SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!

Unless the whole world is wiped away in the Continuing Great Blizzard of 2010, we will be hosting Afrodisiac co-creator and artist Jim Rugg this Sunday! NOTE that we’ve moved the time up an hour from the 3-6pm listed in the image above. To give you guys more time to get home and safely ensconced in your many sofas and Barca-loungers for the Super Bowl, we’ve changed the time to 2-5pm.

WHICH MEANS that you can come join in the event, which will not only be a signing, but a discussion of the book, which is drawing praise from every direction. Publisher Chris Pitzer will be in attendance as well, and the two will answer questions about the book, its design, sandwiches, whatever you want to ask! The discussion will be led by our own Heroes Discussion Group leader Andy Mansell, so it’s sure to be a lively one!

Hope to see you on Sunday–come support us before you throw corn chips at the TV that night!

Next Sunday, while Shelton’s selling comics at Wes Tillander’s Atlanta Comic Con, and before you sit down to the Super Bowl (or something else, depending on your interests), we hope you’ll sit down with us for a store signing/discussion group hybrid that should be pretty righteous.

Afrodisiac co-creator and artist Jim Rugg will all up in our store to sign and discuss the book, which is getting some pretty high-falutin’ reviews lately from up and down the comics press! Jim is a great guy too, and a stellar cartoonist, and a super-knowledgeable dude, so any discussion with him in it is sure to be a fascinating one. Our own Discussion Group leader Andy Mansell will be on hand to grill Jim, which I am double-definitely looking forward to.

NOTE that, due to the Super Bowl at 6 or 6.30 or whenever that thing cranks up, we’ve moved the signing up by an hour so that people can get home afterwards to see the game. Earlier announcements had it at 3-6pm.

Oh, that reminds me–the discussion itself (and the book) are not for kids, so please be advised! There are so many quadruple entendres in that thing, I don’t think you could discuss a single page of it in a “SFW” way, you know what I mean?

I’ll link up the trailer video below again, just because I love watching it. Note the “December 2009″ release date–bogus! Okay, hope to see you guys there next Sunday!

Shazam! Coming up on February 7, just one short month away, Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will be hosting Afrodisiac’s Jim Rugg! Jim is also the co-writer of the book, along with Brian Maruca; the two first created Afrodisiac in the pages of their Street Angel series. Jim has also been the artist on several graphic novels with other collaborators, including The Plain Janes and Janes In Love with writer Cecil Castellucci.

But enough about all that. AFRODISIAC. This is a pretty hotly anticipated book–Jim has turned into a sort of cartoonist’s cartoonist over the last few years, and he’s definitely showing off in Afrodisiac, switching up styles like Kool & The Gang switches up the rhythm. That was a 70’s funk reference, dig it? The book is chock full of them, and much better ones too–Afrodisiac is (if I have this right) a kind of amalgamation of 70’s-era comic books, blaxploitation films, and sexy times. All filtered through the minds of a couple of dudes from Pennsylvania who grew up on all that stuff.

Anyway. Jim will be appearing in our store Sunday, February 7, from 3-6pm, for a signing and a discussion of the book. He’ll be joined by AdHouse Books publisher Chris Pitzer, there mainly for security in case any of you ladies try to swarm Jim or anything. Our Heroes Discussion Group leader Andy Mansell will also be on hand–those of you who have attended any of the Discussion Groups know Andy will close-read a book like no one else, so expect some high quality questions–no extra charge!

And there’ll be plenty for Andy to talk about–Afrodisiac is filled with more double entendres than.. well, than a 70’s blaxploitation movie. See for yourself in this trailer for the book–not for the youngsters! Well, it’s not that bad, but still. You parents who are still pretending you can control what your kids see on the Internet, take heed my warning:

Okay see you there!

TODAY, TODAY!! We’ve been talking about it for weeks, but it’s just minutes away from starting! Seth and Shelton have got THIRTY boxes of $1 books that have never been touched by non-Heroes hands, there are deals throughout the store on pretty much EVERYTHING! From a base discount of 10% on pretty much everything, on up through 50% off back issues, to 75-90% off select items we need to blow out to make room for next year’s stuff!

It’s grey outside, and brisk to be sure, but we are assured by all the weather powers-that-be that any rain is scheduled for much later today, probably after dark! So bring it on out to Heroes today and help support your favorite comic store in this once a year tradition! AND, from 2-5, meet comics stars Nathan Edmondson (Olympus), Budd Root (Cavewoman), Andy Smith (Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein), and Chrissie Zullo (Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love)!

More details in the post directly below this one, but bring it on, we are about to open this piece UP!

We know you’re super excited about this weekend’s big Holiday Sale/Store Signing Jamboree, but we thought we’d redouble your excitement a little bit by announcing today that Bill Willingham has signed on for next summer’s HeroesCon 2010! Shelton will know better than me, but unless I miss my guess, Bill hasn’t been to HeroesCon at least since he was working on Elementals back in the day. If even then! I know he hasn’t been here since HeroesCon ‘96 (my first as an employee), so either way, get excited!

For the three of you who aren’t aware of Bill’s work, he’s the writer and creator of the hit Fables series, as well as co-writer of its spinoff Jack of Fables, and more!  What newer comics readers might not know is that Bill is a full-on cartoonist as well as a writer–his series Elementals was pretty hot back in the 90’s. These days he’s written all over the place, including notably on DC’s Day of Judgment, Justice Society of America, and a ton of others.

But it wouldn’t be like us to announce just ONE name, would it? In fact, I’m looking at a long list of a couple dozen names Shelton has given me, enough that I’ll need to break it up into 3 or 4 separate updates! Also officialized this week are some of our favorite Charlotte-area cartoonists, pretty much all of whom are regular shoppers in our store for you Wednesday customers! They include upcoming Loose Ends creative team Chris Brunner and Jason Latour, Night artist Buddy Prince, Cavewoman creator Budd Root, and Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein artist Andy Smith! And of course, you can meet those last two this Saturday at the big 4-person store signing, all part of our Holiday Sale! More details here!

Huzzah! Joining our star-studded roster of star studs (and at least one studette, not to mention Shawn and Shelley) for our annual Holiday Sale and signing are Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love cover artist Chrissie Zullo and Cavewoman creator Budd Root! They join Olympus writer Nathan Edmondson and Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein artist Andy Smith in a store signing going on December 12 from 2 to 5pm, all a part of our big 2-day holiday sale that weekend (Saturday-Sunday)!

Our holiday sale has become legend in the area over the years, as not only a place to get ridiculous deals on back issue comics–especially with Seth building a brand-new, never touched by mortal man (Seth is immortal, natch) stock of $1 books–but a great place to pick up presents for that hard-to-shop-for friend or family member! Why, heavens knows we’ve got comics, graphic novels, mangas, back issues, statues, toys… all sorts of stuff. Plus Shelton will have a ton of trade paperbacks and hardcovers he’s been piling up for some good ole deep discounting. Why, it sounds like a downright jamboree to me! Heck, if you still can’t find a gift for that special (or let’s face it, not-that-special) someone, you can always buy them a 3-day pass to HeroesCon 2010! We’ve even got a fancy little voucher you can give them! Truly, we have thought of everything this year. See you there!

Well, it may be Black Friday over the rest of the country today, and we’re seeing tons of you guys coming into the store today… but we’re scheduling our huge annual sale this year to coincide with a sweet store signing! Coming up on December 12-13 will be our Annual Holiday Sale, with deals on pretty much everything in the store! From discounts on new comics and books, DEEP discounts on Shelton’s stock of marked-down trade paperbacks and hardcovers, toys, statues, and more.. it’s hard to think of something that WON’T be on sale.

Plus as usual we’ll have not only 50% off all regular back issues, but an enlarged, expanded, and untouched stock of $1 books courtesy of Seth Peagler. This has become one of the most popular parts of our events recently, and Seth works super hard on putting these stocks together and making sure there are tons of “gems” in there.

And we’ll be hosting a number of special guests, including Olympus writer Nathan Edmondson–Nathan will have advance copies of the Olympus trade on hand for you! Plus our buddy Andy Smith will be on hand, and we’ve got even more names to roll out over the next few weeks! So be sure and mark your calendars now–this will be a great opportunity to pick up some gifts for your comics-reading friends and loved-ones, and hey–we won’t argue if you want to pick up some things for yourself, too. Your secret is safe with us!

Don’t forget that TOMORROW is is the very first in a whole series of signings and appearances we’re planning to take place at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find throughout the fall, winter, and spring!

Tomorrow, November 7, from 1-3 pm, we’ll be hosting a special signing appearance by The Fillbach Brothers! These are the guys behind the insanely popular Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures digests’ art. They also created the Maxwell Strangewell graphic novel, Werewolves On The Moon (with Dave Land), and many more. They’ll be signing and sketching for just two hours–from all accounts they’re super friendly guys, and are big country music and Nascar fans, so they’ll probably have as many questions for us Southerners as we have for them!

Don’t miss the chance to come out and meet these talented creators! Especially if you or your kids are fans of Clone Wars –you know they are!

Coming up in just two weeks is the very first in a whole series of signings and appearances we’re planning to take place at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find throughout the fall, winter, and spring!

On November 7, from 1-3 pm, we’ll be hosting a special signing appearance by The Fillbach Brothers! These are the guys behind the insanely popular Star Wars Clone Wars Adventures digests’ art. They also created the Maxwell Strangewell graphic novel, Werewolves On The Moon (with Dave Land), and many more. They’ll be signing and sketching for just two hours–from all accounts they’re super friendly guys, and are big country music and Nascar fans, so they’ll probably have as many questions for us Southerners as we have for them!

We’ll be talking this up over the next couple of weeks, but don’t miss the chance to come out and meet these talented creators!