[Heroic Music] ♪ ♪ ♪ >> Hello and welcome to Comic Culture.

I'm Terence Dollard, a Professor in the Department of Mass Communication at the University of North Carolina at Pembroke.

We're at Heroes Con 2024.

Heroes Con is the best pure comics convention in the world.

But you may not know that there are after hours events on Friday and Saturday nights, like the annual art auction and drink and draw.

Drink and draw raises money for Team Cul-De-Sac, a local not for profit group.

I spoke to Chris Sparks about it.

Chris, we're at Heroes Con 2024.

You are with an organization called Team Cul-De-Sac.

What is Team Cul-De-Sac?

>> It's a fundraising group that's part of the Michael J.

Fox, Team Fox Foundation that raises money for Parkinson's research.

>> So what is it that you do?

Cuz I know that you're here every year.

So how do you work with Heroes to raise money?

>> I started in 2010 with this idea and in around, I think that's our first drink and draw.

And what we do on Friday nights, we do coasters that's printed up on one side and the other side's blank.

And we have artists do artwork and we sell them at the ballroom.

And so they can be from $5 up to 100, 300, $500.

And that's one of the ways we raise money.

We also over the years are now getting artwork from all over the country, bigger pieces so we can actually just put on the board behind us that's fixed price.

And then sometimes like this year we had a beautiful Charles Vest Swamp Thing, Pogo, Totoro piece that we sold last night for over $7,000.

So for this Heroes Con we've done over $20,000 for the Michael J.

Fox Foundation.

Almost every penny goes to research, which is what I love about this organization.

>> What was it that made you want to work on behalf of the Michael J.

Fox Foundation?

>> So in 2008 here at Heroes Con, I met Richard Thompson who had a syndicated strip called Cul-De-Sac.

And in 2009, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's.

So I came up with this great idea in 2010 to, hey, if this good looking movie star can start a foundation, a ugly fan can come up with an idea to raise money.

And that's how I was born.

And then in 2012, we had a book called Team Cul-De-Sac come out that had about 155 artists doing their interpretations of Richard's comic strip characters.

And it was nominated for an Eisner and four Harveys, which we graciously lost.

But we also won the humanitarian award in 2013 at San Diego Comic-Con.

So that was a really nice icing on the cake.

So to date, we've raised over $300,000.

>> What is it about the comic community that, well, first off, everyone here is super nice, everyone's having a great time.

But what makes it so willing to dig into the pocket and help out an organization like Team Cul-De-Sac?

>> A lot of these people met Richard years ago, and they just know what a wonderful guy he was.

And also, they just love art, and they like meeting fans.

And it's a really nice blend where you can get together for four or five hours and just meet fans and do art and get to know each other better.

It's a really nice community building event, and that's what I love about it.

And you can also drink if you want to.

>> Do you have to be a great artist to participate in Drink and Draw?

>> No, no, I do it every year, and I'm not a great artist.

We have people, all different skill levels.

We've had people from Charles Vess and Bill Watterson and Mark Buckingham to you name it do it to people like me.

So there's a big skill set of what's out there.

>> If the folks watching at home wanted to learn more about Team Cul-De-Sac, where can they find you on the web?

>> So you can go to teamculdesac.com, and we have all the information there with links to our fundraising page, the Michael J.

Fox Foundation.

And also, just everything we've done over the last 15 years.

So it's really a great resource.

>> Chris, thank you so much.

>> Thank you so much.

Thanks for having me.

>> Walking the convention floor, I met artist Allison Sone, who shared a booth with her husband, artist Adam Hughes.

It's been a crazy three days.

What's it been like for you on that side of the table?

>> It's been a crazier three days.

It's our first convention back since January when we did OAX down in Orlando.

And yeah, I'm not practiced.

I wasn't ready, a little chaotic.

I don't think I packed everything.

I haven't quite unpacked everything, and now it's over.

[LAUGH] >> And you work with an artist that is sort of up and coming.

A lot of people are gonna get to know his name, Adam Hughes.

So- >> He's a hotshot.

>> He's a hotshot.

>> He thinks a lot of himself.

Maybe one day he'll get there, yeah.

>> So how do you work with Adam to, I guess, within his craft?

I know he's a great cover artist.

Do you work with him on the covers, or is that him alone?

>> Kind of, when he says, hey, I'd love a sandwich, I bring him a sandwich.

We're married to one another, and I actually have nothing to do with his professional work.

I will occasionally offer an opinion, or he'll ask me an opinion.

People will see me sitting at the table coloring pieces.

I do that specifically at shows, but Adam actually, from pencils all the way through to the final colors, it's all him.

Including, he does some of the industry's most beautiful, and I think it's highly underrated, hand lettering.

You'll see it on pages, you'll see it occasionally on a cover.

And gosh, I think that's a really underrated skill, and anyone that can do it, kudos to you guys.

>> And my last question to you is, you mentioned to me the other day when we spoke that you did some covers, but you decided that it wasn't worth the, I guess, the cost to payment benefit.

So what's it like working so hard on something and not getting that great reward?

>> Frustrating and disappointing.

And you do it initially cuz you think, well, I've gotta pay my dues.

If my work is well received, I'll get more offers, the pay rates will go up.

And the truth is, we're sort of in an industry where we're now all looking over our shoulders for the day that AI will take over the work for free.

So there is no one day I'll do better, one day I'll get more offers.

And as a result, I do a lot more drawing for either my own self satisfaction, or if fans request something of me, I'll take a commission.

And I'll have a little more control, they'll get what they want.

And hopefully, financially, we'll both be happy with that situation.

It's disappointing, I think at a certain level, I always wanted to be a published comic book artist, but I can say I am.

And I can move forward and do other things.

>> And do you have a website that you wanna plug?

>> No, I don't have a website, I'm pretty lazy.

However, I'm on Facebook under my own name, both as my personal page and I have an art page.

>> Creators travel the country and the world to attend Heroes Con.

When a delayed flight kept Mike Grell from arriving on time, his friend and convention handler, writer Jeff Messer, had time to speak with me.

Well, you're a pro, and you also work with the great Mike Grell, but he's not here yet, so- >> He's on his way.

>> He's on his way.

You're gonna be going around doing fan stuff.

So as somebody who is in the industry, sort of an insider, how do you, or who do you choose to go and get some stuff signed by?

>> As a fan going all the way back, and I made a point several years ago at a Heroes Con, I passed Bernie Wrightson's table, and there was a bit of a line.

And I thought, you know what, he's here every year, I'll catch him next year.

And he passed away in that interim.

And from that point forward, every time I go to a con, even if I'm there as a professional, I will go, I'll find out who's on the guest list, I will go and I'll pull copies of books that I cherish.

And I will bring them to the con, and I'll usually maybe do 10 or 15 to keep it reasonable.

Because I'm here working with Mike Burrell, and I also work with Bo Hampton on some projects.

And I try to help those guys as much as I can.

So I get here early, walk around and do my fan thing before the con starts usually.

Or in the case of Mike being late because of the airport, that gives me a couple of hours to run around.

So I'm out with my friend Charles.

We grew up together reading comics in the 80s.

And we're just getting things signed, chatting with Wendy and Richard Penny.

Chatting with just anybody and everybody and having such a great, Howard Chaykin already held court with him this morning.

And there's such a spirit of community and positivity here.

And sometimes if you're trapped behind the table, you don't get out and experience that.

So it's great to kind of wander around.

And I'm just gonna go get some things signed and just chat with and reconnect with people that I've met on the road over the years.

It makes my fanboy heart go pitter-pat.

>> The one thing I've come to learn is that the pros who might be grizzled and might be tired of doing comics, they were fans and they still love to look at those comics.

>> Yeah, it's always a treat, like with Mike.

Someone will bring a book that he hasn't seen in years to get signed.

Something he's forgotten about, something that's rare, obscure, or whatever.

And he will look at it and he'll just open it and start looking through.

And he'll go, I remember why I did this, why I drew this panel this way.

And it is such joy to watch him reconnect almost as a fan, but as a creator looking back on his own career.

It's chill bumps, moments like that.

>> You're getting to be a fan for a little bit.

If you came across it, what book would you absolutely have to buy?

>> There's a great trade paperback seller that's always at the con that's like four for $20 and then hardcover's half price.

And I already did it.

Like first thing, there's a slip case version of the Watchmen series.

All 12 issues, oversized hardcover individual issues in a slip case.

That was like 60 bucks, $125 retail price.

And I saw it and I was like, there's only one.

If I don't buy this, as soon as the doors open, it will be bought.

And so I immediately was like, I gotta have this, I've gotta have this.

And I do, I will spend time.

I get a lot of sketches at cons too.

I'll pick three or four artists and I will go and get sketches and commissions from them.

And that's kind of my thing now too.

That original art or a sketch or a remark or something from an artist.

To me, that means as much as anything at this point.

>> Well, thank you so much.

>> Thank you.

It's good to see you.

>> Good to see you.

>> The Heroes Con guest list numbers in the hundreds with creators from every genre and era of comics.

For every comic book legend, there are just as many new faces, like artist Francesco Crivelli.

Fran, you are here at Heroes Con.

You are over with Anthony Marques, who is, of course, here with the Kubert School.

And you're doing some sketches, you're doing some work.

So what's it like being at this convention?

>> Well, I'll tell you this, it's fantastic.

This is the first time I'm at North Carolina in general.

And this is the first time I've been the Heroes and everybody's so nice here.

The community really cares about the comics and the artist aspect of buying original art.

And everybody's been nice, just talking is really pleasant.

I mean, I'm not saying other shows, it's just as pleasant.

But this one especially, it's special, it's a special one.

So I'm definitely gonna redo this one, absolutely.

>> So you are, just by your general youth, are sort of getting started in the industry.

>> That's it.

>> And you are associated with Anthony, who is associated with one of the greatest schools in cartooning.

So what's that kind of like?

Are you seeing that boost because of who you're with?

>> Of the Kubert School and everything?

Yeah, I mean, it definitely helps me network with other artists.

So I graduated 2022, and so I've been traveling with Anthony in the school to other conventions, and I've met a bunch of the people I read when I was a kid.

And it's just fantastic actually talking with them, realizing they're the same.

They're just like me, they still hate their artwork.

[LAUGH] No, it's not always like that.

But everybody's been so nice and helpful, the community, I mean, and the pros in the industry.

It's a little surreal, I'm not gonna lie, just talking with these guys.

And then Anthony's been such a good mentor and teacher and just bringing me around.

I definitely will say I am getting more recognized being next to him and with the school.

The school instantly gives me an alumnus recognized, recognizability I guess is the right word.

But everybody goes, Kubert School, we know that school.

That's the comic art school to go to.

That's the Harvard of comics and everything.

That's what some people tell me, and I'm like Harvard of comics?

Well, I didn't know there was math involved with this and stuff like that.

But it's really, it is surreal though at the end of the day.

I'm living the dream.

>> Being on the other side of the table and meeting the fans, are people excited to look at your work cuz it's fresh, it's new to them?

>> Yeah, absolutely.

Someone, it was funny, it's the first time, not the first time, but someone random came up to me and was like, look at this guy's work.

He's an up and coming artist.

And he said that to one of the artists that I really admire, a professional by the name of Steven Platt.

And I was like, that's nice to hear.

I'm an up and coming artist making my way.

So it's a really cool process right now.

It's the building, the training arc and everything.

I love it.

>> And if you weren't here as a pro and you were here as a fan, what would you be looking to do?

Would you be looking for maybe the autograph?

Would you be looking for original art?

Would you be looking for something in the long box?

What would your goal be if you were just hanging out?

>> If I was just hanging out as a fan, I would definitely just wanna talk to the other artists and get some signatures, of course.

Original artwork, that is my go-to.

I have a little bit of a tiny collection.

Now, if I'm here on business for myself, I'm just gonna walk around my portfolio, see which creators and artists have the time to look at my stuff.

Cuz you gotta think about it, they're really busy, they're trying to make money.

At the end of the day, there's a time and a place for everything.

So that's what I usually, I'm always about business and work.

So I always just, let me go see the creators, see what they think, try to make new friends and network.

But if I was here as a fan, definitely original artwork.

Here, especially at Heroes, there's like 300 artists or more?

>> I think so.

>> I didn't even know there was 300 artists on the planet.

>> And the great thing about it is you have artists like yourself up and coming, but you also have legends.

I mean, Storanko has a massive presence here.

Roy Thomas was here yesterday.

Remita Jr. is holding court.

So you get this whole cross section of eras and generations, and I think that's what they do so well at Heroes.

>> Feels good to be amongst the guys who invented and created a lot of the storytelling that I learn about these days and add into my work.

And so it makes me excited to, I wanna be just like that.

I wanna create new stories and invent new mechanics and just have fun while doing it at the same time.

It's all the whole creative process.

It's complex, and at the same time, it should just be fun and simple.

And I think that's exactly what comics are and should be.

It should be simple, fun, and creative.

And if you don't like doing what you do here, then why even bother, right?

>> Thank you so much.

>> Thank you so much.

I appreciate it.

>> You meet a lot of people when you spend three days at Heroes Con.

Every fan has an origin story.

Leroy Green shares why he loves comics.

So what brings you to this convention?

I mean, there's a lot of comics, there's a lot of creators.

Are you a fan of the art?

Are you a fan of the books?

What brings you here?

>> I started coming out here as a comic fan and then gravitated towards more of actually getting to know some of the artists.

A lot of them are from South Carolina, so I thought it was cool that you didn't have to live in New York or LA and be an artist.

So it was cool to see people like Sanford Green, who lives in Columbia, or Chuck Brown, or Jason Aaron is from the South, all these different comic readers.

It was cool to see them and be able to interact and talk to them.

>> As a fan of comics, we all have that sweet spot.

So for me, it's that, I guess, like 1984 to 1990 something, where comics were just really fantastic.

So what's your sweet spot?

>> 90s Marvel, especially the X-Men.

That's how I came in as comics.

My dad was a Marine, so whenever he would go out on missions or whatever he would do, the guys at the barracks would always read comics and he'd bring them back to me.

And so I would remember a lot of the comics and it kind of really sparked my interest in reading.

And when I was a kid, it was the X-Men comics, Jim Lee, Chris Claremont.

I was, every Wednesday I learned how comics came out.

And then the 90s hit, and I know a lot of people are not a real big fan of the 90s, but for me, Image was my sweet spot.

Those guys were like gods, rock stars.

Jim Lee, Liefeld, Savage Dragon with Eric Morrison, McFarlane with Spawn, that was, I still remember picking up that first Wildcats book, or that first Spawn book and wondering, what is this?

And then reading some of the stuff and the words.

A lot of people think comics are for kids, but they're not.

A lot of those comics that I read sparked my interest in reading other things to find out where these ideas came from.

>> You mentioned Chris Claremont, of course, writing X-Men for so many years.

He's here at Heroes, right?

>> Yes.

>> Are you going to try and stand in that line to get him to sign something for you?

>> So I want to, but I'll be honest with you, I don't want to fanboy out.

So it is hard to, when you see these people and you're like, you've been following their work for years.

You learn so much about them, and then when you meet them, you're like, they're like a member of your family.

Because you grew up reading these people's work or admiring their work.

And so it is sometimes, I really appreciate some of the people who are able to go up to these creators and just have a conversation.

Cuz a lot of times you get a little starstruck.

It's like meeting somebody that you really looked up to, and they work through blood, sweat, and tears.

Their literal creative ideas come to fruition.

It is a little intimidating and daunting.

So I do want to meet them, I do want to talk to them, but I don't want to overboard.

Like, hey man, when I was a teenager, you were the, and it's cool seeing them and seeing people really appreciate it.

And that's why I love coming to Heroes Con, cuz it's more about, it's not about the TV shows, it's not about the movies.

I love those, but it's about the actual comics that were started.

>> Well, thank you so much.

>> Thank you, no, thank you.

>> Comic professionals are comic fans.

Even though he spends his days selling comics, Joe Lasorsa came to Heroes Con on his day off.

Joe, you are a comic retail professional.

>> Yeah.

>> You work at a comic shop that also has a convention in North Carolina.

North Carolina Comic Con, we did a couple of episodes there this year.

It's a great convention, but you're here at Heroes Con.

So what's it about this convention that makes you want to take that two, two and a half hour drive from the Raleigh area to Charlotte to see what's going on?

>> The guest list, this year, but really every year, it's a monster.

You get to meet people from all different backgrounds of comics, the indie sphere, the mainstream sphere.

You have greats like Chris Claremont, Roy Thomas.

You have cool indie people, Michael Chopra, Jim Rugg.

You have really cool new artists that are doing stuff.

I just had a fun conversation with Gavin Guidry, who has been doing the Superman 78 Metal Curtain comic.

He did a issue of Wolverine versus Predator, I should say Predator versus Wolverine.

Just talking to him about enjoying that stuff.

I've talked to Alfredo Torres, who most recently did Matt Kintz's book, which is escaping me at this point in time, but it's a fun indie book from Dark Horse.

Got to talk to him.

I talked to him about Assault on Precinct 13.

You just get to have great interactions with phenomenal comic book creators, and that is the draw.

I'll, two and a half hour drive, sure.

Put some music on, feels like a brisk drive to 85.

I'm not gonna complain too much, except for maybe once I get to 77.

But it's all worth it in the end.

>> You are a comic retailer.

You have the unique position to see what the new audience, the younger audience, is buying.

So we hear a lot about comics are dying, and yet, around here, I see a lot of young fans.

They might not be reading Marvel and DC, so what are the comics that younger readers are buying that are going to be the future nostalgia and the future of conventions like this?

>> It's kind of a split, because Marvel and DC's still doing well enough.

Spider-Man and Batman are still brand household names.

And even if I say, something like Someone's Killed the Children, it's been out for a little longer than I would say is a recent book.

But there's a lot of fun indie stuff, a lot of indie, depending on how you wanna look at it, some stuff coming from Image or IDW or Dark Horse that have been really great.

Unfortunately, they're not here, but there was a book called The Midnight Show that I had people en masse come out for that was done by Cullen Bunn and Brian Hurt.

That was really fun, but it was a small four issue, just kind of small get together, but was still really, really fun.

On the kids end, it really depends.

The younger audience, they still brand name, but Dog Man does very well.

We got some, there's this book called Primer that was doing really fun.

Just a small book out of the DC Inc. lineup of things, headed toward the younger audience.

The Webtoon transcript over into print has been doing pretty good, which is good because now it's not only, well, I'll just read it online.

Well, now you can own a copy and have it yourself and read it.

Well, you could read it over and over again, you could have it for yourself.

Oh, my phone's dead.

I have no room.

Oh, the web comic platform took it off there.

Now you can physically have it and hold it and look through it and maybe come here and get it signed.

Well, thank you so much.

For collectors, Heroes Con is the convention to attend.

The comics only focus is what brought Ken Wing to North Carolina from Michigan.

You told me yesterday that you came all the way from Michigan to come to this convention, so what is it about a convention like Heroes Con that makes you want to hop on a plane, spend, I'm imagining, a couple of bucks to fly down, put yourself up in a hotel, and then, you know, I guess spend some money at the convention?

I was looking at it, you know, I like to go to Comic Cons throughout Michigan and then the Ohio area, and I saw this one being advertised and then looking forward to a lot of the artists that were here that don't see very often up in our area, so I'm like, all right, I've got a couple books, I'd like to get them signed and maybe have a chance to meet with some of the artists and talk to them a little bit and then get them graded.

So I started looking into it and then I had the fortune that when I was working on a project, I stayed off-site for a year and a half, and I looked and I'm like, I've got enough points, I can stay right here, right by the convention.

I had enough points for flying, so I said, the flight was free, it was a no-brainer.

I just booked it and headed down here.

- So as a comic fan, what are you looking for?

Are you looking for, you said those autographs, are you looking for original art or are there comics that you're looking to patch into your collection?

- I've got some back issues that I'm looking to try and fill.

Just looking around and if there's a cover that catches my interest, sometimes I'll buy that.

But yeah, just kind of trying to collect some back issues because I've noticed that as you go around to different areas, you can find different back issues available that sometimes you can't find in the cons that we have around the Michigan area there.

So that was the big draw, a little bit of a different pool to try and find some of the books that I've been looking for.

And then another thing that really kind of piqued my interest for this convention was that it was a lot of comic dealers because a lot of the new cons that are coming out are a lot of pop culture and a lot of Funkos and cosplay stuff, which is all great, but it's not what I'm really looking for.

I'm trying to go, you know, meet some of the dealers and find some back issues and just kind of fill out some of my set.

- You're at a convention like this and you are just, I guess, taking in the size and scope of it.

Is it intimidating to maybe think you're not going to find what you're looking for or maybe there's the temptation, "I see something, I'm going to buy it right away and then maybe, oh, I'll find it cheaper the next day"?

>> I don't know if it was intimidating.

It was when I first came into the floor, it was like, "Oh, this is a big venue.

All right, I'm going to take my time, just kind of walk around, get a layout, see where everything's at, check in with a couple of dealers and just kind of talk to them and look at some of the books that they have."

Because you're right, price ranges will differ, you know, depending where you go and the grade and condition.

Some of them are really nice, but it's kind of out of my budget.

So I'll try and go, you know - so I like collecting comics.

The grade is nice, but I like the stories, I like the art.

So sometimes the grade isn't the most important thing.

>> So you are more of a reader and less of a lock it up in a slab type of guy?

>> Yes, yes.

I've got quite a few books now because I've been - well, you know, like you said, getting older.

They're in the Mylar bags with the boards and they're stored well and I'm like, "I probably should get some of these, you know, slabbed and graded just to preserve them."

And then, you know, some of them are worth a little bit of money now that are, you know, as time's going by and like, yeah, I'll start to, you know, send them in and get used to doing that part of the collecting as well.

>> Well, thank you so much.

>> No problem.

Thank you.

>> That's all the time we have for this episode of Comic-Culture.

Thank you so much for watching.

Until next time, we'll see you soon.

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