Yesterdays opening of the 28th annual Heroes Convention got under way with heavy floor traffic and tons of fun. It seems like the early crowd has grown quite a bit over the last handful of years, with a larger pool of early arrivals jockeying for line space to take advantage of that extra half-hour entry for pre-paid tickets, but the more the merrier - right?
One thing that has really "floored" me and that I've just gotta mention, is how many females are in attendance this year. I mean - damn! Women, girls and pretty young lasses (and "NO", I don't at all mean jail bait) in abundance. I hope the few attending publishers are paying attention, and that the rest of the industry is reading this missive, because if little old Charlotte is pulling in the females at this rate - this may be the "emerging" demographic to serve beyond 2010.
Of course the "Indie Island" area of the Heroes Convention, which focuses on small press stuff and alternative publishers, may have something to do with this terrific trend in Charlotte; but don't ask me - come see for yourselves.
Artwork has really been my bane this year! I pre-ordered several commissions and then also picked up a handful of pages from Randy Martin (of Mighty Nib Comic Art) , who brought some stuff from Atlanta that I had specifically requested. Thanks Randy! Pay-palling for certain pieces ahead of the show was a fantastic way not to have to wait in lines that can really stretch out there for select guests. Plus, the pieces themselves were ready to be picked up as soon as the doors opened.
I scored excellent commissions from Francesco Francavilla, Rebekah Isaacs, Colleen Coover, Mike Norton, Stephanie Gladden, Steve Leiber and Roger Langridge this year. I narrowly missed out one from Joe Jusko, but he's had a lot on his plate lately, so I'm gonna keep my fingers crossed that Joe will remember me soon.
More tomorrow!
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