The pros of cons

Some of the biggest names in the comic-book industry will converge this weekend in Charlotte at the Heroes Convention 2009.

The convention was founded in 1982 by Shelton Drum, owner of the Charlotte-based Heroes Aren't Hard to Find comic shop. It has about 150 dealers selling new and classic comics, statues, action figures, DVDs, and so on, as well as booths from various comics companies large and small, including a section devoted to independent comics. Last year, more than12,000 people attended the convention.

One of the biggest draws each year are the guests, and this year's guest list has more than 200 names including such popular writers and artists as Chris Claremont, Adam Hughes, Frank Cho, Ed Brubaker, Brian Michael Bendis, George Perez, Mark Bagley, Bill Sienkiewicz, Jeff Smith and dozens more. They will be there talking with fans, signing autographs and, in some cases, drawing commissioned sketches.

For the comics creators, the convention is an opportunity to meet with fans one-on-one.

"Writing is a solitary experience," said Claremont, who is best known for his long run as the writer of The Uncanny X-Men, where he popularized such characters as Wolverine, Storm and Rogue. "I come downstairs, walk into my office, and emerge at some later point realizing ‘Oh, I've forgotten to eat again.' There's no feedback ... or any sort of immediacy. By the time the book sees print, it can be months later.

"With a convention, you're going out there and A, seeing how many people are interested in your stuff, and B, getting immediate, direct, primal response."

During his original run on X-Men, in the days before the Internet, he used to get hundreds of letters each issue from fans, some running several pages. "It was a tremendous expression of enthusiasm and support," he said. "Now, there's a preponderance of Web sites where people go and just cough up comments.… It's sort of frustrating that there's not a lot of thought behind it. It's as much, one suspects, to hear themselves talk as to express an opinion about the book itself."

At a convention, however, "You're actually looking people in the eye," he said. "They're making an effort to come over. You get to meet old fans, new fans, and meet kids who are a potential new audience … it's a chance to make a relationship more personal than it would otherwise be."

Adam Hughes, a fan-favorite artist who is known for his curvaceous drawings of female characters such as Wonder Woman, also appreciates the chance to mingle with his fans.

"One side of the coin you can't account for properly at conventions is the face time with the fans," he said. "You might walk away from a convention having made 10 or 20 new fans. Down the road, they're going to buy more of your comics and more of your artwork. It's akin to politics. Would a politician's time be better spent shooting TV ads or reaching out and meeting people face-to-face?"

Although technically, the TV ad would reach more people, Hughes said, he feels the face-to-face meetings prove more memorable for people. "Also," he said, "I have to admit, conventions are pretty much the only social things I do."

He is very much in demand as an artist, and does commissioned drawings for about $200 a sketch. Signup sheets tend to fill up fast for his work. Depending on the character, his sketches can take anywhere from an hour to 90 minutes, not counting the times he stops to talk with fans or take breaks.

"The sort of stuff I draw at conventions is designed to look good but be done very quickly," he said. He doesn't mind the fact that many people want him to draw cheesecake pinups.

"There's two types of typecasting in this world, one that keeps you from getting work and one that keeps you in work," he said. "I'll never resent what people want to see from me."

Conventions are also an opportunity for comics creators to promote their latest work. The Heroes Convention comes the same month as the debut of Claremont's latest work, the highly anticipated X-Men Forever. It's a biweekly series that allows Claremont to work outside the constraints of Marvel comics continuity. He picks up where his storylines on X-Men left off when he left the title back in 1991, ignoring the storylines by other writers since then.

"The fundamental delight, even though it sounds macabre, is that since we don't have to worry about sustaining the franchise and the trademarks … they can die," Claremont said. "The characters can actually be in jeopardy. The readers cannot afford to take anything for granted."

Hughes is excited about a miniseries he is working on for DC Comics that he will write as well as illustrate, retelling the origins of Wonder Woman.

"It doesn't have a date yet," he said. "It's done when I'm finished." He plans to finish the miniseries before it begins publication, rather than cause delays of several months between issues if he gets behind.