Road Warrior Shelton Drum is hitting the highways again this weekend, this time headed up to New York City for the Big Apple Comic Con! He’s not going alone either; he’ll be accompanied by Winslow and Shelley Drum, and they’ll join forced with our buddies Steve Saffel and Dana Heyward in NYC to form a five-pointed ninja throwing star of comics retailing power. Best metaphor ever, believe it baby!

The show is going on tomorrow through Sunday, and for those of you within the sound of my digital voice who’ll be there, please accept this coupon! Bring it by the Heroes booth (Booth 1607) to get 20% off regular back issues and statues! Shelton will have his big stock that he and Seth have been working for months, and which is a big hit at every show he does. Plus the tons and tons of Golden, Silver, and Bronze Age books and other goodies!

And while you’re up there saying hey to Shelton and the gang and checking out the convention itself, buy Shelton a cup of coffee, would ya? He’s been hitting the road hard, and I’m sure he’s looking forward to a good long sleep after this!

Oh yeah! If you’re going to the Baltimore Comicon this weekend (it’s going on tomorrow and Sunday, October 10-11), here’s a special offer just for you! Click here or on the image above to open a printable pdf of this coupon! Take it by the Heroes booth (Booths 805-807) at the Baltimore Comicon to get 20% off Shelton’s sweet stock of back issues AND statues! Note that fancy books like Golden and Silver Age, “board” stock, etc, are not part of this offer, and there’s a little disclaimer just in case there’s something we forgot. But otherwise, go to town on that thing!

And even if you’re not hunting any back issues, be sure to stop by the Baltimore Comicon and say hey to Shelton and Winslow!

Guys guys guys! If you have kids looking for something safe and fun and FREE to do on Halloween, we’ve got you covered!

On Saturday, October 31st (Halloween, coincidentally) we’ll be having a big ole Halloween shindig here in our store!  We’ve got tons of free comics, including special Halloween comics published by the major publishers, plus tons of swag, specially-priced sale items for that day only, and more! Pluusssss, since it’s Halloween, we’ll have some trick-or-treatables!

But coolest of all, this year we’ll be having a Halloween Costume Contest in our store! Come by in costume, Halloweeners of all ages, and we’ll snap your photo and enter you into our contest! At least one winner (more depending on turnout) will win sweet freebies, with the top prize including a $25 gift certificate to the store! NOTE to parents–we will post these photos on our store’s website and/or Flickr account, so let us know if you’d prefer not to have your child’s picture included!

Don’t miss this sweet event! I’m sure Shelton and Seth will whip up some last-minute surprises for those of you who are value-minded, so there will be plenty to do for young and old! More details as the event gets closer!

Like I was saying in last week’s Heroes Hotline, the fall convention season is practically as busy as the summer! A bunch of us were wending our way hither and thither last weekend, and some of us will be thithering for weeks to come! Let’s start with last weekend though:

Our man Seth Peagler traveled with our other man Matt Knapik to scenic and mountainous Asheville, for the aptly named Asheville Minicon. Highlights include one of them–details are unclear, it was all very exciting–meeting Jack Davis and getting an autograph on an old copy of Yak-Yak for Shelton, who was away seeing Lucinda Williams in Charlottesville.

Speaking of Shelton, he was away seeing Lucinda Williams in Charlottesville, with his wife Linda. This was like the 7,000th time they’d seen Lucinda or something; Shelton keeps trying to convince Linda to add a little “uc” in the middle of her name. Creepy!  In between enthusiastic hoots and hollers, SD managed to squeeze off a couple of blurry iPhone pics; here’s one:

If you’ve ever seen Shelton talk about Lucinda in person, you know his eyes were probably as big as saucers while he was taking this. Dude sure does love him some Lucinda!

Meanwhile, I was up at SPX in Bethesda, although only tangentially for work, chatting up pros about HeroesCon and spreading good cheer. The rest of the time I was set up as a cartoonist, a secret aspiration I have been fanning into flame lately, and it was awesome. Here is what it looked like:

Gorgeous! I just can’t get enough of this guy. There’s a slowly building con report up at my own site, although I’ve been catching up like crazy this week so the rest is coming soon. So far most of it is about hotel room parties. SPOILER ALERT: so is the rest of it.

But check it: THIS weekend there’s even more travel afoot! Seth and Young Winslow will be driving down to Myrtle Beach for XCon World this weekend, while Shelton will be heading up to Mid Ohio Con, where he’ll be joined by daughter Enola and grand-daughter Faith, who’ll be helping her “Pop-Pop” for the very first time at a comics convention! And next weekend Shelton and Son Winslow will head up to the Baltimore Comicon! And next next weekend Shelton, Winslow and Daughter Shelley will drive up to NYC for the Big Apple Con, where they’ll be meeting our friends Steve and Dana! 5-person NYC onslaught! Be sure to stop by one of our many spots and say hello and buy some comics!

The next few weeks are FILLED with travel for your brave Heroes crew. Coming up Saturday is the Asheville Minicon, where our own Seth Peagler and Matt Knapik will be sojourning. I heard Matt suggest that they should take the long way so they’d have more time to listen to Phish records together. Seth just closed his eyes and smiled.

ANYWAYS, the show will go on from 10-5 on Saturday at the Ramada Biltmore West in Asheville, and admission is FREE! I bet those leaves are starting to change already, so why not make a lovely weekend of it? Feel free to not listen to Phish if you like, too–how could it hurt? More information available here!

Our buddies Rick Fortenberry and Dave Hinson are putting on another of their Charlotte Comicons this Sunday, September 13 from 10am to 4pm, at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in uptown Charlotte.

Admission is just $3, BUT you can knock an extra dollar off if you print the coupon above and bring it in! Click on the image or right here to open a printable pdf coupon. You can find a complete guest list, exhibitors and more at the Charlotte Comicon site. Have a great weekend!

Do you like Seth Peagler, our Warehouse Manager and taciturn Hero? Sure we do!! Do you like to rock out for totally free? You know that’s right!! Are you a fan of musical genres including “Americana,” “Jazz,” “Rock,” “Blues,” and “More?” What are you kidding those are my top 5 musical genres in exactly that order!!Well, you are going to be pleased as punch when you enjoy Seth’s band American Motel, which is playing tonight at the Borders Morrocroft location, next to the “Taj Ma-Teeter” palatial Harris Teeter over by Southpark Mall. What? You don’t live in Charlotte and aren’t familiar with all these landmarks? You should already be in your car making the road trip, not reading blogs!!

Most of us will be there, if you like hanging out with us. And if you don’t, I believe there is enough seating for you to comfortably avoid us! Especially Shawn, who is on this new broccoli diet. Gross, Shawn! Okay see you there!

Lots of stuff going on this weekend in the comic book world!  Tomorrow (Saturday, August 22) will be the Greenville Sports Card & Comic Book Show, going on at the Greenville Elks Lodge #858, 7700 Pelham Rd, from 10am to 4pm!  Admission is just $2–if you keeps your eyes peeled you may espy our store manager Shawn Reynolds, who’ll most likely be making moon eyes at the guys from the Dollar Bin podcast and/or J. Chris Campbell, who did that zippy graphic up above there.  Sounds like a bargain for $2!

And if that weren’t enough, you can continue on down I-85 to Atlanta for Sunday’s Atlanta Comic Convention, happening at the Marriott Atlanta Century Center from 11am to 5pm.  Our boss Shelton Drum will be down there selling his sweet new stock of Silver and Golden Age books, plus regular back issues and probably some surprises.  He and Seth have been pulling out all the stops getting a really primo stock together, so if you’re anywhere near Atlanta on Sunday, be sure to stop by and check it out, or just say hi!  More info at the convention’s website.

While you may not always know to hear US talk about it, we’re not the only game in town when it comes to local comics conventions–our buddies Dave Hinson and Rick Fortenberry have been organizing the Charlotte ComiCon, for the last few years. It’s a seasonal one-day show, with the summer installment taking place this Sunday, July 12th at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Charlotte. The show will go on from 10am to 4pm, and there are a host of guests and exhibitors you can check out at the official site. Our resident tough guys Seth Peagler and Rusty Baily will be manning the Heroes booth, so be sure to drop by and slap some high-fives with those guys.

Best of all, readers of our blog and this Friday’s Heroes Hotline will get an extra bonus! You can print out the coupon below and bring it in for $1 off your ticket price! You’re welcome!

Check out our pal Tommy Lee Edwards, who beyond being an amazing AMAZING artist on comics like Marvel: 1985 and more, is also a bigtime illustrator who’s worked for Lucasfilm among a ton of other high-profile clients. Tommy Lee is once more participating in the Ride For Kids program this year, which benefits the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. We love Tommy Lee and hope you can help, or pass this along to help get the word out. From TL’s e-mail:

“Giving my time as a motorcyclist is my way of showing support for those families battling every day with childhood brain tumors.

Last year, hundreds of North Carolina bikers and I traveled the Triangle area and contributed to a national fundraising total of $4.5 million. With generous donations from friends and family, I was able to personally deliver $9,350. This total earned me the title of “Champion Fundraiser”. Along with that honor, I will be leading this year’s ride as we strive to beat the 2008 total and get even closer to a cure.

The 2009 Ride for Kids is next weekend, May 3rd, and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation needs your help.

DONATE NOW to sponsor my ride
http://www.firstgiving.com/edwardsillustration

Our primary source of donations in 2008 came from teaming up with Lucasfilm. We shipped a limited-edition Star Wars print, illustrated and signed by me, to anyone donating a minimum of $30. I’ve been unable to gather the resources in time to offer the same incentive for donors this year, but have planted seeds for 2010.

For this year, I’ve decided to go for a wild blitz-week of fundraising. We have one week to raise as much as possible. The cut-off is May 1st. So if you can, please donate today.

You can visit my firstgiving website to make a donation. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Large or small, anything helps. And please don’t feel any pressure to donate at all. Many of you may not be in a position to do so, or chose to put your funds toward a separate charity.”