HEATHER’S PICK :: ELEKTRA TP VOL 01 BLOODLINES: Until this recent series, my knowledge of Elektra was limited to the Daredevil movie starring Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner.  I can’t even claim to have seen the solo movie.  Neither of those movies are a good ad for just how awesome and bad ass Elektra is in the comics.  This new series is a great  ad and the release of the first trade paperback is an excellent time to give it a read.  Written by Haden Blackman and drawn by Mike del Mundo, the art is gorgeous and the story is interesting with no prior knowledge needed.

 Bonus Pick: Rocket Raccoon #5: Are you reading Rocket’s stand alone series? If you said no, then why the heck not? This book is super fun and super funny and you are missing out if not picking it up monthly! BTW: This issue is drawn by the founder of last month’s InkTober, Jake Parker.

HEATHER’S PICK :: ROCKET RACCOON #1: Occasionally the mere announcement of a book is enough to convince me to put it in my pull list.  Rocket Raccoon is one of those books.  I’ve been waiting to read this book since it was announced that Skottie Young would be both writing and drawing it.  Rocket is an amusing draw all on his own (Who doesn’t love a wise cracking, gun toting raccoon?), but a solo book by a creator I adore? Sold!

The previews of the first issue prove this book is going to be ridiculously fun!  I can’t wait to find out how Groot is starring in some sort of intergalactic wrestling match. I look forward to seeing all the adventures Rocket and Groot have ahead of them.

Along with today’s enormous Guest List update we’ve also updated our Artists Alley page with tons of great comic book-making folks! Check it out! We hope you can join us for 3 days of everything we love about comic books along with the people who make them at the Charlotte Convention Center June 20-22, 2014. Tickets for Heroes Convention 2014 are on sale now!

CREATORS! Artists Alley tables are still available but they are going fast! Reserve your space today!

ERIC CANETE – Artist:  Senior Artist at Riot Games, TRON: Uprising, Beware The Batman

SHANE DAVIS – Artist: Superman Earth One, Superman/Batman, Shadowwalk

DEREC DONOVAN – Artist: Bionic Bombshell, Youngblood, Adventures of Superman, Connor Hawke

TONY HARRIS – Artist: Ex Machina, Starman, Roundeye, War Heroes, Spider-Man

STEVE MANNION – Cartoonist: Fearless Dawn, The Bomb

JOE STATON – Artist: Dick Tracy, Batman, Green Lantern, Power Girl, E Man

SKOTTIE YOUNG – Artist: Rocket Racoon, Fortunately the Milk, Oz, All those cute Young Marvel Variant Covers

ALSO ADDED TODAY! 
Will Allred, Shane Berryhill, Duffy Boudreau, Clay & Susan Griffith, Dusty Higgins, Chris Kemple, Eric Layton, Jose Marzan Jr, Matt Miner, & Matt Webb

Heroes Convention takes place in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 20-22 2014. Get your 3 day passes today! The full guest list (so far) is here.

ANDY’S PICK :: OZ HC: EMERALD CITY OF OZ: Have you been reading the adaptations of the L. Frank Baum OZ books from writer Eric Shanower and artist Skottie Young?  They are a genuine delight and they are also a textbook for successful comic adaptations.  Shanower and Young maintain the integrity and spirit of the source material but still manage to put their personal stamp on Baum’s enduring creations.  All 6 of their OZ collaborations are worth your time and money, but I have to say,I find this final story (at least for the foreseeable future) to be the best of the bunch.  The Emerald City of OZ focuses on Dorothy;s family.  Because of financial problems in the real world, she brings her parents/guardians Aunt Em and Uncle Henry to live in OZ.  The enchanted and overwhelmed Kansas couple take a grand tour of OZ with Dorothy and the Wizard while unbeknownst to all, the nefarious Nome King plots to have his army invade  the Emerald City. Can the Scarecrow, Glinda the Good and OZMA the really GOOD save the day?  You’ll just have to read this marvelous story to find out.  This HC edition collects EMERALD CITY OF OZ #1-5.  You will read it over and over!

Charlotte’s longest running comic convention returns this weekend! Featuring great vendors and comic creators including: Skottie Young, Rich Case, Sanford Greene, Jason Latour, Andy Smith, Rob Ullman, & many more!

Register now for FREE admission and don’t forget to bring a non-perishable food item for Second Harvest Food Bank!

Guest List:

Natalie Andrewson
Duane Ballenger
Chad Bowers
J Chris Campbell
Joel Carroll
Rich Case
Sage Coffey
Jeremy Dale
Bo Fader
Billy Fowler
FRANK comics
Randy Green
Sanford Greene
John Hairston Jr
Dustin Harbin
Sandy Jarrell
Cassie Hart Kelly
Jason Latour
Jackie Lewis
Cara McGee
Chris McJunkin
Brockton McKinney
Kevin Mellon
Drew Moss
Out of Step Arts
Eraklis Petmezas
Buddy Prince
Pat Quinn
Budd Root
Bridgit Schiede
Hoyt Silva
Andy Smith
Rebel Stars Studio
Spandex Splinters
Ben Towle
Robert Ullman
Brittney Williams
Kelly Yates
Skottie Young

JUSTIN’S PICK :: MARVEL NOW WHAT #1: Marvel Comics have a pretty decent track record of self-parody, from Not Brand Echh, to the wonderful send-ups by Fred Hembeck, on through to Chris G’s Mini Marvels. The tradition continues with Marvel Now What #1, an anthology guaranteed to tickle the McRibs of many-a Marvelite. The Skottie Young cover alone is worth the price of admission, but you can rest assured that the House of Ideas has plenty of yuks lurking in these pages. Now, can we just get a third series of Strange Tales? Please?

HEATHER’S PICK :: FORTUNATELY, THE MILK: Two really great things about comics are combined in this hardcover children’s novel: Neil Gaiman and Skottie Young.  A tale of a father on a seemingly simple task to get milk for his children’s cereal evolves into a great adventure after he’s kidnapped by aliens and faces all manner of villains including another great thing-pirates! Young’s illustration style really suits the imaginative storytelling of Gaiman. This looks to be a fun tale for children and adults alike!

It’s getting close! Just a little less than a month from now HeroesCon will be in full swing at the Charlotte Convention Center!

Heroes Convention is in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 7-9 2013. Get your 3 day passes today! Our full guest list (so far) is here.

We still need volunteers too!

PATY COCKRUM – Artist: The Cat, Nightcrawler

DEREC DONOVAN – Artist: Youngblood, Adventures of Superman, Bionic Bombshell, Connor Hawke

JOHN FLOYD – Inker: Batman: Mortality, Django Unchained and Dominique Laveau: Voodoo Child

MARCUS HAMILTON – Artist: Dennis the Menace

ANDY MACDONALD – Artist: Time Warp, Zoo, Terminator 2029-1984

MARK NELSON – Artist: Aliens, Feud, Blood and Shadows

JOEL PRIDDY – Writer/Artist: Pulpatoon: Pilgrimage, The Preposterous Voyages of IronHide Tom

AFUA RICHARDSON – Artist: Genius, Cyblade, Captain Marvel , Native American Classics, 24/7

TIM RICKARD – Writer / Artist: Brewster Rockit, Space Guy!

MARK SPARACIO – Artist: Heroes for Hire, Sgt. Rock: The Lost Battalion, Omega Paradox, Overstreet Price Guide

DOMINIKE STANTON – Artist: Deadpool, Fanboys vs Zombies

ROY THOMAS – Writer: Conan the Barbarian, The Mighty Thor, Uncanny X-Men – SATURDAY ONLY

DOUG WAGNER – Writer: Arrow, Witchblade/ Red Sonja, Thundercats, I.C.E., The Ride

SKOTTIE YOUNG – Artist: Ozma of Oz, Iron Man & The Armor Wars, Wonderful Wizard of Oz

JUSTIN’S PICK :: NOVA #1 : There was a time when Nova was heir apparent to Spider-Man. Peter Parker had graduated high school and was moving on to more adult concerns, and Marvel positioned Richard Rider to take the premiere teen superhero role. The character never set the world alight, however, and has gone through a few different iterations over the years. Regardless, Nova remains a cult favorite for many Marvelites (myself included), an icon in his own right. Now, super scribe Jeph Loeb teams up with the inimitable Ed McGuinness to breathe new life into the Human Rocket. Join them for the ride, won’t you?

HEATHER’S PICK :: A-BABIES vs. X-BABIES #1: BABIES!!! The most adorable one-shot on the shelves this week has got to be the babies of the Marvel Universe. Prompted by the huge popularity of  Skottie Young’s baby variant cover of Avengers vs. X-Men #1, this story written by Young, drawn by Guruhiru, and not constrained by continuity is sure to be one of my favorites of the month. If all that baby cuteness wasn’t already enough, Marvel is also giving us a totally sweet Chris Eliopoulos variant cover. In case that doesn’t satisfy your cute quota for the month, be sure to check out the baby variant covers of other Marvel titles.