Shelton Drum of Heroes Aren't Hard to Find in Charlotte, North Carolina says he got a big response to his request for support of his long-running HeroesCon show in the face of new competition (see 'Wizard World Atlanta 2006' and 'Shelton Drum of Heroes Aren't Hard to Find on 06 Convention Dates'):
Just four days ago, I was finally beginning to feel recovered after the very successful Heroes Convention '05, which was held just a month ago. When I turned on my computer Thursday morning and read that Wizard had scheduled a new Atlanta show for the same weekend as next year's HeroesCon (June 30-July 2, 2006), I was flabbergasted. Before I'd even published my dates for next year, I had asked my contact at Wizard directly about the rumor of an Atlanta show, and even offered my support, provided it didn't conflict with my own show. Another large show in the Southeast could only help all of us; but they said that they had no such plans at that time. WizardWorld: Philly, at the beginning of June 2006 was the closest show to mine on their schedule.
Well, the rest is history--since Thursday morning I have experienced the most astounding show of support from the comics industry's professional and fan communities: from the many posts on nearly every online forum and message board, to the hundreds of e-mails and phone calls I've received. It's been a humbling experience. While I've always tried to run the best show I could, and provide a positive, friendly place for comics fans, dealers and pros to congregate each summer, I never could have imagined anything like this! This is coming from a guy who started out selling comics from the back of his van at flea markets in the 70's--for so many people to have come forward to say how much Heroes Convention has meant to them over the years has been one of the most moving events of my career in comics.
One unexpected side effect of all this hubbub is the reaction from the creator community; I've been swamped in e-mails from pros showing their support, usually by confirming for next year's show right now. And this hasn't been limited to guests that have become 'family' over the years, like Adam Hughes, Mark Bagley, Cully Hamner, and Tony Harris. In the last four days, I've barely been able to keep up with the e-mails of pros who've never attended before, but have decided to make the trip this year. In roughly chronological order, Bryan Hitch, Greg Rucka, J. Michael Straczynski, Travis Charest, and most recently Mark Millar and Warren Ellis have all confirmed for HeroesCon 2006. And there are many more in 'the pipeline', where schedules are being checked and details hammered out, that we'll probably be announcing over the next several days.
Again, I can't say enough how thankful I am to everyone who's shown their support. I never expected to find myself in a spot like this--back on Thursday morning, when I informed my staff, they immediately said we should back down. Don't blame them--putting on a show of the size and quality of HeroesCon, even with a staff of just five people, is an enormously expensive and difficult proposition under the best of circumstances. Trying to do it in direct competition with another show is suicide. For a small businessman, there's no financial 'net;' either you're breaking even or somewhat successful, or you're about to go out of business. But I decided to stick to my guns and make a stand, and apparently most of the comics industry is behind me!
