Shelton Drum is headed to Richmond, VA for the VA Comicon with a van load of comics in tow! He will be bringing his convention stock of some of the best comics of the 80′s to this week and his Silver and Golden Age stock full of gems that are ripe for the picking. Bring your want lists and dig through our alphabetized comics.

The VA Comicon is sure to be fun-filled, comics-packed weekend. Guests include Andy Smith, Budd Root, Kelly Yates, Randy Green, Rick Spears, Steve Scott, Michael Golden, The Fillbach Brothers, Joe Jusko, Billy Tucci, Larry Hama, Herb Trimpe and many more. There will also be lots of vendors including our buddies from Brett’s Comic Pile, Apocalypse Comics, Dave’s Comics (the one from Richmond, VA not the one from Fort Mill, SC), AdHouse Books, Eva Ink Publishing, CGC and many more. They also have a packed events schedule. On Saturday our good friend Chuck Rozanski from Mile High Comics will be doing a panel on Saturday from 3:30 to 4:30 entitled “The Mile High II collection, the most valuable comic collection ever discovered!” Also, Comic Collector Live‘s founder Joe Butler will be doing a panel demonstrating how to use CCL on Saturday from 5:30 to 6:30 pm. Check out the full listing of events here!

Also, the Anime Mid-Atlantic will be hosting the AMA 1/2 at the VA Comicon. This anime show will be in a separate hall but it is free with paid admission into the VA Comicon.

VA Comicon
Saturday, November 20 thru Sunday, November 21
11 am to 7 pm on Sat. and 10 am to 4 pm on Sun
Tickets are $10 per day
Ramada Plaza West
6624 W Broad St
Richmond, VA 23230

We have a ton of announcements to make within the next couple of weeks and we are sorting through lists and going through emails so we can bring all those names to you. For right now though, we will give you just a little taste of things to come. It is our pleasure to add these incredibly talented creators to the HeroesCon Indie Island Guest List! HeroesCon 2011 is shaping up to be our biggest and best show ever!

Rich Barrett is a great guy and a long time customer of the store. Last year’s convention was his first time as a guest and we are happy to welcome him back for a second year.  He is currently working on his graphic novel Nathan Sorry and is posting a page at a time on his website. Click here to read the story of an investor who should have been in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Jason Horn is best known for his creator-owned title Ninjasaur which is about a dinosaur who is also a ninja. You can also check out his humor and wit in Gruff which is a sequel to the Three Billy Goats Gruff and, like Ninjasaur, stars anthropomorphic characters. Tim O’Shea recently interviewed Horn over on the Robot 6 blog. It is a great interview and definitely worth your time.

David Mack hails from Athens, GA like a number of our Indie Island guests. You may know him from his mini-comics Wolf City, Otto and Some Things I’ve Dreamed or from his weekly comic in Athens’s Flagpole Magazine. In addition to the comic and illustration work on his website he also showcases some of his ceramics. Check out a few of his tiles here!

Dean Trippe is a writer, artist and colorist, a veritable powerhouse of talent! He is probably best known for his superhero parody strip Butterfly. He is also the founder and editor of Project: Rooftop. He also collaborated with Jason Horn on a story in the award-winning anthology Comic Book Tattoo that features stories inspired by Tori Amos songs.

It’s a big week for new comics and there are plenty of new super hero, indie, and all ages books for your enjoyment.  It’s one of those weeks where there really are great options for fans of just about everything.  Here are just a few books you might want to remember on your trip to Heroes this week.

1) Batman Incorporated #1

Grant Morrison offers the latest chapter in his acclaimed Batman run.  Yanick Paquette is on board to illustrate this title starring Bruce Wayne in his return as Batman, alongside several members of the ever-expanding Batman family.  This is the ideal book for those who have enjoyed Morrison’s Batman and Robin title, and should be easily accessible as a good jumping on point for new readers.  Before you read this issue you  might want to pick up another new Morrison-penned title this week, Bruce Wayne: the Return, the final one shot marking the original Batman’s return to the DC Universe.  This one shot should also draw some extra attention as David Finch illustrates it.

2) Hellboy: Double Feature of Evil one shot

Mike Mignola brings us another collaboration with legendary horror artist Richard Corben in this one shot focused on two haunted houses.  Mignola’s collaborations with Corben over the past few years on Hellboy: The Crooked Man, and Hellboy in Mexico remind us how fun this character continues to be, and how masterful Corben’s contributions remain.  The respect that Mignola has for Corben is evident with each new collaboration, as he continually gives the elder artist quality horror stories to illustrate.    This one’s guaranteed to be fun at its most pure, and should also act as a welcomed breather between the longer Hellboy stories.

3) Return of the Dapper Men HC

Jim McCann is primarily known for writing Marvel books like Hawkeye and Mockingbird and the upcoming Chaos War: Alpha Flight series.  This hardcover, a collaboration with artist Janet Lee, is McCann’s first foray into the world of creator-owned stories.  It’s a book that’s been gaining a lot of industry buzz throughout the convention season and looks to be a great all-ages pick that also has equal appeal for adult readers.  With elements of fairy tales, steampunk imagery, fantasy and striking art from Lee, this is a book that is likely to end up on many ‘best of the year’ lists.  For more on the Dapper Men, stay tuned to the Heroes blog in the next week to read my interview with Jim McCann.

4) Yo Gabba Gabba Board Comic #1 and #2

Chances are that you’ve seen Yo Gabba Gabba playing on one of the t.v.’s in Heroes at one time or another.  Most of us on the staff are fans of this excellent kids show, and are thrilled that this week marks the release of two brand new Yo Gabba Gabba comics!  Young readers will definitely enjoy the stories and art, and adults should be impressed that the books include contributions from creators like Chris Eliopoulos and J. Torres.   For those who are somehow still unfamiliar with this crazy kids show, just imagine the classic H.R. Pufnstuf with fewer trippy characters and themes and more fun.

5) Acme Novelty Library HC #20

After a longer than usual wait, the new volume of Acme is finally here!  Chris Ware is a rare artist who garners respect from fans and non-fans alike.  Though his books can be admittedly taxing on readers, it’s hard to deny this guy’s talent.  Volume 20 looks to be one of Ware’s most ambitious outings yet.  Each page of the book represents a single year in the life of the book’s main character.  Crafted with an intentionally slow rhythm and painstaking detail, Ware creates works that look and feel mechanical while managing to tell emotional stories about isolation and alienation.  All the while in the midst of the heavy stories he finds a way to inject humor and satire.  This is comic book formalism at its most successful.  Ware continuously reminds us that the experience of art isn’t always meant to be easy, and that the rewards are great for those willing to participate in difficult works.

>Bonus Picks of the Week:  Thunderbolts #150, Superior #2, Last Days of American Crime TP, Osborn #1, Spider-Girl #1, Shockrockets HC, and CBGB TP

NC Comicon is this weekend in Morrisville, NC! We really wish we could go but several things have come up that are forcing us to stay in town. Shelton Drum is going to try to make it Sunday to walk around and say hi to all our buds who will be there so if you see him wandering around be sure and say howdy! Just because we are going to miss out on all the fun doesn’t mean that you have to too. The organizers have done a great job putting this show together and promoting it. They have a stellar guest list, just look at some of these names: Jim Valentino, Tommy Lee Edwards, Bernard Chang, Chris Giarrusso (who did that awesome poster!), Chrissie Zullo, Jeremy Bastian, Nathan Edmundson, Randy Green, Andy Kuhn, Scott Wegener and many more! Check out their full guest list here. The small press section is pretty packed too with creators like Bridgit Scheide, Full Sanction, 803 Studios, Area 51 Comics among others! Check out the full list of exhibitors, small press and artist alley here. Check out Morrisville, NC this weekend for an awesome two-day convention!

NC Comicon
Saturday, Nov. 13 thru Sunday, Nov. 14
10 am to 8 pm on Sat. and 12 to 6 pm on Sun.
Morrisville Outlet Mall
1001 Airport Boulevard
Morrisville, NC 27560

In recent months we’ve tackled video game obsessed twenty-something slackers , the Fantastic Four and Zombies. So what should we do for an encore? How about the The Three Paradoxes of Zeno of Elea and how they apply to the life and adventures of cartoonist Paul Hornschemeier?

What? you say you’ve never heard of Zeno of Elea and his paradoxes?  He was the cutting edge Philosopher of 5th Century B.C. Greece.  You know at least one of the Paradoxes– if you continue to travel half the distance to a goal; you can never reach it.

Yes, it is a bit mind bending– and the other two paradoxes are just as challenging– but at the same time the ideas behind the paradoxes frustrates, they make for quite an engaging theme for a semi-autobiographical cartoonist who is trying to deal with his past, his future and his writer’s block.

You all should know Paul Hornschemeier.  He is the award winning cartoonist of the terrific graphic novel Mother Come Home and the serialized Life with Mr. Dangerous that can found in the pages of MOME.

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. This is a true tour-de-force (Pardon my French).

The Three Paradoxes is a personal favorite of our fearless leader Shawn Daughhetee.  She has been dying to discuss this book ever since we interviewed the author at HeroesCon a few years ago.  I am in complete agreement with her enthusiasm.  I’ve re-read Paradoxes twice in the past week and I can’t wait to read it a third time.

So plan to join us 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.

See you in the back of the store on November 22nd; you won’t be disappointed!

And just wait ’til you hear what we have planned for our December Discussion Group.  It will be a gift that just keeps on giving!

For the December Heroes Discussion Group we will be delving into the world of Tintin but we need your help to pick out which book we will be officially discussing. Our distributor pretty much only carries the 3-in-1 hardcover volumes, so for simplicities sake we will be choosing between those seven books. I have them listed by volume number and I included the three stories that each book contains. You can only pick one, so choose wisely! The poll will be up until the end of the day on November 23 after which we will announce the results along with details about the discussion group (if you need a heads up, the group will meet Saturday, December 18 from 1 to 3 pm). Stay tuned later this week for the announcement of the November discussion group!

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1) Amazing Spider-Man #648

This issue Dan Slott and Humberto Ramos kick off the new ‘Big Time’ story line.  With ‘Brand New Day’ now finished, this is a great jumping on point for readers curious about the new direction.  Foregoing the rotating cast of creators that have been bringing us Spider-Man in recent years, the next several stories will be solely written by Slott, with a smaller group of rotating artists, including Ramos and Stefano Caselli.  Also worth mentioning is that we’ll see a new Hobgoblin and the original Scorpion over the next several weeks.  Early preview pages look fun, so check out this issue to see how the wall crawler will be heading into 2011.

2) Batman: the Return of Bruce Wayne #6

After time-hopping as a Caveman, Pirate, Puritan Warrior, and Cowboy, Bruce Wayne finally gets back to present-day Gotham in this final chapter from Grant Morrison and Lee Garbett.  Don’t miss this one if you want to see how this epic is resolved, and how Morrison lays the groundwork for his upcoming Batman, Inc. series.  In addition to wrapping up the ‘Return’ story, this issue will probably give you some idea of the new shape of the entire Batman universe and its growing family of titles.

3) Darkwing Duck: The Duck Knight Returns TP

Boom! Studios had another hit with this fantastic all-ages book.  Now the first storyline from Ian Brill and James Silvani is collected in one handy trade.  If you missed any of the early hard to find issues here’s your chance to see what we’ve all been talking about.  This is one of those great kid-friendly books that manages to appeal to adults just as much as kids.  And don’t think you have to be familiar with the original animated series to enjoy this book.  It’s an easy, fun, accessible comic that is well worth a look if you haven’t taken one yet.

4) Grant Morrison’s 18 Days GN

This is essentially a graphic novel interpretation of the fabled Indian story of the Mahabharata.  While that alone is an intriguing element, the idea that this project was spearheaded by Grant Morrison should appeal to his extensive fan base.  Artist Mukesh Singh illustrates this graphic novel which is also in the process of being adapted into a possible animated series/video game franchise.  It’s good to see the grandiose plots and philosophies of Eastern thought finding their way into comics.  With his own history of expansive plots, Morrison is an ideal writer to translate this lofty work into comics.

5) T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents #1

A list of T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents writers and artists over the years reads like a who’s who of comic book legends.  Including work from the likes of Wally Wood, Steve Ditko, Joe Orlando, Dave Cockrum, and George Perez, this is one of those franchises that never seemed to sustain any long-term series in spite of the many great creators who worked on it over time.  DC is the most recent publisher to bring the Agents back into the spotlight, and chose rising talents Nick Spencer (Morning Glories) and Cafu (War of the Supermen) to handle the new series.  The idea of a superhero team as a branch of the U.N. remains an interesting one, as is the treatment of costumed heroism as a day job.  Don’t be surprised if this one ends up being the sleeper hit of the day.

> Bonus picks of the week:  Avengers: Children’s Crusade #3, She Hulks #1, Birds of Prey #6, Superman vs. Muhammed Ali HC, and Thor #617.

American Vampire – After Stephen King vamoosed with issue five, Scott Snyder had to prove that he could carry the book he created on his own and two issues later he has more than done so.  The current arc is a beat police story, back dropped in the decivilized world of depression-era Vegas, and slowly seeps in the mythology built by the last story.  Rafael Albuquerque’s rocks sketchy and stylized big time.  American Vampire is utterly unique and succeeding in its ambitions.  The hardcover for the first storyline is out and #6 and #7 are on shelves now.

B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth: New World – The difference between a slight comic and an economical comic is spelled B-P-R-D.  On average, an issue of B.P.R.D. takes less than 10 minutes to read.  There is so much story and character and fantastic action packed into that sub-ten minute period that the feeling of being ripped off never enters the mind.  Guy Davis squiggles sublimely.  He tricks one into believing that drawing comics is easy because of the deceptive simplicity of his line work.  But, replicating his staging, his panel to panel flow, the subtlety of his character acting, and the purity of his monster design, it’s impossible.  There is only one Guy Davis.

Hell on Earth is the new operating subtitle for B.P.R.D. from this point interim.  It’s exactly what it sounds like.  The netherworld of weirdie Lovecraftian  mega monsters is seeping into this one creating mass destruction and a pervasive apocalyptic dread that charges the backdrop for the book.  New World (the subtitle for the subtitle) maps this landscape slowly and broadly.  The main story of New World is really a small one: Abe Sapien goes searching for an old teammate, finds him, and then the two of them go to find another monster.  Issue #3 the two of them fight a big black scary thing, for lack of a better description, with a pick-up truck full of weapons and that just rocks.  B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth: New World is three issues in and a great entry point for the series.

Justice League Generation Lost – This book has a tried-and-true storytelling engine: falsely accused fugitive (fugitives, plural, in this case) tries to capture the real culprit.  Every issue this group of mixed up heroes, mostly from the old Justice League International title, try to capture criminal Maxwell Lord but he always manages to get away to continue planning his evil plans.  The team has no one to turn to but each other and the scope of Lord’s plans keeps getting bigger and more labyrinthine.  Which brings up the question: HOW are they gonna stop Lord and clear their names? If you find yourself asking that, that means the story has got its hooks in you.  Generation Lost is 13 issues in, come over and scoop up a chunk, get caught up.

Thor (Main Ongoing) – Matt Fraction and Pasqual Ferry hit the book two issues ago (#615, #616) and are going for GRAND scale.  Scale not only in wideness of scope, and it is a wiiiiide scope, but scale in a musical sense; a series of highs and lows.  There is a musical score to this comic, you can hear intense drums when the World-Eaters descend into Alfheim, a violin playing a sad single note as pensive Thor reflects on his dead Loki, and then flourishes to life, with a choir I’d say, as Volstagg and his scientist friend drive through the ruins of Asgard.  It is a bit slow, but very ambitious.

This past Saturday the Heroes Discussion Group met to talk about The Walking Dead. It was one of our best attended Discussion Groups! Thank you to Andy Mansell for leading such a thought-provoking conversation on horror, character development, religion and rats. Also, thank you to everyone who came! Each person brought really intelligent contributions to the table! Check out our Flickr page to view a few pictures from the meeting.

Join us for the next Heroes Discussion Group where we will be talking dead about The Walking Dead!

Saturday, November 6 from 1 to 3 pm we will meet at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find to discuss the first 12 issues of The Walking Dead (which is the first hardcover or the first two trade paperbacks). We will also discuss the first episode of The Walking Dead TV show that premiered on AMC on Halloween night. Be sure to come prepared!

We will be talking about horror comics in general and why audiences enjoy being scared. In addition to that we will talk very specifically about what makes The Walking Dead such a success. We will be talking about the art, the switch from Tony Moore to Charlie Adlard and the use of black and white instead of color. Furthermore we will delve in the the characters and what it means for them to be living in this world where the dead don’t stay dead. And finally we will talk about the translation of the story from comic to the small screen. Was the first episode a success? Did it stay true to the book?

Please join us for what will certainly be a frightfully good time as Andy Mansell picks our brains!