Craig Zablo

It’s hard to believe that it’s been a week since HeroesCon 2019 kicked off.  We’ve been going to the show for decades and it’s always a treat.  Here are the highlights…

I went to the show hoping…

• to get a Richard Cox commission of either Rocky or Jack Carter
• to pick up a Rocky sketch that Matthew Childers gifted me
• to pick up a Jack Carter piece pre-ordered from Chris Visions
• to get Mark Evanier to autograph my Jack Kirby: King of Comics hardcover
• to get a sketch from Pat Quinn of Jack Carter
• to pick up Dan Panosian’s new sketchbook and get a Rocky head sketch

Friday
My first stop was Richard Cox’s table.  My buddy, Little John had told me that Richard’s list filled up on Thursday night.  I thought LJ was messing with me and it turns out he was.  I was able to get on Richard’s list.

I was also able to get on Pan Quinn’s and Dan Panosian’s lists.  Matthew Childers’ had my sketch ready and also shared some cover commissions that he was doing for fans.  Little John had ordered a cool one to add to his Search for Superman theme.  Matthew also was working on a Batman & Godzilla cover.  Inspired pairing, that one!

I met Shane Douberly for the first time and commissioned a Rocky head sketch from him.  I then spent the bulk of the day visiting with old / new friends and walking the convention floor.  My sketch commissions were set up, so the pressure was off.

Little John and his wife Patricia, along with my better half, Doralya, and son Chris headed over to the Red Ginger for a great hibachi dinner.  LJ repeated his feat of draining the saki sprayed from the bottle.  Luckily, there were no college kids at our table this year to try to replicate this feat.

After dinner we headed over to the HeroesCon Drink and Draw for charity.  LJ and Patricia scored a few very nice pieces.  Chris Flick created 3 sketch cards for the charity.  LJ picked up two and I scored the other (Stallone from Expendables).  Yeah, Chris knows what I like.

Saturday

Because of flight issues (detailed at ME’s blog), Mark Evanier and Sergio Aragones weren’t able to arrive until Saturday.  So ME was my first stop.  I was able to meet Mark Evanier and get his autograph in my Kirby hardcover.  I also attended a panel that ME moderated.  The panel featured my best bud, John Beatty along with Mike Royer and Klaus Janson.  The panel was informative and it was nice to see so many people there to hear inkers talk about their craft.

Today was art pick-up day.  Richard Cox had a great Rocky (III) painting waiting for me.  Dan Panosian’s piece was ready as well (Rocky II).  Dan’s sketches are second to none. (By the way, Dan was turning all of the proceeds of his head sketch commissions over to the Heroes Initiative charity.)  When I picked up my sketch, I also purchased Dan’s second sketch book.  Pat Quinn created a very cool Jack Carter sketch for me.  Chris Visions was still working through his sketch list but assured me it would be ready by Sunday.

Hainanu Saulque goes by the name Nooligan.  I’d never met him before, but after seeing his Rocky: Once and Future Champ print, I knew he was an artist I wanted to meet.  Nooligan is an amazing artist with a unique style.  We spoke about Stallone, films, comics and more for the better part of an hour.  I usually don’t buy prints, but I purchased both Nooligan’s Rocky and John Wick prints.  Hopefully some day I’ll get a Nooligan original for my Stallone art collection.  Meeting Nooligan was a definite HeroesCon highlight this year.

Dinner that evening was at the Redeye Diner with my wife, son, Little John & Patricia, Richard Cox and his wife.  My only regret about eating at the Redeye Diner is that we only made it there once this trip.  Great atmosphere and food.

Our next stop was the HeroesCon Art Auction.  LJ showed a lot of restraint purchasing just one piece — a painting by Josh Greathouse.  I made it most of the way through the auction but called it a night before it was over since we were heading home early Sunday.

I proud to say that I was able to complete all of the things I had hoped to get done.  It was great meeting Mark Evanier after following his blog daily for nearly 20 years.  I was happy that my son Chris joined me at the show on Saturday.  Comics aren’t his thing, but he had fun at the panel (he’s known John Beatty his whole life) and art auction.

It was great seeing old friends and meeting new.  The art on display was, as always, jaw-dropping.  I need to give a special shout out to Casey Jones.  His art book was filled with page after page of beautiful art ranging from sketches to inked pieces to published pages.

I’ll be posting my art pick-ups in the coming weeks.

A few years ago, we began going to Charlotte on Thursday night to meet with friends before the show starts on Friday.  Sadly, we usually cut out before the show ends on Sunday.  Little John has convinced me that we need to stay for the full experience.  Starting next year, that will be the plan.  Let the countdown begin!