This issue debuts the new creative team of Scott Snyder (American Vampire), Jock (The Losers) and Francesco Francavilla (the upcoming Black Panther: The Man Without Fear) on the Commissioner Gordon back-up.   I’ve personally been anticipating this book very much since the announcement of this line-up.  Their first issue delivered in full on that anticipation.

Snyder is most effective in his characterization.  The two key scenes of this book are two different conversations with Commissioner Gordon; one between Gordon and Dick Grayson, the other between Gordon and Grayson as Batman.  They have two completely different tonalities.  In the first Gordon is the dominant player; he’s respectful of Grayson as a former Police Officer but also exercises a dry backhanded attitude because he was also the punk who used to date his daughter.  That Grayson takes these slight barbs in cool stride is a nice touch.  The second conversation with Batman has them on equal footing.  It also works in contrast with the established relationship between Bruce Wayne’s Batman.

“I suppose I’m not used to it yet”

“Used to what?”

“To you still being there when I look up.”

The only complaint I would have is that the mystery didn’t really grab me.  It was fine but I have less interest in the next plot development than I do the next dialogue exchange.  Also I think the opener would’ve been more effective without the narrative caption monologue.  It doesn’t quite sync up properly with the imagery to create an effective metaphor.  Again, the character work and sharp dialogue more than make up for these faults.

So too does Jock’s artwork.  Moody, minimalist and jagged, it reminds me of early Sean Phillips and Ashley Wood, as well as latter Moon Knight/early New Mutants-era Bill Sienkiewicz.  David Baron uses a simple palette and gradients only slightly.  It doesn’t overpower the work but, in fact, completes it.

The Commissioner Gordon back-up is superb as well.  It contextualizes an element of the main story in a clever way.  What astounded me was how it used a piece of Gordon’s history.  I won’t spoil it but, how did nobody think of this before?  Francavilla is in the contemporary school of artists like Chris Samnee and Gabriel Hardman, a sort of neo-classical school of art.  You can tell he likes his Alex Raymond, Milton Caniff, and Alex Toth.  Francavilla also did his own coloring for this.  It falls in line with the coloring in the lead but with less gloss.  Kind of reminded me of the coloring in Criminal, which is a high compliment.  The only complaint here is that there is a sequence that flashes between the present and a memory but I missed it in the first read because the color cues weren’t distinct enough.  A minor quibble however.

Atmospheric and intelligent, an excellent start for this title’s new direction.

It has been a rather exciting and busy year for us at the Heroes Discussion Group. At our Annual Stock-Holders meeting at Heroes HQ in the Cayman Islands, we agreed that wanted to end this banner year by giving ourselves a well-deserved Christmas present. And what could be a better treat than to sit down and discuss the single most popular and beloved comic book series in the history of the four-color art form? None other than the world famous Belgian boy reporter–Tintin by the famed cartoonist extraordinaire Herge.

With the three mega-movies on the horizon, the Tintin juggernaut will finally conquer the American audience.  We want to make sure we sit down and examine and appreciate this seminal series before the civilians (you know who they are– some of us even live with some of them!) get their mitts on it. But which of the 7 volumes to tackle?? Believe me, any would have filled the bill nicely. Our fearful leader Shawn decided to run a poll to let Heroesdom Discussioneers vote for which volume to spotlight. With over half of the vote, the clear cut winner is Adventures of Tintin Volume 1 – which contains Tintin in America, Cigars of the Pharaoh and The Blue Lotus.

Please plan to join us in the back of the store on Saturday Afternoon, December 18 from noon to 2 pm for the Tintin Discussion Group!

Issues we hope to discuss will include:

Why the first 3 books?

Is this the desire/compulsion of most (if not all) comic readers for completion and continuity?

The art and storytelling in Tintin — what makes Herge‘s oeuvre the Primer for much of the past century’s Comics Literature.

How do we handle the near century old anachronisms and era (in)appropriate racial stereotyping?

What is the continuing appeal of the Tintin comic?

Why has the series escaped such mega-stardom in America while it is the single best selling comic of all time throughout the rest of the world?

How does Tintin remain as popular with young female comic readers without any sort of lead female character?

Most importantly:

Are the Thompson Twins actually related to one another

and

Can Snowy really speak?

The mind reels!!!!

So give yourself a well-deserved break from shopping, cleaning, cooking, eating and the general feeling of Holiday Stress and join us for an entertaining two hour oasis. We will meet in the back of the store on Saturday afternoon December 18th at noon. We will most likely head across the street to one of the local watering holes– Hey, this is a celebration for Rao’s sake.

The Tintin 3-in-1 volumes are available from Heroes for a low, low $18.99.  Don’t forget the Heroes Discussion Group 10% Discount which is available on Volume 1 provided you remember to mention it at check-out. For those of you who have not read any of the Tintin adventures– you will be clamoring to read the following adventures as well.  And all of these volumes make superb Holiday presents.  This is not me shilling for Heroes, I am just stating a fact of Comic book life.

See you there!

We’ve been hinting at it for weeks but now we are finally ready to divulge the full details of our huge annual two-day holiday sale! Join us December 4th from 10 am to 9 pm and December 5th from 1 to 6 pm as we begin the holiday celebration with our widely popular annual sale where we discount nearly everything in the store! Shelton has pulled out all the stops! We will have crazy discounts on back-issues, trades, manga and statues. In addition to that Seth has been building a massive, brand-new $1 stock loaded up with awesome comics. If you have had the pleasure of digging through our previous dollar stocks you know that we go to great effort to pack them full of quality books. Plus, all new comics and trades will be at least 10% off! Shelley and the rest of the crew have been tirelessly cleaning and decorating in preparation for our big event and we will be ready to answer questions, help you locate items and give you recommendations. Be sure to stop by the store next weekend to stock up on presents for friends, family and yourself. You are not going to want to miss this sale!

Still not sure what to get that certain someone for Christmas? The holiday sale is a perfect time to pick up your 3-day pass for HeroesCon 2011! It makes a great gift for that hard-to-shop-for comics fan. We can’t wait to see you next Saturday and Sunday!

Monday, November 22 at 7 pm the Heroes Discussion Group met to talk about Paul Hornschemeier‘s The Three Paradoxes. It was an exciting time full of philosophy and art with a surprising turnout and stimulating discussion. Thank you for everyone who joined us and help to make it so much fun! Check out our Flickr report here!

Happy Thanksgiving!  Make sure to stop by the store and pick up some good comics to read on your holiday travels.  This week there are several new standout issues, trades, and something for just about every kind of comic fan.  Here are a few of the books that caught my eye.

1) Batwoman #0

Though the solo Batwoman title doesn’t officially kick off for another few months, here’s your chance to see the direction J.H. Williams III and company will be heading.  Featuring 32 pages of story and art from Williams, W. Haden Blackman, and Amy Reeder, this one will certainly be one of the day’s big hits.  If for some reason you didn’t see Williams art on his Detective Comics run featuring Batwoman, by all means get yourself a copy of the collection Batwoman: Elegy to see some of the most innovative comic art from the past year.

2)  Thor the Mighty Avenger #6

Sadly, Marvel announced last week that they were canceling this much loved series.  Though it never sold great numbers, it’s a real shame that a book as entertaining as this one fell by the wayside.  Rest assured, Marvel’s marketing machine will continue to publish new titles in the build up toward the Captain America, Thor, and Avengers films.  Though this series was likely a casualty of getting lost in that flood, we can take a little solace in the fact that there are three issues left, including this week’s new one featuring Fin Fang Foom. We should all be thankful that Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee gave us a series as enjoyable as this one has been.

3) Secret Avengers #7

Ed Brubaker and Mike Deodato continue to deliver a solid run on the series that focuses on the covert Avengers squad.  The new arc sees Brubaker returning to the kung fu success he found co-writing Immortal Iron Fist, and should appeal to fans of the Master of Kung Fu as he plays a role in this story.  Only in the second arc, we’ve thus far seen outer space action and lots of ninjas.  Some might avoid this book thinking it’s just another Avengers title, but don’t forget that Brubaker and Deodato are continuing to find ways to tell entertaining pulp-inspired stories under the guise of a mainstream costumed hero book.

4) Scalped #43

Scalped is the rare book that started strong and continues to be consistently good month after month.  If you’re only familiar with writer Jason Aaron‘s excellent work for Marvel, do yourself a favor and check out the book that got him into Marvel in the first place.  Aaron writes characters who speak like real people.  Be it a hero like Spider-man or Scalped‘s Dash Bad Horse, Aaron writes his characters in ways that are honest toward their realities.  This week’s issue is a great stand alone story featuring art from Jason Latour, a local Charlotte artist and longtime Heroes fixture.  With work ranging from the acclaimed back up story in Wolverine #1 to the lead story in the Daredevil Black and White one shot, Latour continues an impressive creative year with Scalped, a title his art seems like a natural fit to bring to life.

5) Ultimate Spider-man #150

The original Ultimate comic gets back to its original numbering and celebrates a big anniversary.  Brian Michael Bendis along with current series artist David Lafuente and numerous guest artists will undoubtedly tell a big story with lots of guests stars from the Ultimate universe.  The Ultimate line of titles has undergone several changes in recent years, and with even more changes on the horizon courtesy of Bendis and Mark Millar it might be time to get back to this title if you’ve been a way for a while.

> Bonus picks of the week: Vampirella #1, Walking Dead #79, Walking Dead TP vol. 13, Uncanny X-force #2, Batman and Robin #17, Boy Commandos by Simon and Kirby HC, the Guild TP, and Madame Xanadu #29, the final issue of the underrated series.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our loyal customers, readers, friends, and supporters.  It’s a pleasure to be a part of your comic experience, and something we’re all thankful to participate in.  Enjoy the holiday!

Most people would be cruising through this week in anticipation for the holiday. Not us! We are busy, busy, busy! Just consider this seven more reasons why you should be thankful for HeroesCon. We have got a ton of names that need to get on the HeroesCon 2011 Guest List so stay tuned because we plan on making another big announcement next week! In the meantime, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark Brooks is a phenomenal artist whose HeroesCon 2010 Art Auction piece went for an astounding $8,000! We can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next year! Until then you can enjoy his art work at much more affordable prices in books like Dark Reign: Young Avengers, New X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers: The Initiative. (Photo courtesy of Patrick Sun‘s Flickr page.)

Nathan Edmondson is an up-and-coming writer whose newest title, Who Is Jake Ellis?, isn’t shipping until January but it is already getting a lot of buzz. You can find out more about Edmondson and Who Is Jake Ellis? by reading this interview from Newsarama. He is also the writer of Olympus and The Light. Our very own Jenny Bement reviewed The Light #1-#4 a couple months back on our blog.  He might deny it, but he is also a very talented painter.

Gene Gonzales is a diverse artist whose work ranges from comic to commercial. He does everything from pin-ups to sketch cards. Also, he is the artist on Diary of Night and he is the writer, illustrator and publisher of Tales of the Cherokee. In addition to all of that he is currently working as a DC licensing artist.

Craig Hamilton is best known for his painterly art style. He has worked on such popular DC titles as Sandman, Fables, Lucifer, The Spectre and Starman. It was announced last year that he will be doing the art for Fables: Werewolves Of The Heartland which will be a graphic novel focusing on Bigby.

Joe Pekar is probably best known as a “good-girl artist” especially because of art books like Strawberry. Recently he has done work on Hexed, Grimm Fairy Tales and Escape From Wonderland. He is also well known for his self-published comic Brandi Bare. Additionally, he is an artist on Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.

Rachelle Rosenberg is a rising star in the comic industry. She is a colorist for Marvel and Boom! Studios who has worked on such diverse titles as Cars: The Adventures of Tow Mater, Namora and Captain America and the Korvac Saga. This will be Rosenberg’s first HeroesCon as a guest and we are super excited to have her!

Stuart Sayger is the creator of the independent comic Shiver in the Dark. You might also know him from his work on Lego‘s Bionicle comic. He recently was the artist on Bram Stoker’s Death Ship. He also did the art on Machete #0 which is based on the Robert Rodriguez movie.

Didn’t we just add names to the HeroesCon 2011 Indie Island Guest List a couple of days ago? Yet here we are, making another announcement! We are working ’round the clock to bring you the best convention ever and here are three more reasons why HeroesCon 2011 will be off the charts awesome!

Van Jensen is the writer of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and its sequel, Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater, both of which are published though Slave Labor Graphics. The sequel is scheduled for release later this month so keep checking our New Releases page for it! You may also know him from his autobiographical mini-comic Nebraska. Nebraska #1 and #2 are available online on Jensen’s Flickr page.

GB Tran‘s new book, Vietnamerica, will be released this January through Villard. You can check out some of the amazing preview art on Tran’s website by clicking here. He also has self-published several books and mini-comics including Content, Mobile and Morning Emails. He also had a story in Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology alongside some other incredibly talented creators. Be sure to make him feel extra welcome as this will be his first appearance at HeroesCon!

Drew Weing’s most recent book Set to Sea is a testament to his craft. Since its release it has garnered a lot of critical acclaim and I won’t be surprised to see it on several Top 10 of 2010 lists.  He also known for his mini-comics and webcomics including Blar, Pup and The Journal Comic. Also, he has collaborated with his awesome wife Eleanor Davis on books like Bugbear and Secret Science Alliance. He is an incredibly talented creator and we are thrilled to have him back in Indie Island for another year! Click here to read my review of Set to Sea.

This is a reminder to all of you true believers out there that books will be shipping on schedule this Wednesday. So make sure to drop by for your pre-Thanksgiving fix! And check out the New Releases page for a look at all the terrific stuff that’s coming out this week. However, keep in mind that next week there will be a holiday delay and books will be in the store on Thursday, December 2nd.

But don’t forget! We’ll be closed for the Thanksgiving holiday on Thursday the 25th. Don’t worry though! The store will open at it’s normal time on Friday at 10 am, and observe its regular hours for the duration of the holiday weekend (which would be a perfect time for all of you regulars to baptise your cool little cousins, nieces and nephews in all the Heroes-y radness).

And keep an eye out for details concerning our great BIG holiday sale in December! Seth has been working hard on a brand new dollar stock to debut at the sale. As if that isn’t enough, we’ll be posting full details here on the blog for you to explore soon enough.

Until then, have a safe and super-rad Turkey Day!

Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will have a big presence at the Raleigh Comic Book Show on December 12. We are thrilled to announce that Budd Root and Andy Smith will be making the journey with us! They will be signing autographs and doing awesomely affordable convention sketches all day long. Root and Smith both are incredibly talented artists who have been pleasing fans for years and now is your chance to have them do a commission just for you! Or if you are feeling in the holiday spirit you can get one of them to do a drawing as a Christmas present for a friend or family member. Who wouldn’t want a Superman by Andy Smith or a Cavewoman by Budd Root under their tree on Christmas morning? We want to help support Lyn Anderson and his long-running Raleigh show and we hope that Root and Smith will be an extra attraction that benefits this great event! The show is Sunday, December 12 from 10 am to 4 pm and admission is FREE! We would love to see all our regulars there in attendance! It is fun and laid-back convention and it is the perfect place to dig for bargains. We are super excited to be a part of this show! For more details check out their page on the Convention Scene website. Also, you can let your Facebook friends know that you are attending and by doing so you can help us spread the word!

Raleigh Comic Book Show
Sunday, December 12
10 am to 4 pm
Free Admission!
Holiday Inn Crabtree
4100 Glenwood Ave.
Raleigh, NC 27612

Join us Monday, November 22 at 7 pm in the back of the store as we discuss The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornschemeier. It is part autobiography and part philosophical exercise. The book centers on The Three Paradoxes of Zeno of Elea and how they apply to the life and adventures of Hornschemeier. This book is sure to engage and challenge you and the discussion will prove to a stimulating one.

Zeno of Elea was Greek philosopher in the 5th century BC and is most well-known for his Three Paradoxes, one of which is that if you continue to travel half the distance to a goal, you will never reach it. Don’t be put off by all this mention of Greek philosophy. The Three Paradoxes is a witty multi-faceted and rather engaging graphic novel that just may be the perfect “gateway” book into the Indie Comics world. Hornschemeier loves making comics and it is shows on every page and in every panel.

Hornschemeier is the award-winning cartoonist of the terrific graphic novel Mother, Come Home and the serialized Life with Mr. Dangerous that can be found in the pages of MOME.

So plan to join us at the store on Monday, November 22 at 7 pm for The Three Paradoxes by Paul Hornschemeier. the book is available from Heroes for the low, low sticker price of $14.95 and don’t forget to add (or subtract, actually) the 10% Discussion Discount; but–as always– you must mention the discount to the clerk at check out or suffer the Consequences.