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HeroesCon review (sort of)
Jul. 5th, 2006 02:32 amFirst, let me say this.
Charlotte (at least the downtown part of it), is much better then downtown Columbia. Traffic is a lot less fucked-up. This may be due to much of downtown Charlotte being one-way streets. This may also be due to the fact that most of the crosswalks allow 40+ seconds to cross 2-4 lanes of traffic, as opposed to the 25 or so seconds you get to cross 4-6 lanes here. The people doing maintenance on the roads there also do not have their entire heads up their collective asses, as it is not only possible for them to get work done in a minimum amount of time, but they will actually work on weekends, as opposed to the "sit around, do nothing, and quit at 3 p.m." mentality that infests the shovel-jockeys who are ripping up sidewalks and asphalt in front of the store (and have been doing so for weeks, and will likely be doing for for many more weeks).
Anyway, on to the Con.
The Convention hall was big, fairly well-laid out, and the people running the Con were mostly on the ball. The lines for getting registered were short, and the only time I actually had to stand in line for any length of time was to get stuffed signed by Warren Ellis. Compare this to, say, DragonCon, where it's not really laid out very well, the lines are hellish for even the simplest thing, and if you don't know where you need to be, no one can help you.
At HeroesCon, in the main hall, there was one guy manning the info booth the whole weekend, as far as I saw, and he had his shit together, completely. He was also hawking t-shirts, and had no problem doing that, telling people where the room they were looking for was, and playing with the PA system.
There were a shit-load of guests. I mean, a shitload. A little background info here. Last year, when HeroesCon picked their weekend for the 2006 Con (aka last weekend), they spread the news far and wide to various other comic-oriented cons in the southeast, because there's no point in doubling up on a weekend as it only splits the possible attendance and so forth. Wizard, being dicks, decided to hold one in Atlanta, the same weekend. At least, until they started hemorrhaging guests to HeroesCon, and threw in the towel. Probably 80% of the con book was listing who the guests were, and there were enough to give any comic-book geek in the area reason to come.
But I only went to HeroesCon for a few reasons. One was because a buddy of mine at work, Thor Thorvaldson (yes, that's his real name), was going. He was going to try and sell a few of the manga he produces, maybe sell a few sketches, and so forth. He was also the one driving, because I have no means of transportation, so it worked out for both of us, as I split the costs of the hotel room with him. Another reason was to meet (in order of importance to me) Warren Ellis and Peter David. Well, Peter David had to cancel at the last minute (so did Scott Kurtz, but I'm not sure what I would have if he had been there), so I spent most of the weekend checking out various comics that I had only heard of before, buying a few of them, and well... sort of stalking Warren Ellis (just a bit). I met Jennie Breedon (of Devil's Panties) and talked to her for a few minutes. Bought a few of her books, and contributed to the rum fund of the pirate.
I went to all three of the panels he was part of, got a few books signed (the two Global Authority collections, Transmetropolitan book 10, and City of Silence). Now, because I missed the first signing session (fell asleep in the hotel room), I got those four signed during the second session. And really, I thought four items at once was pushing it. There were people in line who seemed to be under the belief that there was no limit, and had twenty or thirty comics or trade paperbacks each for him to sign. That, IMAO, is just fucking rude.
I also picked up the first two Authority collections, Ministry of Space, the first five issues of Fell, and some Hellboy stuff. For those who haven't read it yet, btw, I heartily recommend Fell. Good stuff.
The panels were pretty good. Warren is a very funny man when he wants to be, and I can only imagine that being able to verbally abuse your audience and receive applause for it helps in that regard. There was some Wizard bashing during the third panel, because a guy working for them was in the back of the room, typing stuff on his laptop while the panel was going on. Naturally, the Wizard guy got stuff wrong. I learned why Warren does not like dogs, that he really likes Red Bull, and seemed to be slightly disappointed that the Sobe energy drink has a lizard on the can, but no lizard in the drink. Also, for those who don't know, Warren Ellis is going to have a novel out by summer of next year (or so the plan goes). It should be an interesting read, as he described it sort of like this (warning, I am paraphrasing, but I am trying to do as little of that as possible).
He also mentioned that he is working on a new TV show, that he really couldn't say a lot about, except that it's going to be on AMC, and it's a sci-fi/black comedy show. The Global Authority debacle did not turn him off of working on TV entirely, but it did reinforce his opinion on Hollywood.
Basically, the convention was a lot of fun. Food was disgustingly expensive at the hotel, and soda prices were outrageous, but overall, it wasn't bad. I actually saved a few bucks here and there because the dealers were mostly offering very nice deals.
Charlotte (at least the downtown part of it), is much better then downtown Columbia. Traffic is a lot less fucked-up. This may be due to much of downtown Charlotte being one-way streets. This may also be due to the fact that most of the crosswalks allow 40+ seconds to cross 2-4 lanes of traffic, as opposed to the 25 or so seconds you get to cross 4-6 lanes here. The people doing maintenance on the roads there also do not have their entire heads up their collective asses, as it is not only possible for them to get work done in a minimum amount of time, but they will actually work on weekends, as opposed to the "sit around, do nothing, and quit at 3 p.m." mentality that infests the shovel-jockeys who are ripping up sidewalks and asphalt in front of the store (and have been doing so for weeks, and will likely be doing for for many more weeks).
Anyway, on to the Con.
The Convention hall was big, fairly well-laid out, and the people running the Con were mostly on the ball. The lines for getting registered were short, and the only time I actually had to stand in line for any length of time was to get stuffed signed by Warren Ellis. Compare this to, say, DragonCon, where it's not really laid out very well, the lines are hellish for even the simplest thing, and if you don't know where you need to be, no one can help you.
At HeroesCon, in the main hall, there was one guy manning the info booth the whole weekend, as far as I saw, and he had his shit together, completely. He was also hawking t-shirts, and had no problem doing that, telling people where the room they were looking for was, and playing with the PA system.
There were a shit-load of guests. I mean, a shitload. A little background info here. Last year, when HeroesCon picked their weekend for the 2006 Con (aka last weekend), they spread the news far and wide to various other comic-oriented cons in the southeast, because there's no point in doubling up on a weekend as it only splits the possible attendance and so forth. Wizard, being dicks, decided to hold one in Atlanta, the same weekend. At least, until they started hemorrhaging guests to HeroesCon, and threw in the towel. Probably 80% of the con book was listing who the guests were, and there were enough to give any comic-book geek in the area reason to come.
But I only went to HeroesCon for a few reasons. One was because a buddy of mine at work, Thor Thorvaldson (yes, that's his real name), was going. He was going to try and sell a few of the manga he produces, maybe sell a few sketches, and so forth. He was also the one driving, because I have no means of transportation, so it worked out for both of us, as I split the costs of the hotel room with him. Another reason was to meet (in order of importance to me) Warren Ellis and Peter David. Well, Peter David had to cancel at the last minute (so did Scott Kurtz, but I'm not sure what I would have if he had been there), so I spent most of the weekend checking out various comics that I had only heard of before, buying a few of them, and well... sort of stalking Warren Ellis (just a bit). I met Jennie Breedon (of Devil's Panties) and talked to her for a few minutes. Bought a few of her books, and contributed to the rum fund of the pirate.
I went to all three of the panels he was part of, got a few books signed (the two Global Authority collections, Transmetropolitan book 10, and City of Silence). Now, because I missed the first signing session (fell asleep in the hotel room), I got those four signed during the second session. And really, I thought four items at once was pushing it. There were people in line who seemed to be under the belief that there was no limit, and had twenty or thirty comics or trade paperbacks each for him to sign. That, IMAO, is just fucking rude.
I also picked up the first two Authority collections, Ministry of Space, the first five issues of Fell, and some Hellboy stuff. For those who haven't read it yet, btw, I heartily recommend Fell. Good stuff.
The panels were pretty good. Warren is a very funny man when he wants to be, and I can only imagine that being able to verbally abuse your audience and receive applause for it helps in that regard. There was some Wizard bashing during the third panel, because a guy working for them was in the back of the room, typing stuff on his laptop while the panel was going on. Naturally, the Wizard guy got stuff wrong. I learned why Warren does not like dogs, that he really likes Red Bull, and seemed to be slightly disappointed that the Sobe energy drink has a lizard on the can, but no lizard in the drink. Also, for those who don't know, Warren Ellis is going to have a novel out by summer of next year (or so the plan goes). It should be an interesting read, as he described it sort of like this (warning, I am paraphrasing, but I am trying to do as little of that as possible).
The main character is a private detective. But he is... are there any small children here? No? Well, he's a shit magnet. The worst things in the world happen to him. Every day. He could get a case to prove a husband is cheating on his wife. All he has to do is take pictures of this and show them to her.
What happens is that he ends up in an ostrich pen. Surrounded by naked men. Having an orgy. With the ostriches. Who are on date-rape drugs.
And then he is hired to find the invisible copy of the Constitution of the United States, which was sold by Richard Nixon during the 1950s.
He also mentioned that he is working on a new TV show, that he really couldn't say a lot about, except that it's going to be on AMC, and it's a sci-fi/black comedy show. The Global Authority debacle did not turn him off of working on TV entirely, but it did reinforce his opinion on Hollywood.
Basically, the convention was a lot of fun. Food was disgustingly expensive at the hotel, and soda prices were outrageous, but overall, it wasn't bad. I actually saved a few bucks here and there because the dealers were mostly offering very nice deals.