the artists to stop talking about how
Wonder Woman improved their sex lives, it went great. (Just kidding, guys;
thanks so much for agreeing to participate at the last minute!) The con
wound down shortly after that, and after helping Chris and Sidne pack up
the booth (an activity which, contrary to what they think, really was
enjoyed by all) and another dinner with lots of people, we were all too
quickly packing (and repacking) the van for the trip back.

I'd definitely do it all again next year, except for the leaving on a
ten-hour drive at nine at night part; this was the best con since San
Diego. Thanks to everyone for a great time, and thanks especially to the
van crew's patience with me on the trip back. I was so worn out and
stressed that I'm afraid I wasn't very good company, and I appreciate their
forbearance. If you're in the area next Thanksgiving, put this con on your
list, and I'll see you there.

Johanna