Terrificon Recap 2: Rick Hoberg, Gerry Conway, And Others

Welcome to my second Terrificon recap!

Terrificon is a couple of weekends in my rear view mirror but I still am feeling the joy of heading to a fantastic comic convention and rubbing elbows with some creators. Last week, I talked about my great interactions with Gene Ha and Robert Venditti. Today I'll review the other notable moments.

I had two commission goals for the con: Ha and Rick Hoberg. Hoberg is mostly known for his work on Star Wars and on the Jane Foster Thor What If? issue. But for me, he is known as the artist for Supergirl's last adventure before Crisis on Infinite Earths #7. With that hook, I thought a Supergirl commission by him would be cool.

I dropped of my book with him within hours of the con opening. Unfortunately, Hoberg was unable to get it finished over the three day con. As a result, I have a half-finished commission in the book. He was very apologetic about the whole thing. He even offered to take the book back to his studio and ship it. But I have something like 60 sketches in the book. I couldn't risk that being put in the mail.

It is a bit of a shame because it sounds like he had a grand vision for this with Supergirl in space, Earth below, blocking this ray. It is also a bit of a shame because I specifically asked if he could get it done over the course of the con and he said on both Friday and Saturday that he could. Had I known that he wouldn't finish, I probably would have sought out another artist for a commission. 

Ah well, what might have been.

I did get some signatures from him including DC Comics Presents #86, the last non-Crisis Supergirl story, as well as the first two Power Girl issues from her first mini-series.

As much as the commission was something of a downer, the con had so many more ups ..

Gerry Conway is a legend in the field and yet, somehow, had never been to a con that I attended. So when he was announced at Terrificon I was thrilled. He is a pricey $20 per signature so I had to calculate the number of issues to bring to sign and then which issues! Given Conway's long career this wasn't easy. 

I went with some easy ones. Firestorm (vol 1) #1, Fury of Firestorm #1, Action Comics #521 (first Vixen), and All-Star Comics #58 (first Power Girl). 

But then I needed to pick a couple that were really more cherished by me than the mainstream. He wrote Legion of Super-Heroes #259, the first Legion only book. And Superman #307 is just a favorite of mine. 

Conway was incredibly nice and let me gush a bit. So great to meet the heroes from your youth.

I also got to quickly meet Mirka Andolfo and have her sign some of my Bombshells issues. I really liked the early stories in that book. 

Howard Chaykin is one of the creators on my personal Mount Rushmore. I have met him many times in the past. But he was showcased on a panel (one of many many panels which ran seemingly non-stop in the con) and I attended to hear his wit and wisdom. I even got to ask a question about Twilight, a particular favorite series of his. 

Dan Didio was there promoting Frank Miller Presents ... or FMP ... a new line of books coming out. I made it into the end of his panel. He said (as he has said in the past) that he realized that the energy was out of his time in DC when Supergirl going evil for the 4th time was pitched to him. (He could have rejected those ideas!) 

Jim Shooter was there and always had a line. He is a true gentlemen, signing books for free and really talking to fans who approached him. I got to talk to him about his most recent time on Legion of Super-Heroes, including the rapid conclusion of the book with the final issue written by Justin Tyme, a pseudonym. I always assumed it was Shooter who disliked the ending and didn't want to be associated with it. But he said he quit the book last minute and someone else wrote that last issue.

And Stephanie Phillips was there, another creator I haven't met before. I have enjoyed her Harley Quinn book, a title which walks the fine line between Looney Tunes cartoons, in depth looks at mental health, and action. That is not easy!

There are way more moments I could comment on and way more interactions which were cool. But the bottom line is this is truly a comic book convention and one that is run well. 

Already looking forward to next year.