My second dip into the HeroesCon pool saw that my thoughts regarding today’s possible increased attendance did indeed come to fruition, as the crowds around me intensified fairly significantly from the day previous.
The pre-registration line remained very long throughout the entire day, and those who were purchasing their badge on-site found that they were able to slip in much quicker. Though the big advantage to having an advance 3-day badge for the show is that it provides you with access to the show floor 30 minutes earlier than anyone else, and if your goal is to get on commission and sketch lists, that 30 minutes might make all the difference. For example, Evan Shaner‘s sketch list filled up today before general admission even opened.
For my part, I spent the early part of today taking cosplay photos of anything that caught my eye:
After wandering the floor like someone who clearly should be finding something better to do with their time, I dropped in on the Michel Fiffe–Klaus Janson panel, which was terrific.
For those interested in some of the notable quotes, I live tweeted some very select details at the ComicsBeatLive twitter feed. I had never seen Janson speak before, but I was thoroughly entertained throughout, and he and Fiffe had a great rapport.
In between panels, I got to chat with Tom King, one of the writers of Grayson, the solo writer of Omega Men, and all around nice guy! I also finally purchased a copy of his prose book A Once Crowded Sky. A word of advice, jump on the Tom King bandwagon now if you haven’t already. DC has something really special here, the same goes for Brenden Fletcher.
Just before bunking down for the afternoon in the Ben Towle-led Mega-Panel celebrating the Center for Cartoon Studies’ tenth anniversary, I nabbed a couple of other quick sketches that I’m rather proud of as Ben Caldwell (artist of Prez) and Chuck Forsman (the creator of Revenger) drew me a Ray Dominguez and a Maggie Chascarillo. I guess you can tell what my favorite comic of all time is, right?
The Mega-Panel was amazing, by the way. Towle gave lecture on Cartooning “How-To” books that existed as the sole source of comics education for aspiring creators before the days of institutions like CCS. I again described all of this in some detail on the ComicsBeatLive twitter. I was able to jot down a full list of all the titles he referenced, and for those curious, it’s quite comprehensive, especially given the 20 minute time constraint he gave himself.
Those in attendance then got a chance to view a screening of Cartoon College, a documentary that focuses on a group of students and their progress through the rigors of the CCS curriculum. Given that I have little to no experience (or interest, quite frankly) in being on the creative side of comics, the film gave me a valuable new perspective in the struggles both creatively and financially that are a part of the independent side of the industry.
While Harper covered the Milkfed Criminal Masterminds panel in great detail, a few of my traveling companions were kind enough to share some additional information that was relayed in the panels they attended today:
– During Evan Dorkin‘s panel, he revealed to the crowd that he will be working on a 12 page Peanuts story for Boom! Studios. In a hilariously awesome twist, Dorkin has stated that he has found a way to combine the Peanuts gang with the Lovecraft universe.
– Jason Latour stated in their Southern Bastards panel, that he will write an upcoming issue of the book solo, in order to give Jason Aaron a break. The next arc of the series will also be six issues in length. The team (he and Aaron) also made mention that they will be executive producers of the television adaptation, while noted producer Scott Rudin is developing it.
And with those two additional tid-bits, that’s a wrap for me on HeroesCon today. It’s been a great weekend, and be on the lookout for a number of our interviews with a few notable creators in the coming days. A huge thanks goes out to Shelton Drum, Rico Renzi, and the entire HeroesCon staff for another great show.
