RE: Comics! is BACK! Gregg and I had a great time hanging out with everyone down at HeroesCon and before we get back into the rough-and-tumble world of comic discussion we thought it would be good to get back into the swing of things with a good ol' fashioned con report! Thanks to everyone that gave me permission to use their pictures!
But FIRST, I'd just like to point out that on Sunday afternoon at the show it was officially announced that Gregg is writing X-BABIES from Marvel! The book will be drawn by Gregg's buddy and Mighty Skullboy Army creator Jacob Chabot! It's set to release in October! Stay tuned to Acme Comics.com for more news about X-Babies and our pal Gregg.
Gregg Schigiel: So, Stephen…we had two weeks off and in that time we were both at Heroes Con in Charlotte. So, let’s get to it: highlights and lowlights (instead of a day-by-day recap of stuff, let’s get to the meat!).
I can tell you right now, my highlight (and I know the political and proper answer would be to say meeting all the Acme Comics folks who came down – but I’m not in this for cheap applause) was having Roger Langridge recognize and remember me by name. Then again, I’ve been buggin’ him at shows (and when I was at Marvel), for years. He’s awesome. Also, seeing Carly’s friend (I’ll protect her identity by not mentioning her name) eat all them ribs. That’s right up there for me, too.
So, Stephen, have you got a highlight?
Stephen Mayer: A friend of mine that works at another comic shop also met Roger Langride and picked up an awesome page from the Muppet Show featuring Statler and Waldorf (the old guys that heckle from the balcony for those of you not in the know).
The rib eating was a huge highlight, commemorated by your very own artwork. The aftermath of the rib eating, at least for me and Raph, was a lowlight.
Jonathan Hickman bought me and Raph drinks, which was awesome. I didn’t get to hang out with him on Free Comic Book Day as much as I would have liked as I was pulling double duty as a hobnobbing Acme employee and a boyfriend/sort-of-brother-in-law with Carly’s sister that you met at the other end of the table. But it was nice to just sit down and chat about the state of things. Hickman also looked over Carly’s portfolio on Sunday afternoon right before we left and gave some wonderful praise and very constructive criticism.
Solid lowlight: Carly’s table neighbor to the left (if you were standing in front of her table). Her worst fear was realized when she was placed right next to the guy that draws dirty pictures of super heroines doing naughty stuff. He was actually a pretty talented artist, but everything had to be naked or inappropriate. For people that were into that kind of thing, it was a magnet that drew them right past Carly’s table, and for people that weren’t into it, especially parents with their kids, it forced a wide berth through the corner that usually meant keeping a safe distance from Carly’s table also.
So how about a lowlight from you? And how was the vibe of the show different due to it being in a different room in the convention center?
GS: Curious that that guy (next to Carly) was able to have that stuff as I understood Heroes had a pretty strong “no adult material” rule in play.
My lowlights are going to sound incredibly silly or shallow, really, but I lugged a bunch of original art (SpongeBob comics pages and some DC licensed publishing work) and sold none of it, so I had to lug it all the way back with me (you kind of always want to leave with less stuff but more money, you know?). That, and I kind of wish Marvel had announced the X-BABIES mini-series I’m writing earlier than 3pm on Sunday, as I’d have liked to have milked that and promoted that more openly. But hey, those are minor quibbles.
Overall, the Heroes Con is great, even if I don’t always walk away turning a big profit or eating the greatest biscuit I’ve ever eaten (both important goals). It’s organized really well, the people managing and the attendees are all, really, super-pleasant.
I don’t think the show vibe was different at all due to the room change. In fact, the bass show next door (and that’s bass as in audio, not the fish) was just as loud, annoying and obnoxious as it was in the other room (though was it only one day this year? That was nice). The rooms seemed about the same size; I was certainly able to make my way across it pretty quickly (as opposed to say, a ComicCon, where it takes about 15 minutes just to get halfway across the room – seriously; you’ll see). And it remains a very comics, superhero, and family friendly show, which is what helps make it great.
I’ll say this: leaving that show and on the flight back, it was definitely energizing, which is good. Some shows leave you really shot or exhausted or maybe even a bit overloaded (i.e. Baltimore last year). But on the flight back, Chris Giarrusso and I were both sort of buzzing about things we wanted to do, how we’d do them, etc. That’s good stuff. The trick, of course, is to keep that energy and momentum going.
Though, speaking of momentum, you guys and a lot of your customers were there in full force. Is there ever a worry that there’ll be a Heroes v. Acme throwdown? How about just a softball game?
SM: The Dub bass show only being one day really cut down on the Westin lobby entertainment Saturday night as there was far less bling. Someone did spot Ice Cube on location.
While the X-Babies announcements might have come a bit late, the media blitz online was certainly in full force at Marvel.com, News-a-rama, Comic Book Resources, and this French blog I found on Google (my three years in high school with Ms. Mattinson makes me 77.3% sure that they’re only saying nice things.
I know what you mean about feeling energized. All of the people that we’ve had at the store before expressed an interest in coming back again and we had a lot of new interest from people that we would have never expected. This was the first time I’d been at the show from Thursday – Sunday and if I learned anything it would be a little less pork (maybe some BBQ chicken). We’re definitely putting stuff together right now, stuff that we’ll hopefully be able to announce after Comic Con.
There was a lot of buzz for us and we owe a lot of it to Matt and our customers. I feel like I was kind of split again between Carly’s table and other store business, but they were wearing t-shirts, handing out business cards, and talking us up. All Jermaine had to do was show up on Sunday and lock it down.
I think we would definitely lose at softball seeing as I hear that Heroes has a staff of 10 and there’s officially just me, Jermaine, and Matt here. But if Jermaine brings the heat and Matt calls all the right signals, I should be able to mill around the outfield during a no-hitter.
GS: Not to name drop, but you guys have an ace up your sleeves, softball-wise. A little something called Xylon. Just set that dude loose on the field. He’s like your Tasmanian Devil!
You might want to lower that 77.3%, brother. I saw that site as well, translated via babblefish. Can’t say they’re loving it. Seems they’re among those who’d prefer to have Chris Giarrusso doing more Mini Marvels (not that I disagree, I’d like that too), despite this being something quite different.
Meanwhile, on Saturday night when there could’ve been a big ol’ mish-mosh, the art auction went for HOURS! I think you went to take a wee nap, but that thing went on for a while. It’s still pretty amazing that Frank Cho’s Medusa piece sold for 5 grand. As some of us watching pointed out, that’s a downpayment on a car…or a full payment on a used car.
I didn’t get much of an opportunity to talk to Matt, but if he’s a large part of creating buzz then he did it super-efficiently, as he was only there for a short time. Nice work, Matt.
And here’s something with no segue: in our pre-con talk you asked about sketches; the weirdest or strangest, etc. I gotta tell ya, two of your Acme guys were the winners of oddest requests. JR got a Clem, which apparently is part of some sort of contest with some of you guys down there. And Adam asked for a Superman bawling over a dropped ice cream cone. To my recollection, those were the oddest (and the Clem thing isn’t all THAT odd, but the whole contest aspect took it to that next level).
Less pork?! Blasphemy!! Though, if you replace the “BBQ” with “fried” before chicken, maybe we can call it a wash.
SM: With Xylon I would fear a sports phenomenon I experienced when I was a kid, wherein after waiting in the outfield for a few pitches, the player starts playing with whatever piles of dirt/bugs/three leaf clovers he can find.
I didn't stay at the art auction for any length of time, but I would pop in just to be astounding that it was still going and check on how pieces by friends and acquaintances like Jeremy Dale and Chris Samnee were doing. My friend Bret is the only person that I personally know that won anything. He got a Tommy Lee Edwards illustration guide for Indiana Jones merchandising.
Of your stange sketches: 1) Adam's goal for the weekend was to top a sketch he got at Free Comic Book Day of something like a milkshake, a pair of Sonic the Hedgehog's shoes with french fries in them, and a burger with hedgehog spikes on top. I assure you that when Chris came to the store in March, all Adam asked for was an Indiana Jones. 2) JR and Matt started their Clem contest after Free Comic Book Day. However, by the time Heroes had rolled around, Matt shifted gears to Skrull versions of cereal mascots. Since this information was unbeknownst to JR, he scurried across the con floor getting Clems from creators like yourself, monster and demon expert Guy Davis, Buffy's own Georges Jeanty, and comedian Scott Adsit.
I retract my less pork statement! We went to Carter Brothers last night, High Point's most famous and critically acclaimed BBQ pit, for all you can eat beef ribs. It went even worse for Jermaine than Jim N Nick's did for me. Pork ribs ONLY for me from now on!
Overall, this was the best HeroesCon of the six that I've been to, both for myself and store. I think you said it best when you talked about momentum. You and Chris are scheming, Carly's buying up supplies and taking offers for work, and Jermaine and I were up planning out what our next moves are gonna be until as late as 2:00 AM this week. It's going to be an exciting rest of 2009 for all of us and I think whenever I look back on it, I'll see barbeque and porno superheroes and Clem sketches.
And just the faintest thump of bass.
GS: Yeah, it was a great show. To that end I suppose it’s only right we thank Shelton Drum and the rest of his team, like Dustin Harbin who was my main contact regarding artists alley, Trey Alexander who runs the art auction, and the gal who signed me in whose name I didn’t get, but who has a pretty remarkable memory for all us artists’ names and faces.
The countdown now begins for the other end of the con spectrum: Comic-Con in San Diego. Wait’ll you see this thing, man. Holy moley!
Most famous and critically acclaimed ‘cue pit intrigues me…
Gregg Schigiel is a cartoonist, illustrator, and writer. He's worked as a penciller and editor for Marvel Comics and an illustrator and cartoonist at Nickelodeon in addition to creating his own characters and books. He's currently writing X-Babies for Marvel with artist Jacob Chabot and coveting all our donuts and barbeque. Check out his website at Hatter Entertainment.com.
Stephen Mayer makes his mama proud "researching" Fear Agent for interviews and doing all of his laundry all by himself.
