HeroesCon 2005! Who's comin'?!

[adamcasey]

http://www.heroesonline.com/con-update.htm

June 24-26
@ the Charlotte Convention center
501 S. Collge St.
Charlotte, NC

Tickets:
3-day pass: $20
1-day pass: $10
1-day parent pass: $5
3-day parent pass: $10 (must be purchased with accompanying full-price ticket)
Kids under 12: FREE!

Guest list includes:
Michael Bair- Identity Crisis, DC Countdown, JSA, Hawkman, Wonder Woman
June Brigman- Brenda Starr, Black Beauty, Power Pack
Buzz- Atomika, JSA, Vampirella
John Cassaday- Astonishing X-Men, Planetary, Captain America
Howard Chaykin- American Flagg, Challengers of the Unknown, Legend
Cliff Chiang- Human Target, Beware The Creeper
Gene Colan- Daredevil, Tomb of Dracula, The Escapist
Tommy Lee Edwards- Question, Batman Golden Streets of Gotham
Dick Giordano- Batman, Stoker's Dracula, Green Lantern
Scott Hampton- Batman: Gotham County Line, Spookhouse, Life Eaters
Mercedes McNab- "Harmony" on Buffy/Angel, courtesy of Las Vegas Autographs
Tony Harris- Ex Machina, Legion, Starman, cover artist
Greg Horn- cover artist, She-Hulk, Elektra, Wizard Magazine
Paul Hornschemeier- Project Superior, Mother Come Home, Sequential
Adam Hughes- Wonder Woman, Tomb Raider, cover artist
James Jean- Fables, Batgirl, Monolith, cover artist
Paul Jenkins- Spectacular Spider-Man, Peter Parker Spider-Man, Hellblazer
Richard Kiel- "Jaws" from James Bond films, courtesy of Las Vegas Autographs
James Kochalka- Sketchbook Diaries, Monkey Vs Robot, PB & Jeremy
Scott Kurtz- PVP, PVPOnline
Jonathan Luna- Girls, Ultra
Joshua Luna- Girls, Ultra
David Mac-k Kabuki, Daredevil
Jim Mahfood- Bad Ideas, Grrrl Scouts, 40 Oz. Comics
Jeff Mason- publisher, Alternative Comics
Ed McGuinness- JLA: Classified (upcoming), Superman Batman, Superman
JD Mettler- Ex Machina, Iron Man, Razor's Edge, Lobo/Authority
Josh Middleton- NYX, Sky Between Branches, Wildstorm Special
James O'Bar-r The Crow, The Crow: City of Angels
Brandon Peterson- Strange, Ultimate X-Men, Green Lantern
Paul Pope- Solo, 100%, THB
Joe Quesada- Editor-In-Chief of Marvel Comics, NYX, Daredevil: Father
Andy Runton- Owly
Joe Staton- Batman, Green Lantern, Scooby Doo, E-Man
Mark Texeira- Psycthe, cover artist Wolverine, Ghost Rider
Roy Thomas Alter Ego Magazine editor, former Marvel Editor-In-Chief, Conan
Herb Trimpe- Incredible Hulk, Nick Fury, Captain America, The Nam
Mike Wieringo- Fantastic Four, Tellos, Sensational Spider-Man
Marv Wolfman- New Teen Titans, Crisis on Infinite Earths, Tomb of Dracula

It's going to be huge:

[cncoyle]

I'll be there on Saturday.

I didn't know Wolfman was going to be there. I need to remember to bring my Crisis novel!

[adamcasey]

That's a truncated guest list, follow the link for the full one.

I'm trying to talk the girlfriend into going all three days, or at least Friday and Saturday (gotta get the deals!)

[cncoyle]

Are they using a bigger hall this year? I know the layout is different (last year the entrance was in a corner). I like how they're spreading out the creators along the long side of the rectangle, instead of clustered in the short end.

Indie Island is a cool idea--maybe I'll venture out from the DC/Marvel continent and explore unchartered waters...

[adamcasey]

Originally posted by cncoyle
Are they using a bigger hall this year? I know the layout is different (last year the entrance was in a corner). I like how they're spreading out the creators along the long side of the rectangle, instead of clustered in the short end.

Indie Island is a cool idea--maybe I'll venture out from the DC/Marvel continent and explore unchartered waters...

I don't know where it was held last year, but their site indicates there was a need for a larger venue.

Each of those little numbered squares are 10' x 10' booths. If I can't plug holes in my collection here, I don't know where.

As for Indie Island, this is going to be fantastic. I can't wait to meet James Kochalka.

[The Amazing Spider-Fan]

Bought my 3-day pass a couple months ago. It helps when Heroes is your LCS and they hassle you into buying one. (I keed, I keed...I love they guys there, they knew I was gonna get one anyway.)

I know the venue is the same this year, the Charlotte Convention Center, but maybe they're using a different hall. I also want to say, although I'm not sure, that it seemed like that wall near the entrance last year was just a huge collapsable wall (you know, like the ones they use to separate the "party room" at buffet restaurants), and there may have been others in the hall the con was in, so it's possible they've just shifted everything down within the same hall in order to make the entrance more central to the con.

I may ask when I go in tomorrow to get my comics, if I remember.

[thingone]

I plan on going Friday and Saturday, probably with my wife and son on Friday and just my son on Saturday.

I've never been to a convention. I'm looking forward to this.

[adamcasey]

Originally posted by thingone
I've never been to a convention. I'm looking forward to this.

This is the first convention convention I've been to.

I've been to ones with about 25 dealers and a few guests (like the Charlotte ComiCon), but this looks friggin' HUGE!

[cncoyle]

Originally posted by thingone
I've never been to a convention. I'm looking forward to this.

I went last year and it, too, was my first "real" convention. I was amazed at all the booths. There were some that had clothing & swag up to 25' high (and believe me the tee-shirts are priced a dollar for every foot!) I couldn't believe the preponderence of bootleg DVD's--the Corman FF film, the Justice League live-action TV pilot, tons of cartoons. (They were $20 each last year, so I didn't get any.)DVDs and clothing were the only merchandise that I found to be a bit pricey ($50 for a hooded GL sweatshirt? )

But no matter what you're looking for, you can probably find it. Last year, I was looking for and found old-school DC Blue Ribbon Digests. I was also looking for some comic-related neckties, but that was the only thing I didn't find (but wasn't really expecting to).

The coolest thing for me was the creators' area. I enjoyed watching the artists do uber-fast sketches and flipping through their portfolios. Dave Cockrum had some cool renditions of Phoenix and Storm that should be posters, imo. Heroes is big enough to get some big names yet small enough that you can actually chat with them. I talked with Golden Age artist Irwin Hasen (and bought a color sketch from him). I also got to have a fairly long conversation with Martin Nodell's son about how his father came up with the idea of Green Lantern and just the comic business in general.

This year I'm definitely going to hang out and watch the artists sketch. I'm a decent artist, but I feel like a snail when I watch these artists. These guys are workhorses. It's amazing to see them produce a gallery-level work in merely minutes.

[I am MODOK]

I'm going! I've gone to the Heroes con for like 5 or 6 years now, it is a great convention. The guest list this year looks great too. I'm one of the folks you see hanging out with the artists all weekend getting sketches.

[cncoyle]

Originally posted by I am MODOK
I'm going! I've gone to the Heroes con for like 5 or 6 years now, it is a great convention. The guest list this year looks great too. I'm one of the folks you see hanging out with the artists all weekend getting sketches.

Wow, you're coming all the way from Wisconsin! Cool!

We definitely need to arrange a Talk@ meet-up this year. We tried last year, even MattB posted a sticky, but it fell through. Plus, this year, I'm probably going just with a buddy, so I'll be able to spend much more time there.

[I am MODOK]

Originally posted by cncoyle
Wow, you're coming all the way from Wisconsin! Cool!

We definitely need to arrange a Talk@ meet-up this year. We tried last year, even MattB posted a sticky, but it fell through. Plus, this year, I'm probably going just with a buddy, so I'll be able to spend much more time there.

Yup. I just moved to WI last fall, and this trip is an annual vacation for me and 3 buddies, so I'm coming back to VA for the drive down and everything. It is top 5 lists for 6 hours, then three days of comic goodness, followed by 6 hours back to VA of tired and surly nerds. Fun!

I'm definitely down with a Newsarama meeting! We should do a panel.

[cncoyle]

Originally posted by I am MODOK
I'm definitely down with a Newsarama meeting! We should do a panel.

A few months ago, a bunch of us had joked about getting a table/booth at Heroes. They're ~$500, so if we got enough people to chip in $20 or $30, it could have happened. But I imagine everybody else is strapped for cash like me.

[adamcasey]

Originally posted by cncoyle
A few months ago, a bunch of us had joked about getting a table/booth at Heroes. They're ~$500, so if we got enough people to chip in $20 or $30, it could have happened. But I imagine everybody else is strapped for cash like me.

Yeah, that would be neat.

We could sell Otte to gypsies to raise the cash.

[gcoleman99]

I might go, just to talk with Marv Wolfman (I blame him for my collecting habit. If I hadn't picked up NTT #1, I might never have gotten started).

GC

[Ed E]

Lats year was the first time I had ever gone to a con also. I had a blast. Ron Garney and Howard Porter were great!

Looks like I'll be selling my house and moving back to Tennessee but I still intend on either coming to the convention or driving back out to the con this year too.

[Split Persona]

Myself and my fiance will be there for sure!! I have been to HeroesCon 3 times before but this will be her first convention and I couldn't think of a better one for your first! Like someone alreday said HeroesCon is the perfect site big enough to get all you need and bring in the big names but small enough so you can actually sit and chat with them for awhile!!

I know I can't wait, we'll be there all 3 days so I expect to put some faces with these talk@ names!!

[adamcasey]

Al Bigley- Geminar, RaceWarrior, Mighty Morphin Power Rangers
Tom Biondolillo- Negative Burn, gaming illustrator, animation
June Brigman- Brenda Starr, Black Beauty, Power Pack
Nick Cardy- Silver Age Teen Titans, Aquaman
Richard Case- Rainbow 6: Lockdown webcomic, Negative Burn, Doom Patrol
Dave Cockrum- Sat/Sun only; Uncanny X-Men, Giant Size X-Men, Futurians
Todd Dezago- Tellos, Impulse, Sensational Spider-Man
Sunny Lee- Superboy, Wolverine, Aquaboy
Norman Lee- Spyboy
Pop Mhan- Spyboy, Blank (Tokyopop GN)
Jason Narvaez- Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles storyboarder, Mortal Coils
Bill Neville- Elfquest, Explorers, The Tick
Joe Pruett- Desperado Publishing, Negative Burn
Rico Renzi- Legends of the Dark Knight, The Ride, Robin, Gotham Central
Ethan Van Sciver- Green Lantern, Green Lantern: Rebirth, New X-Men
Virgil- WWF/WCW Wrestling star, former Ted DiBiase bodyguard (yeah you read that right.)

I'm really interested that Virgil will be there. On a wrestling website, someone mentioned that he has a way of showing up at comic book conventions and talking about 'old school' wrestling.

I'm really excited about meeting Dave Cockrum, he's the man!

[The Amazing Spider-Fan]

It's so weird...I had a dream about HeroesCon last night. The dream was that it was con weekend, and I showed up later than I meant to, so all the creators were busy and couldn't talk and were all booked up for sketches, and most of the booths were already taken down. I'd completely forgotten about it until I came in this thread.

[Split Persona]

Originally posted by The Amazing Spider-Fan
It's so weird...I had a dream about HeroesCon last night. The dream was that it was con weekend, and I showed up later than I meant to, so all the creators were busy and couldn't talk and were all booked up for sketches, and most of the booths were already taken down. I'd completely forgotten about it until I came in this thread.

Thats not a dream it's a NIGHTMARE!!

[The Amazing Spider-Fan]

Originally posted by Split Persona
Thats not a dream it's a NIGHTMARE!!

Yeah, pretty much. I'm already trying to map out a strategy for how I'm gonna hit all the artists I want to get sketches from as early as I can the first day so I can get to them before they get booked up. Adam Hughes was booked up insanely fast last year, and I just missed out on Howard Porter. I was a little disappointed with my Josh Middleton sketch too, because even though I got in in time to get one, he didn't ask what I wanted and when I went back to tell him, he was like "I already did yours. Here's your Jean Grey." Basically like, well, here's what you're getting, like it or not, that'll be twenty bucks. On the plus side, my Mark Brooks and Ron Garney sketches are freakin' awesome. Wieringo wasn't doing any last year, but I got him at Heroes on Free Comic Book Day. Hopefully, he'll be doing some this year, cuz I'd love to get another from him. That's really what I'm most concerned about...I can get stuff signed or hit the booths anytime, but they get booked up for sketches fast, so I'll have to hit the con early on Friday so I can rest easy the rest of the weekend.

[adamcasey]

Originally posted by The Amazing Spider-Fan
Yeah, pretty much. I'm already trying to map out a strategy for how I'm gonna hit all the artists I want to get sketches from as early as I can the first day so I can get to them before they get booked up.

I've never been to a HeroesCon before, so how does this work out?

I've been to smaller cons with a few artists and they would just draw as people came up. Is there a 'take a number' system or something?

[The Amazing Spider-Fan]

Originally posted by adamcasey
I've never been to a HeroesCon before, so how does this work out?

I've been to smaller cons with a few artists and they would just draw as people came up. Is there a 'take a number' system or something?

Well, just based on my experiences last year, most of the artists would start taking down names and requests from people as they came up. They'd cut themselves off when they reached the amount they knew they could handle for the day or weekend. So the earlier you get to the artists you want, the better. It's not that HeroesCon has a system or anything, it's just the artists keeping themselves from taking on more than they can handle.

Of course, I'm talking about the more detailed, paid sketches, not the quick head shots or whatever that a lot of artists will do for free. Like Mike Van Oeming had cut himself off from paid sketches, but he still did a quick head sketch of Walker from Powers for me. Although sometimes the artists even quit doing those if their lines were getting too long. That happened with Ed McGuinness last year. (To be fair, though, I was cheating and trying to double up...I'd already gotten a Superman head shot, and went back later - I think it was even the next day - to get a matching Batman, but he wasn't doing them anymore.) But some guys will do them until the line's gone, like I believe John Cassaday did. I was pretty close up in line, so I'm not sure. No one was even expecting him to do sketches, but he was very gracious and started doing them.

[adamcasey]

Hrm.

So the thing to do would go for the big names early if I wanted a sketch.

Do I just come back by and be like "Are you done with my Cyberfrog, Van Sciver?"

So if an artist is drawing like a madman with the list of requests, will they stop for a few seconds and sign stuff?

[The Amazing Spider-Fan]

Yeah, that's about right. Usually, you just drop off your sketchbook or paper or whatever with them when you make the request, then check back later to see how it's coming. They'll even usually tell you when to check back, depending on the number of people before you or whatever. This year, I plan on getting another sketchbook or a pad of sketch paper with removable sheets to leave behind...it got to be a real pain last year trying to juggle one sketchbook between several artists, especially when it looked like two of them would need it around the same time. I'm also considering just bringing a bunch of backing boards and having them use those instead.

What often sets the artists behind, from what I saw, is exactly the opposite of what you were saying, adam...instead of drawing most of the time and taking time to sign here and there, the artists were drawing when they had free moments or when the line was really short, spending more time signing stuff and making sure the bulk of the fans are happy, not just the guy who's paying them 20 bucks for a sketch. I can't really complain about that.