John Carpenter’s classic remake gets a back story this year. Set in the ice of the Antarctic, scientists find ‘the Thing ‘ which soon becomes….them. 

And we’ve got tickets to a pre-screening on Tuesday, October 11th! So be sure to get one while they last! Just drop into the store and mention this post.

1) Holy Terror HC

This new book from Frank Miller is also the debut publication from Legendary Comics, the new imprint from Miller’s longtime editor Bob Schreck.  Holy Terror was inspired by the 9/11 tragedies, and was originally meant to be a Batman tale.  As the story unfolded and increased in violent content, it became clear that this would have to be an original story.  This one’s been in the works for a decade, and if you’re a Frank Miller fan, this is one you’ll want to remember this week.

2) Aquaman #1

Geoff Johns and Ivan Reis attempt to do for Aquaman what they did for Green Lantern in this new series.  Johns has long been a supporter of DC’s undersea King, and aims to increase his relevance by not only bringing him back to the Justice League, but by introducing new villains like the Trench in the pages of this book.  This is the only other non-Justice League book that Johns is writing, so if you’re a fan of his work, you’ll want to make sure to read this title.

3) Cover Story HC: DC Comics Art of Brian Bolland

One complaint of the recent Brian Bolland art book was that it focused very little on his acclaimed work for DC Comics.  This volume should make up for that, as it features not only some of his classic work on characters like Batman, the Flash, and Wonder Woman, but also includes examples of his Vertigo work on titles like the Invisibles and Animal Man.  Plus, the book includes unreleased art and Bolland’s own analysis of some of the works.

4) Brilliant #1

Brian Bendis and Mark Bagley have garnered lots of fans for their work on Ultimate Spider-man.  Brilliant is their first creator owned effort, and focuses on a group of genius friends who try to understand and unlock the concepts of superhuman abilities.  Bendis is known for his work on atypical superhero stories, like Powers or Alias, but I’m curious to see how Bagley uses his largely superhero style on a more human book.

5) All-Star Western #1

With Jonah Hex, Jimmy Palmiotti and Justin Gray proved that DC Western characters could produce solid stories and maintain an audience.  On this new title, Palmiotti and Gray are joined by artist Moritat, who provided some great work on the most recent Spirit series.  While Jonah Hex will remain the new series’ star, other older Western characters like El Diablo will be appearing.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Ultimate Comics Spider-man #2, The Flash #1, Ultimate Comics Ultimates #2, Justice League Dark #1, James Jean Rebus HC, Abe Sapien: The Devil Does Not Jest #1, Superman #1, Love and Rockets New Stories vol. 4, Habibi GN, Batman: The Dark Knight #1, and Marvel’s newest Oz title Dorothy and the Wizard in Oz #1.

Don’t forget to join us at Heroes this Saturday at 1 p.m. as the Heroes Discussion Group tackles Dan Clowes’ Ghost World.  Our fearless leader Andy Mansell has lots of interesting points to bring up about the book that will inevitably lead to lively discussion.  If you haven’t checked out our ever evolving Discussion Group and are a fan of Clowes’ work, this is a great chance to come see what an enlightening and enjoyable part of Heroes this has become.  Hope to see you Saturday!

1) Batman #1

On paper this new Batman title should be among the best of the DC reboots.  Scott Snyder has proven his comic writing skills on books like American Vampire, and shown his capability of working with Gotham City characters wit memorable runs on Detective Comics and the recent Batman: Gates of Gotham mini series.  Artist Greg Capullo is probably best known for his many years working on Spawn, but hasn’t worked much with superheroes in recent years.  Batman should be a great outlet for Capullo’s naturally dark style, and should give Snyder yet another opportunity to cement himself as one of our industry’s best writers.

2) X-men: Schism #4

The Schism storyline is turning out to be one of those big, status-changing events that is more than living up to its hype.  With each new issue writer Jason Aaron continues to build up to the inevitable rift suggested by the title in ways that seem appropriately dramatic and subdued as needed.  In this issue he teams with legendary artist Alan Davis to continue to ramp up the action toward next issue’s finale.

3) Wonder Woman #1

The most interesting thing about this new book has to be the creative team.  Brian Azzarello isn’t a writer you’d think of as being a natural fit for a Wonder Woman book, but he’s more than proven his skills on crime books like 100 Bullets.  Artist Cliff Chiang is known for his slick, identifiable art style, and this seems like a book he should enjoy. Azzarello and Chiang collaborated on the quirky DC title Doctor 13, which makes me think they’ll bring some originality to this title.  There are already rumors that the duo are bringing some darker horror elements to some of the character’s mythological surroundings and supporting cast.  This one should be well worth a look and a read.

4) Ultimate X-men #1

Marvel’s last of their four new Ultimate relaunches also hits shelves this week.  Nick Spencer is the relative newcomer writing this new title, but he has lots of fans of his work on titles like Morning Glories, T.H.U.N.D.E.R. Agents, and the acclaimed Jimmy Olsen back up stories in Action Comics.  He’s teaming up artist Paco Medina for this relaunch.  Medina’s probably best known for his work on Deadpool and the recent adjective-less X-men title.  Along with X-men regulars like Wolverine, Iceman, and Rogue, promo art suggest other non mutant characters like the Human Torch might be along for the relaunch.

5) Daredevil #4

Arguably one of Marvel’s most entertaining new series, this book continues its return to the character’s swashbuckling roots.  While Paolo Rivera did an excellent job illustrating the first storyline’s fight between Daredevil and the sound villain Klaw, everyone should keep an eye open for artist Marcos Martin’s work on the book starting this issue.  Mark Waid is also doing solid work on the writing side of this title that is appealing to old and new fans.  If you’re a fan of Marvel stories from the sixties and seventies, you owe it to yourself to check out this entertaining title.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Catwoman #1, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles #2, Birds of Prey #1, B.P.R.D. Hell on Earth – Russia #1, Nightwing #1, Chew TP vol. 4, The Guild: Clara oneshot, Game of Thrones #1, Hellboy TP. vol. 11, and Michael Kupperman’s Mark Twain’s Autobiography: 1910-2010.

As part of our recent trip to this year’s Small Press Expo in Maryland, I had an opportunity to pick up an advanced copy of Craig Thompson’s eight years in the making new book, Habibi.  Thompson has had something of a meteoric rise to fame, with an acclaimed first book Goodbye, Chunky Rice, and his next book Blankets becoming a nationwide phenomenon and Eisner Award winner.  Blankets was a rare comic, a 500+ page original graphic novel memoir that went on to sell thousands of copies and inadvertently become a gateway comic for countless new readers.  Thompson followed Blankets with Carnet De Voyage, a much shorter work that was more travel journal than distinct narrative.  It has been known that Thompson’s newest book Habibi was being worked on for the better part of a decade.  Fans and critics alike have been curious about what kind of book Habibi will be, and whether or not it could live up to the subsequent hype created by the success of Blankets.  Once we got back from Maryland I took it upon myself to read Habibi and post some thoughts about it here on the Heroes blog in hopes of giving you all some idea about what you might expect from this massive book.

The first and most obvious aspect of Habibi is that it represents Thompson’s continued interest in creating long form graphic novels as opposed to serializing longer stories in the same way that creators like Adrian Tomine or Chris Ware typically might.  Thompson admits that there are positives and negatives to this publishing ideology, but the fact that he now has two 500+ page original graphic novels in his catalog is indeed an impressive feat, especially when you remember he’s only in his mid thirties.  These hefty works demand a great investment from readers, but if you see that a creator has put so much time and energy into a work, the book seems to offer a substantial potential for gravity, depth, and hopefully a high degree of entertainment.

While large comics do signify the creator’s dedication to story and craft, they don’t necessarily mean they are always good, entertaining comics.  How does Habibi stand on its own merit?  Habibi is quite an accomplishment because, if anything, it clearly shows how much Thompson wanted to grow and progress in his art after Blankets.  It might’ve been tempting to churn out a follow up to that story and tell another autobiographical story, but Thompson went to an entirely different well for Habibi.  It’s a Middle Eastern story that owes as much to Islamic history, poetry, art, and symbology as Blankets did to Thompson’s own Christian upbringing. Thompson isn’t Muslim, and didn’t necessarily grow up with an understanding or appreciation for cultures outside of his own, but his attention to detail is beyond meticulous.  Every pattern and example of calligraphy, though based on existing examples of Islamic art and history, was painstakingly reproduced by Thompson’s brush.  The fine adornments, chapter fronts, and panel frames weren’t cut and pasted from a computer, but drawn by hand.  To me this exemplifies that Thompson not only wanted to push himself as a cartoonist, but wanted to be very respectful to the traditions and forms that inspired this book.

Beyond Thompson’s clear motivation to make Habibi an accurate and appropriate Middle Eastern tale, it’s worth noting that there are several entertaining chase scenes and action sequences in the book.  I’ve heard from some who didn’t like Blankets that they thought it was too emotional, and not necessarily a story that demanded a visual interpretation.  Habibi reminds us that Thompson is acutely aware that comics are a visual medium, and that he understands and enjoys crafting pages filled not just with fine adornment, but with fluid movement.  The characters of Zam and Dodola are often in life-threatening situations, and that sense of danger is clearly evident, especially in the way Thompson depicts their faces and body language.  While Blankets was very much about individuals growing up in a strict fundamentalist environment, Habibi deals with characters maturing and changing amid a place of relegated status where their lives are often threatened.  For that reason the stakes seem dramatically higher in Habibi, and thus considerably more heavy in their global sense of relevance.

Somehow amid all the danger, Thompson maintains the thread of Habibi’s love story.  Blankets also had a love story, but while its focus was on young people still discovering their identities, Habibi’s love story exists between two very scarred individuals who allow themselves to know love in spite of their tremendous personal struggles.  While we see the characters age from young children to adulthood and witness their individual tragedies, we see them come to terms with their respective scars and still accept love in spite of their pasts.  The characters truly seem to need each other in order to fully realize their own true selves, and that necessity doesn’t come across as contrived or forced.  This feels like a story that could have already or may yet happen.

Habibi gives us plenty of evidence that Thompson has matured in his storytelling and his cartooning.  There is perhaps no better example of that than by simply noting that Habibi is a comic of layers, where symbolism and parallels exist amid the characters and scenes, but are also made more resonant by their reflection of Middle Eastern numerology, spirituality, and philosophy.  Blankets was in part about Thompson’s struggle to accept his fundamentalist upbringing and find his own voice amid that belief system.  Habibi is set in an equally fundamentalist culture, but here faith and the hope it brings act as a buoy for the characters.  Faith is something that the characters have even when everything else is against them.  The characters’ understanding and use of their faith is exemplified by the numerous inclusions of Islamic symbology, and while they give us a better sense of the characters’ identities, they are also a smart method Thompson uses to incorporate themes and symbology he wanted to illustrate in this story.

As with any creator who has a huge commercial and critical success, all their subsequent works will inevitably be measured against that previous work.  It wasn’t hard for me to read Habibi as its own story, but it is hard for me to talk about it now that I’ve read it without noting that this was made by the same guy who created Blankets.  While the stories have some similarities between them, Habibi stands out as a much denser, detailed, adult story reflective of an older, wiser cartoonist at work.  There certainly are some darker, more mature elements to Habibi, but they aren’t included gratuitously.  Thompson carefully researched Middle Eastern history, art, literature, and spirituality, and with Habibi adds his own mark to those centuries old stories.  Regardless of how you react to Habibi, I doubt anyone who reads this book can experience it without at least respecting the continually refining craftsmanship of Craig Thompson as a writer, cartoonist, and storyteller.

As was the case with last week’s spotlight, I want to remind all of you to check our full listing of new releases HERE to remind yourselves of what new titles you might be interested in checking out.  DC has another 13 brand new #1 issues to choose from, but they’re also lots of other great picks for the week.  Here are just a few to consider:

1) Ultimate Comics Spider-man #1

Brian Bendis and Sara Pichelli kick off what is likely the most widely anticipated new Ultimate title.  Peter Parker is gone, and there’s a new young Spider-man for a new generation.  How will the creators use the new alter ego of Miles Morales to add their own resonance to the Spider-man mythology?  Old and new Spidey fans will surely want to find out, and here’s the best place to start looking for that answer.

2) Green Lantern #1

As I said, there are lots of new DC books to choose from this week, but this is one that a lot of you are probably excited to pick up.  To change things up for the new DC 52, Geoff Johns and Doug Mahnke have returned the villain Sinestro to the role of Earth’s Green Lantern.  What does this mean for Hal Jordan and the Green Lantern Corps?  I’m sure Johns and Reis have an interesting plan in the works.

3) Optic Nerve #12

Not only a big day for DC and Marvel fans, any time there’s a new issue of Adrian Tomine’s Optic Nerve, readers of literary and indie comics can be excited.  This is Tomine’s first book following this year’s excellent Scenes From an Impending Marriage, and like all of his comics, this one should be full of humor, pathos, and the fine cartooning you can always expect from his work.

4) John Carter: A Princess of Mars #1

Marvel is publishing this book that aims to build upon the initial buzz built by the trailer to the upcoming John Carter live action film.  This isn’t a film adaption, but an adaption of the first John Carter novel by Edgar Rice Burroughs.  What’s more exciting than that, though, is the creative team working on this book.  Roger Langridge of Fred the Clown, The Muppet Show, Thor: the Mighty Avenger, and Snarked! fame is joined by artist Filipe Andrade and cover artist Skottie Young.  I’m anxious to see how the typically humorous Langridge tackles a classic fantasy story, and intrigued by the style of relative newcomer Andrade, who most recently worked on the Onslaught Unleashed series for Marvel.

5) The Complete Major Bummer Super Slacktacular TP

John Arcudi and Doug Mahnke’s acclaimed super hero satire is finally released in a complete collection.  Dark Horse is responsible for bringing this cult DC title back to print, and all 15 issues are included in this trade along with an introduction and the original series proposal from Arcudi and a Mahnke sketchbook section.  Also worth noting this week is the rerelease of another fine Arcudi story, A God Somewhere.

>Bonus Picks of the Week: Fear Itself #6, Amulet SC vol. 4, Batman and Robin #1, Korgi GN vol. 3, Frankenstein Agent of S.H.A.D.E. #1, Legion Lost #1, Dollhouse: Epitaphs #3, Suicide Squad #1, and Deathstroke #1.

Don’t forget that we still have lots of great mini comics and graphic novels that we brought back from SPX.  Take a few minutes to check some of these new items out during your visit to the shop this week.  You can check out our SPX blog HERE to see what we picked up for the store.

It’s the day after Small Press Expo 2011 and we’re back to work early to let you know about some of the great books we picked up for our Heroes customers.

We’ll start with Paying For It.  Yes, the latest book from Chester Brown has already been in stock at Heroes for a few months, but we just had to get another one.  What makes this one different though, is that Mr. Brown was nice enough to sign and sketch in the book for us.  If you’d like this signed/sketched copy of Paying For It, it’s yours for cover price.  There’s only one of these, so we’ll have it for the first person who comes to the store, mentions that they read it on our blog, and asks to purchase it.  We should note, if you comment on the blog and ask us to hold it for you, or if you call us and ask us to hold it for you via phone, we won’t honor that as a request.  We want you to come to the store and ask in person.

Though not officially released yet, we managed to snag a copy of Blue Collar/White Collar by Sterling Hundley.  This new offering from Adhouse features a variety of works from Hundley, an artist you might not be familiar with, but should seek out.  He primarily illustrates for magazines, but also exhibits in galleries, and covers a wide range of topics and themes in his explorations of diverse art styles.  If you’re an art lover, do yourself a favor and check out this book.  Hundley could end up having a James Jean type career that crosses over the worlds of fine art and comics.

We also picked up Stargazing Dog, an acclaimed manga from Takashi Murakami that will soon be released by NBM.  This one was being well received by fans of manga and literary comics, and its story of a frustrated man and his loyal dog should appeal to a variety of readers.

Old-Timey Hockey Tales is a new book from respected indie creators Robert Ullman and Jeffrey Brown.  Though the subject matter is hockey, the real draw of this book is the chance to see two very talented, and very stylistically different creators explore the history of the sport in their own unique ways.  In addition to this one we also picked up two volumes of Ullman’s Traffic and Weather strips.

Since we’re on the subject of mini comics, I’ll go ahead and mention some of the others we picked up.  Dan Zettwoch and Kevin Huizenga had a nice selection of minis, and we picked up three of their collaborative books, The Factoids of Life, Fact Parader, and Factual Healing, all three feature the two creators alternating stories.  Both of these guys are really talented cartoonists, and it’s something to see their distinctive individual works take place in a collaborative setting.

Also new to our mini comics sections are new arrivals Monster Isle, from Mermin creator Joey Weiser, March by Bill Burg, and 3 volumes of Messed Up Fairy Tales, featuring art from attendee Joe Foo, whose art caught our eyes.

The Venice Chronicles is described as “a travelogue in pencil, watercolor and varying shades of silliness.”  Written and illustrated by Pixar director/head of story Enrico Casarosa, this one reminds me a little of Lewis Trondheim and Scott Morse, but stands on its own for the sheer quality of the author’s original voice.

We also ran into Alec Longstreth and his magnificent beard and Tugboat Press publisher Greg Means. We picked up Yes, Let’s, a comic written by Alec’s sister Galen Goodwin Longstreth and illustrated by Maris Wicks.  This book’s fun use of rhyming couples nicely with Wicks’ fine line work.  This is one of the best all ages offerings we picked up this year, so be sure to check it out.

Heaven All Day is a wordless comic from John Martz.  He has a style that evokes Canadian cartooning great Seth, among other cartoonists, and this simple, well-paced story of a the comings and goings of a scientist/machinesmith and a robot stood out to both myself and Rico in our SPX wanderings.

Finally we have A Graphic Cosmogony.  This is an anthology I picked up for myself at Fluke in Athens a while back, and was glad to pick up a copy for our store this weekend.  This is a fine example of Adhouse’s Adistro program, where publisher Chris Pitzer has started to distribute comics from around the world that he wants readers to become more familiar with.  This book comes from England’s Nobrow Press, and features 24 artists each taking 7 pages to tell a story of creation.  There’s a lot of variety and quality within these pages, and chances are if you pick this one up you’ll be introduced to the work of a few cartoonists you’ll want to continue to enjoy.

We had a blast at SPX and are happy we were able to pick up some really interesting books for all of you to enjoy.  Stop by the store and give them a look for yourselves!

SPX photos by Heather McKinney

If you like Rockem Sockem Robots, but always wished they were the size of houses and you could place bets on them, REAL STEEL is the answer!

Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find has got tickets for the advanced preview of the Hugh Jackman ROBO-EXTRAVAGANZA  on Wednesday, September 14th at 7pm.

Just come by the store and mention this post for a ticket for two.  Just don’t tell our mechanical overlords.

This Saturday and Sunday Heroes’ own Rico Renzi and Seth Peagler will be in Bethesda, Maryland for this year’s Small Press Expo.  We’ll be there promoting HeroesCon’s 30th Anniversary, and will have plenty of fliers and info about the show.  If you’re interested in talking with us about reserving a small press table of your own, we’ll also be happy to assist you with that.  So if you happen to be at SPX, make sure to find us and say ‘hi.’  This year’s lineup includes talent like Jim Woodring, Johnny Ryan, Jim Rugg, Chester Brown, and Craig Thompson will be on hand to debut his long awaited followup to Blankets called Habibi.  Also on hand will be our friends from AdHouse Books, Heroes alumi/cartoonist Dustin Harbin, and more.  We’re glad to be attending, and hope to see some of you there!

Dig that Jim Rugg program cover!

While last week marked the release of DC’s flagship relaunch title Justice League, there are lots of rebooted titles hitting the stands this week.  While I’d like to list them all, there’s limited space here so I’d remind you to refer to our new releases page here for our complete listing.

1) Action Comics #1

Grant Morrison and Rags Morales are the creators who will be bringing us stories of a young Superman.  With an emphasis on the character’s blue collar roots, the book has potential to offer some interesting twists on the Superman mythos.  If you read All Star Superman you know Morrison has a deep respect and understanding of the Man of Steel.  If DC made the decision to relaunch Action Comics, whether you agree with that or not, at least we can take solace knowing they got Morrison to start it over.

2) Casanova: Avaritia#1

Brand new Casanova stories start this week from Matt Fraction, Gabriel Ba, Cris Peter and Heroes alum Dustin Harbin.  Fans have been waiting for new Casanova stories for a while, and Fraction and Co. are delivering 32 pages of story in the new issues.  This is one of those multi-layered books that seems to tie together several disparate elements and tie them together in one cohesive and entertaining way.  This is Fraction at his best and most inventive, and you should read this book if you haven’t yet.

3) Animal Man #1

As I mentioned earlier there are plenty of new DC #1 issues this week. So why talk about Animal Man?  Something tells me that 6 months from now when we look back at the relaunch, this might be one of the standout books.  Jeff Lemire is writing this book, and while his previous superhero writing efforts have been popular, I don’t think he’s really found a property he didn’t create that showcases his writing talent.  Teaming up with Travel Foreman on this project might offer him that opportunity.  The interesting thing about this book is that it seems to be a superhero story, a story about a family, and a horror story all rolled into one.  This is definitely one to consider regardless of how little or much you know about Animal Man.

4) Swamp Thing #1

From what I’ve read, Swamp Thing has long been a dream project of writer Scott Snyder.  With critically acclaimed work on American Vampire and Detective Comics, Snyder has shown he can write a wide range of subject matter.  If his take on Batman was so well done, what might he do with a character like Swamp Thing?  Yanick Paquette is illustrating, and while I was a bit skeptical about his involvement in this project, he too apparently has been a longtime fan of this character.  So you have two creators who have a great love for the history of a character coming together to work on the next chapter of that character.  That leads me to believe this will be a solid book.

5) Men of War #1

The new Sgt. Rock title offers one of the more interesting premises of any of the new DC books.  Focusing on the grandson of the original, this series will not only attempt to tell stories of modern warfare, but the fact that these soldiers operate in the same DC universe where costumed heroes and villians reside offers some interesting new potential.  Ivan Brandon and Tom Derenick helm this story, and many people really believe that this is the book Brandon has been waiting to write for a long time.  This one should be worth a read.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Batgirl #1, Detective Comics #1, Mega Man TP vol. 1, New Avengers Annual #1, Big Questions TP, Static Shock #1, and Jacques Tardi’s Like a Sniper Lining Up His Shot HC.