CON AWAY FROM CON CONTINUES! Superstar writer Scott Snyder came under the spotlight here at WonderCon as he talked about his career to date, including past and current work on Batman, Detective Comics, American Vampire and Swamp Thing. And those in attendance even got to hear about his escapades as a theme park’s roller-skating janitor!

Snyder started off talking about how the last two or three years have been an amazing ride with experiences on Detective Comics, American Vampire and more as he tells stories that people are really reacting to and enjoying.

What happens as he's working out the story is that he latches on to what's interesting to him. Small details he's noticed of cities like New York have informed how he's approached stories of Gotham City and how the characters interact with it and are influenced by it. As an example he talked about Batman and how Bruce Wayne used to view Gotham City as a friend and known quantity. But now he’s learning as the Court of Owls continues hounding him that not only may Gotham be a stranger but it may even be an enemy.

How Snyder gets to the root of the story is he first figures out how the heroes relate to the villains and what frightens everyone. Every story has to be something that brings new aspects of the character to light and has to have the heroes question themselves and their place in the world around them.

His involvement with Swamp Thing started with a phone call from Geoff Johns (who called while Snyder was in the middle of cooking dinner), who asked what sort of ideas he had for stories about the character. Exploring who Alec Holland really was proved to be the most interesting aspect he wanted to explore. Snyder said the thrill of WonderCon so far was meeting Len Wein and hearing about how much of a fan of his work on Swamp Thing he is.

Moving over to American Vampire, he says it was a story he had been thinking about for a long time but there were a glut of vampire stories at the time. Vampires are popular because they're scary and he wanted to expand on the idea of people you knew who had been turned into vicious monsters. And he's using archetypes like cowboys and movie stars and others to tell those stories.

With Animal Man and Swamp Thing coming to a crossover soon be prepared for some of the most twisted stuff you've seen since he and Jeff Lemire spent time just coming up with the most twisted things they could think of that would work for the characters.

That’s all for now from Scott Snyder. But tune in to DCComics.com in the near future for more from this popular and talented writer.

As we're sure you already know, DC Entertainment will be at Wonder Con 2012 in Anaheim, CA in a big way. With panels throughout all three days and lots of activities at our booth on the show floor, there will be plenty of great opportunities for fans to hear from us and the talented creators of some of their favorite books - but also for us to hear from fans.
 
One of the new components of Wonder Con will be the addition of We Can Be Heroes, our giving campaign to raise awareness and funds for the hunger crisis in the Horn of Africa. The people of the Horn are facing the worst drought in 60 years, leaving over 9 million in need of immediate assistance. We've partnered with Save the Children, International Rescue Committee, and Mercy Corps to provide much-needed relief to the drought and famine-stricken areas. You can learn more about We Can Be Heroes and how you can help right here.
 
We Can Be Heroes will launch its text-2-give effort from our booth. Fans at Wonder Con and beyond will have multiple opportunities to donate to the campaign by texting “HEROES” to 80888 and contribute crucially needed funds directly from their phones. DC Entertainment will match donations 100% Also, 50% of the purchase price from We Can Be Heroes products will go to saving lives.
 
At Wonder Con the Jim Lee-designed Justice League image will be available as an option at our green screen photo booth. Fans who visit that photo booth will have the option of posing with either version of the Justice League: the DCComics-The New 52 promotional image that was available at Comic-Cons in both San Diego and New York, or the special We Can Be Heroes campaign backdrop. There will also be some fantastic MAD Magazine options to choose from. It’s a great way to not only show off that you're a fan of DC Entertainment but that you too have made the choice to be a hero to the people of the Horn of Africa.

Also throughout the event there will be opportunities to win exclusive We Can BeHeroes products. You can read more about that on the We Can Be Heroes website and keep following DC Comics’ Twitter profile and Facebook page throughout Wonder Con for your opportunity to win if you're one of those at the show in Anaheim.
 
We're hoping you will join us at Wonder Con for a great couple of days of talking about comics. And we're hoping you will join us in becoming a hero to those in the Horn in Africa who are in such dire need.