Whew! Man we are running around like crazy, but I wanted to update you on a couple of things before I get away from easy internet access. I’m super rushed though, and as I type in my air conditioned office, Seth and Shawn and our staff are sweating through load-in, so my guilt commands that I hurry up so I can join them. ??? Uh, guilt, that basically sounds like a terrible idea, but okay…

ITEM! All locations are up on our site, and are just as up-to-date as I could make them. You can find Guest, Small Press, and Exhibitor locations up there, including an updated list of the few cancellations we’ve had, in the sidebar at the right of the Guest List page.

ITEM! Just a reminder to all advance ticket holders: we will be allowing you on the floor 30 minutes in advance of the show opening times, as a thank you for your early patronage. This is ALSO a reminder to exhibitors, small press, and guests, who should definitely be sure to be ready for the crush 30 minutes early this year! We will be adjusting the time these people can get in as well.

ITEM! Ben Towle and Craig Fischer host an awesome in-depth look at the career of Steve Ditko. Check it:

You can read all about it on our Event Schedule page, which is ALSO updated!

ITEM! Ben and Craig are not the only ones who are BRINGING IT to HeroesCon. Our man Brian Pulido is bringing a special HeroesCon edition of Lady Death #1 and a new Lady Death print! Brian will be selling these at his booth in Artists Alley, which I do believe is booth #832.

Be sure you go by and say hi to Brian, AND/OR catch him moderating the Hero Initiative panel at 3.30 on Friday, which will feature fellow Hero Initiative board member George Perez!

ITEM! But what about BOOM!, who is also bringing it? They’ll have like 40 billion exclusive HeroesCon covers this weekend, including an Irredeemable #3, a Muppets foil cover by HeroesCon guest Roger Langridge, and a Farscape cover as well! And I feel kinda sure that I forgot one or two, too, so you’ll have to visit them at Booth 514/613 to get the full rundown!

Okay, hopefully I’ll be able to make another update before things get even crazier… but we’ll see. Any latebreaking news will be in the Heroes Hotline, which will go out first thing in the morning, bright and early!

Locations now up for Exhibitor Booths! These are subject to change, but not much change–and I believe Shelton has some late additions we’ll be adding later today or tomorrow.

REMINDER TO EXHIBITORS: Remember that this year we are re-instating our old tradition of allowing advance ticket buyers to enter the hall 30 minutes before the rest of the attendees. This means that at 10.30 on Friday morning, 9.30 on Saturday, and 10.30 on Sunday, there will be fans on the floor, so please be prepared at that time and have your booths ready to go!

Time is ticking and we’re all working dawn to dawn getting ready for the convention which is just THREE DAYS AWAY, but I thought I’d announce a late-breaking addition to our Guest List today:

ARTHUR SUYDAM is the award-winning artist behind a veritable undead army of “zombie” reinterpretations of classic Marvel covers over the last few years, most related in some way to the Marvel Zombies comic. He’s been a high profile painter for years, as well as creating strips like Cholly & Flytrap and others. These days he’s working on Deadpool, and I believe there’s some recently announced work upcoming on Moon Knight!

OOPS UPDATE: Apparently Arthur can’t make it after all? Shortest time on Guest List ever! Okay sorry to get you excited, but there’s still all these cool peeps below from Studio Revolver! Okay resume blog post:

Also new to the list these days are a whole bevy of Studio Revolver members, which includes luminaries like Dexter Vines and Sanford Greene among others. New from Studio Revolver today are:

JOHN TYLER CHRISTOPHER: Upcoming Witchblade covers, Wizards of the Coast
CASEY EDWARDS: White Wolf, 10 Worlds Studio
TARIQ HASSAN: Upper Deck, DC cards, Star Wars Mini toy line
KEVIN STOKES: Splitsville, Smallville

Okay hard at work on getting pro and exhibitor locations up, so stay tuned!

Okay, super fast and dirty because WHOA NELLIE me and Shelton are working hard to get everything squared away in time for the big program book deadline tomorrow morning. But here are a couple of things I’ve just updated:

1) SMALL PRESS TABLES: I moved some around again. I’m sorry! But pretty much everybody that got moved (only a half-dozen or so), got moved to better spots. We’re going to squeeze the Blood Drive in that corner so you guys aren’t stuck in the dark corner trying to flag down fans. Also, everyone who’s purchased space over the last week or so should now be listed, and the many of you who have been patiently waiting for me to remember to make the corrections you asked me for, those should now be made as well.

2) SCHEDULE: I’ve added a bunch of new panels, plus full details on all the Marvel panels (special guests galore!), the Steve Ditko focus panel (A+!), and a bunch more. I think my two favorite new things are the Jeff Smith documentary screening and the George Perez/Mark Waid Brave & The Bold panel-by-panel panel that Andy “Heroes Discussion Group” will be running.

3) GUEST LIST: has been tweaked a little, but not so’s you noticed. There are some recent cancellations though, today including Jason Pearson and Sarah Wilkinson. That complete list is down under the con diagrams and so forth on the right side of the page.

I feel like there’s something else but I can’t remember. Either way, gotta get back to work! Wish me and Shelton luck!

Another late-night post! Oops, actually early-morning now. Poor Indie Island has not gotten much attention from me this year, which is sad because I love it so. But it will still be incredibly awesome–besides the regular awesomeness, this year we’ve fortified it with 100% more Jeff Smith (Bone, Rasl), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), and Jason Lutes (Berlin).

Plus a little secret weapon I like to call Joe Lambert, who did the endpapers for the monstrously well-received and lauded Best American Comics 2008, is a mainstay and studbolt on the minicomics scene, and is working on a big secret book currently for a big book publisher. AND he did this year’s Indie Island shirt, which is even now at the printer being printified on some fly American Apparel and regular-old shirts for you to look fly in. Because you’re up so late with me, I thought I’d share a peek at the image. I love it! Keep your eyes on Joe, because he’s for real, and he’s nationwide, suckas!

No sleep til HeroesCon! We’re burning the midnight oil tonight, trying to get this here program book put to bed, and I’ve been trying to grab up any stragglers who aren’t already on the list–especially Sean Chen, who I thought was already up there. My bad, Sean! Again, I’d prefer to lavish praise and attention of all of these people, but I’m looking at a pretty late night so pardon me if I go the short route of welcoming first-time guests Steve Skeates, Drew Weing, and Evan Bryce, and returning guests Sean Chen, John Gallagher, Jason Horn, and Dean Trippe. Okay, the list all formal-like:

New to HeroesCon 09 Guest List!

EVAN BRYCE: Popgun, Project: Rooftop
SEAN CHEN: Nova, Iron Man, Wolverine
JOHN GALLAGHER: Buzzboy, Nascar Heroes
JASON HORN: Ninjasaur, Comic Book Tattoo
STEVE SKEATES: Crazy, Creepy, Peter Porker
DEAN TRIPPE: Butterfly, Comic Book Tattoo
DREW WEING: Blar, Nickelodeon Magazine

Okay! More to come, in my wee-hours marathon! See you tomorrow/today!

Okay! We’re closing in on the homestretch here, but super swamped for time–and good gravy it’s past-time for dinner, so forgive me if this blog post sounds rushed–not to mention packed!

Joining the HeroesCon 09 Guest List today are a bevy of Silver Age Legends, including:

PAT BASTIENNE, former Talent and Editorial Coordinator at DC Comics and then Continuity Comics with Dick Giordano and Neal Adams.

DICK GIORDANO, former Managing Editor at DC and legendary artist and inker, especially on characters like Batman.

IRWIN HASEN, who’s really more of Golden Age talent, but talent like Irwin’s is timeless anyway. Besides creating Dondi and co-creating Wildcat, Irwin is famous for his work on Green Lantern Comics and All Star Comics!

HERB TRIMPE, whose work you may recognize on the image at right, the first ever appearance of Wolverine! Herb is closely associated with The Hulk, but has worked on pretty much everything else, including Fantastic Four, The Nam, and Shogun Warriors!

But wait there’s more! Also new to the list today, representing the Kids Love Comics! collective, are all-ages superstars:

RAY FRIESEN, author/illustrator of the graphic novels Cupcakes of Doom!, Another Dirt Sandwich, and Yarg!

JIMMY GOWNLEY, the creator of the hit Amelia Rules series!

SCOTT CHRISTIAN SAVA is the cartoonist and animator behind The Dreamland Chronicles, Pet Robots, Ed’s Terrestrials, and many more besides!

And while not part of Kids Love Comics! or a Silver Age legend, our buddy TOMMY SMITH will be appearing this year at the 12 Gauge booth, promoting his upcoming book U.D.R.!

Okay–time for dinner! More to come tomorrow, including more panels, news, and more!

What? Two posts on a Sunday? One so late it’s practically Monday morning? Truly these are the end times we’re in… or at least the convention is super close and we’re burning the midnight oil. So what could be so amazing that it couldn’t wait until tomorrow?

Brand new to the HeroesCon 09 Guest List is legendary pinup and cover painter JOE JUSKO. Joe’s behind a bajillion high-end paintings over his 30+year career, most notably his work on characters like Vampirella and the Marvel Masterpieces trading card set.

Joe’s coming to the convention this year courtesy of another Joe, our buddy JOE PRUETT over at DESPERADO PUBLISHING, which is publishing the new Art of Joe Jusko art book! Desperado also publishes comics like Negative Burn and The Atheist, among many others!

Speaking of studly painters, also new today is good ol’ NAT JONES, whose macabre style is most recently in Frank Frazetta’s Death Dealer and the upcoming Frank Frazetta’s Silver Warrior; not to mention Spawn, The Nail, and a ton of others besides. If you didn’t get enough of Nat as a guest at our Free Comic Book Day shindig, we invite you to feast on him for a full three days next weekend!

Also also new today are REBECCA BUCHMAN, attending her first HeroesCon as a guest. She’s worked with Dexter Vines and Studio Revolver, and has been seen in the pages of Green Lantern, the upcoming Blackest Night, as well as JSA, Huntress: Year One, and others.

And whoever the dummy is who handles the Guest List just noticed this week that he had never added the glamorous KELLY SUE DECONNICK, who returns this year for her fourth HeroesCon in a row. Kelly Sue has collaborated as a writer with Steve Niles on 30 Days of Night: Eben & Stella, as well as worked adapting manga for US readers, including Black Cat and the hit Slam Dunk.

Let’s see what else? Tomorrow (actually “today” now, as it’s crossed midnight) we’ll be doing another update, maybe even two! See you back here in a few hours!

Yes! We’ve gotten a lot of requests over the last several weeks, and here it is at last–the HeroesCon 2009 Event Schedule! I invite you to peruse the heckfire out of this badboy, and please don’t hesitate to post here if you catch any mistakes. I work this behemoth out on paper and then hand-key everything. AND I DON’T BELIEVE IN SPELLCHECK. But I’ve been known to make mistakes once in a while.

Also: did you notice this cool part?

Yessir that’s right! We’re bringing back an old perk for buying your tickets to HeroesCon early–advance ticket buyers will enter the show 30 minutes early all three days! We’ll be cutting off advance ticket sales about a week from now, probably next Sunday or Monday, so if I were you I’d grab those badboys right now!

Last minute announcement at the end of this week–just added to the HeroesCon 09 Guest List is legendary painter, illustrator, and cartoonist BILL SIENKIEWICZ, who will be returning to Charlotte in a couple of weeks for HeroesCon! If you’re not familiar with Bill’s work, he’s the super-duper high profile artist of big books like Elektra: Assassin, Stray Toasters, and the never completed Big Numbers, among many many others. Aaaand while we’ll have an official announcement probably over the weekend or early next week, I have heard that this year’s incentive print for advanced-ticket buyers will be by a guy whose name rhymes with “Phil Blim Blevitch”, so if I were you I’d go ahead and grab your advance tickets now! More on that soon!

Also joining the Guest List today:

MATT HERMS you may have met at our ginormous Free Comic Book Day wing-ding, where his art chores on Sonic the Hedgehog and Sonic Universe made his table a high-traffic area.

JOSH LATTA is an acerbic four-eyes and a master of the minicomic, who hails from Georgia and who has just recently released the umpteenth issue of his own Rashy Rabbit series.

BRAD MCGINTY is even more acerbic than Josh, and posts regular comics at his site. He’s the creator of Wysteria and by day is an animator. You go, Brad!