Thanks so much to everyone from our great community that came out to the 35th Annual Charlotte MiniCon this weekend. It was fantastic to see so many enthusiastic comic fans at our biggest MiniCon ever. The beautiful Palmer Building was packed and we can’t wait to do it again next year! Special thanks to Cliff Chiang for making the trip down to Charlotte from New York! We’re happy to say he’ll be back down for HeroesCon 2012 in June! Click the photo below to see our MiniCon photo set featuring Cliff and all the other great comic creators that came out! You may even find a photo of yourself if you were there. Follow us on Twitter or join our Facebook page to hear about special events like this first!

Charlotte MiniCon is this weekend! Sunday, January 22nd, 11AM-5PM at The Palmer Building: 2601 East 7th Street  Charlotte, NC 28204

This exclusive silk screen poster (modeled for scale by handsome and personable Heroes staff member Brent Bagwell) by Cliff Chiang and Dustin Harbin will be available at the show for $10! Get here!

Also appearing:

Rich Barrett (Nathan Sorry)
J Chris Campbell (Wide Awake Press, Neatobots)
Sanford Greene (Rotten Apple, Wonder Girl)
Dustin Harbin (Diary Comics, Dharbin)
Jason Latour (Wolverine, BPRD, Loose Ends)
Eraklis “Herc” Petmezas (Mr Lune, Last Cigarette)
Bridgit Scheide (Brother Nash,Womanthology)
Andy Smith (War of the Green Lanterns, JSA, WWE Heroes)
Budd Root (Cavewoman)

Not only will you find great comic creators at MiniCon, the show will also feature dealers selling comics from the Golden Age through today, along with other great collectibles. If you’ve never been to the MiniCon or enjoyed the nice environment of the Palmer Building before, there’s no better time than this year. Come help us celebrate the 35th anniversary of this classic event, and make sure to bring the whole family! It’s going to be a rockin’ good time!

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

Excitement is building  for the Charlotte MiniCon on SUNDAY, January 22, 2012!  We already told you Cliff Chiang will be there but we didn’t tell you about the sweet poster we’ll be offering! Cliff and local hero Dustin Harbin have teamed up to create this gorgeous poster that will be available at the MiniCon. Did we mention it’s huge? 16 by 24 inches of glorious hand silk screened art on a nice heavy sheet of paper. Wait until you see these things! We will be offering them for a measly 10 bucks a piece! That’s a deal and a half! Get a friend to pick one up for you if you can’t make it to the show!

Besides Cliff Chiang and Dustin Harbin other great guests on hand will include:

• Rich Barrett
• J. Chris Campbell
• Sanford Greene
• Jason Latour
• Eraklis “Herc” Petmezas
• Bridgit Scheide
• Andy Smith
• Budd Root

We’ll take a closer look at all of these great creators (and maybe a couple more!) as we get closer to MiniCon time.

Not only will you find great comic creators at MiniCon, the show will also feature dealers selling comics from the Golden Age through today, along with other great collectibles. If you’ve never been to the MiniCon or enjoyed the nice environment of the Palmer Building before, there’s no better time than this year. Come help us celebrate the 35th anniversary of this classic event, and make sure to bring the whole family! It’s going to be a rockin’ good time!

Charlotte MiniCon
January 22, 2012
11 am to 5 pm
Admission is just $3!
Palmer Building at Fireman’s Hall
2601 E 7th St
Charlotte, NC 28204

Get ready people, the Charlotte MiniCon is back! Shelton started the MiniCon waaaaay back in 1977 ( I was 5 but who’s counting ). We’re still talking to all our friendly nearby creators to see who can make it to the show but I wanted to let you know about a very special out-of-town guest who will be paying a visit to the Queen City just for this event! Cliff Chiang is going to be here to celebrate the 35th Anniversary of the MiniCon! Cliff is currently turning out some of the best work of his career as the artist of DC’s Wonder Woman, but he’s also known for adding his distinctive style to books like Zatanna, Doctor 13, Neil Young’s Greendale, Human Target, and Green Arrow/Black Canary, among many others .  Meet Cliff Sunday, January 22, 2012 at this incredibly fun, family-friendly event! Mark your calendars and check back here for more details about the MiniCon or join our mailing list to make sure you hear about any events we have coming up.

Charlotte MiniCon
January 22, 2012
11 am to 5 pm
Admission is just $3!
Palmer Building at Fireman’s Hall
2601 E 7th St
Charlotte, NC 28204

Don’t forget that the Charlotte Minicon will be this Saturday, January 22, 2011 from 11 am to 5 pm. The show will be at the Palmer Building at Fireman’s Hall which is just half a mile from our store. We love having our Minicon at this cozy location and it is well worth the $3 admission price just to come and check out this cool, old building. If you are not familiar with the location, fear not, we will put up signs along 7th St. to help direct you to the event!

Our awesome guest list includes Rich Barrett (Nathan Sorry), Chris Brunner (Boondock Saints, Loose Ends), J. Chris Campbell (Zig Zag), Sanford Greene (1000), Dustin Harbin (Diary Comics #1), Jason Latour (Noche Roja, Scalped, Wolverine), Budd Root (Cavewoman), Bridgit Scheide (Kindle), Andy Smith (X-Men Forever 2) and Chrissie Zullo (Fables #100). We have been spotlighting these guests for the past month now to show off just how incredibly talented these guests are. Check out the blog for those spotlights!

In addition to our special guests there will be a room full of dealers from all over the Southeast selling their comic wares. Come by to dig for comics both new and old as well as other comic related items like toys! As a special bonus treat, the Charlotte Minicon will feature pony rides (weather permitting)! All you have to do is donate at least $3 to the Latta Plantation Equestrian Center. Funds raised will go to erect a covered area at the center. I can’t think of another convention that can boast that they have pony rides!

We hope to see you Saturday, January 22, 2011 at this incredibly fun, family-friendly event!

Charlotte Minicon
January 22, 2011
11 am to 5 pm
Admission is just $3!
Palmer Building at Fireman’s Hall
2601 E 7th St
Charlotte, NC 28204

Update: Unfortunately, Special Guest Chris Stevens will be unable to attend the Charlotte Minicon this Saturday. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

The Charlotte Minicon is THIS Saturday from 11 am to 5 pm at the Palmer Building! For the past several weeks building up to it we have been spotlighting our awesomely talented guests and here is the last batch for your enjoyment! Come see them live and in-person at the Minicon. In the meantime, for more information about the artists please visit their websites!

First up is Dustin Harbin who is no stranger to Heroes events. Up until recently he was helping to organize them! We welcome him as he sits on the other side of the table. For more images like the one on the right check out Harbin’s Ten Dollar Fourths Flickr set.

Heroes: Creatively, what are you most proud of from 2010?
Dustin Harbin: I guess I’m pretty proud of making a newspaper, which was a fun design challenge, and of getting to work with Anne Koyama, whose Koyama Press published my DIARY COMICS #1 in September. She let me design that book too, so 2010 was a year with a lot of successful design challenges met for me.

H: What can we look for from you in 2011?
DH: In 2011 I’ll have two more (small) volumes of DIARY COMICS, plus at least one full-color collection of the non-diary comics I publish on dharbin.com. I’m shooting for at least 3 different anthology stories this year, and will be pitching a couple of things to publishers, so we’ll see how that shakes out. But I bet those things wouldn’t show up until 2012 anyway, just in time for the Mayans to return and destroy us all.

H: Do you have any interesting or fond memories from a past Charlotte Minicon?
DH: Well, I used to work at these things! So most of the memories are work-related. Weirdly, all my favorite memories are of setting up the room in the morning, and wheedling free Bojangles out of Shelton for everyone. Last year was my first year exhibiting as an artist, so that was pretty great. Especially since I live right around the corner, so I just wheeled my little handtruck right over. It’s always nice to hang out with J. Chris Campbell, that guy’s the best. I am hopefully going to make a memory with him this year, or maybe Rich Barrett. Either one of those guys, pretty sure.

Next on the list is J. Chris Campbell who is simultaneously a super awesome artist and a super awesome guy! His mini comics are humorous, fun and occasionally a bit melancholy, but they are always worth the price! You should definitely stop by his table and take a gander. I heard a little rumor that Duane Ballenger might be appearing along with Campbell. Come to the Minicon to find out for yourself!

Heroes: Creatively, what are you most proud of from 2010?
J. Chris Campbell: I’m most proud of finally putting together a collection of my comics from a bunch of anthologies. Zig Zag: Mish Mash brings together stories that have been scattered all over the place for years. I released a small number of them at Heroes and it’s available thru the Comixology app for iPhone. I was also pretty proud to be among the few to beta test Comixology’s self authoring software that will help me release more digital comics.

H: What can we look for from you in 2011?
JCC: 2011 is a great year. It’s the 10th anniversary of Wide Awake Press! We aren’t planning anything huge but we’ve got a couple of projects in the works that should prove to be a lot of fun. Including the 2011 Free Comic Book Day download and an anthology edited by Pat Lewis called Our Broadcast Day.

H: Do you have any interesting or fond memories from a past Charlotte Minicon?
JCC: One year we crammed four guys behind our table including Rob Ullman, Duane Ballenger and Justin Gammon. It was a tight fit but a lot of fun and I think that was the same year that it started to snow. Last Charlotte Minicon we closed the place down by chatting it up with the Dollar Bin. I always love doodling robots for all the folks who drop by my table. Minicon is in a really nice venue with great local artists and quality dealers. A great mix for a super one day show!

Also we have Sanford Greene who is a regular guest at HeroesCon and for Free Comic Book Day so we are delighted to have him up for the Charlotte Minicon. Greene’s recent work includes Wonder Girl, Marvel Adventures Spider-Man and Deadpool Team-Up.

Heroes: Creatively, what are you most proud of from 2010?
Sanford Greene: In 2010, I did a lot of design work for games and animation that I am proud of. Some of which I can not mention. However,  one thing I am happy with the work I did for the new DC Comics MMO that just came out. I am also proud of to finally get one of my creator owned projects ( 1000) off the ground!

H: What can we look for from you in 2011?
SG: I am excited to be apart of the new Dark Horse Comics Presents launch! I am also excited about my new OGN 1000, coming soon to MTV.com! There’s several other things lined up with Marvel but really can’t announce yet.

H: Do you have any interesting or fond memories from a past Charlotte Minicon?
SG: This is my first Minicon,  and will not be my last! I am sure from here on , I will have fond memories!

Finally we get to Chris Brunner. All of us here at Heroes are super excited about the work his is putting out and we can’t wait for Loose Ends to hit stores!

Heroes: Creatively, what are you most proud of from 2010?
Chris Brunner: Can’t help but be a tease here, I’m happiest with the pages Rico Renzi, Jason Latour and I have stockpiled for our comic Loose Ends. We’ve been scheming on it for a while now, and I’m dead pleased with how it’s coming together. We have run amok.

H: What can we look for from you in 2011?
CB: A couple more Boondock Saints covers this spring from Rico and I, a heady dose of Loose Ends in 12 Gauge’s Free Comic Book Day release, and the full Loose Ends run for the summertime. There’s regular art shenanigans here too: http://kickstandkids.blogspot.com/

H: Do you have any interesting or fond memories from a past Charlotte Minicon?
CB: At last years Minicon I did a drawing for Brandon Padgett of the Dollar Bin podcast, which is now hanging in his son’s bedroom- can’t beat that. The show seems to grow every year, hopefully twice the guest list means twice the tomfoolery and general comic hijinx.

Unfortunately, Special Guest Chris Stevens will be unable to attend the Charlotte Minicon this Saturday. We apologize for any inconvenience this causes.

We’ve told you about some of the great guests that will be at the Charlotte MiniCon but did we mention we will also have pony rides? If Mother Nature cooperates and for a small donation, the kiddies will be able to ride one of the sweet ponies from Latta Equestrian Center.

Visit  http://www.lattaequestriancenter.com to see how you can set up your own party and more!