Comic Book Resources

Straight for the art | More Roger Langridge HeroesCon art

Go Alfred!

I linked to some of comic creator Roger Langridge's HeroesCon sketches last week, but he's added a few more that people have scanned in and emailed to him, and they're just too fun not to point to again. So go check out Sandman drawn as a Muppet, Tom Waits and, as seen above, Alfred doing the Batusi.

My Thoughts on HeroesCon 09

HeroesCon

The most negative feedback I've heard about HeroesCon comes from a rather interesting source, Creative Director Dustin Harbin. "I flubbed updating all the seating locations correctly." I'm here to tell you Harbin, if a creator is going to complain to anyone, it's to the journalist from CBR who shows up at your table and introduces himself. Any creator I encountered over the weekend seemed quite pleased to be at the show, no complaints. And I had a blast, as I do every year I attend the con.

After attending this year's con, I left with a newfound appreciation for the panel coverage all the news sites provide. I only covered a few panels, and I was overwhelmed at all that I had to take in (and all that I almost missed, thank you digital recorder...).

In between panel coverage, I had numerous great moments with or around creators:

• Finding out Roger Langridge's dream project would be a comics adaptation of Beckett's Waiting for Godot using Laurel & Hardy (and buying Fred the Clown from him)
• Walking by Chris Claremont as he regaled a fan with what I can only guess may have been a Jim Shooter as EIC recreation, slamming his fist on the table and yelling: "Kill Iron Man! Kill the Avengers!"
• Standing with my wife in the Westin hotel elevator and watching as Mice Templar writer Bryan J.L. Glass boarded the elevator as a small child/complete stranger told him in detail of his plans to spend the day at a water park. There was a split second where I think Glass contemplated tagging along.  (I'm extra appreciative of Glass for not shunning me when I reminded him of my failure to follow-up on my commitment [at a con last year] to interview him.)

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Straight for the art | HeroesCon sketches

Several artists have shared some of the sketches they did while at HeroesCon last weekend ... let's take a look:

Rom

Chris Samnee, artist of The Mighty, shares this killer Rom sketch someone pre-ordered before the con. I had a hard time deciding whether to feature that one or this one featuring Daredevil fighting Swamp Thing.

(I mean, why would Daredevil fight Swamp Thing? Why would Daredevil be in a swamp in the first place? So many questions for a future Marvel vs. DC crossover ...)

This Batman/Catwoman one he did for the auction is also a thing of beauty. Go check out his blog for more.

Moving on, Jason Latour draws Devil Dinosaur taking on Superman ...

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Heroes Con + Wizard World Philly | Catching up on the weekend's news

Longbox

This past weekend Philadelphia welcomed Wizard World, while Charlotte hosted HeroesCon. Two East Coast conventions, separated by more than 500 miles and a couple of states. If you were away from your computer, then you may have missed some of the announcements that sprang from both venues:

• For years people have been asking for an "iTunes for comics." Well, it looks like we might actually get one. Rantz Hoseley's Longbox will be a free download available later this year for PC, Macs and Linux. Comics can be download for a suggested price point of $.99 per issue, with the potential for block and subscription pricing. BOOM! and Top Cow have already signed on.

• Marvel had a lot of announcements at the show. Spinning out of the Uncanny X-Men/Dark Avengers crossover that kicks off any day now will be a series of one-shots that fall under the heading of Dark Reign: The List. Basically Norman Osbourn starts making a list of everyone standing in his way who he needs to do dirty, nasty things to.

The eight one shots and the creators working on them are:

Dark Reign: The List – Daredevil by Andy Diggle and Billy Tan
Dark Reign: The List – Wolverine by Jason Aaron and Esad Ribic
Dark Reign: The List – Hulk by Greg Pak and Ben Oliver
Dark Reign: The List – Amazing Spider-Man by Dan Slott and Adam Kubert
Dark Reign: The List – Avengers by Brian Bendis and Marko Djurdjevic
Dark Reign: The List – Uncanny X-Men by Matt Fraction and Alan Davis
Dark Reign: The List – Secret Warriors by Jonathan Hickman and Ed McGuiness
Dark Reign: The List – Punisher by Rick Remender and John Romita Jr.

The project was announced at around the same time both in Philadelphia and in Charlotte. For more info, check out CBR's interviews with Bendis, Fraction and Remender, as well as Pak, Hickman and Aaron. Also, Aaron talks a little bit about his Wolverine one-shot on his blog; it will feature both Marvel Boy and Fantomex, as well as a new Weapon XVI.

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This weekend, it's HeroesCon in Charlotte, N.C.

HeroesCon

HeroesCon starts today and runs through Sunday at the Charlotte Convention Center in Charlotte, N. C. The convention has a “straight up 100% comics vibe, without all the actors and movie stuff and all that," according to one of the show's organizers, Dustin Harbin. Marvel, DC Comics, BOOM!, AdHouse and Top Shelf will all be exhibiting at the show.

The con will be the first place fans can hear from Mark Bagley about his upcoming run on Justice League, Ed Brubaker on the recent Cap announcement, and Brian Michael Bendis on Avengers both Dark and New. The guest list also includes Chris Claremont, Matt Fraction, Mark Waid, Ethan Van Sciver, Colleen Doran, David Mack, Adam Hughes, Cliff Chiang, Mark Brooks, George Perez, Cully Hamner, Frank Cho, C.B. Cebulski, Roger Langridge, Eric Powell, Roy Thomas, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jonathan Hickman, Scott Wegener, Steve Epting, Dustin Nguyen and many, many more. Find the full list here.

HeroesCon also plays host to Indie Island, where you can meet Jeff Smith, Matt Kindt, Jason Lutes, Paul Maybury, Carla Speed McNeil, David Petersen, Andy Runton, Chris Schweizer, Dean Trippe and Ben Towle, among many others.

Here are some of the highlights (you can find the complete programming schedule here):

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Talking Comics with Tim: Dustin Harbin

HeroesCon

HeroesCon is one of my favorite comic book conventions. This year the convention will be held from June 19-21 (Father's Day Weekend), in Charlotte, N.C. With the date fast approaching I caught up with Heroes Aren't Hard to Find's Creative Director, Dustin Harbin, to find out what's planned for this year. I have to agree with Harbin, who described "the straight up 100% comics vibe, without all the actors and movie stuff and all that" as being part of what makes the con appeal to folks like myself.

Tim O'Shea: A few years back, Wizard tried to create a con to compete with HeroesCon--but that's far from what happened. Ultimately how much do you think the industry rally to support HeroesCon (as opposed to Wizard) helped bolster the reputation of HeroesCon?

Dustin Harbin: Ha ha, welllll we have made a point of not really making a big deal out of that whole kerfuffle. Just in terms of being classy, I guess. But to comment directly to the second part of your question, I think we had a pretty great reputation with most of our guests and exhibitors, and that whole thing just ended up advertising to the larger industry how well-liked we seem to be.

That's maybe a distortion though--obviously I'm predisposed toward thinking that HeroesCon is very well-liked--but it was really the very public efforts of a lot of creators that really got people riled up. Cully Hamner and Tony Harris and some others immediately came out with pretty direct responses, and then a lot of pros that had never attended the show before threw their hats in the ring, like Greg Rucka and J. Michael Straczynski.

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