From: [l--d--s] at [uga.cc.uga.edu] (laurie) Newsgroups: rec.arts.comics.misc Subject: Heroes Con Notes Date: Wed, 22 Jun 94 13:03:16 EDT Spent only one day (Saturday) at this convention in Charlotte,NC held June 17 - 19, 1994. Am cross-posting this to red.arts.comics.misc. because some of this may be of interest to mainstream comics fans. Warning: most of this is about "alternative" or "small press" artists/writers. Although James O'Barr ("The Crow") was at this event, I didn't see him. I wish I'd had more time to spend at the Marvel table, but it was late in the day by the time I got around to walking by. Heroes Convention was held at the very large Charlotte International Trade Center in downtown Charlotte, NC June 17 - 19, 1994. Guests were mostly artists from major superhero-oriented publishers (DC, Marvel, etc.). They included: Greg Adams, Mike Allred, Al Bigley, Kurt Busiek, Mike Carlin, Michael Duggan, Steve Epting, Graig Gilmore, Dick Giordano, Jackson Guice, Scott Hampton, Steve Haynie, Kurt Hoff, Dave Johnson, Bob Layton, Jim Lee, Steve Lieber, Joe Linsner, Scott Lobdell, Mike Mignola, Charles & Lisa Moore, Mart Nodell, James ("The Crow") O'Barr, Jimmy Palmiotti, George Perez, Joe Quesada, John Romita Jr & Sr, Brian Stelreeze, Ty Templeton, Jim Valentino, Bradley Walton, Matt Wayne, Stanley White and Art Young. (This is only a partial list. For full information, contact the convention organizers at P.O. Box 9181, Charlotte, NC 28299-9181 or call (904) 279-8023). What I learned: * "Bone" creator and publisher Jeff Smith and his wife Vijaya (?) were there. ("Bone" is a black & white, sort of like "Lord of the Rings" meets "Pogo". Last I heard, it was outselling "Cerebus") Jeff Smith and Vijaya are pretty laid back. The line of folks waiting to see them and get autographs was quite long, but they took the time to talk and answer questions with everyone who came up. Jeff insisted on shaking hands with each fan! When asked why he named the gentle, young heroine "Thorn" and the tough old lady "Rose", Jeff replied, "Because they were opposites, and because Disney wouldn't do it that way." When asked if the recurring references to "Moby Dick" are to foreshadow upcoming events in "Bone", Jeff answered, "No. I just wanted to draw Smiley Bone as Moby Dick." Jeff autographed things for a few hours Saturday morning and afternoon, but Vijaya manned their table all day, patiently and good-naturedly answering all kinds of questions. She is a software developer from India, but helping Jeff manage the Bone "empire" has become a fulltime job. They are planning to move back to the Midwest in August (from Los Angeles) because living is cheaper there and it's where they both lived prior to moving to Los Angeles. Best of luck to them. * Also on the "Bone" front -- a flip book (a small book with pages that animate by flipping them with your thumb) is available of Fone Bone running from a Rat Creature. It is based on Bone #10, and animated by Tom Bancroft of Walt Disney Animation Florida (This does not mean that it is a licensed Disney product; it just means an animator from Disney animated something for Jeff). It is available for $3.00 from: Cartoon Books P.O. Box 1583 Los Gatos, CA 95031 I do not know what the shipping and handling costs are, or even if they take retail mail order; check with your local comics shop or write to the above address and inquire first. Also, there are plans afoot (not definite yet, Vijaya said) to issue a special limited-edition of Bone #10 *in color* at Philly Fest (in Philadelphia, I assume) October 20 - 23, 1994. This special edition would only be available to folks attending the event. Check Comic Buyer's Guide or Locus for convention listings. * Next to Jeff & Vijaya sat the very tired but also-friendly James A. Owen, who self-publishes "Starchild" under his own Taliesin Press imprint. Owen, like many of the guests, had just come from the Diamond Retailers Convention/Trade Show in Washington, D.C. and looked weary and rumpled, but he gamely greeted con attendees and told people about his comic. He's a big guy built more like a football player than what I expect from an artist who does delicate line drawings. (I have not read "Starchild" yet. The artwork is in a detailed black-and-white thin-line drawing style (unlike, say, Jeff Smith's thick brush-work)and illustrates a text-filled story about a Tolkienesque-looking world). * Colleen Doran ("A Distant Soil") sat at the table next to J. Owen's. She has marketing down pat, it appears, with t-shirts, back-issues of her comic and fan-club memberships all displayed for sale to anyone with ready money. She has curly red shoulder- length hair and a nice face, but uses a lot of pancake makeup, which made me wonder if she had a skin condition. "A Distant Soil", for those of you not familiar with it, concerns a couple young teens with special psychic powers on the run from the governments of the 20th century U.S. and a distant galactic empire. The teens, the aliens, and just about everyone in the comic is handsome and/or pretty (sometimes both). * Charles Vess sat alone at a table filled with original samples of his sketches and watercolors, but was visited by a steady stream of admirers. He and Neil Gaiman are working on an illustrated coffee-table type book "sort of like Dinotopia". Instead of a land of intelligent dinosaurs, though, it tells a story while exploring the realms of faerie. He had some finished or nearly-finished watercolors from the book, and a xerox of a yet-to-be colored, very elaborate drawing of a faerie market held "once every nine years for a day-and-a-half". It reminded me a little of the peasant pictures by Breughel, filled with small, well-rendered characters. Some of the characters will appear very familiar if you look closely enough (Vess pointed out Prince Valiant in the background and, scattered here and there, Neil Gaiman, Bone and Rose. Two kids in the foreground are actually modelled on his niece and nephew. There are probably more things like this, but I didn't have time to look at it all.) The book is to be titled "Stardust",but won't be out for at least another year and a half, Vess estimates. * More Vess: There are tentative plans to produce a compilation of all the "Ballad" series stories Vess has been doing for Dark Horse into one trade paperback. Gaiman may again particpate, this time helping with production of an album of the songs. (I hope I got this information correct. The album may be more connected with the above-mentioned "Stardust") This series illustrates old story-ballads from the British Isles and each ballad is reinterpreted by a different author. Vess said he was in England last year doing research for the drawings -- a historical park he visited, for instance, with a reconstructed Renaissance/late Medieval hall served as a model for the hall he used in "King Henry" (text adaptation by Jane Yolen, available in "Dark Horse Presents" #78). Vess himself is a big fan of Hayao Miyazaki ("My Neighbor Totoro" and "Kiki's Delivery Service", etc.), whose works also show a close affinity for nature. * Al Simmons, Todd McFarlane's college roomate and the original model for "Spawn", was there in a Spawn costume, signing autographs. (The Spawn- mobile was also present in a room nearby, red leather padded seat looking somewhat sinister -- which was probably the intent, considering the airbrushed blood spatters on vehicle's exterior). Next to Simmon's table was a "life-size" model of the demon in the series. It has a huge, gaping jaw full of sharp, pointed teeth. "What's it made of?", I asked, noting some fiberglass-like wrappings. "I do not know," answered Al, "It's like plaster of Paris or somethin'." "Who made it?" "Some people in Seattle." So much for details. * At the DC table, a very jovial Mike Carlin sat in a Brooklyn Dodgers (not Los Angeles but Brooklyn) shirt working hard on earning the "Mr. Congeniality" award. DC artists Ty Templeton and Jackson Guice sat nearby doing free sketches for anyone with the patience to wait in line. One fan requested Ty draw "The Shadow". "Hey Mike!," Ty leaned back, "Can we do "The Shadow"? Is that a DC character?" "Sure!", called back Carlin. "-- Just make sure he looks like Batman!" Jackson Guice's seven (?) year old daughter Beth, meanwhile, also offered to autograph items, and some people took her up on it. Ty Templeton is currently working on a humorous character called "Napoleon Fist" that he hopes to sell to DC. It's subtitled "The Man Who Has No Business Being Anyone's Role-Model". A hand-lettered sign in front of this artist read as follows: "Meet the By-No-Means World-Famous Ty Templeton! (Do Not Feed Or Poke With Finger)" The DC Table was covered with b&w xeroxes of upcoming issues in rough form. Brian Bolland has done a beautiful Wonder Woman cover that has her bouncing a bullet off one of her wristguards. It would make a neat poster. * Marvel offered portfolio reviews at their table. One promising artist, Richard Haselrig, was given the following type of advice by editor Suzanne (didn't get her last name -- was told she edits Excalibur): "It's really good stuff. But think scale. Think drama." Will have to sign off now. The event was well organized and artists were very accessible (something I couldn't say about the other large con held out here - Atlanta's DragonCon) and the facilities were clean and patrolled by professional security. If they only had more of the alternative/small press producers and inexpensive eateries nearby I'd be even happier. If I think of anything more to write about this I'll post it later. (Laurie) Dept. of Food Science & Technology [l--d--s] at [uga.cc.uga.edu] University of Georgia, Athens, GA, USA "All things are ready, if our minds be so." -- Henry V:A4:Sc.3 "