HEROESCON 2022

PANEL SCHEDULE 

FRIDAY

1:00PM

ROOM 201 

SCAD 1 MINI-COMICS: a LITTLE FUN

Cartoonist and SCAD professor DAVID ALLAN DUNCAN leads students young and old through the process of drawing, producing, and distributing mini-comics! Learn about the the planning,

storytelling, and drawing that goes into making a mini-comic. Create a mini and a little

sketchbook during the workshop. Materials provided, so come join the fun!

 

1:00 pm 

Room 205

COMIC CENSORSHIP 

AARON KASHTAN leads a panel on Comics censorship, part of a national discussion due to a ban on Art Spiegelman’s Maus by the McMinn County, Tennessee school board in January. Why are comics suddenly being banned again? What are the underlying reasons behind contemporary comics bans, and how is the current anti-comics campaign similar to or different from earlier ones? Most importantly, how can we fight comics censorship?  We are tackling this problem from various perspectives — a scholar/teacher, two public librarians, and a university librarian. Laura Vallejo, Clay Freeman and others join Aaron. DON’T MISS THIS!!!

 

1:00 PM

Room 207AB 

BRAVO FOXTROT

The writer/artist/creator of the Sunday comic FOXTROT, BILL AMEND talks with TOM HEINTJES in a career spanning interview. We will make sure Jason keeps Quincy on a leash! And if you see Roger with a chess board, run quickly in the other direction.

 

1:00 pm 

Room 208 

LARRY HAMA and CARL POTTS in Conversation

From GI JOE to ALIEN LEGION, THE ‘NAM to THE PUNISHER, CONAN to LAST OF THE DRAGONS – LARRY HAMA and CARL POTTS have a combined count of more guns, swords, bombs, lasers, and explosions per career comics page than anyone else in the field. They also helped launch an entire Hall of Fame of comics creators’ careers (Jim Lee, Mike Mignola, etc.). Moderator GREG MATIASEVICH (MULTIVERSITY COMICS) gets these two legendary editors/creators talking about their careers and how they changed comics forever!

 

2:00PM

Room 206B

STAR WARS DRAW

Let’s draw with Star Wars cartoonist JAMIE COSLEY, whose comic strip The Light Side has appeared in Star Wars Insider magazine since 2017.  Learn how to draw Darth Vader, baby Yoda, Ewoks, and more! Step by step instructions that are super fun and easy to follow! 

 

2:30PM

Room 201

SCAD 2

How to Take Advantage of Clip Studio Paint and Perspective Rulers with SCAD professor JOHN LOWE

This workshop will teach you how to set up one, two, and three-point perspective rulers in Clip

Studio Paint (CSP). Other valuable and time-saving CSP tools will also be demonstrated.

 

2:30PM 

Room 205

PODCAST 101

Want to start a podcast but don’t know how? Have a podcast and want to get to the next level?

Discover the how’s and why’s of podcasting. Get tips on equipment, improving your on-mic performance, promotion, and more with a panel of veteran podcasters:

Terence Dollard – Professor, Dept. of Mass Communication at UNC Pembroke; producer/host Comic Culture.

Darrin Sutherland – Ruth Sutherland co-hosts of Trekker Talk.  

Derek William Crabbe – Host, Fanholes Podcast & History of Comics on Film

Jarrod Albriech –Pat Sampson Co-hosts of Longbox Crusade Podcast.

 

2:30pm

Room 207AB

CARTOONIST KAYFABE IS LIVE!!!!

CARTOONIST KAYFABE’S JIM RUGG and ED PISKOR bring their expert comic book analysis back to Heroes!!

 

2:30 pm 

Room 208  

JONATHAN HICKMAN and SKOTTIE YOUNG in Conversation

BADR MILLIGAN sits down with two greats of modern comics: JONATHAN HICKMAN (Secret Wars, East of West) and SKOTTIE YOUNG (Strange Academy, I Hate Fairyland).

 

3:30 pm 

Room 206B 

QuickDraw—A HeroesCon tradition with your host—Miss Fancy PANTS! 

We give you #2 pencils and Bristol board; you give us 20 minutes and all of your feverish inspiration. Then we have an Art Instructor judge the results and we, in turn, give the winner some fabulous prizes. It’s a win-win. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the following age categories: 10 and under, 11-15, and 16 and up. The Quick-draw is held on all three days, so we need those pencils back!! Be there! Pencil purloiners will be persecuted persistently.

 

4:00PM

Room 201

SCAD 3 INTRODUCTION TO STORYBOARDS

What is a storyboard and why is storyboarding important for creators? SCAD professor RAY GOTO leads an introductory class on its uses in visual storytelling. While the use of storyboards is not new, it has become much more popular in recent years thanks to increased attention to video content, motion design, filmmaking, and all things interactive. All skill levels are welcome. 

 

4:00PM

Room 207AB

A WRITER’S LIFE INSIDE AND OUTSIDE OF COMICS

de’Angelo DIA moderates a talk with DAVID WALKER (Bitter Root), NANCY COLLINS (Swamp Thing), MATT KINDT (Mind MGMT), and STEPHANIE WILLIAMS (Nubia) about their experiences as professional writers. 

 

4:00 pm 

Room 208 

MARVEL EDITORS

Marvel Methods: Behind the Scenes with Marvel Editors: What’s it like to be an editor at Marvel? We’ll get an inside perspective from two of Marvel’s illustrious editors: Howard Mackie and Louise Simonson. They’ll tell us how Marvel has changed over the years and look at the hits (and also a few of the misses) from their time as editors. We’re all living in the Marvel universe these days, and our editors will help us understand how it developed. Moderated by MIKE KOBRE.

 

5:30 pm 

Room 205

SUPERHERO MOVIES**AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION!!!

 

NERD SKOOL’s MIGHTY MOVIE MADNESS TOURNAMENT OF MIGHTINESS

Make your voice heard in deciding the most essential superhero films of all! Join the The Nerd Skool Podcast team: Joe Hunsaker, Andy Hunsaker, Tiffany Bryant-Jackson, Arthur “ArtStar” Lovely as they run a MARCH Madness-style tournament pitting comic-based films against each other, and your votes will determine the winners! Support your favorites! Defend your underdogs! Be on the podcast!

 

5:30 pm 

Room 207AB 

INKPULP INSTRUCTION PRESENTS:

TURNING YOUR ART INTO A CAREER

With 

SHAWN CRYSTAL, SANFORD GREENE, and JIM MAHFOOD

 

Shawn Crystal will be joined by fellow professional artists Sanford Greene and Jim Mahfood as they share their individual journeys of becoming professional artists, how they found interest in art, developed their skills to a professional level, and ultimately made their dreams come true. Please join us as we delve deep into the origin stories of these esteemed artists, and learn how you can do the same. Inkpulp Instruction is an online art school, where you learn directly from the pros you love and admire. Check them out at inkpulpinstruction.com.

 

7:00 pm – the convention is closed for the day, but don’t go far!

 

7:30 pm— THE 10TH ANNIVERSARY HEROESCON DRINK AND DRAW AT THE WESTIN PROVIDENCE BALLROOM!

COME CREATE SOME GREAT MEMORIES, BUY SOME GREAT ART AND HELP US RAISE MONEY FOR TEAM CUL DE SAC AND PARKINSON’S RESEARCH! 

 

SATURDAY

11:00am

Room 201  

SCAD Instructional: DEVELOPING A PITCH PACKET

DANIELLE CHUATICO will show how to break into the traditional publishing industry with your graphic novel pitch packet!

 

Room 205 

STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Math) in the DC and Marvel Silver Age

PROFESSOR ZYG FURMANIUK takes us all to school; the school motto: 

Cum Real Scientia est magna Cura – “With Real Science comes great Responsibility”

It wasn’t just lab accidents and adamantium – sometimes it was an actual gravitational free fall problem or a sulfur-selenium exchange reaction.  Whether the science was astoundingly correct or hilariously wrong it functioned as the gateway drug to careers in STEM for the generation that grew up and created personal computers and mapped the human genome.  We’ll keep the math to the minimum as we look at how chemistry and physics were depicted, the people behind it, and the comic book influences on Stephen Jay Gould, one of the most popular science writers of his day.

 

11:00am

Room 205

COLLECTOR’S ESTATE PLANNING  “So Dad Was a Collector….”

Significant Estates, Pedigree Markets, and Getting the Most Out of Lifelong Collections

Daniel Yezbick of Wildwood College,  Tom Eyssell of the University of Missouri-St Louis, and  Michael Wotka, an Independent Golden Age Collector and Consultant, introduce you to strategic planning for bequeathment, liquidation, and donation of large collections. 

 

11:00am

Room 208

POWER PACK unPACKED

Get your regular baby-sitter to come over to watch your real kids so we can spend an hour looking back with the co-creators of Marvel’s POWER PACK, LOUISE SIMONSON and JUNE BRIGMAN. Moderated by TERENCE DOLLARD. Will Mary Worth show up to offer super-child rearing tips?

 

12:30pm

Room 205

SCAD 5  CREATIVE CHARACTER DESIGN Instructional

Professor BRIAN RALPH teaches students a variety of character design and drawing techniques in this fast paced hands on workshop.  Building from simple shapes and iconic silhouettes, Ralph

will have participants thinking and drawing in new and exciting ways.  Roll up your sleeves and

let’s create the next hit comic character! Fun for all ages and all drawing skill levels.

 

12:30pm

Room 207AB

ALL AGES COMICS

Many of today’s most popular comics are not periodical comic books, but young adult, middle grade, and children’s graphic novels. In this panel, AARON KASHTAN talks with guests JOEY WEISER (Dragon Racer), JEFFREY BROWN (Darth Vader and Son), CHRIS SCHWEIZER (The Creeps), and CARA MCGEE (Over the Garden Wall) about the kids’ graphic novel market and how it differs from traditional comic books. Why have children’s graphic novels become so popular? How is working for graphic novels different from working for comic books? What  should readers and aspiring creators know about the  future of all ages comics? 

 

12:30pm

Room 207AB

WORLD BUILDING with CHARLES VESS and DAVID PETERSEN

BADR MILLIGAN talks with two giants of illustration, CHARLES VESS (Sandman, The Books of Earthsea) and DAVID PETERSEN (Mouse Guard, The Wind in the Willows). 

 

12:30pm

Room 208

BEFORE THE INFINITY WAR: The Avengers and the Kree-Skrull War: 

Audiences all over the world have seen The Avengers and a whole universe of heroes fight Thanos. But what was the first great universe-spanning saga in the history of Marvel? Join us for a celebration of the 51-year anniversary of the Kree-Skrull War in The Avengers #89-97 from 1971. This revolutionary run of issues brought together a whole universe of characters for the first time in a single extended storyline. We’ll talk about the Kree-Skrull War with its co-creator, legendary Marvel writer and editor ROY THOMAS. Along the way, we’ll hear about Roy’s work with the late Neal Adams, who drew crucial chapters of the storyline, and about Roy’s career at Marvel, beginning when he joined the company in the 60s and worked as Stan Lee’s “left-hand man.” Avengers Assemble! Moderated by MIKE KOBRE.

 

2:00pm

Room 205 Interview/Panel Discussion.

The 2022 HEROES MEGA PANEL Recommended for MATURE audiences

 

“Believe It or Burn!”: Comics, Religion, and Spirituality.

Attendees: Kayla E., Shakeisha Holton Gray, Andrew Kunka, Noah Van Sciver.

Moderators: Craig Fischer, Jennie Law, Ben Towle.

 

This year’s Heroes Con mega-panel—the first in three years!—explores the intersection of comics with issues of faith and belief. We’ll interview cartoonist Noah Van Sciver about his forthcoming graphic biography Joseph Smith and the Mormons (Abrams), while artist and graphic designer Kayla E. will talk about the spiritual themes in her paintings and upcoming comics memoir Precious Rubbish (Fantagraphics). Then Kayla will join Minister Shakeisha Holton Gray (Piedmont Unitarian Universalist Church) and Professor Andrew Kunka (University of South Carolina, Sumter) for a roundtable discussion about Justin Green’s classic underground comic Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary. Plus: mega-panel co-organizer Jennie Law on versions of the Devil depicted in comic books, and co-organizer Ben Towle on convincing and less-so fictional comic-book religions, with a look at The Replacement God, The Incal, and more. Join us for worship! Recommended for MATURE audiences

 

2:00pm

Room 206B 

STAR WARS QUICK DRAW

Let’s draw with Star Wars cartoonist JAMIE COSLEY, whose comic strip The LIght Side has appeared in Star Wars Insider magazine since 2017. Learn how to draw Darth Vader, baby Yoda, Ewoks, and more! Step by step instructions that are super fun and easy to follow!

 

2:00pm

Room 207AB

THOR

Midgard’s own JASON WHEATLEY talks to WALT SIMONSON and RON FRENZ about their legendary contributions to the Asgardian Avenger.

 

3:00pm

Room 201

RE-DEFINING THE MODERN AGE OF COMICS

With the term “Modern Age” still being used to describe comics as far back as 1986’s WATCHMEN and DARK KNIGHT RETURNS, it’s high time for new ways to label work from both that era and all the eras since! Come give your YOUR thoughts & ideas in this brainstorming 

session moderated by Greg Matiasevich (MULTIVERSITY COMICS) and refereed by the Nerd Skool Podcast faculty!

 

3:00pm

Room 207AB 

BITTER ROOT

Bitter Root follows the Sangerye family of monster hunters during the Harlem renaissance as they fight enemies both societal and supernatural in this action-packed adventure. Creators CHUCK BROWN, DAVID WALKER and SANFORD GREENE discuss their culturally relevant comic with JASON WOOD (11 O’Clock Comics Podcast).

 

4:00pm

Room 206B 

QuickDraw—A HeroesCon tradition with your host: FANCY PANTS!!

We give you #2 pencils and Bristol board; you give us 20 minutes and your feverish inspiration. Then we have an Art Instructor judge the results and we, in turn, give the winner some fabulous prizes. It’s a win-win. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the following age categories 10 and under, 11-15, and 16 and up. The QuickDraw is held on all three days, so we need those pencils back!! TSA Officials will be on site to make sure those pencils never make it past the graphite detectors. Do you think pencils grow on trees??? oh wait….

 

4:00pm

Room 208

JOHN ROMITA Jr. HOWARD MACKIE and SCOTT HANNA In conversation

TERENCE DOLLARD moderates what is sure to be a memorable discussion with these AM influential creators. 

 

4:30pm

Room 201

SUPERHERO TV PROGRAMS**AUDIENCE PARTICIPATION!!!

NERD SKOOL’s SUPERHERO STREAMING SERIES MADNESS TOURNAMENT

Make your voice heard in deciding the most essential superhero TV shows of all-time! Join the The Nerd Skool Podcast team: Joe Hunsaker, Andy Hunsaker, Tiffany Bryant-Jackson, Arthur “ArtStar” Lovely as they run a Madness-style tournament pitting comic-based films against each other, and your votes will determine the winners! Support your favorites! Defend your underdogs! Be on the podcast!  

 

4:30pm

Room 205

CARTOON VEHICLES

Iconic Rides, Super Cars, and Villainous Vehicles: The Best, Worst, and Weirdest

Mechanical Conveyances in Comics and Culture  

What drives a hero, or rather, what does a hero drive? Join us for a high octane survey

of the most beloved and utterly ridiculous muscle cars, invisible jets, and star cruisers in

comics and culture, including colossal Kirby contraptions, shameless franchise

accessories, and impossibly cool rides, custom jobs, and cosmic jalopies of every size,

stripe, and genre! Did we forget your favorite? Let us know and keep the gearhead

geekery going!

Your PIT CREW:

Daniel Yezbick, Wildwood College St Louis, MO   

Jonathan Alexandratos, Queensborough Community College NY, NY

Tom Eyssell, U of Missouri-St Louis  

Michael Phoenix, St Louis Public Schools  

HEROES will not validate parking!!!

 

4:30PM

Room 208

JIM STARLIN

CARTOONIST KAYFABE’S ED PISKOR and JIM RUGG join JIM STARLIN for a scintillating hour with the comics legend!

 

6:00 pm CONVENTION FLOOR CLOSES

HOWEVER!!!!

COME ON OVER TO THE WESTIN GRAND BALLROOM AND SPEND SOME HARD-EARNED SCRATCH ON SOME REALLY GREAT ORIGINAL ART. BIDDING BEGINS AT 8:00, BUT THE GAWKING BEGINS NOW!!!!! 

 

SUNDAY

12:00pm

Room 201

SCAD 6: Instructional

TOY DESIGN: JOHN LARISON will talk about and show you the different media applicable to

sculpting toys traditionally. Sculpting is not easy, but it is definitely fun. John will let those who come to his workshop play with the material and tools and learn about the cost involved for the materials.

 

12:00pm

Room 205

ADHOUSE @ 20

All hail CHRIS PITZER owner/publisher/editor of ADHOUSE COMICS! Come celebrate one of the most important figures in Indie Comics alongside AdHouse creators JIM RUGG, KATHRYN IMMONEN, STUART IMMONEN, and ALEXIS ZIRITT. Hosted by the inimitable DUSTIN HARBIN.

 

12:00pm

Room 207AB

DC WRITERS

STEPHANIE WILLIAMS (Nubia), STEPHANIE PHILLIPS (Harley Quinn), and CHUCK BROWN (Aquamen), with moderator NANCY NORTHCOTT (Con-Tinual Comics Lair), discuss their careers, current projects, and their time in the comics industry.

 

12:00pm

Room 208

X-TRAVAGANZA

Legendary X-men creators CHRIS CLAREMONT and LOUISE SIMONSON spend an hour with CARTOONIST KAYFABE’s ED PISKOR.

 

1:00pm

Room 206B

STAR WARS DRAW

Let’s draw with Star Wars cartoonist JAMIE COSLEY, whose comic strip The Light Side has appeared in Star Wars Insider magazine since 2017. Learn how to draw Darth Vader, baby Yoda, Ewoks, and more! Step by step instructions that are super fun and easy to follow!

 

1:30pm

Room 201 Recommended for MATURE audiences

MEMOIRS in COMICS: I’ll Be My Mirror: The Philosophy and Practice of Memoir Comics.

 

JEFFREY BROWN, KAYLA E., NOAH VAN SCIVER  Moderator: Craig Fischer

What motivates an artist to make their life a central subject of their art? Does autobiography

allow a creator to revisit and reshape the past in order to achieve catharsis or closure? How does it feel to design a cartoon self-portrait, and then to draw and redraw hundreds of these self-portraits in the pages of a comic book or graphic novel? Is it ever unethical to borrow characters and situations from real life? These are just a few of the questions that moderator Craig Fischer will pose to three superlative autobiographical comics artists: Jeffrey Brown (Loved and Lost: A Relationship Trilogy), Kayla E. (Precious Rubbish), and Noah Van Sciver (Blammo, One Dirty Tree).

 

1:30pm

Room 207AB

LARRY HAMA– A real American Comic Book Classic!

LARRY HAMA talks about the 40th anniversary of G.I. JOE with Cobra’s own DOUG MERKLE.

 

1:30pm

Room 205

IN PICTOPIA

DONALD SIMPSON and ANDY KUNKA take a deep dive into one of the BEST short comics ever produced: the Simpson drawn IN PICTOPIA. If you haven’t read In Pictopia yet, please do so. If you have then we know you will be here for this epic discussion

 

1:30pm

Room 208

SPIDER-MAN

JASON WHEATLEY talks with RON FRENZ and MARK BAGLEY – two of the best Spidey artists ever! How can Jason possibly screw this up? Come and see!

 

2:30pm

Room 206B

QuickDraw—A HeroesCon tradition. 

We give you #2 pencils and Bristol board; you give us 20 minutes and your feverish inspiration. Then we have an Art Instructor judge the results and we, in turn, give the winner some fabulous prizes. It’s a win-win. Prizes are awarded for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place in the following age categories 10 and under, 11-15, and 16 and over. The QuickDraw is held EVERY YEAR, so we need those pencils back!! We’ve placed state of the art nano-technology tracking devices on each and every pencil. If you get itchy fingers, we’ll sniff you out and prosecute you to the full extent of the law. But before all that– have fun!  

 

3:00pm

Room 205 Interview.

SHELTON DRUM and the 40th ANNIVERSARY of HEROESCON

Shelton Drum was a busy young man: he began buying and selling comics in the early 1970s,

started the Charlotte Mini-Con in 1977, and opened his first brick-and-mortar comic shop—the

first location of what would become Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find—in 1980. But another of his

signature achievements was the founding of the Heroes Convention in 1982, which turns forty

this year. Over the decades, HeroesCon has become one of the premiere comics events in the

United States, and Shelton has been at the center of it all, hearing the stories, bonding with

creators, dealers, and fans, and sometimes navigating the event through controversies and

difficulties, most recently its two-year Covid shutdown. Join Shelton and interviewer Craig

Fischer for an in-depth talk about the history (and future!) of HeroesCon, and bring your own

questions to ask Shelton too!

 

ANOTHER SPOILER ALERT:

6:00 pm CONVENTION ENDS 

See you next year for HEROESCON 2023!