Heroes Con 2015 - Post Mortem

Just a small portion of the Vendor's floor

Another Heroes Con is in the book. This was my eleventh straight year going and my initial excitement for the event is always the same. The past three years (the two I had to drive) ended up being times I had something happen at the Con that served to frustrate me. Two years ago, the AC did not work and that led to a hot drive back home. Oh and to top things off, there was a huge traffic delay that got us there about two hours late.

This year, there was the nearly hour long wait in the PRE-REGISTERED tickets line. Seriously, what's the point of buying tickets to avoid a line if you just end up in a line anyway?! People could walk off the street and buy a ticket and get in while we were waiting. If I hadn't already paid for my tickets, I would have got out of line and bought some tickets. However, it's not as bad as San Diego Comic was a few years ago. If I can stand in a line for three hours, I can stand in line for anything. I just like to get in during the first few hours when it's not crowded, so I can look unabated.

I digress, this will be the only complaining I will make here. Here's something you need to know about my con going habits. The first hour is magic hour for me. It sets the tone for my con, more or less. This is when I'm looking for the most wanted items on my list. I get one of the first runs at the vendors before their collections are picked over. Also, usually about 50% of my comic buying happens in my first couple of hours there.

This gives me time to get the lay of the land, find who has good deals and who I can see dropping their prices on Sunday. It also gives me time to see Artist alley and find the artists that I like. I can then come back later and buy some art from them.

On this trip, we debated why even do the full weekend anymore. I seriously do the majority of my buying on Friday. The next two days are just casual looks at vendors.

What I want to share is why I enjoy doing this. I enjoy the thrill of the hunt. I think dopamine is released every time I search through a comic bin and find exactly what I'm looking for. Words can't express how much I truly enjoy this, so I won't even bother. This is my own brand of fun.

This year, I didn't buy art from as many artists as I have in the past. Some of my favorite artists where there, but they did not have prints for sale or they had prints that had letters all over them. I don't like art that has words on them, with exceptions. I did buy an amazing Daredevil print from Matteo Scalera (who is amazing) and a cool, blaxploitation inspired Heroes for Hire print from Khary Robinson. Then I bought a couple of pieces that were art deco inspired (my weakiness) from a guy named Andrew Heath.

Per the usual, I ate well during my weekend at the con and took some pictures of some of the cosplayers. Even though I complained about the lines at the top of this post, it feels my heart with joy to see this Con doing so well. I'm glad it's growing and that it will keep growing. I definitely won't stop going anytime soon if I can help it.