HeroesCon 2010: Defective Comics: A Celebration of Superhero Oddness
Tuesday, April 19, 2011 Filed in Heroes Con Panels 
This panel from HeroesCon 2010 is something I’ve been (obviously) meaning to put up for quite some time. I have a thing about wanting to make audio quality the best it can possibly be and the hugeness of “this” panel “series” every year at Heroes is impossible for me to capture at the the level of which I desire. I have after the occasional request of Ben Towle and a few others decided that now is the time to say I’ve given it my all and its time to hand it over to the world.
Let’s face it: superheroes can be kinda dopey. For every cultural icon like Superman or Spider-Man, there’s five thousand off-beat B-listers (Bwana Beast? Sonny Sumo? Razorback?) lining up to die in the next big crossover event. For HeroesCon 2010, (Eisnor nominated) Amelia Eahart: This Broad Ocean cartoonist, Ben Towle, and Thought Balloonist blogger, Craig Fischer, host a lovingly critical look at just how bizarre the superhero genre can be.
The event will include a presentation by Towle on the sad-sack super-man in Chris Ware’s Acme Novelty Library; a panel discussion with Colleen Coover, Evan Dorkin, Jeff Parker, and Chris Pitzer; a talk by Crogan Adventures creator, Chris Schweizer, about art-comix creators crossing over into mainstream superhero comics; and clips from some of the weirdest and worst superhero films of all time. Excelsior?
To download the panel in its entirety click here.
Runtime 1 hour 08 minutes 23 seconds
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HeroesCon 2010: Defective Comics: A Celebration of Superhero Oddness
HeroesCon, ben towle, panel, word ballon
Reader Comments (3)
What do you guys think Evan Dorkin's autobiography will be called? I figure it's a toss up between, "Everything I Hate About Everything", "Human Wombat" or 'Hey, You Kids Get Off My Lawn: The Evan Dorkin Story." Really, I loved his super caustic bitching through most of the panel. His complaints are always a joy to me. Also enjoyed the remarkable breakdown of Strange Tales by Schweizer and Ben Towle's great recounting of Ware's Super-Man was super enjoyable for me. Too bad about the less than pristine state of the audio but still a pretty great panel, all said and done.
This was a pretty great one. I'd always assumed most of the things said about Big Two comics, but it's completely different having it confirmed by actual creators for the companies involved. Alternatingly depressing and hilarious.
Kind of explains why I've been slowly moving away from capes and tights.