OK, so let me preface this with a little background info. First of all, I've been attending Heroes since 1993 and have missed maybe three times. The last time was probably around 2000-2001. So, I'm heavily biased toward the con. Also, Heroes is the only large con that I attend, along with a few small local one-day shows, each year. The main reason that I don't go to any other large cons is because I put all of my eggs into one basket, so to speak. I save pretty much year-round just for Heroes. Finally, I went into this year's con thinking that it would be pretty light on the art for me. Boy, was I wrong!
Day Zero, Thurs.
It's my personal tradition, which my family's adopted, to drive down to Charlotte and spend the weekend there, even though we live less than two hours away. It just makes for a nice long-weekend getaway. Besides, we don't get to stay at a swanky hotel like the Westin very often, so that's fun.
Typically, I like to drive down after lunch on Thurs. That way, we can take our time getting there, get checked-in to the hotel, hopefully get a room with a decent view, head over to the convention center to pick up our passes, and then go grab some dinner before it gets too late. Well, as has been the case since we had kids, nothing really went according to plan.
We weren't able to get on the road until after 3:00p. Thankfully, we had an uneventful drive down, but since it was later than planned, we decided to pick up our passes first. So, we had to rush on over before the everyone left. A little luck was on our side, however, because we got there just before it was time for them to leave. Now, with passes in-hand, we went back to the hotel to check-in and get all of our stuff up to our room. Once all of that was taken care of, we were all starving, so it was time for dinner. We decided to drive across town to one of my wife's favorite restaurants, the Cheesecake Factory. After dinner, we headed back to the hotel to get settled in for the night. I really wanted to get a good night's sleep so I could get up early and hit the line.
Day One, Fri.
I got in line around 8:00a or so, and was within the first 20-25 people. The funny thing is that there really wasn't any particular reason that I wanted to get in line so early other than habit. This year I'd arranged five pre-orders, which was down from the eight or so from each of the past several years, but I was cool with that. Again, I figured that I'd go light on the art this year. I did want to try for one or two more commissions, though. However, I had no idea who I wanted. So, a good portion of my line ride was spent looking through the program and deciding who to go after. The line finally started moving around 10:50a. It was off to the races!
I'd decided that my first stop would be to Skottie Young. I was hoping to add an Alien Xenomorph by him to my collection. Unfortunately, by the time I got there his helper was already putting out a sign that his commission list was full. I was bummed, but whatever. Next stop: Lee Weeks!
There were already several people in line at Lee's table, but it didn't look too bad, so I jumped on in. When it was finally my turn, I signed up for a full figure Captain America. We spoke for a minute or two, and then I was off to find my next target.
I was wondering around Artists Alley when I spied the CreatureBox guys, Dave Guertin and Greg Baldwin. We chatted for a bit, and since I already had something full figure from Dave, I half-jokingly asked Greg when he was going to do something for me to go along with it. He said that he could do it right then. So, I explained to him what I was looking for, and after thinking about it for a minute, he asked if he could draw the Red Skull. I told him that would be perfect. With that taken care of, I went to see who else I could find.
I just wondered around a bit more until I found my buddies, Andrew MacLean and his wife, Erin. I told him how much I enjoyed his new graphic novel APOCALYPTIGIRL: AN ARIA FOR THE END TIMES from Dark Horse. I also mentioned how much I liked his design for one of this year's Indie Island t-shirts, and that I was planning on getting one. Erin then showed me Andrew's original art for it. They had it for sale, and I was intrigued, but more on that later. Andrew and I then discussed what he could draw for me. I knew that he was a big fan of PROMETHEUS, so I suggested something from that. He liked the idea and said that he would have it done in a bit.
By this point, I'd already spent an hour or so in Artists Alley, so I figured I was done with commissions and it was time to visit my good friends Jeremy and Lori Haun. Now, I have to say, I'm highly biased, but I truly believe that they're a couple of the best, nicest folks in all of comics. IMHO, Jeremy consistently produces top-notch artwork and is vastly underrated. He's a workhorse, too! After hanging at their table for a bit, catching up and helping out where I could, I decided it was time to walk around and pick up my pre-orders from other artists.
The first that I went to pick up was from Aaron Conley. As he was finding my commission, he was telling me how he'd almost left it at home. He said that he was on his way to the airport when he realized that he had left it in his scanner. Thankfully for me, he had enough time to go back to get it and still make his flight. Before I left, I overheard him telling someone that he had one more commission spot that he wanted to fill. The other person didn't seem too interested, so I asked if it'd be bad form for me to snag it. Aaron was totally cool with it. After some discussion, we decided on him doing Red Skull and MODOK. As for the pre-order, well, without further ado, here's my first official pickup of Heroes Con 2015:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238571 :: Marvel NOW! Captain America by Aaron Conley
I next stopped by to see Juan Gedeon and pick up my piece from him. As we talked, he explained to me how it was his first con setting up in Artists Alley. I knew that he was pretty new to the industry, but I didn't realize he was *that* new. Regardless, I think he did a really kick-ass job on my commission:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238572 :: Marvel NOW! Captain America by Juna Gedeon
The next commission that I wanted to pick up was from Daniel Govar. He showed me the piece, but then asked if he could hold on to it until the next day so he could get a scan of it. I agreed, and moved on to find my last guy, Ryan Cody.
Ryan had actually already closed his pre-order list when I first contacted him, but he liked the idea of doing something ALIEN so much that he added me on anyway. He told me that even though he was a fan of the films, he'd never drawn anything from them before. This was the first time:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238570 :: Colonial Marine by Ryan Cody
It was now time to return to Andrew's table to see if he was finished. Sure enough, he was, and he didn't disappoint:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238575 :: Decapitated Engineer's Head by Andrew MacLean
After picking up those four, I returned to Jeremy's table. I stayed there for the rest of the day until my family finally arrived. The kids wanted to look around, so I just let them lead the way. As we were leaving for the day, I saw Dan Willner set up with his Spandex Splinters. He hand carves these neat little character totems, and his wife paints them. I'd been wanting one for awhile. When I saw this one, I had to have it:
Day Two, Sat.
The first thing that I did on Sat. was head to Jeremy's table, because I'd concocted a proposal that I wanted to run by him. He seemed very receptive to it, but wanted to think about it a bit first.
After that was out of the way, I headed back over to Dan's Spandex Splinters table to grab another one:
I then headed to Andrew's table because I wanted to ask if they'd hold something for me. They said it was no problem and to just come back when I was ready to get it.
Other than that, for me, Sat. was a lot more relaxed and laid back. I actually spent a good deal of time in the dealers section hunting down some back issues and toys. I even picked up three LEGO sets that I wanted. Of course, I still had plenty of art to pick up, too.
Daniel still hadn't managed to get a scan of my piece, but wanted me to go ahead and take it anyway. I promised to send him a hi-res scan of it ASAP. I think he did a killer job on it:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238584 :: Marvel NOW! Captain America & Falcon by Daniel Govar
I also stopped back by Dave and Greg's table to see how things were going with them. We shot the breeze for a few, and then Greg said he had something for me. He then pulled out this beauty:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238522 :: Red Skull by Greg Baldwin of CreatureBox
Eventually, I wound up going back to see Juan. I asked him how the con was going for him, and he told me that he was having a good time even though he hadn't really been busy. I figured what the hell, so I asked if he would do another for me. After explaining to him what I collected, he settled on the Winter Soldier.
After all of that, I had one last thing that had been at the back of my brain since the night before. You see, I'd previously given up on collecting page art about eight years ago, and just recently finished selling off the last of my pages. However, the day before I'd been ogling some of Tradd Moore's covers and was amazed by the shear amount of detail he puts into them. So, I stopped by where his rep, Paolo Belfiore of Cadence Comic Art, was set up to check on some prices. Unfortunately, my top three choices weren't available, but I found one more that I was interested in. Paolo and I discussed price, and since I'd never spent that much money on a single piece of art, I asked him if I could think on it for a bit. He said that he'd hold it for me, but asked that I come back and let him know once I'd decided.
I spent the next hour or so scoping out the dealer section again before deciding to return and tell him that I just couldn't bring myself to do it. He then made me an offer that I simply couldn't refuse, and this baby became mine:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238518 :: SECRET AVENGERS #4 Cover by Tradd Moore
I was literally on Cloud 9 after that, but I knew that I still had four more commissions to pick up. On top of that, there was still one more day of the con left, and anything could happen, right?
Day Three, Sun.
I usually like to spend Sundays cruising the dealers section looking for deals before I go hunt down the last of my commissions that I'm owed. This time, however, I was a little apprehensive about spending too much because of my big purchase the day before. I wound up spending three quarters of the day with Jeremy and Lori. We had a great time just talking about whatever came to mind while Jeremy finished up the last of his list. This included finishing my pre-order from him. He kind of hinted that he wanted me to take off while he was working on it, because he tends to like to surprise me with the finished piece. Before I could go, though, he pulled me aside to discuss my proposal from the day before. He told me that he really liked the idea and gave me the terms for the deal. I didn't want to seem too eager, so I told him that I wanted to think on it for a bit.
Once again, I found myself back at the booth with the LEGOs. After negotiating a great deal, I wound up with nine more sets! I had to go back to Jeremy's table to drop them off, and he and Lori couldn't help but laugh at me carrying that huge stack of LEGOs. Jeremy, being a huge LEGO fan himself, had to take a break from drawing to check them out. While we were looking them over, I told him that I'd happily take him up on his offer, but that I wanted to wait until the end of the day to firm everything up.
It was now getting down to the last hour and a half of the show. So, I started my final run through Artists Alley. I went to say goodbye to Andrew and Erin and pay for my item that was on hold. Needless to say, I was extremely happy to walk away with this:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238512 :: ApocalyptiGirl Heroes Con 2015 Indie Island T-Shirt Design by Andrew MacLean
Next, I had to run over to Aaron's table to get my second piece of the weekend from him:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238523 :: Red Skull & MODOK by Aaron Conley
After that, it was back to Juan's table once again to grab my other commission from him:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238577 :: Winter Soldier by Juan Gedeon
Lastly, I went to check in with Lee Weeks. I'd previously gotten the impression that he might not be able to get it done, and sure enough, that was the case. He apologized profusely and immediately offered to give me my money back. Given his reputation, and the fact that I *really* wanted a Cap from him, I opted to have him do it at home and mail it to me, which I usually won't do. He gave me all of his contact info and promised that he'd get it to me ASAP.
Now, finally, it was back to Jeremy and Lori to help them pack up. Before we got started on that, though, he gave me my commission, which is my favorite of the con:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238521 :: Agent Coulson Vs. HYDRA
Oh, and that mysterious deal that I'd struck with him? It was for all six of his covers for his upcoming project, THE BEAUTY, out from Image starting in Aug., plus the cover for PILOT SEASON: THE BEAUTY #1, the issue that started it all! That's seven(!) covers in all. He hasn't even finished the last two covers for the series, but I'll get them when he does. They all have a fashion magazine cover motif. I think that they're all hauntingly beautiful, in a creepy sort of way:
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238453 :: PILOT SEASON: THE BEAUTY #1 Cover by Jeremy Haun
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238454 :: THE BEAUTY #1 Cover by Jeremy Haun
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238455 :: THE BEAUTY #2 Cover by Jeremy Haun
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238456 :: THE BEAUTY #3 Cover by Jeremy Haun
http://www.comicartfans.com/galleryp...?piece=1238457 :: THE BEAUTY #4 Cover by Jeremy Haun
Epilogue, Mon.
To cap off the weekend's festivities, we had our annual breakfast with Jeremy and Lori to say goodbye. That's always a fun time. We usually hardly ever talk about anything comics-related.
All in all, I feel like I had the haul of a lifetime this year. I seriously doubt that I'll ever be able to top it. For that matter, I doubt that my wife will ever let me attempt to top it. I spent plenty of time getting caught up with old friends and making new ones. The only downside, for me, was losing a bag that had a few sketchbooks that I'd bought sometime during my final kamikaze run through Artists Alley. I also really hope that we can organize some sort of get-together next year so that I can meet some of you guys. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have hand cramps from typing this novel. If you've stuck with me this far, I thank you. I'll try not to do this again next year!
