KEITH W. CUNNINGHAM

Heroes Con 2009 has come and gone and I was there to see it all, my friends. I lived to tell the tale. It’s a tale of laughter, brotherhood, and ultimately sadness at having to say goodbye once again to good friends.

I arrived in Charlotte last Thursday night with my friend Alan. He was coming in from New York so we’d met up in Philadelphia and drove down the rest of the way. There we met up with members of our usual knucklehead crew: Micah, Ryan, Mike and Barb for dinner and assorted goofiness back at Ryan’s hotel (which I quickly dubbed Stark Tower for it was swanky).

The next morning the Con began. I met many an Internet buddy face to face finally, and some for the second time. Dave Dwonch, Super Ugly, Kellie (Ug’s Missus), Chad Cicconi, Shawn Pryor, TJ, TJ’s Missues (whose name I regretfully didn’t catch), Dave, Kev, Jimmy Aquino, Gabriel Hardman, Dave Wachter, Pat Loika, Brian Deemer, Pants, Murd, and even Mario Muscar (he of Beauty and the Geek infamy).

The Crew of Knuckleheads went out to lunch with James Harris from the Comic Book Savant and his lovely lady. Also there was The Other Keith and his wife Michelle. This was at Uno’s. I ate some tasty sliders and cheese-and-bacon mashed potatoes. That night we hit Rock Bottom Brewery for dinner where I had chicken fried chicken, followed by drinks next door at a place called Therapy.

Con day two brought out that man of mystery, Mr. Comic Book Noise Himself: Derek Coward!!!!

That night for dinner we all gathered together for wings. They were such deliciousness. Ryan and Dave each attempted the “Braveheart” wing after being warned about it from our lovely waitress. Somewhere there are pictures and video of them experiencing the burn.

On the way home two gay men hit on me. Don’t see that happening often in Springboro.

Sunday was a little bittersweet. It meant saying goodbye to the friends who had to catch early flights like Ryan.

It was also my major shopping day, which reminds me . . . .I should mention what I picked up.

A Spider-Man Head Sketch from Chris Giarusso
A ton of freebies from the DC table the prize of which were pins for my messenger bag and a Flash ring
The Con exclusive Bill Sienkiewicz print
DC Direct Justice Society of America Sandman Figure
H-E-R-O Issue 20
H-E-R-O Issue 21 (one left to go to complete my run!)
WWH: Incredible Hercules
Ultimate Power
New Avengers: Illuminati
Amulet Volume 1 (thanks Ryan!)
Special Ed Volume 1
Umbrella Academy Volume 1
Hellboy: Seed of Destruction
Conan: The Blood-Strained Crown and Other Stories
Conan and the Midnight God
Heathentown
Captain America: Death of Cap Part 1
Captain America: Death of Cap Part 2
X-Factor Volume 5
The Ultimates 2 Volume 2
Defenders: Indefensible
Secret Invasion: Amazing Spider-Man
Secret Invasion: Runaways/Young Avengers
Peter Parker, Spider-Man: Trials and Tribulations

That night the remaining knuckleheads went out for dinner at a Chinese restaurant where I lost my heart to a lovely young cashier.

Throughout the Con I got to meet a lot of creators I had immense respect for. These included: Don Rosa, Matt Fraction (second meeting), Tony Harris, Mark Bagley, Mark Waid (second meeting), Jamal Igle, Mark Brooks (second meeting), Brian Michael Bendis, David Mack (second meeting), Ed Brubaker, and George Perez.

On the way to the Marvel panel I got to shake Bendis’s hand and express my gratitude. Ultimate Spider-Man was one of the books that got me back into comics back when it launched. I owe the man a lot.

There were people in costumes:

It seems a lot of them were Sith Lords.

There were also girls in costumes:

Um, where was I . . .?

I guess the next most obvious question is what did I learn? There are several answers.

(1) I learned that Charlotte has much prettier girls than Northwest PA.
(2) $5 trades are AWESOME.
(3) Marvel screwed up and used the image of the Brooklyn Bridge when killing off Gwen Stacy, despite the fact they called it the George Washington Bridge.
(4) I NEED to get off my butt and put some comics of my own creation out there.
(5) I’m ready for Heroes Con 2010.

P.S. No one kicked me.  Eat it, Luke!