{"id":972,"date":"2004-06-20T11:33:00","date_gmt":"2004-06-20T15:33:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=972"},"modified":"2018-09-02T12:54:16","modified_gmt":"2018-09-02T16:54:16","slug":"heroes-con-2004-report","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/?p=972","title":{"rendered":"Heroes Con 2004 Report"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"\"<\/p>\n

Shelton Drum<\/b>‘s <\/span>Heroes Con 2004<\/b> was a blast.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>I arrived at the Westin<\/b>, [truly one of the finest and most reasonably priced hotels anywhere thanks to the Heroes Con<\/b> rate] at 10:30AM on Friday<\/b>. The show opened at 11 and I was anxious to get in.<\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

As we were unloading the car I saw Cully Hamner<\/b> and Casey Jones <\/b>who were also getting ready to head over.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

Big John Beatty<\/b> was able to get me a guest pass since I was helping him with his art and thanks to <\/span>Shelton<\/b>, my son<\/span>, Mike<\/b> and I were able to get right in. <\/span>John<\/b>‘s table was next to tables occupied by <\/span>Craig Hamilton<\/b>, <\/span>Neil Vokes<\/b>, <\/span>Michael Avon Oeming<\/b>, <\/span>Arron Lopestri <\/b>and <\/span>Andy Smith<\/b>. We were in good company.<\/span><\/div>\n

 <\/p>\n

Mike<\/b> and I took a quick trip around the con to get our bearings and ran into several fans including Steven Lee<\/b> [who was wearing a StalloneZone<\/b> t-shirt! Thanks Steven<\/b>!], James Howell<\/b>, Hal<\/b>, Robert Jewell<\/b>, Kwan<\/b>, The ComicDude<\/b> and others. I saw that Tony Harris<\/b> was setting up and took him a StalloneZone<\/b> shirt since I ran out before he completed my sketch at AtlantaCon<\/b>. Gus Vasquez<\/b> told me that he’d have my Stallone<\/b> piece on Saturday.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

I then made my way to Jason Pearson<\/b>‘s table. Only two other people were ahead of me so I felt pretty confident that I’d get a sketch if Jason<\/b> didn’t mind drawing Stallone<\/b>. Jason<\/b> was running late, but luckily “The Big Man” <\/b>had his portable dvd player and entertained us with a history channel dvd on comics. Jason<\/b> arrived and when it was my turn I asked him about doing a Stallone<\/b> piece. Jason<\/b> said that he wasn’t real good at likenesses, but I explained that I wanted HIS take on Sly<\/b>. He said he’d give it a try and that I should bring back my reference material at the end of the day since he wanted to work on it in his hotel room. Cool!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Next was Michael Avon Oeming<\/b>‘s table. I picked up his sketchbook [a bargain at five bucks]. Michael<\/b> had already turned out a couple of cool sketches and I asked if I could get on his list. He said that he wasn’t real good at likenesses [where had I heard that before?] and I told him that I wanted HIS take on Sly<\/b>. He looked at my portfolio of Stallone<\/b> sketches and said he’d like to give “Nighthawks” <\/b>a shot and that I should check back in an hour or so.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n
Then it was back to <\/span>Beatty<\/b>‘s table where he was working on a <\/span>Punisher<\/b> commission. <\/span>Craig Hamilton<\/b> had arrived with his lovely lady,and he was sketching. <\/span>Craig<\/b>‘s amazing. Not only is he a super talented artist, but he puts <\/span>a lot<\/b> of thought into his work. For each of his convention sketches <\/span>Craig<\/b> draws roughs and really thinks about the character. Not just what the character looks like or what kind of costume he\/she wears, but how they would sit or stand and what kind of attitude they would project. I loved hearing <\/span>Craig<\/b> talk to fans and having the opportunity to watch him sketch all weekend. <\/span>Craig<\/b> has a broad knowledge and appreciation for all types of art. You just know I had to ask to get on his list! <\/span>Craig<\/b> said that he’d like to draw <\/span>Sly<\/b> from<\/span> “Oscar”<\/b> since he has a real affinity for the time period [and he really liked the movie]!<\/span><\/div>\n

As Friday<\/b> was winding down I picked up my sketch from Michael Avon Oeming<\/b> who did a great job [and I think that it does look like Sly<\/b>] and dropped off my reference material for Jason Pearson<\/b>. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Several of us, actually about 20, had decided to walk over to Uno’s<\/b> for dinner. My wife and two sons, Big Beatty<\/b>, James Howell<\/b>, Steven Lee<\/b>, Robert Jewell, Gary McGee<\/b>, Jason Walker<\/b>Gary <\/b>and Big Beatty<\/b>… and believe it or not Gary <\/b>was wilder. It was about 10:30 when we finished up with dinner so it was back to the hotel for a little visiting and then to the room for some sleep.<\/span> and others made the trip. Because our group was so large it took a while for them to get us in and even then we were split into two groups. And of course my group was the rowdy one thanks to<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

As the con was gettting ready to open on Saturday<\/b> I found myself in line for some breakfast at the concession stand with Michael Avon Oeming<\/b>. He said that he met several StalloneZone<\/b> fans on Friday<\/b> [they saw him working on the Sly<\/b> sketch]. Michael<\/b> offered to buy me breakfast! I thanked him, and instead offered to buy his breakfast! As it ended up, we both bought our own eats, but what a cool guy. I’d heard good things about Michael<\/b> and he lived up to his rep of being “one of the good guys.”<\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

I spent Saturday<\/b> alternating between Beatty<\/b>‘s table and walking around the show to talk to fans and pros. I was able to spend a bit of time with or at least say hi to Kelsey Shannon<\/b> [Beatty<\/b>‘s son!], Cully Hamner<\/b>, Brian Stelfreeze<\/b>, Jeff Parker, Adam Hughes<\/b> and Allison Sohn<\/b>, Phil Noto<\/b>, Tony Harris<\/b>, Eric Powell<\/b>, Casey Jones<\/b>, Tommy Lee Edwards<\/b> and so many others. <\/span><\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Gus Vasquez<\/b> was able to get me my sketch before he had to fly out to the set of Sin City<\/b>! He gave me two characters [Rocky<\/b> nailing Clubber Lang<\/b>] and it was definitely worth the wait<\/span><\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n
Neil Vokes<\/b> and I had fun conversations about <\/span>movies<\/b> [horror flicks, re-makes, B-movies], comics, and more. <\/span>Neil <\/b>is a cool guy and I had a blast hanging with him. <\/span>Neil’<\/b>s project <\/span>The Wicked West<\/b> has the tagline <\/span>“What would happen if Josey Wales rode into Salem’s Lot”<\/b>… it’s a great concept and the art is right on. It’s going to rock! In the meantime you might want to check out <\/span>Neil’<\/b>s <\/span>Parliment of Justice<\/b> [with<\/span> Michael Avon Oeming<\/b>] or <\/span>Black Forest<\/b>. It was also cool to see <\/span>Neil<\/b>‘s apppreciation for other artists. <\/span>Neil <\/b>keeps a sketchbook and was excited when <\/span>Eric Powell<\/b> contributed a killer piece! [<\/span>Michael Oeming<\/b> also keeps a <\/span> Lord of the Rings<\/b> sketchbook from other artists!]<\/span><\/div>\n

I checked in with Jason Pearson<\/b>. He had sketched out my Stallone <\/b>piece and had decided to do Rocky <\/b>hitting the meat. It was looking great. The big beefy Rocky<\/b> punching the beef! LOL!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Dinner Saturday <\/b>night was at Fuel <\/b>for some pizza or subs. This time it was Beatty<\/b>, James Howell<\/b>, Steven Lee<\/b>, Hal<\/b> and others. After dinner we headed back to the hotel and spent an hour or so in the lobby talking with fans and pros. Then a bunch of us headed up to James<\/b> and Hal<\/b>‘s room to look at their portfolios and latest acquisitions.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

On Sunday<\/b> Jason<\/b> had my Stallone<\/b> piece ready. Several people came up to me and told me it was done and looked great. When I picked it up I saw that they were right. Jason Pearson<\/b> is such a talented guy.<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n
Craig Hamilton<\/b> was not going to be able to get to my piece before the end of the show. He offered to do a take home piece but part of the joy of <\/span>Craig<\/b>‘s work is watching his process so I decided to wait… I may be able to up to <\/span>DragonCon <\/b>later this year. <\/span><\/div>\n

As you can see from this picture Craig<\/b> and Big Beatty<\/b> hit it off pretty well!<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

I had been by Tommy Lee Edwards<\/b>‘ table. He was doing some really cool sketches and I hoped that I’d be able to get on his list. Luckily he could fit me in. Tommy<\/b> and I talked about which character he would do… he wasn’t sure and so I suggested Jack Carter<\/b> if he couldn’t decide on one. I went back to Beatty’<\/b>s table and told him I had the hook-up with Tommy<\/b>.<\/p>\n

<\/div>\n

Beatty <\/b>was stoked. He’s a big Tommy Lee<\/b> fan and so we walked over. It turns out that Tommy<\/b> likes Beatty<\/b>‘s work as well. We all talked for a bit and then Tommy<\/b> said I should check back in a little while. When I did, I found that Tommy<\/b> had started to do Deke<\/b> from “Nighthawks”<\/b> but then remembered that I suggested Jack Carter<\/b> and so he changed it to Carter<\/b>. Man, I can’t tell you how much I love this piece. The energy and colors and… just look at it! Beautiful!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n
The auction was a lot of fun. So many artists donated work to help support the con. Some of the highlights included<\/span> Phil Noto<\/b>‘s painting of <\/span>“The Bride”<\/b> from<\/span> “Kill Bill,”<\/b> Brian Stelfreeze<\/b>‘s painting of <\/span>Mary Jane<\/b>, <\/span>Mike Wieringo<\/b>‘s huge <\/span>Fantastic Four<\/b> piece,<\/span> Craig Hamilton<\/b>‘s Fairey [done in crayon — you’d have to see it to belive how nice it was!], <\/span>Alison Sohn<\/b>‘s <\/span>Harliquinn<\/b>, and many others. <\/span><\/div>\n

Believe it or not Big Beatty <\/b>was even recruited to serve as one of the auctioneers with Tim Townsend<\/b>!<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/p>\n

As you can probably tell, if you’ve read this far, it was another great show.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span>We make Heroes Con<\/b> part of our annua; family vacation — it’s that much fun. If you haven’t ever attended you should give it some thought. Next year Heroes<\/b> will be on June 24-26, 2005<\/b>.<\/div>\n
<\/div>\n

Maybe I’ll see you there!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Shelton Drum‘s Heroes Con 2004 was a blast.\u00a0\u00a0I arrived at the Westin, [truly one of the finest and most reasonably<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":912,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[58,56],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-972","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-art","category-comics","comments-off"],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/912"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=972"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":20918,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/972\/revisions\/20918"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=972"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=972"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/craigzablo.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=972"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}