I know it has been about a week, but I wanted to share my thoughts on HeroesCon. This was my twelfth consecutive trip to what is easily my favorite convention. That's because the focus is squarely on comic books.
I had another good time at this convention. However, something was different this time around. I came to a starting revelation that I knew was going to eventually happen. In all my years going to this convention and others, I have now pretty much exhausted my list of comics to search for. What I have always loved about these conventions is the thrill of the chase. I'm always looking for SOMETHING.
Since my friend and I have gone to this for so many years, the convention has become an exercise in routine and structure. I briefly described this in my post last year.
This year we took a different path than what we did last year. Instead of pre-ordering tickets, we simply bought our tickets with cash at the ticket booth. It took us all of two minutes. As you'll see in that post from last year, it took us nearly an HOUR. So this was a major boost.
After our traditional first couple of passes on the show floor, I noticed that a lot of the vendors that I normally see selling recent comics (within the last five years) for cheap were no longer here. Already, my list was in danger. I already dove into my secondary list of comics to buy. We call these my "Desperation" comics. These are comics I buy to just buy something to warrant coming to the convention at all. I know that sounds bad, but these are still comics I want, just not with a degree of urgency because I know I can ALWAYS find these. To recap, within the first day, I've already gone to my secondary list. This was a sign to me that I've now reached the saturation point. I no longer have anything new to chase.
We moved on to artist alley. There are many comic book artists I enjoy in the industry. They come to these shows to supplement their income. I know I'm not doing a good deed, but I want to purchase a print from them to show my appreciation and maybe in a small way, help them out. It can't be easy sitting at a table for eight hours hoping someone will buy art from you and not just window shop. I try to make a point of not looking through someone's art book if I don't intend to buy something.
This year, the artists I bought prints from were Sanford Greene (currently working on the latest iteration of Power Man and Iron Fist) and Veronica Fish (currently working on the new Archie comic). I always comment that I enjoy their work on book X and maybe ask a side question. Everyone I have ever met has been appreciative and friendly. Another reason I love this convention.
I spent the rest of our time at the convention itself, buying gifts for others and picking up art from other vendors that I enjoyed. Specifically, a couple of nice pieces from Will Pigg, Shaun Rosado and Rogan Josh.
One other thing we have stopped doing over the years is going to panels. We used to go to panels to break up our days on the show floor. We didn't do it last year and we didn't do it this year. None of the panels interest me, so this weekend is focused purely on buying.
All in all, we actually spent less time at the convention itself. This time has turned into, "Hey, let's do something cool in Charlotte". It's a very nice city and I have enjoyed it every time I visit.
I want to reiterate that I really enjoyed my time this year and I actually bought the same amount of comics that I have bought the past couple of years. It was just more focused on older comics. As always, I can't wait for next year!
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