Rodney Barnes is a comic writer, screenwriter, and producer known for comics like Killadelphia and The Mandalorian, and for TV projects such as The Boondocks and My Wife and Kids. Barnes was recently a guest at Heroes Convention, meeting fans of his work in comics and TV. He took a break to speak with Scoop about his upcoming work, meeting fans, and the Heroes Con experience.

Scoop: Good afternoon. Are you having a nice time Heroes Con?
Rodney Barnes (RB): I’m having a great time. Thank you very much.

Scoop: What does it mean to you to connect with comic fans at conventions?
RB: I love it. It feels like when I was a kid growing up, trading comic books in my neighborhood, it just feels like a really big community and an extension of my childhood.

Scoop: Which of your titles are fans asking about?
RB: A lot of Killadelphia, a lot of Star Wars, a lot of Mandalorian. What else? Ahsoka a lot of Ahsoka questions that’s coming up in July, my Inquisitors series, but a lot of Star Wars and a lot of Killadelphia.

Scoop: Can you tell me what is coming up in Killadelphia?
RB: Yeah, there’s another historical figure coming. For folks who remember or follow the book, there are a lot of dead presidents in the book. And now we’re going to move into some other figures in American history, but not necessarily presidents.

Scoop: Any hint about who they could be?
RB: Yes, someone who signed the Declaration of Independence but was not a president.

Scoop: Interesting. Have you been surprised by any of the titles or characters fans have brought up when they talk to you?
RB: I’ve signed a lot of books that I thought folks forgot about. A lot of my Falcon series. Devil’s Reign, Luke Cage: Gang War, a lot of Lando: Double or Nothing. Like a lot of things that I thought folks just had forgotten about. I’ve been signing them all weekend.

Scoop: What do you like about Heroes Con?
RB: Heroes Con is really comics friendly. A lot of times you go to cons and it’s about the actors or it’s about gaming, which is great, but when I started when I was a kid, I went to cons because they were about comics, it was just about the comics and comics community. I think Heroes Con kind of does a great job of framing that for the comics.

Scoop: Outside of the comic titles you mentioned already, do you have any other projects in the works?
RB: I’m doing a miniseries for HBO about the boxer Jack Johnson. I have a couple of movies in the works. A bunch of different things.

Scoop: Are there any titles or characters you want to work on, but haven’t had the opportunity to yet?
RB: I would love to work on Warlock, any of the cosmic characters, I would love to work on Miracle Man. Those characters are sort of heady. They talk about life and death and the bigger ideas, not just superhero fun stuff which is cool, but I would love to be able to delve into more cerebral stuff.

Scoop: What other cons are you attending this summer?
RB: I know I’m doing Blerd Con. I’m doing San Diego Comic-Con. I’m doing New York Comic Con. I’m going to Baltimore Comic-Con. I think a couple of Galaxy Cons later in the year. I’m going to be busy.