Free Comic Book Day 2013 @ Heroes is going to be our biggest and best yet! Come out on May 4th to meet more great comic creators than we have ever had at this fun annual event! Also, it says it right there in the name but in case you missed it, there will be lots of FREE COMICS to choose from too! Check out our awesome guest list and save the date!

• CHRIS BRUNNER – Artist: Loose Ends, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, The Ride

• IAN FLYNN – Writer: Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man

• FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA – Writer/Artist: Black Beetle Artist: Captain America & Black Widow, Detective Comics

• SANFORD GREENE – Artist: Rotten Apple, Deadpool, Wonder Girl, Methodman GN

• CULLY HAMNER – Artist: Red, The Question, Detective Comics, Black Lightning

• DUSTIN HARBIN – Writer/Artist: DIARY COMICS, Nutted!, DHARBIN!

• TONY HARRIS – Artist: JSA: Whistling Skull, Ex Machina, Starman, War Heroes

• ADAM HUGHES – Artist: Before Watchmen: Doctor Manhattan, Fairest, Wonder Woman, Catwoman

• JUSTIN JORDAN – Writer: Legend of Luther Strode, Superboy, Deathstroke, Green Lantern: New Guardians

• JASON LATOUR – Writer: Winter Soldier, Loose Ends, Wolverine: Japan’s Most Wanted Artist: B.P.R.D., Django Unchained

• JACKIE LEWIS – Artist: Play Ball

• TRADD MOORE – Artist: Legend of Luther Strode, Legends of the Dark Knight

• ERAKLIS PETMEZAS – Writer/Artist: Last Cigarette

• JAY POTTS – Writer/Artist: World of Hurt

• RIDDLE – Cosplayer

• BUDD ROOT – Writer/Artist: Cavewoman

• ANDY SMITH – Artist: The First, Weapon X, Green Lantern, WWE Heroes, Flex and Tone

• BRIAN STELFREEZE – Artist: Domino, Matador, Batman: Shadow of the Bat

NOTE that free sketches are at the discretion of the artists, and are not guaranteed.

So, mark that date on your calendar folks! Get here early on Saturday, May 4th at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will be a great time and you won’t want to miss it!

SETH’S PICK :: SLEDGEHAMMER 44 #1: I had a long, detailed paragraph prepared as to why I think you should spend your hard earned money on this comic. . .and then it disappeared from my computer.  Instead, I’ll just keep it short and simple.  1) There aren’t many war stories set in the Mignola-verse.  2) This one features an Iron Man archetype fighting Nazis, but is just as much about the normal soldiers on the ground as it is the armor.  3)  Though it was written (by Mike Mignola and John Arcudi) for genius John Severin to draw, when he passed away it was given to Jason Latour, who excels at the kind of detail-oriented research this story requires, and understands the importance of balancing that research with a focus on the characters themselves.  4)  In a week where I could easily write about the Hawkeye vol. 1 TPB, Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #2, or Ben Katchor’s Hand Drying in America, this is the book I’m most excited about seeing and reading. 

BRIDGIT’S PICK :: WINTER SOLDIER #16: So, I’ve never been a monthly Captain America reader or followed Winter Soldier much but, that being said, in the last few months I’ve been reserving both of these titles… the books are sooo good! Marvel has used their re-launch as a chance to pair us up some really awesome creative teams. Jason Latour and Nic Klein really surprised me with their first issue of Winter Soldier last month.

Not only was it a fun read, but the art was so right for this title. A lot of times in comics, when the story is more action-oriented, the art loses touch with the character, which bothers me because I like to feel connected and read, through the art, what the character is thinking or going through internally. Nic Klein totally owns both action and the quiet moments, and keeps us connected with the internal dilemmas Latour is writing through the characters and their interactions.

All of you Brubaker lovers need not fear either, Latour hasn’t exactly taken Bucky Barnes out on a limb. Though Latour has definitely branched off into his own creative storytelling, he’s rooting the story in the plot Brubaker has already constructed. So no re-launch for Winter Soldier, thank God. In fact, Latour is resolutely building upon the foundation of Barnes’ dark past and using this to really push the boundaries of the character. These panels also make up some of the most reflective and introspective comic pages I’ve ever read.

And of course, no comic written by Latour would be complete without a good bit of humor and wacky antics. A Bond-like character named Robards who Barnes encounters in the last issue proved to be a great source of comic relief.

Something else about this series that I’m SUPER excited about too, is the creation of Latour’s new female (super?!)villain, the “Electric Ghost”. What we’ve seen of her so far is awesome but she’s still – literally – veiled in a shroud of mystery. In the last issue, she exhibited this cool sense of intelligence through some pretty wicked dialogue. This might be the sweetest female villain – let alone character – I’ve seen introduced in Marvel Comics in a long time.

RICO’S PICK :: WINTER SOLDIER #15: We’ve been waiting for this issue for long time, ever since our neighbor Jason Latour told us he was taking over writing duties on Winter Soldier when Ed Brubaker left. Jason and artist Nic Klein begin their Winter Soldier run on this issue and introduce a cool new character, The Electric Ghost. She’s already a favorite of mine and I hope she sticks around the Marvel Universe for a long time. Check out this 3 page preview below and check out the full issue this Wednesday!

SETH’S PICK :: HELLBOY IN HELL #3: The fact is, many times a high profile creator returns to a character they made famous, in spite of publicity, the book somehow doesn’t live up to expectation.  Mike Mignola’s return to drawing Hellboy in this series certainly attracted lots of attention, but it has been far from a let down.  In fact, it’s arguably as good as anything Mignola’s ever done.  You can really see the joy he’s getting out of taking Hellboy in a new direction.  It’s not a rehash of where Hellboy has been before, and Mignola is clearly crafting challenging stories and situations that will only further develop the character.  It’s also worth mentioning the genius-level coloring of Dave Stewart.  He’s long been Mignola’s go-to colorist, but the new setting of Hell has really allowed Stewart to stretch out and use a richer, more varied palette.  These are masters of the craft who are not only enjoying the process of making these comics, but are pushing themselves to evolve their work and the characters they continue to define. 

Bonus Pick of the Week:  I’d be remiss not to mention this week’s debut of our pal Jason Latour as the new writer of Winter Soldier.  All of us around here have long known how hard Jason works at comics, and some of us have even heard about what he has in the works for Bucky Barnes.  Alongside Nic Klein, who may well be the most suited artist to work on Winter Soldier since Jackson Guice, Latour plans to move Bucky forward in genuinely interesting ways.  Ed Brubaker brought Bucky back to relevance, and he’ll always cast a long shadow on whoever else writes the character, but Latour and Klein will distinguish Winter Soldier in ways you’ve never seen before.

Lee Weeks, a favorite of fans and peers alike will be joining us for the Charlotte MiniCon on Sunday, January 20, 2013! If you haven’t met Lee you’re in for a treat. The only thing better than his great renditions of your favorite heroes is his warm personality!

Complete 2013 Charlotte MiniCon Guest List (so far):

• Rich Barrett
• Chris Brunner
• J. Chris Campbell
• Rich Case
• Sanford Greene
• Chris Hamer
• Dustin Harbin
• Cassie Hart Kelly
• Tom King
• Jason Latour
• Lost Story Studios (Brockton McKinney & Bo Fader)
• Kevin Mellon
• Don Monroe
• Drew Moss
• Eraklis Petmezas
• Jay Potts
• Buddy Prince
• Budd Root
• Andy Smith
• Matthew D. Smith
• Spandex Splinters
• Brian Stelfreeze
• Rob Ullman
• Lee Weeks
• John Wycough

Charlotte MiniCon takes place on January 20, 2013 at the Grady Cole Center. There will be lots of free parking*

Like our Facebook page and register at Eventbrite for FREE admission to the show! We are lending our support to two great charities, The American Red Cross and Second Harvest Food Bank and encourage you to donate to them on the day of the show as representatives will be in attendance. We plan to have MiniCon exclusive gifts to encourage and reward your generosity.

SETH’S PICK :: DJANGO UNCHAINED #1: December always brings lots of good comics, and this week is a good representation of that.  Everything from Hickman’s Avengers #2 to Francavilla’s Black Beetle #0 will be new on the shelves, with lots of other good books like Saga and Pogo along for the ride.  So why am I picking a movie adaptation?  First off, in addition to being published by Vertigo, the comic’s script is essentially Quentin Tarantino’s screenplay.  In fact, parts of the screenplay might not end up in the film, but will appear here, so that’s a plus for Tarantino fans.  Most significantly to me are the artists bringing the comic to life.  It’s the first major post-Scalped work from artist R.M. Guera, and each issue’s flashback sequences are provided by talented local writer/artist Jason Latour.  So you have a Tarantino-helmed comic about a vengeful slave-turned-bounty hunter trying to free his wife, and you have more-than-qualified artists bringing the screenplay to life in a way the movie won’t.  This is a no-brainer to me. 

The above features a teaser of the exclusive new 12.12.12 poster Brian Stelfreeze created for this event (FREE to all attendees tomorrow!) We’re starting our Big Holiday Sale tomorrow too! Get here early for the best selection!

It’s no secret to readers of this blog that my husband/Heroes blogger Seth loves all things Hellboy, but he has been completely unable to get me to read anything outside of Hellboy Jr. and the Beasts of Burden crossover one-shot.  There’s no real reason for my stance on this.  I liked the Hellboy movies, but that’s more about my love for Ron Perlman in beastly make-up than any particular attachment to the Hellboy storyline.  (While we’re on Mr. Perlman, can we all have the warm fuzzies again about the Make-A-Wish kid and Hellboy story from this summer?) Anyhoo, back to comics…Seth has full shelves in our house dedicated to Hellboy and B.P.R.D., but they had been gathering dust where I was concerned until recently.

At this year’s HeroesCon, I stumbled into a conversation between B.P.R.D. artists Jason Latour and James Harren in which I mentioned that I had not read B.P.R.D. and I wasn’t sure it was for me.  Not daunted at all by my hesitation, Jason immediately suggested that I start with Plague of Frogs and assured me that I would like it.  August rolled around without me picking up any of the trades on our shelves until I had a week without many new comics in my reserve bag and decided to pull volume 3 and it give it a go.  Cut to about a week and half later and I am about to start volume 13. (more…)