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A lot of lucky comics folks are headed to Charlotte, NC for HeroesCon which kicks off tomorrow with its usual stellar guest list, informative programming and unmatched hospitality. Unfortunately due to political machinations beyond HeroesCon’s control — or the control of the many good folks who live in NC including a bunch of my family […]

Continuing on from our first entry this past Friday, here is the second part of my HeroesCon interview with Michel Fiffe, creator of the self-published and much lauded action-adventure comic, COPRA.

It’s funny, the way I discovered your work actually came through a friend of mine at first, as a word of mouth sort of thing. Then I firmly jumped in when Oliver Sava starting writing about it on the A.V. Club, and you ended making a ton of these “Best of 2014″ lists, which is pretty exciting right? That sort of vindication has to be rewarding.

It’s nice, it’s nice that people like it, absolutely. Oliver’s a great supporter.

Everyone wants to make a superlative list at some point, right?

Yeah, that means a lot to me personally, and it actually translates into more readers. I think word of mouth has really worked a lot on COPRA, without any huge marketing muscle behind it. That’s been the primary thing, people are just excited about it, and that’s super flattering. To like it so much – in today’s aggressive marketplace – that they spread the word out of genuine enthusiasm… what more could you want?

That’s literally what’s happening, though the only hurdle is, of course, availability.

That’s the only hurdle right now. Bergen Street Press has been working hard for a couple of years now to get over it. We don’t want to make it super exclusive, this isn’t a super limited boutique item by any means, but it’s also not as simple as pushing a magic button for  books to suddenly appear. Others have that magic button.

When you made the collections, which have obviously been a great way to pull in readers, you went with Bergen Street Press, and that’s Tucker Stone’s outfit right?

Yeah, that’s Tom Adams and Tucker Stone, they’re co-owners of the store, Bergen Street Comics and they started publishing and putting out “compendium” collections of the issues early on because I started selling out of the issues. So they met that demand, they helped me meet that initial burst of enthusiasm. I was too caught up creating the next issue. My financial model is that one issue pays for the next, there’s no room for reprints, that’s not within my budget. Bergen really helped make it more available and more accessible to people. The compendiums led to an official collection, the current “Rounds” as they’re called, which collects six issues at a time. That’s the kind of thing that we’re trying to get into all the comic shops across the country.

It’s showing up in stores in Atlanta, and I even think I saw copies in the UK over Gosh Comics perhaps.

Yeah, we get a lot of orders from all over the world.

Did you just have a relationship with Tucker and Tom, is that why you went with them as the distributor and publisher and go-to guys?

I trust them and respect them, and I couldn’t happier with that specific team of players. Their point of view and their involvement with the comics industry is something I can get behind.

In regards to availability though, is digital not in the cards?

It’s not NOT in the cards, it’s just something I still have to manage and deal with. There are just so many issues with it, the platform, the way it looks, the time to get everything in order. I’m still dealing with the print issues, that’s a huge thing for me, just getting one of these out every four to six weeks. I barely have any time to do anything else BUT this issue. When it comes to digital, I want to be as hands-on as possible, and that’s a time sucker. I wouldn’t rule digital out, but at the moment it’s not a primary concern. Having said that, I don’t want to exclude anyone from reading it, I understand there’s a large portion of the readership that’s gone digital because its more convenient, but personally I haven’t related to that model. So, it’s not a priority. I don’t feel like it’s something that’s burning in me to address anytime soon.

But there is an argument you made yesterday (on a panel with Klaus Janson) about the visual of the comic as a physical object. When you go digital, you do lose that. I mean, you can put everyone of those pages, including the back cover and back matter into a digital copy, but it’s not the same.

It’s not the same, and I want to be clear that I don’t want to impose my fetish of the newsprint comic on anyone. But readers do have the option to buy the issues or NOT to buy them, and that’s the risk I take. I’m not forcing people nor am I trying to change the industry “back to the glory that it was”. I’m just doing this because it’s a model that I’m familiar with and I aesthetically like. It’s a much more intimate thing. I just don’t read that many digital comics. That’s not how I absorb this stuff. I would feel weird putting it out in the world if I’m not sure of it myself.

The comparison has been made, and COPRA has been compared very favorably to works like Cerebus, and that’s a comparison that I find to be really quite apt in that you’ve taken an analogous set of characters, like Dave Sim did with Conan the Barbarian, but by Round Three, you’ve expanded that world and its character set in a way not dissimilar from his work in “High Society”. Is that a comparison that you find interesting?

It is, mostly because Dave and I were born on the same day.

Really?

Yeah, so it just means we’re both stubborn and hard headed, and we’re gonna do what we want no matter what. But the COPRA/Cerebus thing… I imagine it’s more accurate than I’d like to think, but the main difference is that Cerebus started out as a parody. And my book…well, I personally fucking hate parody comics of that nature. I like Cerebus, but  I especially mean modern indie takes on this sort of stuff. It’s low hanging fruit. You’re going to make fun of superheroes, good job, you’re wasting your precious time on earth doing that. Who cares? You’re not gonna outdo Marshal Law. I love that comic to death. There was a lot of anger behind that book, but it didn’t look down at anyone. Now, you either like superheroes or you don’t, and it’s perfectly fine to dislike it. In fact, you probably shouldn’t. I have zero interest in making fun of this stuff. From the first page of COPRA, it was serious business to me, serious business while fully realizing and basking in the absurd nature of this material.

That’s a difficult balance to achieve – seriousness without being overtly grim.

I just don’t want to wink at readers. I respect the readership too much to be winking at them – like, hey get the joke? Isn’t this DUMB? It’s like, fuck that joke, it’s a terrible joke. And I think Dave Sim wised up to it early on, because he was parodying Conan and the goofy barbarian genre, but then it took on a different identity all together.

And I feel like that’s where you’re headed too. Round 3 is stunning, and I think when it hits a collected edition, I think there’s going to be a lot of talk. I don’t know how else to put it. I don’t want to speak too highly here, but I think that’s going to be when – people already notice it, but I mean, my god, that chapter when Wir goes back home…

Yeah, that’s a favorite. I was worried about making that one too because it’s so bizarre, even within the norms of COPRA, you know?

It was so touching and so raw. It struck nerves for me. And then Gracie in Miami, and you’re working out some of your own feelings about the city and you even say as much on the back end.

Yeah. Every issue pretty much has at least one autobiographical component in it. And I find that interesting when I read older comics too, whether they meant it or not, I think it comes through. Especially for the older creators who really had no other option but to express themselves through The Brave and the Bold or something. But for me to actually write this stuff, I have to put some sort of personal experience in it. So every issue, there’s something there that’s really personal. But I also don’t want it to be too obvious, though.

Let’s talk about Round Four or the presumed Round Four, about what’s coming up, what’s being developed. Spoiler alert: Dutch got it at the end of the latest issue. And clearly there’s another team that’s sort of gaining up on the COPRA side of things. At least that’s what it seems like. There’s an organized group of evil doers. What can we expect in the next couple of issues; I think there are two left in this round?

I have two left. And then I’m going to have a 25th issue anniversary-sized thing, that’s going to stand apart from the narrative, the main arc. And then starting with issue 26 that starts another arc all together. I’m going to work in six issue chunks, but there are going to be main storylines in that. I think I’m going to go up to fifty issues, so 25 will be an anniversary issue, as well as the halfway point.

So there will be an endpoint that’s set in stone?

Yes, I do have an ending set, I’ve mapped it out that far. I’m so excited for it.  Knowing that it’s going to end and that everything is building up towards it makes every step of the way that much more fun for me, much richer.

So what can you tell me that we can expect in just very general terms, without spoiling anything, for the next two issues? Is it going to be a battle between the team and this group of guys that are coming after them?

It’s going to be COPRA vs COPRA. That’s all I’m going to say.

You’ve got two other narratives occurring in these books, you’ve got Dieter VDO’s back cover story for Man-Head…

Which is non-canonical.

Let me ask you how that got arranged first. Are you and Dieter friends?

Oh, I’m a big fan of his work. He did a Savage Dragon story for this collection of back ups I edited. This was ages ago. Anyway, Dieter… I like spreading the word on him. I think he’s great, one of my favorite cartoonists. I wanted to have unique back matter for this current arc and he was the first person I thought of to do something. Instead of pin ups, though, I wanted a serialized narrative. Thankfully he was on board. His own weird version of COPRA? Who wouldn’t want to see that?

So what is going on between your narrative and his narrative in these orange and white pages? There’s something appearing in the sky…?

When can we expect the next issue to hit?

Maybe 4 weeks, a month? After the show I’ve to get back to drawing it. I’m not really ahead, schedule-wise. As soon as the issue is done, it’s practically in the readers’ hands.

You can purchase recent issues of COPRA at Michel Fiffe and Kat Roberts’ Etsy store. While Bergen Street Press is currently sold out of both collected editions of the series, you can purchase the first collection at InStockTrades.

Tons of pitching, tons of submissions, I’ve done pretty much everything I could think of to do to get in through the door. I’ve got some published works as a result, but nothing really satisfying, or that I really felt confident about. So, self-publishing, once I started doing that, that’s when I felt like I was creating comics on my own terms. COPRA is a natural extension of that, especially when I started giving myself a monthly schedule, mimicking the schedule of mainstream comics. For me, that’s the interesting dichotomy of it, where I’m harnessing this kind of “old-school” rigorous schedule to fit my independent needs.

But are there significant challenges you find? I know there’s promotion that would be available in a big house publisher, like if you were working with Image there’d be press releases constantly. Is bandwidth an issue?

Well, motivation is always the biggest hurdle to overcome, especially given an unrelenting schedule. I have to wake up every day and treat this like a job, because it IS my job, it is my full-time job. I have to get it done somehow, I can’t wait for the muse to strike. I have to get an issue done a month, or as close as possible. But as far as challenges in not having the marketing muscle of other companies? I’d rather stand apart from the wall of noise. How many press releases does anyone really read, anyway?

Your comics, at least in their monthly form, are only available on your Etsy page and I noticed that you share that with your significant other, I think I saw some nice craft jewelry I think?

Yeah, Kat Roberts sells all kinds of stuff, zines, handmade purses, prints. I totally piggy-backed off her store on Etsy. That was a platform I was familiar with, so when I started publishing Zegas (Fiffe’s first self-published comic) I didn’t have a place to sell it from, except conventions and maybe the occasional store that would take a risk on it. Etsy allowed me to slowly build up my readership. By the time I got to COPRA, there was a significant amount of people that were interested in the stuff I did and that made it easier for me to move forward.

Let me turn to the actual creation process of an individual issue, say you’re sitting at your desk and working on Issue 22 right now?

That’s the one that just came out.

Good, let’s use that one as an example, if you’re working on Issue 22, what is your step by step? Do you script first and then directly move into the illustration phase? Do you create thumbnails? How do you piece your typical issue together?

It always changes, but the constant thing is that I always map out the story, page by page, and then I script it loosely. Then I start penciling loosely with the first draft in mind. The real work portion of the process begins when I start refining the script while inking and sometimes hand lettering. That’s when it all starts coming together. But generally I have a very loose plan in mind per issue. It’s equal parts organic and strict. I just have to get a number of pages done every day, that’s basically my main objective.

What’s your average rate right now?

Comfortably, I’d say about two pages a day, complete with full color. And that may range, sometimes I may get three, sometimes just half of a page, it just depends. And then you also have to consider the managerial aspect of it after the book is done. I have to get it shipped out to readers  and stores and that’s definitely a job in of itself.

Was there ever a page or spread or a panel layout that was really hard to crack? Was there any particular example where you just said “oh my god, what am I doing with this thing?”

Every page is like that, but I try to make it work somehow. I have to bring that blank page to life somehow. But the trick is to not think about it too much, because if I over-think it – which is my natural inclination – it kills it. You can get caught up in that and then nothing exists, there are no results. I strive for perfection, but being my own worst critic, I have to be real careful to not crush my gut instinct.

You’re a real master of negative space, and I read an issue and think “damn, Fiffe really knows how to use that white”. I think that’s a rare talent, and I’m not trying to kiss ass, but when I read through recent issues it’s hard to not notice how much your craft continues to grow every single issue. I’m floored by the way you use this stuff.

Thanks, man!

Back to COPRA‘s origins, if I may, when you began to pull together your characters designs and tried to piece together the different teams…and there’s a number of different teams now I guess, you’ve got COPRA, Asesinos…

Right, it’s all splintered.

Yeah, I almost have a hard time keeping track.

I should map it out.

I would love that, if you would put a thing at the end of each issue with the full cast.

I’ve been thinking about that, actually.

That would be awesome, and I’ll take full credit if it happens. But when you were conceiving of your core cast, there are obviously analogous elements to Ostrander’s Suicide Squad.

Absolutely!

Did you ever find it was difficult to skirt the line between your own original ideas and those aforementioned analogous elements or did you just say, I’m going to use this as a starting point and go my own way?

When I initially set out to do this comic, I put myself in the mindset of: “what if a publisher hired me to take over a title, and gave me complete freedom”, which would never happen in the current landscape. So using that fantasy to guide me, I took the Dirty Dozen-esque concept, which has been around for a while in many different forms, and I used it as a blueprint to work from. I wanted a world I could really sink my teeth into month in and month out. I wanted to make something that was serialized, that maximized the nature of the single issue, I wanted to build a place that made it easier for me to explore all my interests. The analogous aspect of it… I was reluctant at first, but I had forgotten that some of my favorite comics are analogous, too, some more blatant than the others.

Are there any examples you can cite? At least of the ones that fall favorably with you?

I mean, the Fantastic Four included a Kirby monster, Plastic Man, and Carl Burgos‘ creation as the Challengers of the Unknown… as a response to JLA.  Watchmen, Marvelman, Supreme, everything Alan Moore does, basically. That’s no secret. So I moved forward citing those comics, using the current cultural momentum of irreverence to just do whatever I want. Plus, I figured no one’s going to be reading this anyway! We’re talking small press here, not many copies exist. It was liberating.

How far ahead did you map out your story?

Not that far, I did it issue by issue. I also wanted it to feel like a very immediate, raw, I wanted it to be as direct a thing as possible. So, it was really just one or two issues ahead. I mapped out twelve issues with super brief descriptions and that’s all I had to go on. I also wanted to make sure that I could fill twelve issues worth of stories. Luckily it worked out.

Look for Part 2 of our discussion on Sunday, when we discuss the possibility of digital distribution and what readers can expect in upcoming issues of COPRA.

You can purchase recent issues of COPRA at Michel Fiffe and Kat Roberts’ Etsy store, or you can order. While Bergen Street Press is currently sold out of both collected editions of the series, you can purchase the first collection at InStockTrades.

Tula Lotay colors prints at HeroesCon 2015

by Harper W. Harris

Certainly one of the busiest artists at HeroesCon 2015 was Tula Lotay, who has burst onto the mainstage of comic artists in the last year, working with Warren Ellis on Supreme: Blue Rose as well as the unique Vertigo title Bodies written by Si Spencer in which each issue shared four different artists. Her art recalls classic illustration, and is visually lush with gorgeous character work and fascinating design. We got a chance to speak with Lotay to hear about her interesting path to being a professional comic artist, her experiences working with Ellis, and a little about what’s coming up for her.

Harper W. Harris: I’m here with Tula Lotay, who is working hard to finish up coloring some beautiful prints on the last day of HeroesCon, have you had a good time at the con so far?

Tula Lotay: It’s been amazing! I love the show, it’s just wonderful. Everyone is so friendly and there’s such a nice atmosphere, I’ve just been so unbelievably busy. I haven’t had time to stop and eat for two days. It’s wonderful though, I’m having a great time. I love Charlotte, too, and Sheldon and Rico do such an amazing job. They must work so hard all weekend…I know what it’s like running a festival because I run one in the UK called Thought Bubble, and it’s just so wearing and these guys–this is like four times bigger than ours so I know they must work so hard. So thanks to them!

HH: That’s a perfect transition, I was going to ask you about Thought Bubble! Can you tell us a little bit about what Thought Bubble is about and what’s going on this year–it’s coming up in November, right?

TL: Yeah, we’re a comic art festival so it’s very similar to this. A lot of the comic conventions around do mainly media and film stuff…we don’t do any of that. We’re just like Heroes in that we focus just on artists and writers. The convention runs over two days, but the festival lasts over a week, and in the run up to the convention we have a series of free writer’s workshops, screenings, lots of special events. We try to make a lot of them free as well and educational in relation to comics. On the Friday before the show we always do a big book crossing as well where we give away thousands of graphic novels for free around the area. We try and have as many events as we can for children, too, to kind of inspire the next generation, get them to appreciate comics and have fun with it as well.

HH: You have a really interesting story about how you came into the industry as an artist, moving into that from running the festival.

TL: I’ve worked in comic shops all my life really, and so I got to know so many people in the industry and then after a while I thought it would be wonderful to start a very small event, just get people to come along for small signings and a few panels, like industry stuff to find out how people work, where people can learn, how to get into stuff. From there I got to know so many people in the industry. I had an Instagram account at the time, and I started posting bits of my work, because I’ve always drawn and illustrated. A lot of people that I knew in the industry started to see it and they were like, “Oh, you can draw?” and a lot of them started liking what I was posting. I started getting lots of job offers and people wanted to work with me. I kind of knew Warren as well, I met up with Eric Stephenson and he said, “Warren’s got a new project and I really want you to draw it.” Warren asked me to take a look at the script and see what I thought and it just kind of snowballed from there! It’s all down to a mix of working hard, just practicing with my art all the time, posting it online so people could see it, and then knowing people in the industry and just having them be really kind about what I do and kind of liking it.

HH: I definitely want to talk a bit about Supreme: Blue Rose that you worked on with Warren Ellis–what was the process like working with him, and was it challenging to visually illustrate such a complex story?

TL: It was amazing working with Warren. I get on with him so well and I really love his writing. On the first issue he was giving me lots of pointers and I was running all my pages by him, but as I got to know his writing and he got to know my art a bit more he kind of just sent me scripts and left me to it and I could do whatever I wanted. I really felt there was that trust there from him, that he would allow me to take panels in a different direction if I felt they needed to be or add panels or lose them. With that trust and the freedom that he gave me, it was just such an amazing story to work on because I could really put myself into it and I was servicing these wonderful pointed words that Warren had as well. I love working with him, and I think that’s why we’re choosing to work together again on a creator owned project because we like working together so much.

HH: You have a really unique art style with really beautiful character work and then a lot of times you’ve got these really interesting kind of design elements added on top of it. What are your influences for your art style, and where does that design part of it come from?

TL: When I studied fine art at University I was always really interested in a lot of design work, so I studied some graphic design as well. I’ve always been really into design work by people like Chip Kidd and stuff, Saul Bass–I absolutely love the kind of stuff he did, he was a massive influence. I guess that’s where the design stuff came from. In terms of my illustrative style, I really love the old Saturday Evening Post illustrations, illustrations from the ‘40s, ‘50s, and ‘60s. Robert McGinnis, Robert Maguire, Bernie Fuchs all those people are just incredible, like Mitchell Hooks, I’m a big fan of him. You get these scratchy styles, and rather than showing a wardrobe they might just have an angular line to suggest it and then the faces are really detailed. I tend to look at that stuff more than anything else really. But then I’ve always been a massive fan of comic art, so when I was growing up I was reading like Kent Williams, Jon J Muth from Meltdown, Dave McKean. I always tended to go with the more painterly stuff like Jon J Muth and John Bolton, Bill Sienkiewicz’s Elektra: Assassin, so I think a lot of that kind of stuff has influenced me as well. A lot of the European greats as well, like I love Bernet and obviously Mobius. I just really like really good art, so when its done well in any style really it tends to inspire me.

HH: So I love that I’m asking this as I’m watching you color a print–it seems like you color most of your own work, what do you find are the advantages or challenges of doing the whole process yourself like that?

TL: I think that’s the only way I want to work, really. I just came off working on Bodies, the DC/Vertigo title, and they had the same colorist Lee Loughridge throughout the entire story. His work’s absolutely incredible, but for me I find it quite–it’s not natural for me to just do bold line art and have someone else color it because I don’t just do finished line art. I tend to do my line art and then put the color on and work into it again, and put more color on and work into it again, and so on with textures. I feel like I only really feel satisfied with my art at the end when I’ve been about to go through the whole process rather than just doing one aspect of it. I think for the future that’s probably the way I need to work, really. It’s really nice having a great colorist color your work because you get to recognize things about yourself more and, like, Jordie Bellaire has just colored me on Zero, which is amazing seeing her stuff, she’s mind-blowing. So it is nice to have that, but I want to do it all myself really.

HH: So you’re a a bit of a one-man band! So what have you got coming up that you’re really excited about?

TL: Zero is going to be out soon and it’s the last issue so I hope people like that, it was really nice working with Ales Kot on it. I’ve just done an issue of Wicked and the Divine the tower issue which is #13 I think that will be out in August which was just amazing to work on. Kieron Gillen’s a brilliant writer, I loved working with him on that. In two weeks Warren and I are announcing a new project at Image Comics and I’m super, super excited about that. I can’t say anything about it because we’ll be announcing it at the Image Expo, but that’s coming up and I’m just so excited to get started on it, I can’t wait!

My second dip into the HeroesCon pool saw that my thoughts regarding today’s possible increased attendance did indeed come to fruition, as the crowds around me intensified fairly significantly from the day previous.

The pre-registration line remained very long throughout the entire day, and those who were purchasing their badge on-site found that they were able to slip in much quicker. Though the big advantage to having an advance 3-day badge for the show is that it provides you with access to the show floor 30 minutes earlier than anyone else, and if your goal is to get on commission and sketch lists, that 30 minutes might make all the difference. For example, Evan Shaner‘s sketch list filled up today before general admission even opened.

For my part, I spent the early part of today taking cosplay photos of anything that caught my eye:

After wandering the floor like someone who clearly should be finding something better to do with their time, I dropped in on the Michel Fiffe–Klaus Janson panel, which was terrific.

For those interested in some of the notable quotes, I live tweeted some very select details at the ComicsBeatLive twitter feed. I had never seen Janson speak before, but I was thoroughly entertained throughout, and he and Fiffe had a great rapport.

In between panels, I got to chat with Tom King, one of the writers of Grayson, the solo writer of Omega Men, and all around nice guy! I also finally purchased a copy of his prose book A Once Crowded Sky. A word of advice, jump on the Tom King bandwagon now if you haven’t already. DC has something really special here, the same goes for Brenden Fletcher.

Just before bunking down for the afternoon in the Ben Towle-led Mega-Panel celebrating the Center for Cartoon Studies’ tenth anniversary, I nabbed a couple of other quick sketches that I’m rather proud of as Ben Caldwell (artist of Prez) and Chuck Forsman (the creator of Revenger) drew me a Ray Dominguez and a Maggie Chascarillo. I guess you can tell what my favorite comic of all time is, right?

The Mega-Panel was amazing, by the way. Towle gave lecture on Cartooning “How-To” books that existed as the sole source of comics education for aspiring creators before the days of institutions like CCS. I again described all of this in some detail on the ComicsBeatLive twitter. I was able to jot down a full list of all the titles he referenced, and for those curious, it’s quite comprehensive, especially given the 20 minute time constraint he gave himself.

Those in attendance then got a chance to view a screening of Cartoon College, a documentary that focuses on a group of students and their progress through the rigors of the CCS curriculum. Given that I have little to no experience (or interest, quite frankly) in being on the creative side of comics, the film gave me a valuable new perspective in the struggles both creatively and financially that are a part of the independent side of the industry.

While Harper covered the Milkfed Criminal Masterminds panel in great detail, a few of my traveling companions were kind enough to share some additional information that was relayed in the panels they attended today:

– During Evan Dorkin‘s panel, he revealed to the crowd that he will be working on a 12 page Peanuts story for Boom! Studios. In a hilariously awesome twist, Dorkin has stated that he has found a way to combine the Peanuts gang with the Lovecraft universe.

– Jason Latour stated in their Southern Bastards panel, that he will write an upcoming issue of the book solo, in order to give Jason Aaron a break. The next arc of the series will also be six issues in length. The team (he and Aaron) also made mention that they will be executive producers of the television adaptation, while noted producer Scott Rudin is developing it.

And with those two additional tid-bits, that’s a wrap for me on HeroesCon today. It’s been a great weekend, and be on the lookout for a number of our interviews with a few notable creators in the coming days. A huge thanks goes out to Shelton Drum, Rico Renzi, and the entire HeroesCon staff for another great show.

Driving into Charlotte today for my third year in a row of attending HeroesCon, I had a feeling it was only a matter of time before it was going to be “discovered”. In the midst of the much more crowded multi-media shows that I’ve been to in the past like SDCC and Dragon Con, Heroes has always been the quiet haven where I could sit down with my favorite creators, have an extended chat, and not feel like I was in the way of every person that walked by. It was even a show where I could go through the hallowed tradition of digging through long boxes for good deals without having to do a dosey-doe with anyone else doing the same.

I can still do all of that, but attendance is definitely ratcheting up. And for the best comics show in the Southeast, that’s a wonderful thing.

When I arrived, lines for those that pre-registered for three day badges snaked throughout the main lobby of the Charlotte Convention Center, and some were experiencing waits that ranged from 30 minutes to an hour based on some of the discussion that I heard murmured among my fellow attendees. In comparison, last year most attendees were generally only in line for about 10 minutes or less.

While there are a few reasons that could be attributed to today’s line situation, it’s clear that a new glut of attendees have descended upon Charlotte for this year’s show. I sought out show founder Sheldon Drum, of Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find, to see if he had any official numbers that could be reported, and while they haven’t counted the turnstiles quite yet, the increase is big and when the final numbers are announced, don’t be surprised to see an increase that ranges from a third to double from last year’s (if I had to predict, and it’s not even Saturday yet).

While I spent much of the rest of the show arranging interviews that should surface sometime next week, I took the time to peruse the various wares on display from creators like Matt Fraction, Babs Tarr, Robbi Rodriguez, Jonathan Hickman, Klaus Janson, Stuart Immonen, and a giant mix of new talent and established veterans that puts most shows put on throughout the country to shame.

For my part, I commissioned a piece from Michel Fiffe and got his take on Hopey from Jaime Hernandez‘s side of Love & Rockets:

I also got a chance to purchase a beautiful Mad Max: Fury Road print from Ryan Bodenheim as well as this very cool Ghibli piece from Chrissie Zullo:

After grabbing a quick bite to eat, I found myself in a very fun panel moderated by Dean Trippe (Project: Rooftop) that featured Tarr, Rodriguez, Erica Henderson, and Kristafer Anka where they discussed their work in costume design.

Given the panel’s pedigree (Tarr redesigned Batgirl with Cameron Stewart, Henderson did the same for Squirrel Girl, Rodriguez created the Spider-Gwen costume, and Kris Anka has been a driving force in many new Marvel costumes), it was a fascinating chat. One of my favorite tid-bits that came from the panel was Tarr elaborating on the creation of the new Batgirl costume and how in Cameron Stewart‘s initial sketches, it rather resembled the Yvonne Craig version of the character, to which Tarr added much of the stylistic flourishes, including the now famous Doc Martens. Those same yellow boots were apparently so highly in demand post-costume reveal, according to Tarr, fans crashed the store’s website in order to get them.

After chatting with a few more creators like Charles Forsman, whose first two issues of Revenger I picked up on many a friends’ recommendation. I then made my way to the “Iconic Heroes” panel, which was terrifically moderated by Tom Heintjes (Hogan’s Alley), where he discussed the topic of working on well-known comic characters with famed artists Tim Sale, David A. Williams, Evan Shaner and Wilfredo Torres. It was unfortunately fairly sparsely attended, which is a shame, as it was great discussion between well-traveled and fairly new to the scene artists speaking to the benefits and drawbacks of working with corporate IP’s.

At one particularly revealing moment, Sale mentioned that Spider-Man: Blue was one of his bigger disappointments as a creator, in that he felt as though he tried too hard to pay tribute to the style of John Romita rather than make the work his own. Williams was quick to disagree with Sale’s statement, but it was a fascinating moment of self-reflection that you can only get at an intimate show like Heroes.

Afterward, each artist addressed which character they most want to tackle, both Williams and Torres answered “Batman and Superman” and “Superman” respectively, while Sale said “The Shadow”, Shaner’s response I found especially interesting, as he said he would like to draw The Fantastic Four, specifically The Thing. Given Shaner’s very clean, Alex Toth-like line, I’d love to see how he would tackle a character as detail oriented as Ben Grimm.

And of course, when the day comes to a close, it isn’t HeroesCon without a visit to Mert’s Heart and Soul for some very good fried chicken where I got a chance to run elbows with comics luminaries like Kelly Sue DeConnick, Chip Zdarsky, and Christian Ward. I only had to gain about ten pounds in the process, a small price to pay indeed.

Day 1 of HeroesCon is done, and with a Day 2 that includes the upcoming tenth anniversary of the Center for Cartoon Studies Mega-Panel, this will surely be a Saturday for the books!

by Alexander Añe

I’ve been going to conventions for years, and the only thing that’s been the same is that one person who says, “But you really have to go to Heroes Con.” There’s always someone praising Heroes Con, and now, I am one of them.

Photo taken by Kelly Sue DeConnick

As my plane was landing, I was a bit nervous about Heroes Con. I was worried I wouldn’t know anybody, anywhere, or anything about the con and that would sink my battleship. My mistake was that I’d forgotten the principle reason everyone loves the show: Heroes is the most welcoming, friendly convention on the block and is always ready to meet new people.

Even before the con, with Kelly Sue DeConnick’s walk-along, Heroes was breaking the ice and making me feel at ease. Starting at 8 in the morning, this was a brisk 3-mile walk with Kelly Sue and about a dozen other fans. It was an excellent chance to take in some of Charlotte and get to know the neighborhood and also a classic example of one of HeroesCon’s big selling points, “[mingling] directly with professionals and exhibitors.” From there I started meeting people, getting to know places, and getting into the spirit of the weekend.

Walking into the convention hall Day 1 left me ecstatic in every way I could’ve wanted. The line for getting my pass was a breeze, the line to get into the convention was barely noticeable, and the Starbucks was cheapest I’d seen anywhere. Convention staff even let us in 30 minutes early and the rest fell into place like sheet music.

Photo taken by Alex Añé

Day 1 for me was the making sure I knew where I needed to go throughout the convention; finding artists, restrooms, and nice places to sit. I settled up a few commission lists, greeted a few friendly artists, and then made my way to House De Fraction & Co. to head off the huge lines they’d entertain during the weekend. For any con it’s always wise to take care of the biggest lines first, and it was strange to note that no line seemed, “too big,” or unreasonable. Even later in the day foot traffic in and around the convention seemed very pleasant.

Rolling down the escalator for day 2, I saw a group of Star Wars cosplayers were celebrating the engagement of a Han and Leia from their group. You know it’s not really a con till you see one of these, and it says something about Heroes in that people choose it as the spot to remember for the rest of their lives. For artist Hoyt Silva, Heroes Con is certainly memorable, as it was his first time having a booth there after the success of his first Kickstarter. His art and others made by attending artists sold that evening at the famed Heroes Con Annual Art Auction that Heroes puts toward donations toward charity foundations.

Photo taken by Alex Añé

Day 3 is where the real magic happens. The remaining artists spit out commissions by the droves through some mystic force that publishers can only dream of attaining. Phil Noto was working on his commission list till the last hour of the convention and Laura Martin colored away the last hours for the Heroes Initiative as well as on commission. Artists weren’t the only ones making magic, the Sex Criminals panel featured yet another proposal with the help of Matt Fraction and Chip Zdarsky. Exhausted and potentially injured from too much fun, I limped away from Heroes Con smiling, looking forward to attending next year. Thank you Heroes Con!

HeroesCon Day Two wound up a little while ago. The shot above is from opening yesterday around noon. The crowds have increased quite a bit since then. 

As usual it’s a laid back show. Most of the talk from fans and pros alike is how much they enjoy the show. Not very much newsworthy although I have been talking to many people about cons and how they approach them. Everyone agrees there are two many cons, and choosing which to go to will be based on a variety of factors. 

34 years in, HeroesCon is truly one of the “original cons.” Although its adapted to changing times, it hasn’t lost its comics focus. And that is really a pleasure. 

Publishers in attendance are mostly indie types—AdHouse, Top Shelf—with Oni set up on the floor. I saw a few Valiant and Archie folk wandering around, but NO Marvel or DC. That has made the mood in the after hours gatherings quite relaxed. 

There were as always some spectacular costumes Here are a FEW:


HeroesCon is well underway! Held at the Charlotte Convention Center, it runs until Sunday. Guests span the gamut from mainstream superstars—Fraction and DeConnick—to the book world—Jeff Smith—to alt.comix icons—The Hernandez Bros. So there is something for everyone here. It’s part of what makes this one of th eocmic book parties of the year.

Among the something is a pretty great panel line-up as well. Although I’m on three panels, my temptation is just to spend all day listening to comcis folk talk on a variety of subjects, form the grand comics database to comics education. .

Here are the panels I’ll be on:

TODAY! !! FRIDAY!!!

6:00 pm
Room 207AB
ONLINE COMICS CREATORS
The Beat’s HEIDI MACDONALD sits down with some of the brightest stars in the field of ONLINE comics. Join Heidi as she discusses the current state of e-comics with JASON HORN (Ninjasaur), EMI LENOX (Emitown), KATE LETH (Kate or Die!) and DEAN TRIPPE (Something Terrible).

SATURDAY

3:00 pm
Room 207AB
BREAKING INTO COMICS as WRITERS
HEIDI MACDONALD from The Beat sits down with IVAN BRANDON, FRANK BARBIERE, VAN JENSEN and MATT KINDT and the topics are: how did they break in, successes, drawbacks, the hard work—the whole story. Don’t miss this eye opening panel.

SUNDAY

3:30 pm
Room 206
A COMICS JOURNALISM ROUNDTABLE
TOM HEINTJES of HOGAN’S ALLEY moderates this important discussion as to the state of Comics Journalism with TOM SPURGEON of COMICS REPORTER, HEIDI MACDONALD OF THE BEAT and CHRIS SIM of COMICS ALLIANCE. This promises to be a provocative and informative hour that you don’t want to miss.

Note on the above panel: Tom and I have done these journalism/criticism/blogging panels together so many times that I have suggested we start adding novelty attractions like puppet shows and dunking tanks. What say you???

I would also like to give a spotlight shout-out to this year’s MEGAPANEL. Each year Craig Fischer and Ben Towle put on a full length discussion of am important comics topic and this year it is:

SATURDAY
3:00pm
Room209/210
Comics Regulation, Comics Censorship: Past and Present
Cartoonist Ben Towle and writer Craig Fischer team up with a cadre of expert commentators to examine those moments when political and public outrage over the content of comic books disrupted the body politic. A discussion of the recent South Carolina Fun Home controversy, where legislators in the House of Representatives tried to reduce state funding to the College of Charleston as a penalty for using Alison Bechdel’s lesbian-themed graphic novel in a campus program. Dr. Consuela Francis, a comics scholar and professor in the English Department at the College of Charleston, and Christopher Brook, the Legal Director of North Carolina’s chapter of the American Civil Liberties Union.

Then we’ll reconsider one of the most controversial figures in comics’ history: Dr. Fredric Wertham, author of 1954’s Seduction of the Innocent (published 60 years ago) and outspoken critic of what he considered the negative effects of comics on children. We’ll be joined via video by Dr. Bart Beaty (the author of Fredric Wertham and the Critique of Mass Culture [2005]) and Dr. Carol Tilley (the author of an article about distortions in Wertham’s research) to chart the latest developments in “Wertham Studies.”

Finally, Craig will conduct a career-spanning interview with legendary industry figure Denis Kitchen. We’ll zero in on the censorship hassles Kitchen tackled as a publisher and distributor of underground comix, on his role in the founding of the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund in 1986, and on his involvement in the CBLDF’s highest profile case, the conviction of artist Mike Diana for obscenity in 1994 (20 years ago). Join us for a thought-provoking exchange of ideas…and for a cake decorated to look like the seal of the Comics Code Authority!

This panel is sponsored by the ACLU of North Carolina 


Of course this is just the tip of the iceberg — there will be much much more. I’ll be at table AA1226 (as soon as I finish typing this) so please stop by to drop a hot news tip, show off your costume or just set hey. 
 


This weekend is HeroesCon in Charlotte, everyone’s favorite stop on the convention circuit, and in advance of the show, a
statement on harassment has been unveiled. Apparently there wasn’t one before, but this is the kind of strong public statement that people in charge need to make to effect a change in how we view conventions as public spaces.

Their policy also covers the convention hotel spaces, which is a much wider net than I’ve seen before, but it is acknowledgement of the fact that the con usually flows seamlessly into the bar and party area, and it is all part of the same experience.

So kudos to them. In case you don’t feel like clicking, I’ve quoted the whole thing here:

HeroesCon is dedicated to providing a fun, safe and harassment-free convention experience for everyone regardless of gender, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, age or religion. We will not tolerate harassment of anyone in any form. Convention participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from HeroesCon without a refund at the discretion of the convention organizers.

Exhibitors, sponsors and guests are subject to our anti-harassment policy as well and in particular, exhibitors should not use images or material that surpasses a PG-13 rating at their booths. Booth staff (including volunteers) should not use over-sexualized or excessively gory clothing/uniforms/costumes.

If you are being harassed, witness someone else being harassed or have any other concerns, please contact a member of the HeroesCon staff or a volunteer. We are happy to contact our security or local law enforcement, provide escort, a safe place or otherwise assist those experiencing harassment to feel safe for the duration of the convention.

All attendees, exhibitors and staff are subject to this anti-harassment policy and are expected to follow these rules at all HeroesCon events.  This policy goes for the show floor and after-hours events at our host hotels as well.

Thank you!
-Shelton Drum

Whoosh! HeroesCon just raced on by! We arrived late on Thursday, hit BarCon and the rest was just WHOOSH! So much fun, we barely had time to type about it at all. That isn’t to say there weren’t some snafus–all on our own part–but they came and went so quickly.

First off, hats off to Shelton Drum for running a show this long! It is, at this point, a beloved institution. Everyone knows Drum and the Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find staff treat the guests like family. From the shuttle that picks you up at the airport to the big art auction party on Saturday to the dead dog party at the store to the shuttle that takes you to the airport on Monday. It’s all so friendly and comics-loving. As mentioned in the previous post, this edition of the show was notable for there being NO EDITORS around. No one to buy drinks or dinner. Instead everyone bought their OWN drinks and dinner…and it seemed to work out just fine.

Although we never glimpsed Stan Lee he was definitely the main presence. As several con reports have alluded to, whenever Stan was doing something — signing, talking, facing front — crowds on the show floor seemed to sparsen. (Is that a word? It is now.) Sales slowed for some during the Stan-induced lulls, but it was still a great show for art purchases, and most everyone seemed to sell loads of stuff. The HeroesCon attendees appreciate art and like spending money on art — and luckily the local economy has some pep in it and they can still afford to do what they like.

I will admit one of the reasons the show whooshed on by was that I could barely spend any time on the show floor. Friday I had a ton of work to catch up on so I got there late. Saturday I had two panels, one of which lasted more than two hours…so again I got to the floor very late. Sunday I had some personal business to attend to, and had to make an offsite…but I managed to cram as many meet and greets in as I could.

As for those panels, well this is where I managed to mess things up because I didn’t have as much time to prepare as I should have. One of the things I’ve learned about panels over the years is…the more you prepare the better they go. And when you DON’T prepare, it tends to show. This year I had to more or less wing it, because it was the best I could do, and all I can say is…the more you prepare the better things go!

The first one, Humor in Comics, was basically the same as last years, with Evan Dorkin and Roger Langridge from ‘11 and Tim Rickard sitting in for Richard Thompson. I had prepared a slideshow but neglected to tell the show crew that I needed AV. We tried to set it up in the middle of the panel but…that is not a good idea. To avoid asking the same questions as last year I opened it to the floor, as it was a well attended panel (not all were.) The talk veered to how hard it is to make a living doing humorous comics, which isn’t the world’s funniest topic. However, all the panelists were very smart and funny (especially Evan, but you all know that) so there were manny laughs. Still: LESSON: ALWAYS MAKE SURE THERE IS AV BEFOREHAND.

The next panel was the epic mega-panel “Echoes of 1982″ which was organized by Craig Fischer. This was truly an epic with a v