HeroesCon in Charlotte: Where comic fans can preserve history and make a fortune
Whether it’s to preserve comic book history or hope that an old issue could lead to fortune, HeroesCon is one of only three locations where attendees can do both.
And Adam Binns, a Charlotte local, was one of those attendees waiting in line Friday to meet with someone from the Certified Grade Company, better known as CGC, with his arms full of comics.
Those comics will be given a grade from 0.5, a poor grade, to 10, a perfect grade, and sealed inside a protective, plastic container. The line for the CGC booth was filled with prospective customers from the moment the convention started.
“By having it graded, it will be encapsulated, so we know the quality will never be degraded. It’ll be protected,” Binns told CharlotteFive. “And it’s good for a future investment.”
Anyone can get comics and other collectibles graded by the Florida-based company by shipping it to the company for submission.
But HeroesCon is one of only three places, aside from Chicago and Baltimore, where grading is done on-site, said Shawn Caffrey, vice president of comics graded at CGC.
The benefit, Caffrey and Binns said, is that it cuts down on time and shipping costs. Graders on-site will be able to return submitted items by the end of the weekend. And for Binns, who is hoping to get gifts for his kids graded, the timing couldn’t be better.
History and investment
One of his items, for his daughter, was a breast cancer awareness issue of a Transformers comic, which he had signed. He plans to give it to his daughter, who will dress up like the character on the cover this weekend at the convention, Binns said.
The other was the first issue of another Transformers comic that originally had a blank cover. Binns said that comic book artist, Maria Wolf, drew a one-of-a-kind cover on his copy. That comic will be for his son for his 18th birthday, he said.
“It’s good for a future investment,” Binns said. “I hope my kids will never sell these, I hope they’ll keep them forever, but if they ever decided they wanted to, it guarantees your investment.”
Binns said he’s had hundreds of items graded over the years. One of his most valuable was a third-print edition of the first issue of Mirage Comic Book’s “Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles.” He received a 9 from CGC, meaning it was well-preserved or in near mint condition.
“It got over $3,000,” Binns said.
Radovan “Roy” Delic, a collector from Canada, has been attending HeroesCon for 15 years. He helped sell a Mile High issue of Superman for $5.3 million in 2022.
Delic said he continues to come to HeroesCon in Charlotte because it is the best convention for comic book collectors. While other conventions have grown around pop culture in general, becoming a place for celebrity sightings and movie trailer premiers, HeroesCon remains a comics-only event — one that brings people from all over, Delic said.
“It’s a community,” Delic said.
Delic’s sale held the world record until the sale of the very first appearance of Superman in Action Comics #1. That comic, which is on display at HeroesCon, sold for $15 million this year.
CGC graded that comic and Caffrey said he got to hold it, an experience he found hard to describe. Not only for its value, but for its history.
Because grading is a tactile profession, often involving inspecting the comic books with bare hands, as gloves can actually damage pages, the books themselves often tell a story. For example, a comic printed during World War II only had a single staple because of metal shortages, Caffrey said.
Never gets old
On Friday, he helped a man who brought the first issue of the comic book “Invincible,” which has since become one of Amazon Prime’s biggest shows. That comic received a 9.4, which means it was near-mint.
“It’s a really tough book to get a high-grade,” Caffrey said. “It was a low-print run. It’s a very expensive book.”
Caffrey said that one can run for about $6,000.
“I’ve been with this company 26 years, and it never gets old,” Caffrey said.
HeroesCon runs from Friday to Sunday at the Charlotte Convention Center on South College Street. Tickets are available for purchase online or at the door of the convention center.
This story was originally published June 12, 2026 at 2:27 PM.
