This ought to be fun- my first appearance in Kansas City. I'll be a guest at Planet Comicon this weekend, Saturday October 2nd and Sunday the 3rd. The show will be held at the Overland Park International Trade Center 115th & Metcalf   Overland Park, Ks, and runs from 10-6 on Saturday, 10-5 on Sunday. Advanced two-day ticket holders get early admission on Saturdays. Tickets can be purchased at select Comic Shops located in the Kansas City area.  You can call (913)345-9910 for locations.

The guest list is remarkable and centers on the wildly popular ABC line of comics: artists Chris Sprouse, Gene Ha, Zander Cannon, Kevin Nowlan, Rick Veitch, J.H. Williams, Mick Gray and editor Scott Dunbier are all scheduled to be there, as will Jim Mahfood, Phil Hester, Ande Parks and others. There will also be appearances by the wrestler Diamond Dallas Page and by James Marsters, one of the stars of the Buffy tv show.

There will also be a CBLDF auction, and I understand there are going to be some ABC comics autographed by Alan Moore given away.

I'll be there too, pushing Whiteout fiendishly. I might have some copies of WHITEOUT:Melt #1 with me, but I'm not sure if I'll have received my comps by then. (If any retailers who plan to attend are reading this, bring whatever copies of Melt you have to the show, let me know where you're set up and I'll send people to your table.)

As always, I'll be doing sketches and I'll have a big stack of original art with me. (I'll also have some life-drawing. I continue to hope that my readers will show an interest in representations of the human figure that don't boast a mask, cape or corporate logo.) My offer to those of you who read these things continues- mention that you saw this message at comicon.com and get a free quick doodle of WHITEOUT's Carrie Stetko, or of any other character I've drawn- Batman, Hawkman, Conan, my Grendel, Danish physicist Niels Bohr or even Inky, the Internet Public Library's didactic ink blot. And if you'd like an unkind and thorough portfolio critique, I'll be happy to take a look. (I prefer handling xeroxes over originals, and please just show me your best 8-10 pages.)

I'm really excited about this show. The organizers have impressed me with their energy and enthusiasm, and I couldn't be happier about being their guest. If you're in the area, I urge you to come by and support their efforts.

More info about Planet Comicon is available at http://www.planetcomicon.com/

Steve Lieber
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My web page: http://www.geocities.com/SoHo/Museum/8914/
The WHITEOUT tpb, with a cover by Frank Miller, is available in better comics shops everywhere. The first issue of the sequel, WHITEOUT:MELT, should be in stores now, I think.

That is great news!!! I didn't know you were going to be a guest. I've been wanting to pick up Whiteout and it looks like I'll have an even better reason now! Looking forward to meeting you Sunday!

Ralph

So, how was the weekend, Steve, et al?

I had a fine time. The convention wasn't hugely busy, but I certainly had more than enough attention, and this meant I was able to actually talk to the people at my table. it was great to spend time with wonderful cartoonists like Gene Ha, Zander Cannon, Chris Sprouse and our host here, Rick Veitch. It was fun hearing Rick giving a panel audience a dose of industry reality and exposing them for what was probably the first time to the notion of the connect sales market.

I also enjoyed seeing Kevin Nowlan's kids in action, watching Gene Ha make fans do strange stunts in return for sketches, working and reworking a Nexus sketch, looking at the cool layouts on the back of Chris Sprouse's originals, answering questions about storytelling and life drawing, and gawking in amazement as fanzine publisher after fanzine publisher came to Jim Mahfood for interviews. James Marsters heard me mention that I was looking for something I could eat (I've got a diet that's kind of restrictive) and he offered me some of his stuff, which was very cool of him. (Come to think of it- this goes down as the first time I've ever heard of a "media" guest at a convention doing a favor for a comics guest. Any other stories of this happening?)

The organizers did a fine job. Everything ran smoothly. There were always volunteers available to help out with anything the guests required, and I felt like my presense was really appreciated. I'll happily do this show again.

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http://www.geocities.com/slieber234/
The WHITEOUT tpb, and the first issue of its sequel, WHITEOUT:MELT, are now available in stores. Previews of both are available on my webpage.