Heroescon 2009 was a ton of fun!  Thanks so much to those of you that stopped by the GLOOMY ROOMIES table.  Thanks also to Mitch Rogers for splitting a table with me.

It was great catching up with friends both old and new.  Buddy Prince, Derek and Nikki Davis of Bitter Tea Studios (thanks for the photos, guys), John Parker and Scott Nicholson of Post Mortem Comics, Evan Dahm of Rice Boy, Bobby Nash, Meredith Randazzo, and John Aston of Olde Towne Comix all have fun and interesting projects going on or in the works.

I also enjoyed talking with the Dollar Bin guys.  They were always hustling to provide great media coverage of the convention.  This year they set out to contribute a piece to the art auction.  They got a ton of us from Indie Island and the small press world to contribute to a jam piece.

Be sure to visit their site to see not only a larger version of the completed work, but also individual videos of many of the artists sketching their portion.  Contributing artists include:

Duane Ballenger

J Chris Campbell

Danielle Corsetto

Guy Davis

Francesco Francevilla

Mark Godby

Nat Jones

Faylnn Koch

Roger Langridge

Josh Latta

Brandon Padgett

Bradd Parton

David Petersen

Buddy Prince

Mitch Rogers

Budd Root

Andy Runton

Chris Schweizer

Christian Slade

Ben Towle

Dean Trippe

Rob Ullman

Loston Wallace

Thanks for the opportunity guys!

What’s a con without getting some cool stuff out of it?  I picked up a super-fantastic sketch of Andy Runton’s Owly as Leatherface and Wormy as Freddy Krueger.  Check it:

One of the highlights of the weekend was meeting the uber-talented cartoonist Roger Langridge. I picked up a couple of his mini-comics (Frankenstein Meets Shirley Temple #1 and #2) as well as his Fred the Clown series.  I also got a sweet Rowlf sketch -

- and the awesome cover to The Muppet Show #2!

The zombie key chains we were selling proved to be a big hit and even sold out!   I’ll be making a new batch of key chains this weekend and will add them to the store along with issue #3 and a few other diggable things.  The t-shirts and stickers were also pretty popular.  I’ll also have all of these items at the next event – Charlotte Comicon – always one of my favorite shows – on July 12.  I hope to see you there!

This weekend is Heroescon the annual comic convention hosted by Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find in Charlotte, NC.  The fun starts on Friday (June 19) and lasts until Sunday (June 21).  The event is held at the Charlotte Convention Center.  Three-day passes are available in advance; one-day admissions may be purchased on-site.

Heroescon is a huge and very fun convention.  One of the reasons Heroes rises above many other national cons is that their focus is on comics.  Not movies.  Not television.  Not games.  Comics.   Dealers, creators, fans – we’re all there out of our love for comics.

Another great aspect of Heroescon is the enormous guest list! There are tons of cool folks lined up to attend.  Be sure to check out their site for a full listing, but here are a two of the guests that I can’t wait to meet:

Roger Landridge – cartoonist currently producing one of the best books on the racks, The Muppet Show

Jeff Smith – cartoonist behind the epic Bone saga

Those guys are just my personal picks.  There are tons of others to float your boat, including, but no limited to:

Brian Michael Bendis (only con appearance this year I believe)

George Perez

Mark Bagley

Frank Cho

Adam Hughes

David Mack

Chris Claremont

Ed Brubaker

Eric Powell

Herb Trimpe

Mark Waid

In addition to the many dealers and creators on hand, Heroescon will also feature booths from DC Comics, Marvel, Boom! Studios, AdHouse, Top Shelf, and SCAD.  There will also be many interesting panels to attend.

I will be in the small press section sharing a table with Mitch Rogers, an independent comic writer/artist who just self-published The Bogre. Mitch is a stand-up guy and his new book should be right up your alley if you’re a horror fan.  You may have seen his recent ads in Rue Morgue magazine.  His book streets this week and is available through Haven Distributors. We will be at table SP-435 as outlined below:

I’ll have the following new merchandise available at our table:

Heroescon Sketchbook 2009 (limited to 30 copies, sketched, signed & numbered)

GLOOMY ROOMIES issue #3

Handmade, wooden zombie eyeball keychains

Handmade, wooden Gus key caddies (large)

Handmade, wooden Desi key caddies (large)

Handmade, wooden Unlife Is Good key caddies (small)

Framed original art

As well as my standard show stock of:

GLOOMY ROOMIES issue #1

GLOOMY ROOMIES issue #2 (limited quantities, more on the way)

GLOOMY ROOMIES button pack

Unlife Is Good clear vinyl stickers

Unlife Is Good t-shirts

In addition, I’ll have an “instant fan pack” available at a huge discount that includes all 3 comic books, a button pack, a framed piece of original art, a GLOOMY ROOMIES magnet, and 5 Unlife Is Good stickers.  I will also be giving away postcards and stickers while they last.  I hope to see you at Heroescon this weekend!

I will be in the small press section of Heroescon next weekend (Friday, June 19 – Sunday, June 21) in Charlotte, NC with several new items including these super-cool handmade zombie keychains!

If you’re in the Atlanta area and looking for a fun comic convention, stop by the Atlanta Comicon this Sunday (June 7th).  I’m not listed on their site as of this writing, but I’ll be there in Artists’ Alley with Issue #3 and lots of other cool stuff.  I hope to see you there!

Issue #3 of the GLOOMY ROOMIES comic book has arrived from the printers!  Expect it in the online store later this week.   Here’s a sneak peek of the cover:

Check out this cool photo sent in by Justin, a fine fellow I met recently at Hickory Con. He and his wife have awesome, matching stickers on their cars!  Thanks for sending this in, Justin!  I love getting the pics of the shirts, stickers, and buttons that people send in!

These stickers are always a hit on the con circuit and bring lots of smiles or possibly poorly-executed grimaces.  They are in stock in the store and will ship next-day! 

Here’s how I spent Free Comic Book Day 2009 at Richard’s Comics and Collectables in Greenville, SC.  The video is courtesy of the fine, comics-podcasting folks of The Dollar Bin. Check out their site for lots of cool interviews, videos, and comics-commentary podcasts.

This Saturday, May 9th, I’ll be a guest at Hickory Con in Hickory, NC.  GLOOMY ROOMIES has a lot of readers based in NC; it’s probably our largest contingent in the U.S.  I hope to see some of you there!  I’ll have comics, original art, stickers, buttons, and t-shirts, as well as a preview of the cover to issue #3.  For more information about the con, visit their site.

Thanks to those of you that came out to Richard’s Comics and Collectables for Free Comic Book Day!  I enjoyed meeting you and am glad you’re checking out the site.  Be sure to bookmark or subscribe to the RSS as new strips are posted every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday.

Richard was an excellent host for Free Comic Book Day.  It’s easy to see why his shop was voted best in the upstate of SC.  His staff of Brendan, John, Paul, Sean, Michael, Joseph, and Christi were all very helpful and helped the event run smooth from start to finish.  The turn-out was estimated to be around 400 folks!  I know that I sketched a ton – mainly Gus, Miles, and Spooky G – but also some terrible unique versions of Green Lantern, Thor, Batman, and more.  The other creators were fun to hang out with.  J. Chris Campbell, Gina Biggs, and Tracy Yardley are all stand-up folks.  Be sure to check out their sites for some cool comicin’.

For our friends outside of SC, I hope you were able to partake of Free Comic Book Day in your town.   Mark your calendars for next year.  It’s always the first Saturday in May.  In the meantime, be sure to take advantage of Free Webcomic Day – which is every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday here at GLOOMY ROOMIES…and lots of other places, too.

This Saturday (May 2nd) is Free Comic Book Day! For those of you unfamiliar with the concept, FCBD is an international event annually held on the first Saturday in May. Participating comic book shops give away comics.  For free.  Check with your local shop to see if they’re participating.  You can find your nearest shop here.

I will be a guest at Richard’s Comics and Collectables in Greenville, SC.  Richard, Brendan, John, and the rest of the crew are always excellent hosts, and I’m sure the event will be a lot of fun.  Richard’s store also has a huge variety – new comics, back issues, trade paperbacks, original art, toys, and more.  You can definitely find something for any taste.

Also on hand will be far cooler people, including:

J. Chris Campbell

creator of ZIG ZAG and countless other awesomeness

Gina Biggs

creator of RED STRING & ERSTWHILE

Tracy Yardley

artist for the SONIC comic book

The Dollar Bin

fun SC-based comics podcast

The Carolina 501st

Star Wars costumes galore and very nice folks.  Get your picture taken with a Stormtrooper or other character!

JD – The Balloon Man

balloon animals!

Here’s Wolverine with more: