HeroesCon 2012 is this weekend in Charlotte, NC. Maybe you should go.

(Image stolen from Shelton Drum's twitter feed.)

Heroes Convention takes place this weekend, June 22 trough 24 in lovely Charlotte, NC.  HeroesCon is like a holiday to me.  One of my favorite weekends of the year.  It is the holiday I spend with my comics family.  It is a great mainstream show with a great small press show stuck in the middle.  (Indie Island).  Great location.  Laid back city.  Good dealers.  Some of the best talent from the past 50 years of the comics industry in one place.  Just good, good, positive, happy comics times.  You should go.

I should go too.  I wanna go.  I need to go.  But I can't go this year.  I am scheduled to be on Indie Island at table AA-448 but I'm not going to be able to make it.  I won't get into the reasons why but I'll just say that health care in America is very expensive.  My heart is broken.  Maybe I'll start walking towards Charlotte after I finish typing this.  Hope to see you guys there next year.

But enough about me.  Here are some things you should look at before you go to HeroesCon:

• Exile On Plain Street has a bunch of great HeroesCon pre-game posts this week including stuff on what to do, where to eat and interviews.  
• Panel Patter has a great Q and A post with a bunch of experienced HeroesCon exhibitors including myself. 
• Atomic Elbow lays out how some important information you need to know about Athens GA dudes going to HeroesCon. 
• You should probably be checking the HeroesCon blog, like, often.
• You probably want to follow HeroesCon founder Shelton Drum on twitter because he is blowing instagram up yo.  You should probably follow Rico Renzi and the Heroes Aren't Hard to Find twudders too. 
• Tom Spurgeon interviews Rico about the show here. 
• Rob Ullman did an Indie Island t-shirt.  It is great.  Go look at it.  Want one.  Buy one. Buy me one.  XL. 
• The Dollar Bin got their pre-HeroesCon podcast on. 
• Full guest list here.
• Full Indie Island list here. 

If I were able to go to HeroesCon this here, these are the things I would do (Translation: I now plug my pal's books and stuff.):

(Pics stolen from Patrick Dean Comics.)

• Patrick Dean has at least two new minicomics that I do not own.  That is unacceptable.  I would go to his table on Indie Island and buy them so hard.  He will also have, like a thousand monster drawings.  I've got some Patrick Dean original art and it's about the best thing I own other than indoor plumbing and a hot water heater. 
• While I'm in that area of Indie Island I'd go say hi to Robert Newsome.  Now, I already own both issues of Atomic Elbow but if you do not, then you need to buy them.  
• Joey Wiser has a bunch of books I'd want to check out plus he has been posting some sneak peeks at some sketches he will be selling at the show.  They look rad.

(Wide Awake Press HeroesCon ad stolen from J. Chris Campbell)

• I'd be spending a lot of time harassing my main bro doggers in the Wide Awake Press section of Indie Island.

(Stolen from Lattaland.)

• Josh Latta will have his new full color Rashy Rabbit book and I know he has been working on his sketch chops so I'd wanna check that out.  He also has some pretty rad prints for ya. 
• J. Chris Campbell probably brings more cool stuff to shows than any other individual in the small press game.  He will have a new full color zine called The Sickness of Fandom.  I have a little four page story in there about the time Barrack Obama stole my Conan The Barbarian comics collection.  (Just kidding, it's really about the time Mitt Romney beat me up and stole my Battlestar Galactica comics.)  (Jokes, people.  Jokes.  It's really about Ashley Holt's hair.)
• If Brad McGinty has just half of the cool t-shirts, prints and stickers he's been posting about lately then you probably just want too go ahead and hand him $100 and take as much as that will get. 
• I think Ashley Holt and Rob Ullman each have at least two new books I do not yet own so I'd want that stuff for sure. 
• I'd swing by the Top Shelf section of Indie Island and see what new goodness they have.  Another thing I would do is get Robert Venditti to autograph my copies of X-O Manowar 1 and 2.  Then, I would go get Cary Nord to autograph them as well.  I'm not really a collector anymore and I'm not much for standing in lines but I super dig that comic and it is rare when you can catch the writer and artist at the same show.

(Image stolen from Henry Eudy.)

• I'd probably go give Henry Eudy a hug and all the Sketch Charlotte folks high fives. 
• Panels man.  Panels.  I've been to busy to even look and see what's going on but I know the great Ben Towle is doing one so you wanna go to that.  You also want to go by Ben's table and check out his books and art.  Last year he had giant Oyster War pages that were a sight to behold. 

(McGintyfest t-shirt pic stolen from teh facebook.)

• A thing called McGintyfest is happening Friday night.  I'd probably go and get a t-shirt or something. 
• And there is also going to be a Drink and Draw Social Club thing going on Friday night.  Drawing?  Eh, I could take it or leave it but drinks are nice. 
• And apparently, some people think running is for fun.  I think running is something you do when things are chasing you. But, giving to charity, that's fun right?  This thing lets you do both.  
• If I had time I'd go through this whole guest list and tell you which ones I'd like to meet.  But the short answer is most of them.  That's one heck of a list. 

I could go on and on about the things I would like to do at HeroesCon but if I did that I would not finish this post before the show was over.  As I said in the Q&A at Panel Patter, you really need to check out all the original art in Indie Island, Artist Alley and the Art Auction.  And buy some of it yo.  Spend that cash.  Beer ain't free and creators need gas money home.  

(Josh Latta, Dazzler and Patrick Dean stolen from teh intronets.)

Even though can't make the show I still plan on posting a con report here at file under other in the next week or so.  If you have your own con report, links or pics please send me links.

Have fun and be safe everyone.  Tell Stan Lee I said something dumb. 

Your best pal ever,

Shannon Smith

p.s. Say you want a leader but you can't seem to make up your mind. I think you'd better close it and let me guide you to my twitter feed.

p.p.s. Let's pretend we went to high school together on facebook.

p.p.p.s. Google + is another place you can read the same thing I posted here.

p.p.p.p.s. I'll tumblr for ya.