HeroesCon 2011: Heather's Wrap Up Report

Can I admit that HeroesCon is kind of a blur? It was fun, exhausting, and exactly what I needed after one of the hardest weeks of my life. My HeroesCon started early Thursday morning with a stop at Starbucks and ended late Sunday night asleep on one of the pretty yellow benches in the Heroes Aren't Hard to Find store.  In between those two very different moments, a lot of awesomeness occurred. 

Since there's so much to cover, I'm breaking it down day by day (much like I did my pictures on Flickr) as well as some favorite moments.  On Friday, I'll have my HeroesCon loot list up so you can see all the great stuff I picked up from mini-comics to sketchbooks to original art. 

Thursday: Day Zero of HeroesCon involves set-up and registration.  This year I was doing Small Press registration which meant to go to see old friends and make new ones as HeroesCon Small Press checked in and received their super sweet Iron Man badges.  Day Zero also means I get hang out with the ever awesome trio of Steve Saffel, Dana Haywood, and Scott Valeri. Day Zero ended with dinner and drinks in the Westin Bar with Steve and Dana, as well as other HeroesCon staff members drifting in and out. 

Friday: Day one of HeroesCon started early for both Seth and me (Thank God for David Wray and Starbucks!).  The con floor opens at seven for Exhibitors, Small Press and Artists. It's always great to see people you only get to see on the con circuit.  Friday is always full of hugs and hellos for me.  Day One ended with the Drink and Draw  to raise money for Team Cul De Sac.  Richard Thompson, the creator of Cul De Sace, was diagnosed with Parkinson's Disease in 2009.  Team Cul De Sac helps raise money for research in the fight against Parkinson's.  This new HeroesCon event was a lot of fun, with both the drinking and the drawing.  There were some seriously funny and beautiful coasters.  Yay Team Cul De Sac!!

Saturday: Ah, Saturday, the busiest day at HeroesCon! What better way to end such a full day of comic goodness than with a fabulous Art Auction? You can read more about our Art Auction experience below in my Favorite Moments section. 

Sunday: Day Three is always my shopping day.  It's my real opportunity to be away from the Info Booth for more than errands or quick runs to drop stuff off and take pictures.  On Sundays, I buy mini-comics, sketchbooks and all kinds of other awesome stuff.  Seth and I also stopped by to have Irwin, Roger, and Stephanie personalize all the auction pieces.  Winning at the auction is great, but I really enjoy these moments with the artists where you can share a real appreciation of their art.  I can't wait to get everything framed and on a wall. Seth and I also moderated the Sketch Charlotte panel which was really more like a well-behaved Thursday night meeting with a few new guests.  If you're an artist in Charlotte, somewhere nearby, or just visiting town on a Thursday night, you should stop by the Showmars on 7th Street and hang out!

Favorite Moments:

Introducing Henry Eudy to Irwin Hasen: If you've ever met me, you know I adore Irwin.  I also adore Henry.  When I found out Irwin was going to be there this year, I knew I had to get a copy of Henry's latest sketchbook, The Pretentious Pervert, into Irwin's hands.  Watching and capturing the interaction between two of my favorite people will be one of my most treasured HeroesCon experiences for years to come. 

Winning awesome art pieces at the Art Auction with Seth: I had my eye on Roger Langridge's recreation of Chris Samnee's Thor the Mighty Avenger cover since he posted it before HeroesCon, so you can imagine my excitement when Seth and I won it Saturday night.  We also came away with the Dondi piece by Irwin and the Thing and ladies beach piece from Stephanie Buscema.. 

Walking to Day 3 of HeroesCon with Irwin Hasen: Speaking of the Stephanie Buscema auction piece, we got to share it with Irwin as we walked him over to the convention center on Sunday.  Irwin knew Stephanie's grandfather, John Buscema, and it was sweet to see how much he liked Stephanie's painting and how impressed he was with her work. 

Doing shots of The Kraken Rum with SCAD students and Chris Schweizer:  This rum is evil, but Schweizer is not and I love him in spite of the rum that stayed in my system for at least two days (seriously, it's slogan is "Put a beast in your belly.").  I also love the friendly relationship between Chris and the SCAD kids.  I met all kinds of great artists from SCAD this weekend and I can't wait to see what they'll be doing.

The Renzi Family: Wow, did Rico ever do a phenomenal job with his first HeroesCon as Creative Director! The best part about Rico at HeroesCon is his awesome family, Janice and Izzy.  Janice very thoughtfully provided snacks for the Info Booth and store booth that really helped us all get through the weekend.  Izzy is a super hard worker and ran a tight ship at the Info Booth! All three Renzis have been a great addition to the Heroes family.

Super Special Thanks Shout Outs: There's so many people that made HeroesCon 2011 fun and awesome for me and this list in no way will cover everyone (if I left you out, let me know in the comments and I will give you a lovely shout out on Twitter).  In no particular order, these people made my weekend, with hugs, food, coffee, and smiles: Janice and Izzy Renzi, Chad Hudson of Apocalypse Comics, J. Chris Campbell, Josh Latta, Brad McGinty, Chris Schweizer, The Dollar Bin (especially Brandon and Tee), Sketch Charlotte, Jason Latour, Chris Brunner, Steve Saffel, Dana Haywood, Scott Valeri, Andy Mansell, Pants (whose name is Dana Haidar), Chris Pitzer, Lamar Abrams, Ed Piskor, Adam Casey and his beard, Ben and Lisa White, The David Wray, Charles Foesch, and all the wonderful and hardworking volunteers.  An extra special thanks to Shawn for the two pounds of jelly beans that were all eaten at the Info Booth! Thanks everyone! I'm already looking forward to HeroesCon 2012, which will be the 30th Anniversary!!!