1) Winter Soldier #1

This new series focusing on the adult Bucky Barnes looks very promising.  Not only does the creative team include Ed Brubaker and Butch Guice, both well versed in tales of espionage, but the new series returns Bucky to the Winter Soldier mantle.  This means you’ll see a high action series that will include Bucky dealing with some of the fallout of his actions during the Cold War.  Brubaker clearly cares about this character, and always tells solid stories about him when given the opportunity.

2) Kramer’s Ergot vol. 8 HC

Editor/cartoonist Sammy Harkham always assembles some interesting work for his Kramer’s Ergot anthology.  While the last one was a truly gigantic undertaking (at 16 x 21 it was essentially the size of a coffee table!), volume 8 is more bookshelf friendly.  You can always expect to see some quality cartooning in this anthology, and this week’s volume is no exception.  Among the contributers are Kevin Huizenga, Johnny Ryan, Chris Cilla, Gabrielle Bell, Dash Shaw, Frank Santoro, Gary Panter, and Harkham himself.  It’s also nearly 250 pages of great comics!

3) Fatale #2

The first issue of this new title sold out across the country, and for good reason.  Aside from being the latest addition to the crime catalogue of Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips, it also marks a new direction for the pair, as they’re combining the worlds of noir and horror to tell an altogether different type of crime story.  If you’ve read some of their previous collaborations on books like Sleeper, Criminal, or Incognito, you know they always deliver good hardboiled work.  Also, if you happened to miss the first issue, the second printing of #1 also sees print this week.

4) Madman 20th Anniversary Monster HC

To celebrate the 20th Anniversary of his infamous character, Mike Allred brought together a veritable who’s who of today’s greatest artists to tell new tales of the zany.  Included here are the likes of Kyle Baker, Darwyn Cooke, Los Bros. Hernandez, Erik Larsen, Paul Pope, Eric Powell, Frank Quitely, Jeff Smith, Craig Thompson, Matt Wagner, and many more!  The book also includes twenty years worth of pinups from legends like Frank Frazetta, Jack Kirby, Moebius, Alex Toth, Frank Miller, Joe Kubert, and Dave Stevens.  This 11 x 17 hardcover is destined to end up on more than a few of the year’s ‘best of’ lists.

5) American Vampire vol. 3 HC

This new collection stands out not onlybecause it features Scott Snyder and Raphael Albuquerque’s American vampires set against the backdrop of World War II, but also because it collects 12 comics and two seperate but related stories.  Along with the seven issues from the regular series, this volume also collects the five issue American Vampire: Survival of the Fittest miniseries by Snyder and artist Sean Murphy.  And it’s also over 280 comics in a hardcover format for $24.99!  If you want an entertaining and affordable read, you can’t do much better than this book this week.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Animal Man #6, Swamp Thing #6, Twelve #9, Superman: Regin of Doomsday HC, Strange Talent of Luther Strode #5, Action Comics #6, and Avengers X-sanction #3.

There are few things more satisfying than high quality crime fiction (The Novels of Jim Thompson, HBO’s The Sopranos, and Polanski’s Chinatown just to name three).

And there is nothing more embarrassing and ridiculous than cliche-ridden badly done hard boiled crime like Mickey Spillane (OK, it’s kinda funny), Bones (yikes!), Fatal Attraction (GAH!) and sadly I could go on and on.

The essential ingredients needed to produce quality crime writing are a consistent and believable tone, a fully developed central character/narrator and solid cast of supporting characters that allow you to suspend your disbelief until the final page is turned.

In recent years there have been a number of successful crime series in comics–(Darwyn Cooke’s Hunter adaptations, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s 100 Bullets and Warren Ellis’ Fell ) and quite a few crime comics that fall headlong into cliche (the last four Sin City GNs).

One of today’s most popular crime series is Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.  For February’s Discussion Group we’ll be looking closely at two of Criminal’s story-arcs and examining what makes the stories work.  How do the writer and artist avoid cliches or how do they use them to enhance the story?  How do the creators use the comic medium to their unique advantage versus a prose writer or film director treating the same material?

Please plan to join us on Saturday February 18th at 1:00pm down at Heroes Headquarters and help us get the facts straight about Criminal: Bad Night and Criminal: The Last of the Innocent. Just leave yer pieces at home, but bring an open mind along with an air-tight alibi (See??? Bad Crime writing is a breeze!!!).

As usual, Heroes is offering the Discussion Group 10% Discount on both books,  Just remember to mention the Discussion Group as you check out.  We’ll see you on February 18th; and as always, Dames are welcome (Dear God, somebody stop me!)

Thanks again to all our guests and attendees who were a part of this year’s Charlotte MiniCon.  We all had a great time and hope you did as well.  It makes us all the more focused on making HeroesCon’s 30th Anniversary better than ever!  Now on to this week’s spotlight.

1) Bulletproof Coffin: Disinterred #1

The first Bulletproof Coffin miniseries was a mindful blend of pop culture aestheticism and wry commentary on comics’ history and functionality.  Or you could just call it a really well done comic by David Hine and Shaky Kane.  The first issue tells the origin of an archetypal character called The Shield of Justice, and features a detective named Johnny P. Sartre.  The philosophical among you will enjoy surely enjoy it, as will fans of filmmaker David Lynch.  And with one of the future issues being titled “Tales from the Haunted Jazz Club,” there’s a lot of variety to enjoy here.

2) Silence of Our Friends GN

Writer Mark Long joins popular cartoonist Nate Powell (Swallow Me Whole, Any Empire) to recount the tumultuous events of Texas in the late 1960′s.  Recounting the struggles to free five men wrongly accused of murder, Silence of Our Friends looks to be a fine example of how the comics form can be used to document Civil Rights history.  I haven’t seen much publicity for this book, but it’s one that rightly deserves our attention.  Plus, the book is co-written by our friend (and Emerald City Comic Con founder) Jim Demonakos!

3) Naughty and Nice: The Good Girl Art of Bruce Timm HC

Just a reminder, this is a book for mature readers.  This volume collects 300 pages of Timm’s good girl art, and covers a wide range of subjects in a variety of locales.  There’s even a nice, tasteful section of Timm’s illustrations of female superheroes.  Combine that with the fact that there are both color and pencil illustrations, and you have quite the art book.  Plus, legendary artist Jim Steranko provides an introduction!  Oh, and we also have a limited, signed hardcover edition available.  Get it while you can!

4) Justice League #5

As the first arc from Geoff Johns and Jim Lee nears it’s conclusion, their initial roster gets assembled in this issue.  It happens just in time, too, as Darkseid shows up to threaten humanity.  While this week is unique for all of the non-superhero titles hitting the stands, it’s hard not to mention this book’s arrival.  Johns and Lee have maintained and developed strong new readership, and with next issue’s big throwdown between the League and Darkseid, expect lots of people to continue to pick up this title over the coming months.

5) Secret Avengers #21.1

This .1 issue acts as the lead in to the Secret Avengers’ new direction.  Watch as Cap hands the reins of this covert team over to Hawkeye and the two wrap up a few loose ends.  The other big reason to pick up this issue is that it’s the first to be written by Rick Remender, who has been doing fantastic work over on Uncanny X-force.  In fact, since he’s now writing both of these covert team books, expect them to have some parallels.  Secret Avengers could very well be the Avengers version of Uncanny X-force, and it all starts here, so don’t miss it!

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Absolute Kingdom Come HC (new printing), All Star Western #5, Aquaman #5, Astonishing Spider-man and Wolverine TP, Batman Beyond: Industrial Revolution TP, Irredeemable vol. 8 TP, Vertigo’s A.D.D. HC, Hawkman by Geoff Johns vol. 1 Omnibus HC, and the Manara Library vol. 2 HC.

Original comic art dealer Jason Schachter has assembled some of modern comics most talented artists under the banner of Essential Sequential.  We’re happy to announce that this stellar group of artists are coming to HeroesCon 2012! Mark your calendars and plan to be here for our best show yet! HeroesCon 30th Anniversary June 22-24, 2012!

Along with previously announced guest Tim Sale, Jason is bringing:

Mark Chiarello: Art Director for DC Comics, illustrator, painter (Star Wars), cover artist (Vigilante, Terminal City, Johnny Double), co-author of Heroes of the Negro Leagues, Artist of Batman/Houdini: The Devil’s Workshop

Peter Nguyen: Color Key Artist at the Academy Award winning Blue Sky Studios (Rio, Ice Age) , cover artist (Detective Comics)

Andrew Robinson: Creator or Dusty Star, cover artist (Conan, The Fifth Beatle, Starman, Hawkman)

Dan Panosian: Co Founder of Drink and Draw, artist (Conan Road of Kings, X-Men Origins: Sabretooth, and countless others)

Eric Canete: Animator (Tron, Aeon Flux, X-Men), artist (Iron Man: Enter the Mandarin)

Mike Choi: Artist (X-23, X-Men, Witchblade)

Reverend Dave Johnson: Eisner Award winning Cover Artist (100 Bullets, Punisher Max, BPRD, Deadpool), Co Founder of Drink and Draw

Allesandro Vitti: Artist (Captain America & Hawkeye, Secret Warriors)

Matteo Scalera: Artist (Valen the Outcast), cover artist (Irredeemable, Elric)

This Sunday Heroes celebrates the 35th Anniversary of the Charlotte MiniCon!  As part of the celebration we are honored to have artist Cliff Chiang appear as one of our featured guests.  Aside from being universally regarded as one of the nicest guys in the industry, Cliff’s also one of comics’ top illustrators.  Just take a look at DC’s new Wonder Woman series and you’ll see why.  We recently talked with Cliff about his appearance this weekend, and some of his recent work. Make sure to stop by the MiniCon this Sunday and welcome Cliff back to Charlotte!

Heroes (H):  Your collaboration with Brian Azzarello dates back to your time as an editor of 100 Bullets and your work together on DC’s excellent Doctor 13 stories.  What made Wonder Woman seem like the natural next step in your collaboration?

Cliff Chiang (CC): I’d been itching to work with Azz again ever since Doctor 13, but I had some longer projects that delayed those plans. When Azz called me about Wonder Woman, I realized it was a great opportunity to be creative and confuse people at the same time! I was in.

CC: As long as they’ll have us. We have some long term plans for the story, and I’d love to be able to see them though.

CC: We’ve got the exclusive MiniCon screenprint by me and Dustin Harbin, for a measly $10! Hopefully, I’ll get another image done for HeroesCon later this year. So much to do!

H: We’re glad you mentioned that! We’re happy that you’ll be back in Charlotte for HeroesCon this summer to help us celebrate our 30th anniversary.

Super (Fly) Mario for the What Not Blog

H: Whose idea was the What Not Blog?

CC: I think it was Reverend Dave Johnson’s brainchild. It’s inspiring to see such a diverse group of artists just messing around like that.

H: Where do you guys find the time to do these fully realized illustrations on top of your paying work?!

CC: It can be hard, but it is a lot of fun. I probably should do less-finished stuff and post more often, but sometimes I love an idea and wanna show some more care.

H: Finally, what are some of the comics that you’re most looking forward to seeing in 2012?

CC: Two things I’m looking forward to in 2012 are the conclusion to Loose Ends (I did not pay him to say that. -rico.) and the print version of Robbi Rodriguez’s Frankie Get Your Gun.

Thanks to Cliff for taking time to answer a few questions.  You can meet him and a slew of other great artists this Sunday at the 35th Anniversary of the Charlotte MiniCon!

Check out Cliff’s website and follow him on Twitter @CliffChiang

It’s a big week at Heroes!  Don’t forget that this Sunday, from 11-5 in the Palmer Building, we’ll be celebrating the 35th Anniversary of the Charlotte MiniCon.  Make sure to stop by and celebrate with us, and don’t forget to visit the store to pick up some of this week’s new comics.  Click HERE for more info about the MiniCon.  Here are some of this week’s new releases to consider.

1) Batman #5

Part of the reason so many readers have responded so well to Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo’s Batman is their use of interesting new villains like The Court of Owls.  The idea that an old sect has existed in Gotham City for so long, and only recently come into the sight of Batman creates a variety of physical and psychological problems for Bruce Wayne.  Snyder is also tying in threads he first planted in his recent Batman: Gates of Gotham series.  This really has established itself as one of the relaunched DC titles with a very clear plan and direction.

2) Danger Girl: Revolver #1

There are plenty of fans of J. Scott Campbell and this particular spy book among our readers, so it warrants a place on this week’s spotlight.  If you’re a fan of either, you’ll want to know that this new 4 issue series not only returns Campbell and writer Andy Hartnell back to the book, but also features the introduction of  new characters to the Danger Girl family.  Aiding Campbell and Hartnell is series artist Chris Madden, who some of you may know from IDW’s recent Jack Avarice is the Courier series.

3) Daredevil #8

This title ended up on many ‘Best of 2011′ lists, and for good reason.  The significance of this issue is that it’s the second part of a 2 part crossover with Amazing Spider-man (#677).  Mark Waid and guest artist Kano tell the final part of a story centered around a potential love triangle between Spidey, Daredevil and Black Cat.  And though he’s absent from the interior artwork, regular series artist Paolo Rivera provides the excellent cover for this issue.

4) Prophet #21

First things first, yes, this is a new variation on Rob Liefeld’s ’90′s property.  That’s not really the unexpected part though.  Liefeld’s off working on numerous titles for DC’s relaunch at the moment, so Image has decided to take some of his characters (like Prophet and Glory), and have them reexamined by creators you might not have thought would work on them.  Prophet, for example, features the work of writer Brandon Graham, creator/writer/artist of the popular King City, and Simon Roy, whose art is quite different from Liefeld.  The result is a surprising book that puts its own unique twist on the ‘stranger in a strange land’ archetype, complete with crazy monsters and post apocalyptic dangers.

5) Uncanny X-force #20

In an issue that deals with further fallout from the recent Dark Angel Saga, this issue sends X-force to Otherworld to deal with the Captain Britain Corps.  Between this storyline and Captain Britain’s upcoming appearances in Secret Avengers, Marvel seems to be bringing the character back to the forefront.  If nothing else, you can be sure that Rick Remender’s take on the character in both of these books will be unique and worth a read.

>Bonus Picks of the Week: Wonder Woman #5, Bill Griffith: Lost and Found 1970-1994 TP, Lord of the Jungle #1, Nightwing #5, Fraggle Rock Classics vol. 1 TP, Uncanny X-men #5, Twelve vol. 1 TP, and Superior #7.

1) Lobster Johnson: The Burning Hand #1

It’s hard to believe there hasn’t been a full length solo Lobster Johnson story in four years!  Mike Mignola brings back the popular pulp hero from the Hellboy-verse this week for a story featuring phantom Indians and mobsters.  B.P.R.D. writer John Arcudi and Who is Jake Ellis? artist Tonci Zonjic are also on board for this series, which also features great covers from Dave Johnson, who has been killing it on the recent B.P.R.D. covers.

2) Batman: Through the Looking Glass HC

This all new original graphic novel focuses on the Dark Knight’s first encounters with the Alice in Wonderland-themed villain Mad Hatter.  More significantly, the story was written by veteran horror writer Bruce Jones and illustrated by the Sam Kieth, whose instantly recognizable, angular art should fit the story nicely.  Plus, at over 100 pages, this book provides the perfect chance for those of you looking for a stand alone Batman story to indulge in and enjoy.

3) Batgirl #5

It’s easy to see why Batgirl has been one of the most consistent of DC’s 52 relaunches.  Old and new fans have responded to the return of Barbara Gordon as Batgirl, and writer Gail Simone has long established her proficiency at telling stories featuring the character.  Artist Ardian Syaf has also provided a sense of stability to the story of Gordon trying to reestablish her masked persona.  This issue also features an appearance from Batman, who hasn’t yet faced Barbara since her return to costumed crimefighting.  And if you needed yet another reason to give this book a try, don’t forget the always amazing covers of Adam Hughes.

4) Shade #4

Fans of James Robinson’s Shade have rightly been trying to increase awareness of this series featuring the classic Starman villain/ally.  If you’ve yet to pick up the first three issues which featured excellent art from Cully Hamner, it’s not to late to jump on board this book.  If you’re looking for a solid story with equally quality art, make sure to pick up those issues along with this week’s issue which is illustrated by the great Darwyn Cooke.  That’s right, Darwyn Cooke is illustrating this issue telling of Shade’s early career as a villain in the 1940′s.  Don’t miss it!

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Captain America #7, Green Lantern #5, Incredible Hulk #4, Steve Ditko Omnibus vol. 2 HC, Scarlet Spider #1, and Wolverine and the X-men #4.

It’s me! Your erstwhile Comic Strip and Golden Age fanatic reporting to you live from the Poorhouse.   I find myself in these somewhat Dickensian straits thanks to the quality and quantity of must-have reprints that were published over the past 12 months.  I tell ya, I was like a kid in a Comics shop–oh wait...

Whilst preparing this article I calculated that I had purchased 46 Collected editions over the course of the calendar year and 33 of them were Comic Strip collections.  All 46 books are gorgeous–they look great on the shelf and they are a joy to read and re-read and they function as text books of comic technique.

I realize the World Economy–like the Chicago Cubs– is in another “re-building year“, so in good conscience, I have reviewed all the reprint books I purchased & devoured this past year and I have listed below the creme de la creme–this is the stuff you really have to have:

• Mickey Mouse Vol 1 and 2 Race to Death Valley/Trapped on Treasure Island
• Walt and Skeezix Volume 5
• Carl Barks Donald Duck in Lost in the Andes
• Pogo Volume 1

But why these four?

Hyperbole is all but redundant on any Best-Of Lists.  Any apropos description– fantastic art/great pacing/fabulous cast of supporting characters/marvelous storytelling– comes off as tired and cliched.  I have spent the last two weeks trying to figure out why these four are the best of the year–why they mean so much to collectors on a gut level– here goes: (more…)

Hi, I’m Heather, long time reader and first time contributor to the Heroes Blog. You may recognize me from the Info Booth at HeroesCon or from my photography here on the blog and Flickr.  You may have also seen me around the store with my new husband, Seth Peagler, Heroes’ Warehouse Manager. I’ll be digging through all the goodness that is the Previews Catalog bringing you things that the staff and I think look interesting .

B.P.R.D.: Hell on Earth: The Pickens County Horror #1: Dark Horse brings us a new chapter in the paranormal agency’s fight against evil with this two part mini-series.  Vampires have been notably absent in the world of Hellboy, and this title will reveal their history focusing on a Gothic Southern clan dealing with the fallout of hell on Earth.  With covers by Becky Cloonan and Mike Mignola this scary title is co-written by Mignola and Scott Allie.  Even better, Charlotte’s own Jason Latour is the interior artist!  (page 34-35)

Fairest #1: While one shouldn’t judge a book by its cover, Adam Hughes’ wraparound cover is so full of beauty that it alone is enough to entice many readers.  Writer and creator Bill Willingham introduces a new series in the popular Fables universe focusing on the women of the fairy tale world.  With art by Phil Jimenez and Andy Lanning, the first arc focuses on Briar Rose with promised arcs centering on other characters like Rapunzel and Snow White to follow. (page 140 as well as the front cover) (more…)

Just a Planetar-reminder that the Heroes Discussion Group will meet this Saturday January 7th at 1:00pm to discuss Planetary– Warren Ellis and John Cassaday’s magnum opus of superhero archetypes and the team that investigates them.

As usual there are a myriad of topics to discuss, the two that come to mind first are:

Why make villains out of the 4? What does it say about–well, everything?

and

How much of the narrative is serious storytelling and how much is a self-parody?  And does it really matter?

I’d also like to discuss colorista extraordinaire and Heroescon regular Laura Martin and how her contributions affect the story-telling.

So remember, bring an open-mind and your sweet-tooth (if we end up at the bakery).

And as usual: All of the Planetary volumes including the enormous, beautiful omnibusseses  are available from Heroes with the 10% Discussion Group Discount.  As usual, be sure to mention the discount to your clerk as they are ringing up your order.