The end of Heroes Con is often likened to the end of summer camp, everyone has had such a good time that they don’t want to leave. Many fans converge on Charlotte, NC year after year from across the country to meet their favorite comic creators and hang out with fellow collectors. Shelton Drum and his team have been running the convention for over 40 years now and that experience shows in the general ease of operations with well planned events and a stacked guest list of comic creators which includes industry legends to newcomers on the scene and everyone else in between.
First time exhibitor Jarrett Melendez, Eisner- and GLAAD-award nominated writer for his debut graphic novel Chef’s Kiss, said “Boy oh boy am I glad to finally cross Heroes Con off my bucket list. For years I’ve heard from friends that it’s their favorite convention and it absolutely lived up to all the hype. It’s been a minute since I’ve done a convention where I really felt ‘at home’ and Heroes absolutely feels like home. So, so grateful to Karla Marsh Southern and all of the Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find team for the hospitality, and all of their hard work for putting on an incredible show. Loved seeing so many friends all in one place.”
The annual art auction is a must attend event for Heroes Con as the bidding tends to get raucous as the night wears on and bigger pieces come under the hammer. This year’s most sought-after piece was Brian Stelfreeze’s contribution, a painting of the X-Men’s Storm with her 80s-era punk rock mohawk which thunderstruck fans by going for a whopping $9,000.
As an added treat for attendees this year, the Discovery Place Science Museum, just a few blocks from the convention center in Charlotte, hosted the Marvel: Universe of Super-Heroes traveling exhibit. With several dozen examples of original artwork on display ranging from the Golden Age of comics in the 40s to modern day work including props and costumes from the blockbuster cinematic universe, the exhibit walks visitors through eight decades of Marvel history. It is a great opportunity for old school fans to gawk at artwork they’ve only seen in print and for newcomers to see how the original comics were translated to screen.
