I know a lot of folks on this serv have their loyalty primarily to DragonCon in Atlanta, but my "home" comics convention is HeroesCon in Charlotte, NC. This past weekend was the 2015 iteration of the Con and it was a lot of fun, even if I only got to go on Saturday (which is how I typically enjoy the show -- only once have I gone more than one day.)
*Artists:* HeroesCon is very focused on the comics medium, so while there is some other stuff represented, everything seems to funnel back to comics and artists. I spoke with or got comics signed by: Mike Zeck -- Secret Wars trade and vintage Secret Wars poster. Zeck was nice but not very chatty; his handler did most of the talking. He asked if my 30 year old SW poster would fall apart if I unfolded it, I said, "No but lets not risk it..." Billy Tucci -- Sgt. Rock & The Lost Battalion. I'm a big War Comics fan and Tucci has done amazing work in the genre. I told him how I have repeatedly recommended Lost Battalion (a mini series based on the real life "Lost Battalion" and their heroic rescue by forces of the Nisei, Japanese-American troops) to non-comics fans. He seemed genuinely touched. All donations for signatures were going towards Veterans charities. SL Gallant -- GI Joe: ARAH (Death Of Snake Eyes issues). I told him how much I enjoyed his very dynamic work on the current Death Of Snake Eyes issues, including the silent issue memorial service. Gallant responded by saying that they call that the "Crying Joes" issue, and he and Larry Hama joked about opening a bar called Crying Joes! Scott Kolins -- Flash, Larfleeze. Kolins is "the" Flash artist of the Geoff Johns Wally West era, and I told him how his work was atypical for the Flash but a fantastic fit on the character. Kolins said that he loved doing the book and that Johns was the one who helped him get his foot in the door as a writer in addition to being an artist. He had a big grin on his face the entire time I spoke with him. Francis Manapul -- Flash. Manapul was a quiet guy, but seemed very appreciative when I said that the image which sold me on his Flash was Barry dashing across the moving rotors of a helicopter. I told him that, like Kolins, I loved how his look was different from traditional Flash artists, but still dynamic and arresting. Geof Darrow -- The Bug Guy And Rusty The Boy Robot. Darrow was a jovial guy. We talked about monsters as he did a daikaiju sketch on the inside of my treasury-size TBG&RTBR trade. I told him of how I was a lifelong monster fanatic and we talked about Godzilla '14, since he asked me what the general consensus was. He seemed like a guy who one would drink a brandy with (rather than a beer). Joey Weiser -- One of the coolest guys I have ever met through comics, Joey is an Eisner award nominated comics creator for his all ages book Mermin. I had commissioned Joey to do artwork for Earth Destruction Directive, and we chatted about tokusatsu for a good long while. He's a very talented guy and I have my fingers crossed for San Diego and the Eisner for him. Check him out at www.tragic-planet.com *Comics: *I do love a comic con for the capitalism aspect, and while I did not go as crazy as I have in years past, I did get a good deal of comics. Lots of trades and hard covers, including The Avengers: The Crossing Omnibus for $30 (retail is $100, this book weighs a ton!), Valiant Masters Bloodshot for $10 (classic Bloodshot #0-8), some wonderful magazines including a beautiful looking Eerie and Atlas Thrilling Adventure Tales, some Uncle Scrooge comics, and some more issues of Marvel Classics Comics, Marvel's 70's take on Classics Illustrated. *Merch:* Got two Ultraman DVD boots -- Towards The Future and The Ultimate Hero, the two English language series from the 90s. Also got a novel, GI Joe: Tales From The Cobra Wars, essentially for free (I had $22 worth of stuff, the book was $2, I said "Will you take $20?", the guy said yes.) Almost bit the bullet on a MIB Dirgegun but had to pass, that is too dangerous a path for me. http://www.tfu.info/1998/Destron/DirgeGun/dirgegun.htm My friend Adama got a handmade plush Geordi LaForge, ostensibly for his daughter (yeah right), and my friend Joe got an awesome "pixel art" style Green Lantern made of crafting beads! *Cosplay:* There was a lot of cosplay on display this year -- I think I counted 9 Black Widows of varying ages, races, and hair colors. There was also a fair amount of video game characters I did not recognize. Some of the best were a Bombshell Hawkgirl (complete with bubble gum), a full-tilt Booster Gold, and one guy (I assume?) dressed as Eternity from Marvel's cosmic books! He should have come last year when Jim Starlin was here! Overall, HeroesCon 2015 was an awesome show as usual! Folks in the South should at least check it out once, it's got a great friendly atmosphere, its located right in the middle of a great city, and it's a lot of fun which is appropriate truly for all ages. -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Unique Geek" group. To unsubscribe from this group and stop receiving emails from it, send an email to [email protected]. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. Visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek. For more options, visit https://groups.google.com/d/optout.
