Geof Darrow blew minds when he teamed with Frank Miller to create the monument to dizzying detail Hard Boiled. My eyeballs are still recovering! Geof teamed with Frank again to create Big Guy and Rusty the Boy Robot, another oversized comic adventure which was later turned into an animated television series.  He was head conceptual artist on the Wachowski Brothers I trilogy and has worked on various other film projects with directors Ridley Scott, J.J. Abrams, and Mc G. His latest comic, The Shaolin Cowboy, was created, written, and drawn by him and published by the Wachowski Brothers‘ Burlyman Entertainment which is being made into an animated film written and co-directed by Geof!

Indie Island anchorman J. Chris Campbell will be holding it down again at  HeroesCon 2011. Besides being the creator of the funny book Zig Zag and illustrator of the comic Recalcitrant Jones and the Dead Beats. He is the publisher of Wide Awake Press which has published over 50 mini-comics, 20 of which were authored by him including It’s the Attic Bugs.

HeroesCon 1st-timer Becky Cloonan is an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator who started self-publishing mini comics in 1999. Since then she has worked for publishers like Vertigo, Dark Horse and Marvel, with editions of her work in print in several different languages. Becky is currently working with Gerard Way on a new series from Dark Horse called True Lives of the Fabulous Killjoys, and still tries to self-publish one comic every year. I’m pretty sure she designed that bad ass spider that is all over everything in the latest My Chemical Romance videos, too.  Make sure to check with her when you welcome her to her first HeroesCon!

Dave Crosland (aka King Gum) is an illustrator who specializes in stylized art that is a harmonious collision of traditional aesthetics and modern, urban sensibilities.  Crosland’s notable works include Yo Gabba Gabba! Comic Book Time and Scarface: Scarred For Life, art for the pop band Gym Class Heroes‘ gold album “As Cruel As School Children”, and in-game illustrations for the Kick-Ass video game for Sony’s PS3.

Jen Van Meter has been writing comics since 1998.  Best known for her Hopeless Savages stories from Oni Press, she has also written short stories, single issues and mini-series for Marvel, DC, Dynamite and Dark Horse.  She lives in Portland, Oregon with her husband, writer Greg Rucka, and their children.  Currently, Jen is working on a new volume of Hopeless Savages material intended for a 2012 release.

That’s not all; Chris DiBari, Gary Friedrich, Matteo Scalera, Charles Soule have also been added to the HeroesCon 2011 guest list today!

It’s almost that time of year again for Free Comic Book Day! FCBD at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find is one of the biggest FCBD events in the country. Not only do we have tons of free comics for comic book fans of all ages, we also invite a bunch of great creators who will sign your comics and do quick sketches for you! This year we’ll be hosting :

Chris Brunner – Co-creator of the FCBD offering LOOSE ENDS from 12 Gauge Comics. Artist on Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, cover artist on Boondock Saints andNola.

Ian Flynn – Writer on Sonic the Hedgehog and the upcoming Mega Man from Archie Comics.

Sanford Greene – Creator of 1000 and Rotten Apple. Artist on Wonder Girl, Method Man,and Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man.

Cully Hamner – Co-creator of Red. Artist on The Question, Blue Beetle, Batman: Tenses, The Ride, Daredevil, and Green Lantern Mosaic.

Jason Latour – Co-creator of the FCBD offering LOOSE ENDS from 12 Gauge Comics. Artist on Wolverine, Captain America, Iron Fist, and Daredevil.

Laura Martin – Color artist on The Rocketeer, Astonishing X-Men, Planetary, Secret Invasion, Thor and The Stand.

Rico Renzi – Color artist on the FCBD offering LOOSE ENDS from 12 Gauge Comics, Yo Gabba Gabba!, Wolverine, Frenemy of the State, and Captain America. (I’ll mostly be making sure the real guests stay hydrated!)

Budd Root – Creator of Cavewoman.

Bridgit Scheide – Creator of The Kindle Kind and Brother Nash.

Chris Schweizer – Creator of The Crogan Adventures.

Andy Smith – Artist on X-Men Legacy, WWE Heroes, and Superman Confidential.

Brian Stelfreeze – Artist on Wednesday Comics, Jonah Hex, Batman: Shadow of the Bat, Matador and Domino.

Matt Wilson – Color artist on the FCBD offering CAPTAIN AMERICA/THOR: THE MIGHTY FIGHTING AVENGERS, Y the Last Man, Phonogram, Thor the Mighty Avenger, andWolverine.

Sketch Charlotte – Several artists from this local sketch group will be on hand and word has it they are self-publishing their own FCBD anthology with Heroes being one of the few place you can get it!

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

So, mark that date on your calendar folks! Saturday, May 7th at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will be a good time and you won’t want to miss it!

1) Fear Itself #1

Matt Fraction and Stuart Immonen spearhead Marvel’s new company wide event which has already been building positive early buzz.  The story brings together Asgardian threats with Earth-based villains like Sin, the daughter of the Red Skull, resulting in the Marvel heroes having to face their deepest fears.  Fraction and Immonen have done much to earn industry respect with their previous works, and the first issue reads and looks like they’re putting a lot of energy into this series.

2) Madman New Giant Size Super Ginchy Special One Shot

There are lots of reasons to check this one out this week.  First off, it’s a 64 page comic for $5.99.  Couple that with the fact that Madman creator Mike Allred provides the main story, while creators Emi Lenox, Tonci Zonjic, and Matt Kindt each provide their own backup story. And to top it all off, in the great tradition of Madman pin-ups past, this one shot features art from creators like Gilbert Hernandez, Dave Sim, Darwyn Cooke, Daniel Krall (right) and others!

3)  Aaron and Ahmed HC

This new Vertigo original hardcover focuses on an American Doctor who loses his fiancee in 9/11 and decides to become a Guantanamo Bay interrogator.  There his encounters with a prisoner lead him to examine several things about his own life and beliefs.  This relevant story comes to you from novelist and multiple fellowship winner Jay Cantor and James Romberger, artist behind the recent Vertigo Crime book The Bronx Kill.

4) Blue Estate #1

This book takes the interesting concept of having four  talented artists working on the same book, but does so in a seamless manner.  Written by Andrew Osbourne (based on a story from Viktor Kalvachev and Kosta Yanev), and illustrated by Kalvachev, Toby Cypress, Nathan Fox, and Robert Valley, this comic appears to be a riff on classic crime noir tales, but twists the genre into new forms.  For instance, there is a femme fatale, but the private investigator is an overweight nerd.  The real success of this book is that you forget you’re looking at the work of multiple artists.  Pick this one up if you get a chance as you’ll be impressed by both story and art.

5) Avengers: the Children’s Crusade #5

Allen Heinberg and Jimmy Cheung continue their Avengers tale this week.  Some might not like the fact that it’s 0n a bi-monthy publishing schedule, but Cheung’s work is well worth the wait.  In addition to the Young Avengers, the Avengers, and Scarlet Witch, this issue features what looks like the return of Ant Man and Jack of Hearts.

> Bonus Picks of the Week: Marvel’s Herc #1, Fables TP vol. 15, Superman/Batman Annual #5 (part of the Doomsday crossover), and Justice League of America 80 Page Giant 2011.

Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will be out in force at the Raleigh Comic Book Show this Sunday, April 10th! We will be set up with great comics including modern back issues, a great selection of Silver Age books and more. Our friends Andy Smith (WWE Heroes, Dean Koontz’s Nevermore, Superman Confidential), Budd Root ( Cavewoman), Chris Brunner (Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Boondock Saints, Loose Ends), Jason Latour (Captain America, Daredevil, Loose Ends), and Rico Renzi (Yo Gabba Gabba!, Stumptown, Loose Ends) will be making the trip with us too. I’ve even heard if you come by and say the password to Chris, Jason, or Rico that they might be able to let you flip through a preview of their new series Loose Ends. See you there!