1.24.2008

Charlotte Minicon 2008

Last weekend the fam and I braved the promise of bad weather and trekked south to North Carolina, both to visit the grandparents and so that I could spend Saturday hawking my wares and hanging out with friends at the Charlotte Minicon, hosted by the organizers of Heroes Con!

I arrived just in time Saturday morning at 10:50, the show slated to begin at 11. Heroes Con founder and organizer Shelton Drum showed me to a nice little corner of Fireman's Hall, a charming, cozy little building that also hosts wedding receptions and the like, and has a good bit more character than the hotel banquet halls and cavernous convention centers that typically host comic book shows. J Chris Campbell, Duane Ballenberger, and Justin Gammon, my pals from Wide Awake Press, arrived soon after, and the show was on!

The day breezed by pretty quickly...You could see the snow falling all day outside the windows, which is always cool. The boys from The Dollar Bin recorded several interviews, and I made some good sales and did a few sketches for fans. We had lunch from Phat Burrito, and I had a good long talk about the virtues of America's Funniest Home Videos with Heroes Con mastermind Dustin Harbin, a true gentleman if ever there was one.

After the show, the guys and I dropped by the shop that gave Heroes Con it's name, Heroes Aren't Hard To Find. I'd never been there before, and I found it to be a pretty spectacular shop: well organized, fun, comprehensive selection, the works. People speak highly about it, and I can see why. I picked up the latest issue of King-Cat and the second Pin-Up Art of Dan DeCarlo collection...I was pretty close to picking up the Batman action figure from DC's New Frontier toy line, but decided against it at the last minute. Then, after I got home, I realized that all toys in the shop were on sale that day for 25% off. Curses!

Anyway, the snow continued to fall, and we all decided that it'd probably be best to get to where we were going before the conditions got any worse. I drove back in beautiful, steady snow for about the first 45 minutes, before it turned into boring ol' rain. It kinda reminded me of living up north, where it snows all the time, so eventually you have to go out in it. It was a nice ride, and a nice break...I listened to some music, got a burger and shake from Cook-Out and simply enjoyed not having to rush to be anywhere.

Anyhow, here are some pitchers. Enjoy!

Adam chats with Justin and Duane:



Justin makes his best "Get that damn camera out of my face!" face:



Another Charlotte convention, another hot Zatanna:



Justin and J Chris furiously sign and draw sketches in copies of Wide Awake 666:



Trying to capture my awkward drawing face as I sketch Supergirl:



JCC and Duane talk to The Dollar Bin about 2007's best comics. Kinda like the Mcneil-Lehrer Report, only nerdier:





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