Comics artist and writer Bob Hall co-created the West Coast Avengers, and was the writer/artist on Valiant’s Shadowman and Armed and Dangerous. His work at Marvel includes The Avengers, Spectacular Spider-Man, and Squadron Supreme, and at DC he worked on Batman books and Weird War Tales. While he was a guest at Heroes Convention, Hall talked to Scoop about his work and what he likes about conventions.
Scoop: Are you having fun this weekend?
Bob Hall (BH): Yeah, we are, here at Heroes Convention.
Scoop: What do you like about Heroes Con?
BH: It’s comic-oriented and it’s very friendly – both from the people who run it and the guests and clientele. They’re all just great.
Scoop: You’re known for a nice range of characters and titles. Are there any specific ones that fans are gravitating toward this weekend?
BH: Gee, I don’t know. I really can’t answer that. It seems like for a couple hours everyone wants Doctor Doom, and then it’ll go a different direction. Overall, people remember me for the West Coast Avengers and that’s the one that I get brought to me more often to sign. Or I have posters of it that people buy more often than anything else.
Scoop: It is a great book.
BH: Well, I did one story arc, it was the miniseries that introduced the book. So, I guess that’s why they call me the co-creator of it. By the time it went monthly, I was doing Squadron Supreme.
Scoop: We’re finally on the other side of the Covid pandemic. How do you think that time away from conventions has affected con culture?
BH: It seems that people are quite anxious to get out and do stuff again. I think that’s important. The big change has been just figuring out who owns the cons these days. Heroes has been the same forever, but a lot of cons changed hands. Some went away, there were new ones. So, just getting used to what’s out there to do has been new. But, I think overall that cons seem to be doing terribly well. I hope that’s the feeling of the promoters as well. I’m certainly doing better than I did before Covid.
Scoop: What are fans getting at your table?
BH: They get a lot of sketches. Well, I divide things up. I have posters to sell, people bring me comics to sign, then I do commissions, then I also make these 6” square cards. I sell them for $60, that way people who want a commission, but can’t quite afford a bigger one can come away with something that’s actually original.
Scoop: What other shows do you have coming up this summer?
BH: Oh boy. Next week I do Washington State Summer Con, then I go to Ireland on vacation for two weeks, then I come back and do Omaha Comic Con, O Con, then I do Rayleigh, Austin, hopefully I’ll do New York, Huntington, West Virginia. There’s a lot crammed into a short time now. You can come to my website and I’ll have them all up there and make it clearer. BobHall.com or check me out on Facebook.