This year HeroesCon is proud to display the first published comic strip art from Bill Watterson in nearly twenty years! Watterson completed his inimitable Calvin and Hobbes strip in 1995, and has since remained largely private in his life and art. If you happened to read Stephan Pastis‘ popular Pearls Before Swine strip this week, you may have noticed that Pastis employed a guest artist, billed as a second grade girl named Libby, to help him with three strips. Astute readers speculated about the true identity of the guest artist, and today the Washington Post revealed it to be none other than the legendary Bill Watterson!

In conjunction with Chris Sparks and Team Cul de Sac, we are happy to be bringing all three Watterson and Pastis strips to Charlotte to display at HeroesCon, June 20 through 22 at the Charlotte Convention Center. The art will be displayed on the convention floor all weekend, at our Drink and Draw event on Friday night, and at Saturday night’s Art Auction. We’ll also be hosting a panel on Friday, June 20 where fans will get to hear the story of how this remarkable art was produced, how it came to be featured in Charlotte, and the part that Cul de Sac cartoonist Richard Thompson plays in all of it.

The three strips produced by Watterson and Pastis will be auctioned off in the coming months, with all proceeds from the sale going to the Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson’s Research. This charity works closely with our good friends at Team Cul de Sac, for whom we host our annual HeroesCon Drink and Draw charity event. More specifics regarding the auction of these pieces will be available at HeroesCon, here on our site and at Team Cul de Sac‘s page in the coming weeks.

HeroesCon is the only place anyone will be able to see the rare Watterson and Pastis original art in person before they are auctioned off. This is truly a once in a lifetime opportunity for comic and art fans across the country, and we are humbled and honored to be bringing it to Charlotte.

HeroesCon takes place June 20 – 22 at the Charlotte Convention Center. The Bill Watterson and Cul de Sac panel takes place Friday, June 20 at 5:30 at the convention center.

The HeroesCon Drink and Draw event takes place on Friday, June 20 at 7:30 p.m. in the Hilton Center City atrium. HeroesCon’s first Drink and Draw event was in 2011, modeled after the Drink and Draw Social Club founded by comic artists Dave Johnson, Dan Panosian and Jeff Johnson. That event and every one since has raised money for Team Cul de Sac, the organization founded in honor of Cul de Sac cartoonist Richard Thompson that raises money and awareness for Parkinson’s Research.

The HeroesCon Art Auction will take place on Saturday, June 21 at 8 p.m. in the Providence Ballroom at the Westin.

For more information on all things HeroesCon, stayed tuned to www.heroesonline.com. If you have any questions regarding the Watterson and Pastis exhibit in Charlotte, contact Seth Peagler at seth@heroesonline.com or through the Heroes store at 704.375.7462. Additionally, you can contact Team Cul de Sac’s Chris Sparks at teamculdesac@gmail.com for further information.