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Column:
Variant Coverage
"Mr. White Goes to Charlotte: Reflections on HeroesCon 2006"
By Adam White
Published: 2006-07-06
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Whilst reflecting upon my own experiences at HeroesCon 2006 over the last
few days, I have looked over reports on Newsarama and the like and
found them lacking — they only offer a superficial overview of
the attending creators and little else. Having traversed the
convention from one side to the other countless times over the course
of two days I found there was much more of a story there, one that
goes deeper than who was signing autographs where and the repetitive
information tossed out at the panels. I conversed with numerous
creators, from superstars to unknowns, and learned a lot not only
about the comicbook industry but especially about the creators working
in the field. Therefore I hope to relay to you a more thorough
offering of the activities and creators involved, the booths and the
retailers, and the good and the bad as it pertains to HeroesCon 2006.
Arriving on Thursday evening and pre-registering without hassle,
my brother and I checked into our hotel and unloaded our new-gotten
gains before deciding what to do for the rest of the evening. It only
then dawned on me that organizer Shelton Drum also owns a store,
Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find, in Charlotte, and since I had not
been in an actual comicbook store in longer than I care to admit (due
to my home location) I thought that would be a perfect opportunity to
get back into my element. We found the store with relatively little
hassle, and I picked up a few extra books and supplies after browsing
through the store. Lots of great stuff there, and worth a visit if
you are in the Charlotte area. We had to cut the visit short because
we were going to try and catch a showing of Superman Returns at
one of the local theaters, but then Charlotte itself intervened.
Even after getting directions, we absolutely could not find the
theater because of Charlotte’s ridiculously poor system of
roads. Roads would have one name until a certain point and then have
another name without warning; some roads just stopped, lanes abruptly
ended, and freeway entrances and exits went in a multitude of
directions. Even after that first evening I wanted to slap the
drunkard that designed Charlotte’s roads; thankfully, though, we
were able to walk most of the rest of the time we were there.
I had always heard how nice Charlotte was as a city and how many
great things were there; these opinions also apparently involved the
explicit use of libations, as Charlotte (the city proper) is made up
of three convetion centers/stadiums and the rest is hotels of varying
qualities. Sure, there are plenty of suburbs (as we saw while
searching for the non-existent movie theater), but the actual city did
not impress me in the least. The nearest decent supposed movie
theater was 15-20 miles away, and all the restaurants were needlessly
expensive (as was everything else — three dollars for a
baby-sized bottle of juice?). The comicbook store and an overpriced
Dunkin’ Donuts were the only real finds during all our travels
through the city.
But enough complaints (almost), and on to the convention itself.
After a sleepless night on my bed of marble, I woke my brother and we
readied ourselves for the day. Armed with a camera, camcorder, and a
bunch of comicbooks to get signed, I loaded my backpack and we walked
to the convention center. The line was already massive when we
arrived, but then a worker informed us in the back of the line that
there was another entrance, so we got in fairly quickly after that.
Although that ended up being the only time a convention worker was
helpful, it paid off because we got in the same way the next day. I
also won a Captain America tumbler, but was unable to claim it because
no one could accurately tell me where to do so.
Joe Quesada |
The convention floor was huge, seemingly filled with comicbooks
and creators as far as the eye could see. It was hard to know where
to start, but we happened upon the ACTOR booth where Joe Quesada was signing at
shortly, so we got in line for that to get it out of the way early.
Quesada showed up right on time and started signing, and we would have
gotten through quickly had it not been for the people in line with
fifty books a piece to get signed so they could sell them on eBay or
at their stores. Seriously, they didn’t even have fifty
different books, but all the same ones (or two different at most).
Standing there with two books total in my own hand, I grew
increasingly angry at these opportunistic jackwads wasting all the
legitimate people’s time. The minutes crawled by, and finally
we got the Q’s signature, donated to ACTOR, and moved on as the
next prospector put his long box on the table. George Perez was also
at that booth doing sketches, which he tirelessly did to raise money
for ACTOR almost constantly that day other than when he was doing
signings upstairs.
George Tuska |
Next came Artist’s Alley, where all the creators had set up
shop. From Silver Age Legends to unknown quantities, the Alley was
teeming with creators and fans conversing about everything under the
sun. For the most part the creators were nicely mixed, with newcomers
sitting beside well-known artists and writers, thus allowing these
hopefuls more exposure to the mass of people at the convention. For
example, new artist Emily
McGuiness was seated by legends George Tuska and Nick Cardy, meaning that I
didn’t miss picking up her book before speaking with Tuska and
Cardy. Tuska, even at ninety years old, drew constantly throughout
the day, something that many current “hot” artists cannot
apparently do. Both Tuska and Cardy had numerous sketches, colored or
otherwise, that looked absolutely beautiful, and I would loved to have
any or all of them (especially Tuska’s Luke Cage and
Cardy’s Black Canary); unfortunately, they were much too
expensive for me. I spoke with them about this, and they both agreed
that they would rather sell them much cheaper but that they are all
bought up by dealers that sell them at triple the price or more at
their stores or on eBay, thus the price hike. So far, Prospectors: 2,
Adam: 0.
Javier Saltares
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Next I met Jamal Igle, whose work on Venture and Firestorm
had made me a big fan. Igle was extremely friendly and upbeat, and we
talked a little about Venture and our mutual hope that it one
day returned. While speaking to Igle, Paul Jenkins walked right up to
us and admitted to being lost in a rather colorful and highly amusing
way, thus immediately endearing me to the gentleman. Igle assisted in
pointing him in the right direction, and the coolness of our
surrounding environment was finally sinking in. Right up the aisle
was Javier Saltares, who signed some books and sketched in his pad
— also a very nice guy. In fact, almost everyone I spoke to at
HeroesCon was very personable and eager to talk not only about their
own work but eager to recommend others’ work as well. And while
I’m on the subject of “nice,” we moved upstairs at
that point for the Daniel Way and (later) George Perez signings.
Daniel Way |
Hawaiian shirts: Adam White and George Perez |
I had spoken with Daniel
Way before through e-mail and he seemed like a great guy; meeting
him in person confirmed this, as he recalled who I was and talked
freely about anything that came up. Way spoke about some
behind-the-scenes information on his excellent Supreme Power:
Nighthawk miniseries (go read it if you haven’t) as well as
both his fantastic Bullseye miniseries, then just generally
chatted with fans. A bit later we met George Perez, who greeted
everyone happily, signed books and frequently took pictures with
everyone who asked (myself included). Perez had more energy than
perhaps anyone at the convention, and it was infectious to everyone
around him. Perez and myself also shared the distinction of having
the only Hawaiian shirts at the convention that day (that I saw,
anyway), as illustrated in the photograph to the right.
Back on the convention floor, we met more people than I can recall
at the moment. At the Desperado
booth we met Paul Jenkins again along with Sidekick artist Chris Moreno, and I can tell you
with some assurance that these two guys should do a stand-up comedy
act. Jenkins and Moreno displayed perfect comic timing in their
general conversations, a timing also prevalent in their hilarious
Sidekick miniseries (which you need to read). Awesome guys,
awesome series, and one of the most fun booths at the show.
Chris Moreno and Paul Jenkins |
Rosario Dawson |
David Atchison (right) |
Next we wanted to check out the 12 Gauge Comics booth,
because Rosario Dawson was supposed to be at the convention. I
assumed, being the Hollywood Star that she is, that Dawson would do
her featured signings upstairs and not much else; it turns out those
featured signings were the only times she wasn’t on the
convention floor. Dawson signed comicbooks, posters and pictures, took
photographs with fans, and talked comics with anyone in earshot.
Along with writer David
Atchison and artist Tony
Shasteen, Dawson and the 12 Gauge crew had the coolest booth at
the show, one that was fun just to be around and full of people ready
to chat with any and every fan that stopped by. Rosario Dawson
exceeded my wildest expectations upon meeting her, and she looked like
she was genuinely having fun and excited to be there, whether signing
at the booth or wandering the convention floor making purchases.
Dawson may well become the “Poster Girl” for the comicbook
industry, both literally and figuratively, and deservedly so.
Christos Gage |
Christos Gage (Deadshot), was a classy guy as well, showing
off pages from his upcoming Stormwatch series with Doug Mahnke
(which look absolutely awesome) and his Union Jack miniseries
with Mike Perkins from Marvel as well (equally cool). Gage chatted
freely with me and other visitors, showing his enthusiasm for his
upcoming series as well as discussing comicbooks in general. Gage was
both knowledgeable and genuinely excited to be there, and I personally
cannot wait for the releases of all his upcoming projects.
Warren Ellis (right) |
Throughout the day I noticed that Warren Ellis had by far the
longest line, which is why I skipped out on his signings. Now, as a
huge Ellis fan, how could I do such a thing, you ask? Well, it just
so happens I was living in Los Angeles in the Fall of 2000 where Ellis
did a signing during his Oktober Revolution Tour, thus I already have
many, many things signed by him (I went through the line several
times), so that enabled me to focus my attention elsewhere during the
day. However, shortly after 3:30pm we ran in to Ellis upstairs, where
he asked to see our schedule; upon realizing his talk was scheduled
for 3:30pm, he thanked us and posed for a picture with me, which was
very cool.
The other gigantic line Friday belonged to J. Michael Straczynski, who
was supposed to sign multiple times, so we skipped that first day
knowing we would catch him first thing Saturday (or so we thought
— more on that later). I did snap a quick photo of the
shockingly beardless JMS, signing Spider-Man, FF, and
Babylon 5 memorabilia. I heard that JMS attracted at least one
whackjob fan, some woman unacquainted with reality, but didn’t
get anymore details nor can I confirm the validity of the account, but
I thought it was worth mentioning.
Russ Heath |
My brother and I then chatted with legend Russ Heath for a
bit, and I bought a few of his fantastic prints he had signed. Heath
sketched and talked with fans throughout the day, and still draws the
best war comicbooks available (for my money). If not for my own
monetary limitations I would have gladly gotten one of every print
Heath had available, especially his various prints showcasing Sgt.
Rock, Enemy Ace, and other various tanks and planes. Heath also
discussed how many fighter planes look fairly simple on the page, but
that they are truly aggravating to draw correctly because of the
little details that most people don’t notice at first glance.
Heath is a master, and I hope to see more work from him in the near
future.
Also fun was the Top
Shelf booth, where I met Andy
Runton (Owly) and Rob Venditti (The Surrogates).
Both guys conversed with fans, and Runton sketched for everyone buying
a book or even just asking for an autograph. Top Shelf has some great
titles available, and getting the opportunity to browse through them
while speaking with the creators was a wonderful experience.
Matt Fraction |
Later on in the day I met Matt Fraction at the Image booth, promoting his new
books Casanova and 5 Fists of Science. Fraction turned
out to be very cool, and it was even mentioned in the Convention
Program that he used to work at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find, thus
he got his start through there and HeroesCon. Fraction chatted easily
with myself and other fans, happily signing everything we put in front
of him. Nice guy, and funny too, as he demonstrated both at the booth
and later on that night at the most special event of the convention:
“After Hours with Warren Ellis.”
I knew from the moment I read about the “After Hours”
event with Warren Ellis that it could easily be the highlight of the
convention. Once the show ended for the day, my brother and I
scrambled back to the hotel and crammed some much-needed food down our
throats before preparing for the Ellis event. At the appointed time
we went off on foot again, this time having trouble locating the
Hilton where the festivities were to be held. Twenty minutes and one
generous convention-goer with directions later, we arrived to find a
large crowd of fans and creators mingling in the Hilton ballroom. We
got decent seats because so many people were still waiting in line for
alcoholic beverages, then were treated to an introduction by Matt
Fraction, who charged up the crowd for the main event.
After Hours with Uncle Warren |
Warren Ellis made a grand entrance to thunderous applause, took
the podium, then tipped Fraction for his glowing introduction. Ellis
spoke about his thoughts on writing, then regaled the audience with
tales of his father’s adventures at sea and the variety of
strange places he went and things that happened to him. Ellis spoke
of several authors and their drug-induced visions and how they inspire
him, all the while putting away the drinks while smoking as he spoke
(and, as he informed everyone, he was the only one allowed to
smoke [thankfully] because he was famous and we were not). I
thoroughly enjoyed Ellis’s speech, which was followed by his
interacting with the crowd and a Q&A session. My brother and I had to
leave before the Q&A ended, because of our early wake-up call the next
morning and the fact we had to drive home Saturday as well (an easy
five-hour drive turned into a horrendous seven-and-a-half hour debacle
thanks to the vast hoards of completely incompetent @$$holes on the
road). As I lay down on my concrete slab for the night, I heard
multiple sirens moving in the direction of the Hilton and convention
center, thus likely signaling the end of “After Hours with
Warren Ellis.”
Saturday began with packing up my car, as check-out time was
before we would leave the convention for the day. We arrived at the
convention center around 9:40am, so as to get in JMS’s line
early because I did not want to miss him as I am a big B5 fan
from way back. My brother actually volunteered to wait (the signing
started at 11:00am) while I tried to get a few more signatures
downstairs, so I went and met a several more great artists, like Cliff
Chiang and Casey Jones. I then waited as Mark Texeira set up his
table to get him to sign my copy of Wolverine #36, which
already had signatures from Joe Quesada, Daniel Way, and Javier
Saltares on it from the previous day. I finally got it and went back
up to the JMS line around 10:40am.
JMS |
Around 11:40am everyone in the JMS line was starting to get
pissed, as he still hadn’t shown up, nor had any convention
workers stopped by to offer an explanation. I left my JMS stuff to
get signed with my more-patient-than-I brother and went back
downstairs to try and accomplish something while he continued waiting.
My brother rejoined me at around 12:40pm, saying that a convention
person finally deemed it worthwhile to show up and inform everyone
that JMS wouldn’t be there until 4:00pm, and we could all just
start a new line then. Needless to say, I don’t think anyone
who had wasted three hours of valuable convention time for nothing
were very happy about that — I know I wasn’t, nor was my
brother. I feel that the whole situation should have been handled
better, and that the convention people should have been a little more
aware of what was going on and a little more apologetic about wasting
everyone’s time.
Ross Richie |
While the JMS debacle continued upstairs, I spoke with BOOM! publisher Ross Richie at their
booth. I chatted with Richie about what a great group of titles BOOM!
has produced so far, and he talked a little about their mission
statement and that there are even bigger and better things on the way
from BOOM! The best part was that I got a HeroesCon Exclusive Hero
Squared #2, an issue that won’t see release until later this
month! So that really made my day, because Hero Squared is a
fantastic series that you should all be reading.
Eric Adams |
After my brother rejoined me, and having had most of our time for
Saturday wasted, we rushed to speak with all the small press creators
before we left. We started with Eric Adams, with whom we
had actually chatted with the day before about a variety of things.
Adams commented on how much he enjoyed his CCdC
interview and discussed his own Lackluster World series in
detail, stating that the fourth issue should be out by Wizard World
Chicago. I also recorded Adams performing his very own
promo/infomercial for Lackluster World, in which he gives you
the rundown on the series and the ideas behind it (look for that video
here on CCdC soon). Adams is a great guy, nice conversationalist, and
also offered a recommendation of Matt Fraction’s 5 Fists of
Science that I now pass on to you.
I then spent the rest of my time at the convention spreading the
word on CCdC while talking with most of the small press creators, all
of whom were eager to show off their work. Many of them even offered
up free copies of their books for review, some even that aren’t
yet officially released. I give my thanks here to those many
creators, but instead of listing them all here I will be dedicating a
new weekly column, entitled “Small Press Pass,” to
showcase their works as well as any new things that I come across from
here on out. Look for “Small Press Pass” very soon right
here at ComicCritique.com.
Casey Jones |
I did have to leave without meeting Greg Rucka, one of the creators I
wanted to see the most at HeroesCon. I carried around hardback novels
and several issues of Queen & Country for two days to no avail,
as by the time we left Saturday he had yet to put in an appearance at
his booth or anywhere on the Con floor that I heard of. I guess he
showed up at the DC panels, as reported elsewhere, but I was extremely
disappointed not to get my books signed, as I’ve been a fan
since Day One. This sad fact, along with the lack of a JMS signature
despite the time invested waiting for him, dampened my overall
experience. I did, however, manage to pick up a signed print from the
talented and affable Casey
Jones on the way out, one that now adorns a featured spot on my
wall, so that enabled me to walk out with a smile on my face.
I’ll spare you the long, dismal drive home and instead say
that HeroesCon 2006 was truly an outstanding event despite what few
personal disappointments I had, and that I recommend it to anyone who
can make the trip. I hope that my more off-the-cuff, diary-type entry
has been more enlightening than a more formal report, and that you get
a little taste of what it was like to really be there, from a
“man on the street” perspective. I have lots of great
things coming up on CCdC as a result of my findings at HeroesCon,
especially in regards to many small press offerings, and I will also
be unveiling my very own creator awards in a forthcoming Variant
Coverage column.
So stay tuned, because I’m just getting started...
—CCdC—
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