The Heroes Convention 2011 Photo Report!!

I attended the 29th annual Heroes Convention in Charlotte, NC yesterday with my brother David, his son Jack, and our good friend, Burt Dellinger. This year we only popped in for a single day, Saturday, but whether we hit this show for one day or all three, Heroes Con is one my favorite "don't miss" events of any year. As always, thanks to Shelton Drum and company for hosting the best pure comic book convention in America.

Since we were only gonna be there for a long day, I spent more time "doing" rather than "documenting" but here's my spiffy Heroes Convention 2011 Photo Report anyway. Silver Age legend Neal Adams made his first visit to the Queen City and it was great having him there to sign classic comics and stuff. The Inkwell Awards ceremony drew a smaller, more intimate crowd, but the appreciation for finishing artists was very apparent. Bob Almond opened the ceremony, followed by keynote speaker, Dan Panosian. Among the recipients present were double winner Scott Hanna, Art Thibert, Joe Sinnott Hall of Fame inductee Kevin Nowlan and publisher David Spurlock accepting the Hall of Fame Award for the late Wally Wood. The traveling "One Fine Sunday" exhibit presented dozens of syndicated Sunday comics strips for cartoon lovers to admire. All of the featured strips were from the same Sunday date, I believe from April of last year.

Every year Heroes Con hosts a popular charity art auction where dozens of guests create their donations live on the floor of the convention center throughout the show for fans to watch and later bid on at the regular venue of the Westin Hotel ballroom. Adam Hughes painted Catwoman and Black Cat together. His donation always fetches big dollars and Phil Noto painted a stunning Supergirl. This event is perhaps the most popular of the show and no wonder, fans & pros mingle, imbibe and bid on spectacular art from the best creators in the industry. A definite "do not miss" event if you ever attend Heroes Convention. I snapped three quick photos of donated pieces by Budd Root (Vampirella), Joe Pekar (Gwen Stacy & the Green Goblin) and Casey Jones (Scarlet Witch).

A late night of beer and billiards has also left me feeling somewhat dehydrated this morning, so I'm gonna go deal with the requisite headache, and then dive into the lovely stack of Silver and Bronze Age comics that I purchased in Charlotte. See you later, alligators!