[dramatic orchestral music] ♪ [music continues] ♪ [music ending in flourish] [light jazz music] - In June 2022, after a two year break, HeroesCon returned to the Charlotte Convention Center.

For the first time since the pandemic began, comic fans could connect with artists and writers, dive into the long boxes, and meet with old friends and make new ones.

2022 also marked 40 years of HeroesCon, making the return an even bigger celebration.

The Comic Culture team decided to set up a booth so we could meet and talk with people during the three days of HeroesCon.

I wondered what everyone thought about coming back, what they missed during the two year blip, and why a con like this is so special to the culture of comics.

On this episode, I'll speak to fans and comic professionals, and hopefully share what it's like to be at a comic convention and part of this welcoming community.

Planning a comic convention is a difficult job.

Planning your 40th anniversary celebration, well, that's even tougher.

Planning the first HeroesCon since the pandemic and making it bigger than ever?

Well, that's nearly impossible.

So, how did they do it?

To find out, I traveled to the comic shop "Heroes Aren't Hard to Find" to talk to the convention's organizers.

- [Shelton] Well, you know they now practically run themselves.

[both chuckling] - [Terence] Owner, Shelton Drum, organized the first HeroesCon in 1982.

- It was really hard to plan this one because it takes pretty much a whole year to, you know, line up the guests and sell the booth space and make all the arrangements, and we really didn't have a whole 12 months ever to know that we could do that during the pandemic years.

You know, we were kinda on hold for '20 and '21, and finally we just made the decision, we're gonna go for '22 and just make it happen, so.

- And you also had to book a number of guests to come in, writers, artists who come in, so is there any reluctance on their part to, you know, get back into the convention circuit?

- Oh, absolutely.

Yeah, I mean, we had so many people on hold.

It's like, "Yeah, we really would like to come, but we're gonna wait and see how the world looks."

And we did book some people who actually, you know, got COVID before they got here or had other health problems.

The people we most love to see are the old pros and, you know, they're a little more fragile and you gotta kind of take what you can get when you can get it, 'cause things come up.

- [Terence] Despite the uncertainty, more than 225 invited comic professionals attended.

In addition, other writers and artists rented booths for the weekend making Artist and Indie Alleys, packed with creators.

[light jazz music] There's 280,000 square feet of exhibitor space at the Charlotte Convention Center.

In 2022, HeroesCon used every last square inch to give attendees, vendors, artists, and guests the best possible experience, all while maintaining easy access and wide aisles.

The behind the scenes logistics and planning for the convention floor is handled by event and creative coordinator for HeroesCon, Carla Southern.

- The big part of my job is HeroesCon, and I don't know exactly how to describe what I do because if it has anything to do with HeroesCon, I did it.

[both chuckling] - Well, I know you and I have emailed back and forth, you've helped me get press passes in previous years, this year you've helped me get a booth for Comic Culture.

So, it seems like that's a lot of different things that you're doing.

- Yeah, I mean, if it's HeroesCon I had my fingers in it at some point.

- You mentioned that you have to get travel arrangements for all the guests, So this year you had- - Not all of them, thank God.

- Not all, okay.

So, how many flights are you booking?

How many hotel rooms are you setting up?

I mean, it seems like that's a lot of work.

- I mean, we filled almost three hotels at Uptown this year.

We don't fly everybody in, but there are a few people that we do.

I'm gonna say we maybe bought 10 flights, 15 flights.

- And let's talk about exhibitors.

It's a big show, there are a lot of exhibitors there and they're setting up and they need more than just 10 by 10.

So, how do sort of figure that all out?

- A lot of them have been with us for 30, some of them have been with us for 40 years.

- I've been to some shows where the aisles between, you know, booths and artists and everything is really tight.

- [Carla] Yeah.

- Especially if you have some folks with cosplay.

Like, I remember once someone walking around with a Doc Oc costume and their arms were about eight feet out.

- Yep.

- And to get by everyone's climbing on tables and knocking books over 'cause this person's walking through.

So, as you're, you know, making sure that Heroes has enough space between, and that's the great thing about Heroes, is that it's just such a wide open space that people can pass by, you can interact with the guests, you can interact with vendors.

Is there ever that temptation to maybe, let's see if we can squeeze it down a little bit to get more?

- Nah, no.

I mean, as someone who has gone to a lot of shows, that's, personally, one of my favorite things about our show, is that somebody can have their baby in a stroller or they're carrying their, you know, rolling cart with their short boxes of vintage comics.

I mean, it's hard to carry a arm-full of comics around a convention all day.

It kinda make sense to bring a trolley of sorts.

- And I know that for me, I was looking for our booth to see where it was and see who my neighbors were, and I know at one point the Joe Kubert School was going to be my next door neighbor, and then within a few days before the convention happened, it seemed like they had a reason to cancel.

So, when you have a last minute cancellation, especially someone in a premium spot like that, how do you kind of decide who to move into it?

- Well, a lot of times if people have asked to be upgraded and they've been patient and they've been waiting and, you know, if I can move them into a good spot for that year, I will.

Now, there's kind of an understanding that I may not be able to get you back in that same spot next year, 'cause Joe Kubert School's coming back next year and they're gonna want their spot back.

- Working with all these exhibitors, this is not like a regular nine to five sort of thing, especially closer to Heroes.

- [Carla] Never, yeah.

- So, you know, are you able to ever get a break leading up to?

- No.

- No?

- No.

[Carla laughing] No, from pretty much the beginning of March until the Monday after the show, you're on call 24/7.

And I've been doing this show for... as a member of, like, full-time for a decade, but I've been coming to the show for 40 years.

- Wow.

[light jazz music] With all the planning and prep work completed, vendors and guests had just one day to load in before the start of HeroesCon.

The loading dock was chaotic and the convention floor was a flurry of activity.

Shelton and Carla's team did an amazing job of marking out the floor and using clear signage showing everyone where to go.

On Friday morning at 11, ready or not, the doors opened and HeroesCon 2022 came to life.

In my experience, Fridays aren't as busy as Saturdays or Sundays, maybe because it's a workday, but there were still thousands of attendees.

It's a great day for the serious fan to spend time talking with an artist at their table, or scouting out some original art before someone else buys it.

With the Comic Culture booth set up as a mini TV studio, I met and spoke with attendees and guests who love comics and were excited to be back at HeroesCon.

But would two years of the pandemic temper their enthusiasm?

I asked attendee and comic book fan, Brian Yesowitch, about the elephant in the room.

So, let's just talk a little bit about COVID again.

I mean, it's a- - Oh, sure.

- Depressing subject, but- - Yeah.

- You know, as we're back, is there any sort of reservation going back to the crowds, going back to the cons?

I mean, we took our masks off- - Yes.

- To do this interview, but we've both been masked up all day.

- I am fully vaccinated, so I don't believe that I'm immune, but I am comfortable being in crowds.

However, I also travel for a living and I'm respectful to those people, particularly at an indoor convention where a lot of people may not have my superhuman immunity.

[Terence chuckling] So, I do wear a mask to protect others.

I bought into that, "The mask is not for me," you know, [stammering] it's to stop the spread, and we're six feet apart and I respect that.

So, I'm gonna try to follow those rules while I'm here.

I'm not intimidated by the COVID in a group like this.

I also brought the sanitary wipes, so I feel protected.

I feel safe.

- Brian, we're here at HeroesCon, it's the first time they're doing it since 2019.

What's it like being back at a con?

- It's my annual Father's Day tradition.

Although, this year it unfortunately wasn't on Father's Day, so I am here without my children, which is even a bigger Father's Day gift, if you could imagine that.

[Terence laughing] So, it's been wonderful.

As many people did during the pandemic, a lot of us returned to reading, and so I read and explored more comic books than I'd ever had time to do since I was a teenager.

So, to come to a show like this and actually see the authors and illustrators of the books that I've enjoyed the last three years is a real treat.

- You are not a comics professional, you are in television production, kind of like I am.

So, what is it about comics that gives you that break from, you know, going to work every day?

- It's silent.

I love the fact that it is a silent medium and that I can put on a record if I wish.

I have certain songs I like to play for certain genres of comic books, I have certain playlists that I'll play when I'm reading.

But to me, I love that silence.

I'm also a full-time father in addition to being a full-time employee and that sort of thing, so I just love the silence.

I love being able to focus visually on an image and words and read the words on the page.

[light jazz music] - The people I spoke with, be it in an interview, one of the panels I moderated, or just talking on the convention floor, all took precautions to minimize the risk of COVID.

So, I decided to focus on the convention experience.

What did people miss the most and what were they looking forward to at HeroesCon?

Next up is cartoonist, John Rose.

John, you are the cartoonist behind Snuffy Smith, and every year you would come to HeroesCon in Charlotte.

- [John] Right.

- But the last three years we haven't been able to do that because of the pandemic.

- [John] Right.

- So, what has the loss of the convention every year meant to you?

- It really meant a lot to me.

I love...you know, as a cartoonist, I'm in my studio by myself a lot.

So, it's great to get out and meet the public, and this is a great way that I do that.

So, having that disappear for years, you know, was kind of sad.

I'm really happy to be back and really happy that they're having it again this year.

- Talk about you're in the studio alone, and I know that there are other syndicated cartoonists here and that's what makes HeroesCon so special is that they are including, you know, the the newspaper strips in their guests.

- Right, right.

HeroesCon is one of the, I think one of the few comic cons that includes so many comic strip cartoonists.

So, it's good to be back with everybody.

It's just great to get feedback.

We have had a new character in the last couple years, a Li'l Sparky, and that character has generated... he's a little horse, a little pony, and that character has generated a lot of feedback.

- The great thing about Little Sparky is that that's a character that you created with your daughter.

- [John] Right.

- So, can you talk a little bit about, you know, how the two of you collaborated and came up with the character?

- Sure, we decided we wanted to work on something together, I thought it'd be fun to bring her in and she loves the coloring aspect, the digital side of everything.

So, basically I came up with the character, I write the comic and draw the comic, she colors it and we bounce ideas off each other and that's how we work.

And Li'l Sparky, usually appears in, like, week-long stints 'cause it's a special feature.

He's the grandson of Barney Google's famous racehorse, Spark Plug.

- The first day of any convention is a learning experience, as organizers must quickly identify and solve problems so the rest of the weekend will run as smoothly as possible.

Seth Peagler shared how the HeroesCon team plans for the unexpected.

What is it that you do that helps make sure that everyone who's at the show can enjoy the panels or can enjoy maybe the art contest or anything like that?

- We're lucky to have some great, as we call them, lieutenants, who kind of help oversee certain areas.

So, a lot of it, for me at least, at the convention is checking in with them, putting out fires they may have or helping to facilitate that.

- Walt Simonson, this year, had a booth in a great spot.

- [Seth] Right.

- And his line seemed to go pretty much everywhere.

- [Seth] Yes.

[Terence chuckling] And you ended up having to move him.

Is that something that you're gonna handle logistically?

- It's something that Carla and Shelton and I all probably talk about it at different points, but you learn, especially on a Friday.

The thoughtfulness of this year's floor plan was that a lot of extra space was left in that new Hall C part, that we hadn't used before.

So, we knew that should we have to move somebody that, that would be an ideal place.

- Now, you said you take care of different things on the program, so is this something like you're helping to coordinate the panels, or is that something that's left to others?

- Andy Mansell, who's been doing the coordination, he's always the man up on the level, but he and I start as early, I think this year, as March.

Where we'll start kicking ideas around and we get lots of people suggesting ideas or pitching us ideas.

We're gonna have some large panels, but we're gonna have some other smaller boutique craft-focused panels, so having a good mixture.

So, it's an ever-evolving process, but really in March we kind of start.

- Panels are a big part of HeroesCon.

Panels can feature popular writers and artists talking about their favorite comics, or can be FYI sessions, like the Podcasting 101 panel I organized.

Andy Mansell was my contact person and kept all the panels on schedule.

So Andy, you are in charge of setting up the panels here at HeroesCon.

On a weekend like this you have, I mean, I don't know how many panels, but you've got them going on three days straight.

- [Andy] Yeah.

- How do you kind of organize the chaos?

- It comes down to this, a lot of preparation.

We have figured out that 60 is too many, 30 isn't enough, we've got about 50 this year, it looks like it's really turning out well.

We just wanted to make sure that since people are coming out here for the first time in a couple years, I wanna give everybody something to stop being on the floor and come upstairs to enjoy.

- What sort of plans do you put in place knowing that there's still the pandemic going on, but life has to, you know, sort of get back to normal?

- We literally went into this, and I'm sure you probably had this experience, somewhere around March or April, it's just kind of like crossing your fingers and saying, "Let's just go for it, if it all ends up for naught, okay, we gave it a shot."

We currently, right now, have a Marvel editor's panel going on right now.

It was originally designed to be set up for one editor, who was ill, then two of the other editors got ill.

So, we actually have, instead of it originally being these four people, we've got two up there now.

If you just stick with it long enough things hopefully turn out for the best.

- What does it mean to you, you've been involved for a long time, and, you know, seeing the convention come back after the three year break, you know, what's it like?

- It's insane.

I'm a volunteer.

I work about 70 hours a week throughout the course of the month of June, why?

For Carla, Seth, and especially Shelton Drum, the man who owns it.

He has created such a great comic culture, or helped create it, and he's the one that keeps it going.

I love walking into this comic convention knowing it's art and reading comics first, and you don't find that anymore.

That's what gets me going.

That's what we knew was at the end of the rainbow after three years.

[light jazz music] - The culture of comics extends beyond creators, publishers and vendors.

There were dozens of podcasters live streaming from HeroesCon.

I spoke with Pat Sampson of the "Longbox Crusade" podcast about coming back to Charlotte for this year's convention.

[music ending] We're back at at HeroesCon, it's been three years since the last convention.

What about that gap, what did that mean to you, the fact that we couldn't go to conventions during the pandemic?

- It meant a lot.

Especially, you wouldn't know how much you miss it from not doing it all the time, but then having it gone for a good period of time.

And it was...yeah, it just felt, like, good to be back here today and doing the podcast that I do.

We built it around having friends and all that in the podcast community and the comic community with everybody out there.

And just, it's so nice to be around that group of people again and just see some of the creators and all that too.

You know, I've gotten to know some of the creators here as well too, and being able to, you know, see them and talk to them.

- It's this sense of community that you find here.

I mean, the fact that everyone has a shared interest.

You see kids loving comics, you see adults loving comics, it just really makes that sense of community come to life and it is a great place to be.

So, what are your goals?

What do you hope to get out of the expense of getting a booth here, and is it worth the money?

- The booth that I have, it's my friend's booth and he's the artist, I'm here just for the podcasting side of it.

But the other thing too is just meeting people and getting those connections going for podcasting, it's getting the word out there, using that as another form of media, getting the word about the podcast out there.

- I know for us it was a big decision for us to get a corner booth here.

- Sure.

- To try and get people to acknowledge what we do.

So, you know, have you had that moment yet, someone come over and say, "I listen to the podcast,"?

- We've had that happen several different times, which is kind of humbling and an honor to feel that somebody wants to come and see you and, you know, coming back to some of the in jokes that we have going on, it is very interesting to see.

And some of the people that support us out there have traveled to come and, you know, meet us here.

It's just interesting and very humbling, I think.

- Delvin Williams is one of Pat's "Longbox Crusade" partners.

What did missing the convention all those years, what did that do to you personally?

- It definitely affected me, because when I moved to Charlotte a little less than five years ago, start of...or excuse me, summer '17, my friend Jared, one of my best friends, known him 25 plus years, he calls himself a yard sale artist, he has a table here at the convention and he's like, "Oh yeah, I'm gonna have a table so I have a place to stay now."

And then right around that time I was starting on a podcast called the "Long Box Crusade", And so my buddy Pat and Jared's brother Jason's like, "Well, can we come too?"

And I'm, like, sweating bullets, like, "Ugh, okay."

They all came up and then people from podcast land started descending and they said, "Well, Delvin, you live in Charlotte," and, "Find us somewhere to go."

And so found a place for food and we all sat down and it was just a really awesome communion, and so that's what I missed.

We got that in '18, we got that in '19, and so 2020 was gonna be the best year ever, right?

And well, not so much.

[Terence chuckling] So, that's what I miss.

I miss having that podcast family and friends that we've made all together, like, getting to meet.

So, it's awesome to have that again.

- And so let's talk a little bit about this weekend.

You're here, you're with your friends.

Beyond just walking around and looking at some of the artists, maybe talking to somebody, buying some books, what is it that you're hoping to get out of this weekend?

You know, beyond just being on the floor here?

- I think it's more than enough to really just be here and have this again.

Like, even just coming down the stairs, I kind of just exhaled a little bit.

So, I'm like, for me, if the event goes off without a hitch and everything goes well and everyone just has a space in a community where they're accepting and happy and everyone had as good of a time as they had, that honestly is more than enough for me, personally.

- Like Delvin said, there was an uplifting energy buzzing through the crowd.

Maybe it was a sense of relief that things were finally getting back to normal.

People felt comfortable enough to be in a crowd and for Leiji Harlock to travel thousands of miles to attend HeroesCon.

You are from Hawaii.

- Yes.

- You're in North Carolina for HeroesCon.

- Yes.

- So, what made you make the trip- - To Heroes?

- To Heroes?

I mean it's gotta be more than a day, I guess, to travel across country, across the ocean and then across country.

- Well, actually I wanted to come to Heroes back, I would say, in 2019, and I was kind of planning it for 2020.

Of course COVID happened, that was gone.

2021, nothing.

Finally glad Heroes is now happening, you know?

And their 40th anniversary, it's great.

- Conventions, for me, are great because you get to be around people who have similar interests, everyone here loves comics.

- [Leiji] Right.

- So, when you come to a con, what sort of experience do you like to get out of it?

- Well, when I first started going to cons, this was, like, let's say maybe back in 2004, at that time it's like any typical fan, you know, you're excited, like, "I'm gonna meet my," you know, "Favorite artist or writer," and so forth, and just soaking up all that culture, soaking up all that excitement from people dressing up in costumes, doing their arts in Artist's Alley or whatever and so forth.

As the years progressed, when I started interacting with the comic guests, for some odd reason it just came out of the blue naturally that I somehow got along with the comic guests and then all of a sudden I became this person who had this natural ability of like, "Hey, are you interested in doing a show here in Hawaii?"

You know, "I can maybe find contacts for you, maybe if you're interested, mention it."

So, now back then from when I started going to cons where you were just a fan, now it's kind of like a combination, still yet a fan, but it's more like networking.

It's really hard to say, but that's the excitement of cons, you get things that are planned that happens and then there are unexpected things like this, which are great surprises as well.

You know, that's the excitement of cons.

[light jazz music] - As day one of HeroesCon drew to a close, everyone seemed to be back in the swing of life at a major comic convention.

Vendors and guests could relax a little, confident that they could handle what was sure to be a crazy second day.

[light jazz music] It's day two at HeroesCon.

As attendees wait for the doors to open, vendors and guests make sure their booths are ready for the rush.

As predicted, Saturday was the busiest day, with tens of thousands of attendees packing the convention floor, local restaurants, and the streets of Uptown Charlotte.

For me, Saturday was a bit crazy.

In addition to interviewing people at the Comic Culture booth, I moderated two panels and our team recorded a third.

It was hectic, but it was a chance to meet a surprising number of Comic Culture fans, like Matthew Roberto, who traveled from San Francisco to attend.

It's been a long break since 2019, the last HeroesCon, and then obviously the pandemic.

So, what's it mean to you to come back to a convention after all this time?

- It's absolutely exciting, it's so much fun, it's a relief in a way to see a lot of people come together again for such a great, great hobby and a great passion.

So, it's been exciting, it's been really exciting.

And also kind of a relief to say, "Oh, it's nice to get out of the house and be around this community again."

- That's the one thing I've talked to a lot of people about their experiences, and they talk about the community.

What is it about, you know, being around your fellow fans that makes you feel like you belong?

- They're into the same things and often they have a real strong passion for the characters, the literature of comic books, the stories, and we can all relate at different points in our lives to when we picked up this hobby.

That's been so much fun, in a lot of ways it's been inspiring and it's just a great hobby to be a part of, and fans are very, very friendly and they've been very, very helpful in this convention with trying to get things signed, it's been fun.

And of course, they're just sharing what stories are our favorite, what it means to us.

It's really neat to see the different ideas that fans have and the passions they have.

- What do you do after you leave the convention, after the the long day?

- That's a great question.

I actually go back home, and I'm gonna meet up with a bunch of friends, we're gonna have a little get together and we're gonna look at all this stuff that I got.

I'm here for a lot of friends to get things signed, that couldn't make it across country, that are really excited, and we're going back and forth in texts and we have a little celebration, and 'cause we're all fans and we get together at my friend's house in San Francisco and go over all the stuff, and then I talk about all the people I met and stories I have.

[light jazz music] - On Saturday, the Comic Culture crew included two of my students from the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

Zelle and Victor are mass communication majors and worked on our regular Comic Culture studio tapings during the academic year.

At HeroesCon, they recorded interviews and panels, as well as footage from the convention floor.

It was sort of a UNC Pembroke homecoming, as I had a chance to reconnect with UNCP alumni and former faculty.

First up, is my former student, Joshua Long.

This is the first convention that we've had since 2019.

I'm wondering what it means to you to come back to a convention after the two year, three year pandemic break?

- It means a lot in the sense that you take stuff for granted so much, and you just don't realize how important small stuff like, I mean, even though this is a bigger con, how much it's important to you.

Just being able to come out and see people, especially just the fellowship of it, and meet old friends.

[stammering] Words are hard to describe it, to be honest with you.

- You know, a lot of people have talked about that camaraderie, that community that comes from being among other people who share a similar interest.

So, what are your goals at the con today?

- Well, I'm trying to find some different "Spawn" books.

I have some holes to plug.

Spawn's not necessarily the most popular, but he's up there, so trying to plug some holes.

- Is there any creator that you're looking forward to meeting?

- Going be honest, not really.

[Terence chuckling] I came for "Spawn" comics, that's what I'm here for.

- [Terence] All right.

- I'm a man on a mission.

But then I heard you're here, so I said, "I gotta stop by, I gotta make sure he still remembers this face.

[Terence chuckling] So I can haunt your dreams or nightmares, whichever one."

- We'll go with dream-mares.

- Dream-mares, yeah.

That sounds like that's a "My Little Pony" thing now.

- I guess so.

[Joshua laughing] When you put it that way, it sounds creepy.

[Joshua laughing] We're at the convention.

What do you do after a long day digging through the long boxes?

What do you do?

Are you spending time with friends?

Are you coming back tomorrow?

What are your plans?

- Oh, coming back tomorrow, I got a different friend...[laughing] got a different friend group to come with tomorrow, so I'm gonna hit it again.

Afterwards, I'll probably pass out, 'cause [flapping lips] got here way too early, but that's what you gotta do to, you know, try to get a decent spot in line.

Yeah, no, after here, probably taking a nap.

[Terence chuckling] [light jazz music] - Former UNCP professor, Carole Graham, came from Alabama to attend HeroesCon.

[music ending] You know, everyone has something that they're looking for.

So, what is it that is on your list of things that you know you can find here if you just look hard enough?

- I collect golden age, specifically Fawcett, and I collect Wows with Mary Marvel, and Mary Marvel, the cover itself.

So, you're talking about from the '40s and '50s, I'm talking about comic books that are older than I am.

I love looking for books in good condition.

It's usually the cover that sells me more than the stories, and particularly for comics that were produced during the war, you understand that a lot of 'em were recycled, maybe not kept in the best condition, there's one staple holding everything together because of rationing.

And so, what I'm looking for is a good, solid, not-gonna-turn-to-dust book.

I believe collecting is curating for the future, and so it's not just for me to have, but for me to have to know that it's safe and then one day perhaps pass it on to somebody else that will appreciate it.

I was telling one of the dealers, he was like, "Wow, why did you get into that?"

And I was like, true story, my mother was in a bookstore with me and my brother.

I was probably eight, my brother four.

And they had just published compilations for "Captain Marvel", it's "Shazam" under DC, and she bought that for me.

I got the Shazam one.

Mary Marvel was in it.

Was a different kind of superhero than Wonder Woman or anything like that, and I was like, "I love this, I love this."

And so, I've been collecting it, actively, probably since college, but fell in love as a kid, so.

- What are you going to do, you're here at the con, you drove a long way to get here, so you're gonna probably stay the night, probably come back tomorrow.

- [Carole] Yeah.

- So, what is it that you do after being on the floor all day that, you know, maybe is gonna be different than just going back and going to sleep?

- Tonight is the art auction.

One year we were here, we were in the front row, and it's just great, even if you don't bid or win or or buy anything, seeing how creative people can be with different forms and mediums of art.

So that, yeah, our plan right now is to go to the art auction and enjoy that, run into some folks, have some conversations, just see people, which has been really great.

[light jazz music] - Matthew Kennedy was a student my first year at UNCP.

[music ending] It's a long drive for you to come here.

- It is.

- So, you know, what makes this worthwhile?

What makes it worth the drive?

- I tell you, my brother and his family, they moved to the Concord area two years ago, when BB&T and SunTrust joined Truist, they work with Truist.

So, they are able to come last night, have a little pizza with them, play a little basketball, see them and then to spend the day with them showing just different things they can buy and see, 'cause they don't come to these like I do, you know, two or three a year.

So, it's nice just showing them culture, my culture, the comic book culture, comic culture.

And seeing their eyes light up 'cause there's so much talent in this place.

- I know you're a big "Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtle" fan.

- Huge, yeah.

[Matthew chuckling] - So, tell me, what are you looking for?

What is your goal this weekend as you start diving through the long boxes?

- I try to find the toys that are out now, sometimes you can't find 'em in stores.

I like original art.

I think the prints are nice and cool, but when you actually get the original art of it, and you can afford it, that's the nice part.

So, I think getting a piece of original art is fine.

I know Michael Dooney's here, he worked in the Mirage days of Turtles.

We're supposed to have Ben Bishop.

I'm actually part of the Bishart Kids Club.

He did the "Last Ronan", a lot of the interiors.

We got Noah, a lot of people here did the covers.

So, anything original art, you got me hooked.

Expensive, but you got me hooked.

- What about not being able to go to the cons the past two or three years?

- I think the internet and the websites like Patreon and stuff like that, that's changed it all for some.

Communication with fans and the artists has really changed the past three years.

But there's nothing like being in person, seeing them draw in person, talking to them, because most of the time it's their living and they try to sell you what they're drawing and their story, so it's fun to hear their backgrounds and I like it.

[light jazz music] - Comic pro, professor, and friend, Kevin Freeman rounds out the UNCP homecoming.

[music ending] You traveled from Alabama to be here.

- Correct?

- I spoke to somebody earlier who traveled from San Francisco and yesterday I spoke to somebody who traveled all the way from Hawaii- - Nice.

- To be here.

So, what is it about a convention that makes you wanna travel, you know, hours and hours in the car to get here?

- For me, it's accessibility.

This is a place where, again, if you are a comic person, this is the place because a lot of creators are here and from all eras, I mean there's silver and bronze age folks that you and I like, all the way up to the modern folks, and the crowds here are not so crazy, the lines are not so long, in that you can spend a little bit of time with a creator and talk to them for a few minutes while they're signing your book or doing you a commission.

And the number of smaller artists who are trying to break into the industry or who are doing creator-own kind of stuff, the number of those folks here is really high too.

So, the possibility of you seeing something that you've never seen before and liking it is higher here as well.

- As we get to be the older, you know, shaking our fist at cloud fans, we start- - Get off my lawn.

- Right.

I'm starting to see a lot of younger people doing, you know, cosplay of anime, which is something that wasn't on my radar, and different characters from video games that I just don't recognize at all.

People our age might recall comics as being something you didn't talk about because it wasn't cool, it wasn't hip and you'd get a wedgie- - Right.

- In gym class.

You know, as you watch the acceptance of comics, the movies, the new series that are coming out, what do you see as the biggest change?

- I think comics is still trailing, to be honest though.

I mean, the the pop culture aspect of it has exploded.

I mean, with the movies and the MCU and DC Universe and the video games and everything else, but the comic book part of the equation I think is still trailing a lot of that stuff because there's still that reputation that, "Oh, comics is for kids," and, "You shouldn't be doing that kind of stuff," and the sales numbers reflect that.

I mean, the circulation numbers of a lot of books, that are some of the most popular ones out there, are still not where they were 10 or 15 or 20 years ago.

So, the comic industry itself still has a little bit of work to do to get caught up with the whole pop-stream, mainstream aspect of comic culture.

It's interesting.

[light jazz music] - HeroesCon set an attendance record on Saturday.

The day was a whirlwind and before I knew it, it was the end of the day.

I spoke with attendee, Richard Patterson, before the doors closed for the night.

[music ending] I've talked to folks and one of the things that they've mentioned a lot is doing stuff with friends here at Heroes, or the community, meeting people with similar interests.

- [Richard] Right, right.

- So, you know, as you kind of think about that, when you weren't able to go to the con, were you able to have that same kind of interaction?

- Me and my friend, Jeff, and our friend Jason, we organized, like, a mini con in our hometown, Greenville.

So, we've still been able to kind of keep in touch with that fan base, you know?

So, we do some shows in the area as well and so we kind of never really stopped, you know?

It kind of helped us out with that too, you know, and that's half the fun of coming to these things is just to meet people with a similar interest, you know?

- We have creators like Chris Claremont here this year, Walt Simonson, you know, are you able to get that experience, they've got the longer lines.

So, when you go and wait in those lines and finally get to speak to them, do you get to spend enough time?

- It's brief, but I feel like it's worth it, you know?

Like I said, when I first started doing this, I'd get a little tongue tied and starstruck, I've kind of gotten over that 'cause I know my time is limited, so I kind of, while I'm in line waiting, I'm trying, trying to think of what I might want to ask or what I might wanna say, so that I feel like I get my time's worth standing in that line, you know?

- One of the things that you do, 'cause we're friends on Facebook, I know that you are an artist, you do commissions for folks.

As an artist, meeting other artists, how do you sort of interact to get maybe some pointers or tips?

- It took me a while to get over, you know, being starstruck, that's the hardest part I think.

But most of the artists seem pretty happy to share the tips, you know?

I like, especially Lee Weeks.

I know you've interviewed Lee Weeks, Jim Starlin, most of 'em are more than happy to share whatever information they can, you know, even if it's just something small, like how they approach a page layout or something like that, you know?

So, I just open my big trap and ask, basically.

[Richard chuckling] [light jazz music] - It's day three at HeroesCon.

Sunday was the most relaxed day of the weekend and that's because Saturday was so busy.

For artists and invited guests, a show like HeroesCon is business, a chance to sell sketches, commissions, and original pages.

Vendors bring thousands of comics to sell, and a busy Saturday means business is good.

Many artists and vendors made their goal for the con by the end of Saturday afternoon, and they could exhale and enjoy the slower pace on Sunday.

There's still work to be done and thousands of attendees on the floor, but vendors don't mind haggling prices for a book you'd like to buy.

It's one less thing for them to tote back home.

Even artists who may have been sketching like crazy since Friday have more time to talk as they finish up their commissions.

Sunday is a fun day and a great chance to reflect and learn what people enjoyed most during the three days of HeroesCon, which is what I did.

First up, "Power Pack" co-creator and "Mary Worth" artist June Brigman.

[music ending] We are back at HeroesCon after a three year break.

What's it like to be coming back to the con after all that time?

- It's even better.

Somehow it's even better than before.

I've always loved this convention, it's my favorite convention and it always feels like a family reunion because there's so many people, artists and writers here I've known for, you know, 30, 40 years.

But you know, after COVID I realized maybe I was taking that for granted a little bit, and it's just even more special now to see these people after this strange, awful time.

And we're all still here, we're all doing our work, we're all healthy and it's just...it's wonderful, and we can hug each other and it just makes it even more special.

- A lot of people have said the same thing, it's that reconnecting with friends, the sense of community that they get at a show like this.

- Right.

- A lot of people have a goal, you know?

For a comic fan it might be finding that issue of, you know, "New Gods" number one.

When you're at a convention, what's your goal?

- To buy as much José Luis García-López artwork as I can, Many times at a convention, whatever I make, I end up walking around and buying artwork and buying books and it just goes back into the system, I guess, out of one artist's hand and into another artist's hand.

I mean, I'm a fan girl too.

I haven't had a lot of time to walk around at this show, but I'm definitely going to.

I've got a lot of people I need to talk to and see and I'm gonna do a little shopping before I go home.

- That's great to hear 'cause, you know, a lot of times people get, you know, that burned out feeling, you know, and maybe they don't wanna go and look at another comic for a while, but- - Oh no, that's one of the best parts to me is to see what artists I already know are doing and then to look around and find some new artists to follow.

[light jazz music] - Walking around Artist Alley, you'll see dozens of up and coming artists looking to introduce themselves to comic fans.

Artist-writer, Kevin Delgado came to HeroesCon to build his brand.

[music ending] You know, everybody seems to have a goal, now you're here as an artist so you are using this as sort of a, you know, business decision to come here.

- So, my book is getting picked up for publications, so for me to just come out here and kind of make connections and boost it and get the word out is invaluable.

So, I'm kind of just looking at it as a positive regardless of money, you know what I mean?

It's fine, I've pretty much broken even so, and I still have all of today left, so that's kind of my area for profit.

- How do you kind of talk to the crowd, the people coming up to the table, about the book to get them excited about it?

- I've got a quick pitch, my book is a troubled alley cat has to save Spring Break in 1993.

And most people...yeah, exactly, get a little giggle out of it, most people are like, "Okay, let me see the artwork."

Draws 'em in a little bit more and, you know, then I tell 'em I'm the sole force behind it, so then that's another push.

So, it's kind of got, like, those three things working for it, where I think people really wanna get behind it.

- You are a pro, but you're also a fan.

So, when you go to a con who are you looking forward to meeting?

- The "Cartoonist Kayfabe" guys, 'cause I'm in a lot of their, like, fan groups and everything, and it's a really great community and we're all over the place, so it's kind of like a brotherhood almost.

And every con I go to, I know a lot of people from that group.

And in itself it's a network and it's a lot of up and coming, real creative, indie kind of guys, and ladies, so it's a awesome community and they love the material.

It's not, you know, we're not just speculators and stuff, we're here for the craft.

[light jazz music] - Like Kevin, artist, Licca Kirk, came to HeroesCon to introduce herself to a new audience.

[music ending] For artists, you know, not being able to go to cons is really gonna affect their bottom line, so how did you kind of weather that when you couldn't go out and, you know, meet people and introduce 'em to your art face to face?

- Man, I know that this definitely hit a lot of my friends hard, a lot of 'em quit doing art full-time and picked up small, like, small jobs that they could, like, handle.

I, luckily, had a Patreon, and then obviously once cons came back I was ready to roll.

So, it was kind of nerve wracking, it was kind of scary, just like, where am I gonna get my income?

Like, what's gonna happen?

[both chuckling] But I used a lot of the time to build more into my portfolio, make it stronger, so I guess you just kind of had to do what worked best for your, like, what you needed.

But I just pretty much, I was out in the woods.

[Terence chuckling] I had moved right before COVID, not because of COVID, just so happened, moved out in the woods of Northeast Georgia and stayed in, like, a very rural place and just kind of made art and managed to, like, you know, just plan properly and weather the storm, essentially.

I got lucky, in a nutshell.

[Licca chuckling] - Everyone has a goal, whether it's a, you know, a comic lover looking through the long boxes trying to find that one issue they don't have.

So, what is your goal at the convention this year?

- I mean, it's like what you were mentioning, without cons, is to meet people, to, like, get your work out there, meet new fans, essentially expand the empire, [both chuckling] just like go out there and meet new fans.

I do have a Patreon that I have, like, at every show, eventually people just, like, jump on board, they jump off and it kind of, like, builds and it's a really nice way to, like, keep doing the thing I love and also connecting with people.

[upbeat music] - The slower pace of Sunday meant I could sneak away from the Comic Culture booth between interviews to speak with guests on the floor.

For a guest, having someone at their booth to keep things organized is a godsend.

For artist Lee Weeks, it's his wife Tish who keeps things running smoothly.

[music ending] Tish, we're here at HeroesCon 2022, it's been a three year break.

You are here with your husband Lee, who is, of course, behind us working on some more commissions.

So, during a normal convention you are kind of helping him out with running the table and keeping the line going and everything like that.

So, you know, what's this convention like compared to the last time we had it in 2019?

- It has been much more busy and [stammering] actually, we're both tired from not doing it regularly, but it's been an amazing time here, but it's always an amazing time here, so.

- And, you know, we talk a lot to writers and artists on this show, but we don't talk to the people who help them out all the time.

So, you know, during a normal convention, what do you do to sort of, you know, make it easier for him to do the commissions and not have to get annoyed with, you know, people asking a lot of questions?

- Well, I try to be a little bit assertive in making sure the times for his signings are correct and people have everything out, and just hand him the things, intermittently, for him to sign, and that kind of thing.

- And, you know, we're back, it's 2022, it's a brand new HeroesCon, what is it that you look forward to the most when you come to a convention like this?

- Well, at HeroesCon I look forward to all the people.

All the people are so sweet and everybody that comes into the con, like, the people that wanna buy stuff, they're polite, they're nice, you know, and there's lots of room, it never feels crowded.

- And it's funny because I heard that this is the busiest, yesterday was the busiest Saturday they had in their 40 years and they do a great job of making sure that there's just ample space and you don't feel congested and compressed.

So, you know, I know for some people their goal is to get that issue that they don't have in their long box, their goal is to get that commission or that sketch done.

So, what's your goal when you're here at Heroes?

- Just to talk with people, make them feel comfortable that the time they're waiting isn't long and they're, you know, basically happy.

- It's really cool because a lot of people I've spoken to keep saying the same thing that they like the energy, they like the people, they like the community.

And, you know, as somebody who's both an insider and sort of an observer, you know, what do you kind of just get from the whole experience?

- I think I get energy and a peace at the same time, and actually I get a renewed place in my heart that humanity isn't that bad.

- Back at the Comic Culture booth, I spoke with Craig Zablo who helps artist John Beatty at HeroesCon.

I've seen you at HeroesCon over the years.

What's it like getting back on the convention floor after that unwanted break?

- It's a little strange actually, because you get so isolated and when you come out you wanna be careful because some people are wearing masks, some are not, and you don't want to make anyone uncomfortable.

But it's great seeing friends that you haven't seen in a while, and the people that come to Heroes regularly, it's like a family.

- You know, it's funny, I've talked to a lot of people and almost everyone has made the same comments, the community, the family feel of coming to a show like this.

When you don't have the convention to go to, are you keeping in touch with any of those comic friends, or are you just waiting till everything clears and you can get back on the floor?

- With a lot of them, we do keep in touch.

Emails and they may have newsletters or whatever and you're supporting them, and then there are some you only see at the show.

So, it's a mixed bag, but [stammering] it's like a family member that you haven't seen in a while and then you see 'em and it's just like the years go by and it doesn't really matter, you pick up that last conversation you were having.

- Everyone seems to have a goal when they come to a convention, whether it's looking for that, you know, elusive issue, that number one of "Spider-Man" or something like that.

What is your goal at the convention?

- It's changed over the years.

When I first came here, I was just hanging out with my buddy, John Beatty, he's a Marvel and DC inker, and through him I knew a lot of comic artists.

But as my son started growing up and we were coming, I started to get art again, but I was collecting Sylvester Stallone characters.

I run the Stallone Zone, the website, and so that was my goal.

And when I come now it's basically just to hang out, get a sketch or two.

Interestingly enough, I picked up a couple of sketches for my grandson, "Blues Clues" this year.

So, we got three generations loving Heroes.

[upbeat music] - Back in Artist's Alley, I spoke with writer-artist, Billy Tucci.

Billy, it's been, I guess three years or so since the last HeroesCon, what's it like getting back to the convention circuit after having that unwanted break?

- Horrible.

No.

[Terence chuckling] No, it's fantastic.

This is almost like a big family reunion because so many of us, as you could tell by my voice, the fun I've been having in "Ballyhoo", is that, you know, it's almost become like these conventions become your social life, in a way.

You know, that's when you see your friends, and we're all scattered all across the world and big shows like this and this is... it was just like a fantastic reunion.

And the cool thing is, is that it's just such an amazing sense of positive energy around these shows, comic conventions and all.

And what I also love about this is that this show is so comic book centric.

It's a lot of shows, you know, they'll have their wrestlers, you'll have celebrities and all and that's nice, but this has always been a comic book convention and it's wonderful, it really is.

- And you know, I know that this is, it's a business for you, here you're doing commissions and so, you know, when you've got that unwanted break, how do you sort of fill in that gap?

- Well, work.

Just work.

We've had the, you know, believe it or not, the COVID, the pandemic, was the best thing for me 'cause I started to then republish my comics.

You know?

And to bring my original character, Shi, my creator-own property, I just started bringing her back and publishing again through crowdfunding, through Kickstarter, through Indiegogo.

And we've had the best two years that I've had since 1999.

It's been phenomenal.

So, it's great.

And I love publishing again, I love the freedom.

You know, I've had a lot of fun working for Marvel and DC, you know, loving those characters, but there's nothing like having your own creator-own property and selling it and, you know, it's been...what can I say?

I'm one of the luckiest guys in the world, I'll tell you that, being able to do this, you do what you love.

[upbeat music] - [Terence] Collector, Peter Roe shared what he loves about comics.

- There's nothing like going through a comic book stack and finding, you know, things that you need to fill out your collection.

There's nothing like going through original art and looking at art and saying, "Oh yeah, I wish I could have that," but, like, the texture and feel of the product itself.

William Cox, he runs Comic Art Fans, he's here and he's been getting some of the collectors together and that's been really fun to meet and join with some of the comic art collectors.

- What are you looking for this year?

- That is a very hard question.

It's just to find some, you know, to fill out some of my... art books that I have, some of my sketchbooks that I wanted to get some more sketches, like, from Ron Frenz, 'cause I've never had a sketch in my sketchbook from him.

[indistinct] "Justice Society of America" or to do something that they usually don't do.

And that's been a lot of fun.

- Now, I saw the other day that Ron was doing an Hourman.

Was that your Hourman?

- Yes.

- All right.

[Peter laughing] You're very lucky 'cause that's an awesome piece he did.

- He did a fabulous job on it.

And [stammering] you get a great feeling when they say they enjoyed doing something.

You know, you're not asking them for the usual Spider-Man or Captain America or Thor.

And when they do something that they really like or they do something for the first time that they've never done before, that's a lot of fun to see.

And so there is that connection between the fan and the artist, it's a lot of fun, that's why I like these kinds of cons 'cause it's a lot easier to have that interaction with the artist and some personal connection.

[upbeat music] - [Terence] For artist, Darryl Banks connecting with fans made returning to HeroesCon special.

- I've done this about six times and this is easily the biggest.

Biggest, most enthusiastic.

I mean, comic fans tend to be very enthusiastic anyway, but it seems, like, dialed up a little bit more.

Also, I believe it's because it's an anniversary show, the 40th anniversary of Heroes Convention.

So, definitely feeling the love this weekend.

I never assume I'm gonna do well at a show.

I always hope that I will, I imagine that I will, but I don't go, "Oh, it's automatic."

So, especially, I've done this show six times, but it's not like I've done it like some of my other shows I've done for decades, you know?

But once again, the fans of Heroes, you know, they didn't disappoint.

Not at all.

- And you know, you mentioned the show is basically part of your business, so that two year break, you know, were you able to kind of negotiate the pause in conventions by doing, you know, commissions and the like?

- Absolutely, I mean, that's something that's really part of my workflow is, you know, as time permits.

But, you know, unlike most shows I'll do, I wasn't able to schedule commissions pre-done.

Like, someone might send me a message by way of Instagram or something, "Oh, I saw you're going to be at Heroes, can I order something and pick it up?"

I wasn't able to do that, you know?