My Haul from the Portland Con

[Cei-U!]

So I managed to hold myself to a $30 spending limit at the Portland (Oregon) show and still came home with a big stack of comics. Oh, how I love 50 cent boxes! As I had at Emerald City, I worked without a want list, relying on memory and impulse. The results:

* Issues 13 and 15-19 of the mid-70s revival of New Gods. The story is a limp and pallid rehash of Kirby's run but the art is by the late, great Don Newton.
* A half-dozen Claremont/Byrne Marvel Team-Ups (62, 66-67, 69-70 and 79, the Red Sonja story) plus #87, Gene Colan's only issue, written by CBR columnist Steven Grant.
* Three Garcia-Lopez DC Comics Presents plus #52, the first Ambush Bug story.
* Three issues each of Bronze Age Batmans and Detectives, with art by Newton, Novick and lesser lights. Can't remember the issue numbers, sorry.
* Showcase #97, the first appearance of the New Doom Patrol. I'd forgotten how dopey Robotman looked as a Rog-2000 wannabe.
* The first issue of Krypton Chronicles, one of the first DC minis. Art by Swan, natch, adequately inked by Frank Chiaramonte.
* Seven books I needed for my Earth-2 collection: Action #516, Adventure #435, 440 (both Aparo Spectre stories) and 464 (a Dollar Comic with a Newton Aquaman and Aparo Deadman keeping the Levitz/Staton JSA company), The Flash #299 and Green Lantern #108-9.
* A tattered but whole copy of Kid Colt, Outlaw #121, guest-starring the rawhide Kid.
* I'm disappointed that the issue of The Fox and the Crow I bought on impulse had missing pages, as did a New Look-era Detective, but them's the breaks when you shop the bargain boxes.

I also bought the first issue of Back Issue (and had a nice chat with its personable editor Michael Eury) and an autographed copy of the Julie Schwartz tribute comic DC Comics Presents: Hawkman with a fun, touching stories by Bates/Byrne and Busiek/Simonson.

Of course the *real* fun was in hanging out with such CBR stalwarts as Rob Allen, Greg and Julie Hatcher, Clayholio, K'Nort, Starsandgarters and my buddy Nitmo, not to mention the honorable Mssrs. Orzechowski and Busiek, who deigned to dine with we mere mortals.

Good food, good company and comic books. Does it get any better than that?

Cei-U!
How sad is it that I think of it as a wild weekend?

[dan bailey]

impossible -- none of those are on my want list! probably you just forgot to list a big stack of 100-page super-spectaculars that some dealer paid you to take ...

[Metamorpho]

How sad is it that I think of it as a wild weekend?



Sounds like MY idea of a GREAT weekend well spent!

[Lone Ranger]

* A tattered but whole copy of Kid Colt, Outlaw #121, guest-starring the rawhide Kid.


That's a good one Kurt - features an Iron Mask appearance IIRC.

I love how the western books followed the same basic formulas for crossovers as the mainstream superhero books. It's the 'Punch first, ask questions later' approach.

I also think that book has one of those strangely loveable 5-page back-up stories by Larry Lieber. Nothing like 19th century morality distilled to 20-30 panels!

Nice haul overall - too bad about the missing pages, but them's the breaks I guess. Glad to hear you had fun with everyone - seems like a good crew out on the left coast.

[dan bailey]

That's a good one Kurt - features an Iron Mask appearance IIRC.


at first i misread that as iron man & felt a bit puzzled, but after reading the avengers serpent crown tpb a few days ago i probably shouldn't find such a scenario particularly off-putting ...