Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Back From Heroes!

This year I went to the annual Heroes Convention held in Charlotte North Carolina.  I was excited about going down and hanging out with my friends Brad and Stacy at their Battle Babies table.  I was excited to fill in some collections too!  I was looking forward to a fun filled weekend, but I didn't really know exactly what to expect, as this was the first time I had been to the show.  I have to say it exceeded my expectations.  This is the some of the most fun I have ever had at a convention.  Everyone had a smile on their face and it was obvious everyone was happy to be there, and that is important to me!  Every one had a positive attitude and tried to help and make deals and do sketches . . . whatever it was they did.

The show was the 30th anniversary of the convention and because of that there were a lot of guests.  Even Stan Lee came out for the show!  Lots of Artists hanging out and drawing, doing commissions selling prints, signing.  Most importantly though, they were talking.  Talking to the attendees.  Telling us about what they do, their art, What makes them tick.  Some great conversations were had for sure.

The Show Room Floor from above just before the gates opened on Friday!

The interesting thing about Artist ally is that you have the old timers like George Perez and Neal Adams, right next to Indie Island with David Peterson and Andy Rutton!  It was such a great interaction.  All of these people who are influences on every body else just hanging out!  Being able to meet some of these people who influenced my early life!  The people who drew the comics I read and looked at.  Earl Norem, who basically made paintings that I would stare at for hours, that had He-man fighting Skeletor! These people were important parts of my life and they were all there!

I had the chance to speak to both Roy Thomas and Herb Trimpe, and they were both great!  Herb told me why he preferred Shogun Warriors to the Transformers!  People love to tell you things at this show! 

My Art print collection is much bigger now, but more on that in another post.

The great attitude flowed right into the other part of the convention with the vendors.  Hundreds of vendors set up selling Comics, toys, DVDs, you name it.  every thing from anime to Doctor who, to independent stuff was represented.  But the most important thing at a comic book show is, of course the comics.  There were Millions of comics.  Booth after booth of long and short boxes to go through.  If it was produced it id represented here.  There were comics selling for thousands of Dollars, and comics selling for 25 cents.  no matter your budget, there was something for you.  I filled in a few gaps in some collections myself!

Comics were everywhere.  It is a comic convention after all!

There were other things though!



The whole atmosphere of the convention bristled with energy.  a very positive energy!  Even though this was the most crowded year of the convention ever it everyone wanted to be there.  I have been to other conventions where the crowd just became miserable, where you really get the impression that people would rather punch you than look at you!  Heroes was not like that!  In all of the square footage of the con you could really feel the love and respect every one had for every one else.





Brad and his demented little babies!


The real great part for me was getting to hang out with my friends Brad and Stacy over at the Battle Baby table.  They did very well and the Battle Babies really shocked some people and pulled some people in.  They are such a great concept!  They also Shared a table with Brandon who did some fantastic Stained Glass pop art, and some GREAT screen prints!  We had a great time all hanging out and getting to know each other.







More of his creations!

The city of Charlotte was no different in terms of being friendly.  every where we went had friendly smiling people.  the Food around the city was fantastic and I really enjoyed immersing myself in the culture of Charlotte for the small amount of time that we were not at the convention.

One of the places we went was Phat Burrito.
As you can see the convention did not stop when we left!
 

The convention very much is a turning point.  when I go to something like this it really makes me want to dive back into my creative projects.  Perhaps soon you will see some of the things that will come out of this trip.  Also there are a few changes coming to the blog because of deals made at this trip so stay tuned to see what happens! 

Thanks to all of those involved with making the convention possible.  I will be back!  I can't wait to be back!  

For those of you who want to experience a GREAT comic show, check out heroes I promise it will be worth your time!


We stayed to help Brad and Brandon break down their booth!
This was the sad part of the show when it was over and the room was becoming deserted!
We didn't want to leave!



















         

7 comments:

  1. Heroes Con was always a pretty fun event. Even tho its only about an hour from my house I havent been to it in years.

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  2. Looks like it was a great time! I can only wish something this big hit the northeast. Of course they start doing the NYCC years after I moved from the Bronx. :(

    P.S.- Did you get the photo I sent you?

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    1. Yeah, it is a really cool show to go to! Yes I did get the pic! Thanks, I hope you enjoy the figs. I am gooing to post it up in a little bit actually!

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  3. Man Ashley looks like you had a great time i need to attend one of these Comic book conventions sometime. I have done the Anime ones before but these look more to my taste.

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    1. Yeah Jboy it was GREAT. One of the best cons I have been to in a log time. . . and the first true COMIC BOOK convention I have been to! It was a great atitude. There are a few Anime conventions around here, but I don't get anime and I don't try to so I usually skip them!

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  5. HeroesCon was again a fantastic show. I very much enjoyed my 3 days there. This year I even left w/ a little money left over in my pocket!

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