How often have you finished a really terrific comic or graphic novel and wished you had an opportunity to discuss the book in detail? For me it is a daily occurrence. By the time I get to Heroes on Wednesday for my weekly new releases, I am frothing at the mouth to discuss as many comics as possible in the shortest amount of time with a staff trying to counter all of my ideas and still assist all the other customers.

Well, now it is time we MAKE time! Presenting the Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find Discussion Group. The first meeting will be Monday, March 24th at 7:00pm in the store. We hope to meet on the third Monday of every month and discuss a different piece of graphic literature. Our first book will be Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill‘s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume One, published by ABC Comics/DC and available at Heroes for 19.95.

The book has some mature content, so everyone mature enough to buy the book is invited to join in the discussion. All we ask is that you read the book before the meeting and come prepared with an opinion and an open mind. If you loved it, tell us why; if you were disappointed, explain why… Does it hold up to second reading and various other topics: and the last 15 minutes of the meeting will be a battle royale to decide what book will be discussed at the next meeting.

So come one, come all… We can hardly wait…

Man, who is this goober? But boy, those shirts look great! These are the only two we got, just to proof, and I quickly snatched them for myself. It looks like we’ll have them available for sale Thursday or Friday, so mark your calendars! The top shirt is by Jim Mahfood, and the bottom (modeled by me in true “Dre Day” style) is by Alec Longstreth, who I’m sure really loves early 90’s gangsta rap. You’re welcome, Alec!

Both shirts look AMAZING, even better than I thought they would. Hats off to our friends at Contagious Graphics, who really do first-rate work, and were extra helpful throughout the process of getting these set up.

If you’re seeing these for the first time, a quick review: they’re the first two of a planned series of 6 total shirts, each featuring the art of a different Indie Island guest. Once we have them in hand, they’ll sell for $20 apiece, plus $5 if you need it shipped within the continental U.S. These are very limited, so if I were you I’d get yours as soon as possible! If you like, I am keeping a little waiting list for when they show up, so feel free to post that you’d like one, especially if we actually know you, which will give your place on the waiting list a little more weight should fights break out.

I know, I know–as if I would tell you if it were a big failure. But hey, no lie: a ton of people showed up for Singles Night last Friday, and it was super fun. I suspect much of the reason was that Shelton decided at the last second to provide beer and wine; whatever the cause, by 8 o’clock or so the joint was jumping! Lots of guys and girls, lots of music, lots of conversation–I’m not sure how many love connections were made, but we weren’t doing any exit polls, either. Suffice it to say that we had such a great time that we’ll definitely be doing this again! Next up on the schedule will be the brand new Discussion Night we’re planning, which readers of the Heroes Hotline may have noticed on Friday. But that’s a blog post for another day, one which I’ll leave to Andy Mansell, who’ll be running the discussion.

For a complete rundown of the night with a ton of color 8 x 10 glossies with the circles and the arrows on the back of each one, check out our Flickr set devoted to the event. And thanks to everyone who made our first Singles Night such a big success! Extra special thanks to the Sweet On Geeks website and Geek Monthly magazine, who provided tons of free stuff and really got the word out–you guys are the best!

by Duncan Rouleau
reviewed by Daniel Von Egidy

As DC’s Infinite Crisis was coming to an end, Grant Morrison took on a job as a creative editor at the publisher, to outline concepts and ideas for several series including All-New Atom, Uncle Sam and the Freedom Fighters, and following their role in 52: the Metal Men. Writer/artist Duncan Rouleau took Morrison’s ideas and really ran with them, resulting in one of the most fun and most dense reads around.

There are pretty much two plots going on here. The first plot takes place in the present, following the events of 52, as several opposing forces seek to enlist the Metal Men to destroy humanity; or destroy the Metal Men so they can’t destroy humanity. At the same time Professor Magnus and his older brother David are trying to fix time in order to prevent an apocalyptic future. The second story is essentially “Metal Men: Year One” as we see Professor Magnus develop the Metal Men, the responso-meters, and as they all become famous as superheroes at the cost of Magnus’ relationship with his girlfriend Helen. Magnus is also at the same time being stalked by a bunch of time traveling medieval alchemists. The storylines eventually intersect but explaining how would take a couple of long paragraphs, some aspirin, and a nap on my part so I’m gonna skip it.

This book is the antithesis of the “five-minute read”. There’s a squillion things going on plot-wise mixed in with all the little scientific fun facts and character bits, and this book really merits re-reading to catch everything that’s going on. But it all looks incredibly beautiful. Duncan has a style similar to Chris Bachalo or Skottie Young resulting in some beautiful design work and dazzling page layouts. The art is just as packed as the story, so some of the storytelling gets lost but that’s almost appropriate in this case. It has almost reached its end so you can pick it all up and read it straight through to this point, or wait for the eventual hardcover due in the summer. Whatever is your preference: just don’t miss this engaging story.

by Nicolas De Crecy
reviewed by Eraklis Petmezas

The first time I saw Nicolas De Crecy’s work was when one of my best friends came back from a European trip in the early 90’s with sketch books he had purchased of a new young French cartoonist. Flipping through them I was mesmerized by such a strong vision. De Crecy’s characters were both realistic and stylized in the same line. This was an artist that was closer to Egon Schiele than his contemporary brethren. The way he drew figures really showed you a glimpse of who they were. Most artists search years to find what De Crecy had found in his early twenties.

It was shortly after that an issue of Heavy Metal (March 1992) translated “Foligatto”. I was finally able to read a Nicolas De Crecy story. His art translated amazingly well into the sequential form. His colors were beautiful. They created the mood of the story and dragged you into it. He put as much detail into the backgrounds as he did his people. He gave you a sense of the world around them. In turn it drew you deeper into his art. It’s no wonder that years later his work would inspire the wonderfully unique animated film Triplets of Belleville.

When I found out that the Parisian museum The Louvre picked four cartoonists to create comics based on the museum and its work I was impressed. I thought it was nice to see such an esteemed establishment recognize comics as an art form that could elevate awareness of the museum itself. I was elated to read that Nicolas De Crecy was one of those artists chosen.

Glacial Period takes place thousands of years into the future. The earth is covered in snow and ice. This is a future where dogs have been bioengineered to have thoughts and emotions that parallel humans. A group of archeologists are trying to uncover any thing that can give them some insight into the past. Even here on a barren earth we still find the males in the expedition arguing over whose name will go first in what ever discoveries they may find.

When a shift in the ice uncovers the hidden Louvre we get to see the expedition turn from an expedition into the past to a psychological journey. As they look at the centuries old paintings it’s comical to watch them try to decipher what is depicted on the canvas. Most of them are nudes and the men in the group automatically think that the women of the past must have had loose morals to constantly be without clothes. They conclude that humanity must not have had a written language since all they find are paintings. In another part of the museum the statues come to life to tell the story of what happened to our civilization.

Glacial Period is at times satire, and other times a biting commentary of our world. Nicolas De Crecy has crafted a story worthy of the respect of The Louvre, as well as any lover of the sequential form. This painted story creates a world that stays with you long after you put the book down. I applaud NBM for translating this work. I hope it won’t be another decade before we can read more work by Nicolas De Crecy. I highly recommend this book.

by Marjane Satrapi

I’m having a hard time putting my thoughts together on this book. Originally published in France by L’Association, then translated and published here in two volumes several years ago, this new complete edition was too cool-looking for me to pass up buying. Not to mention that I have to HEAR ABOUT this thing constantly, what with the movie coming out, media coverage, etc., so I guess I got worn down. Despite its generally pretty favorable reviews, this book always struck me as getting its attention more from the fact of it being a graphic novel than from any real intrinsic quality.

And I think, largely, that I was right. I finished the book yesterday, and while it was a fairly enjoyable read, I didn’t feel any especial frisson upon finishing it, or sadness that I was done. In fact, and most damningly, I spent most of the time I was reading it imagining how much more effective it would be as a movie. I can’t really say whether this is a good thing or a bad thing, but I think generally that in cases of ambivalence in art, it’s usually a bad sign.

The book, which is Marjane Satrapi’s memoir of growing up in fundamentalist Iran, is most effective when portraying the different facets of Persian society: not only the oppressive theocratic government, but also the lives of the people living under that government. Satrapi humanizes the country of Iran for Westerners–it is always easy to forget that the actions of a nation’s government are often at odds with its populace, and Persepolis makes it clear that the image of Iran we see through the media is one-dimensional. As a daughter of a liberal-minded family, Satrapi is constantly having to masquerade as an appropriately subservient female whenever she leaves the house, throughout the book. Not only that, but the suggestion is that in the Tehran of Persepolis, most of the populace ascribes to the fundamentalist position out of simple fear, and this is repeated often in the actions of the Satrapi family. It’s an effective device for portraying Persian society in general as largely paying lip-service to their totalitarian rulers.

But Persepolis fails in several key places–the most obvious of which is graphically. Which is not to malign the art, which for all its simplicity and occasional roughness is clear and easy to follow; rather, it’s that this is a comic at all. It is hard to imagine how this book is better as a graphic novel than it would be as a simple prose memoir, or even as a movie. Whereas other recent graphic novel memoirs have used the language of comics in a way so sophisticated and intrinsic to the story’s telling that it’s hard to imagine them as anything BUT comics–I’m thinking specifically of David B.‘s Epileptic and Craig Thompson‘s Blankets—Persepolis is merely a memoir told in comics. Marjane Satrapi’s choice of comics as vehicle for her story is not a bad one, but it’s not a particularly inspired one, either.

The other surprising weak point for me was Satrapi herself–though it’s easy to root for her during much of the first part of the book, as she grows up under the twin oppressions of the Iranian government and the attendant strict Muslim observance, it becomes harder to sympathize with her the older she gets. During the part of the story in which she’s a student in Vienna, I kept waiting for something to happen of importance. Instead, it was just a lot of drug use, fringe politics, and nihilism, which unsurpringly ended up with Satrapi feeling alone and damaged. When she finds her boyfriend in bed with another woman, she has a breakdown and ends up returning home. After the gravitas of the early part of the book, her anguish over this turn in her life seems misplaced and almost petulant–it seems to suggest that, having left the stifling atmosphere of Tehran for progressive Vienna, she finally had the freedom to waste time and do drugs, but somehow life treated her unfairly by not working out. While this is probably a pretty common idea at 19, her age when these events occurred, you would think that Satrapi would have changed her outlook by her 30’s, when she made the book. She sums it up best herself:

“Next to my father’s distressing report, my Viennese misadventures seemed like little anecdotes of no importance. So I decided that I would never tell them anything about my Austrian life. They had suffered enough as it was.”

??? This marked the end of my investment in Marjane Satrapi as a character in her own memoir. What had seemed somehow important near the beginning sounded dramatically less so now–maybe that’s just a reflection on my expectations going into the book. But by the end Satrapi’s story seems pretty pedestrian, with the exception of its setting. While her life is hardly banal or boring, it’s rarely remarkable past her interaction with her environment. Besides growing up under an oppressive and brutally violent religious regime, her problems are not much different than most young adults: identity, self-worth, direction. Her choices don’t seem any more heroic than those confronting any other young person struggling to decide what they will do with their lives.

In the end, Persepolis is valuable for its depiction and humanization of Iranian society–it’s hard to imagine a country more maligned in all the world, both now and throughout the last several decades. Seeing the culture from the inside; imagining what it must be like to come home and find your neighbor’s home destroyed and your neighbor dead; seeing the forced duality of the citizens, in their attempts to appear observant but still lead free lives: all these things are very eye-opening in a memoir. The problems of an intelligent girl who had a bad breakup and lives on the streets for a few months; not as much. I enjoyed Persepolis, and found it very thought-provoking, which alone was worth the price of admission. But on the whole I think much of the hype surrounding this book is that an Iranian expatriate published a memoir as a graphic novel. I suspect the same book as prose would have been wholly unremarkable, and much less likely to yield the critical attention it has received.

Well, I’d type a big long report about the Charlotte Minicon, but I just finished typing up a few dozen little reports, so just check out our Flickr set of photos for the skinny. I can sum it up like this:

1) It was awesome, despite the threat of inclement weather.
2) We broke last year’s record by raising $1281.50 for the National MS Society.
3) You’re the best for making it great.

Click here for the full report!

Just a quick post to thank everyone that came out Monday night and made our first ever Manga Night a big success! It was great to see so many of our customers, both new and regular, meeting each other and talking about manga and anime! At one point Todd counted somewhere over 25 people in the store, which is pretty crazy for a Monday night. So many of our regular customers come at particular times of the week, say only on Saturdays, or on their lunch hour on Wednesdays or whatever–so this was a great opportunity to bring a bunch of them together!

Best of all for us was being able to quiz you guys on manga. While we’re definitely fans, we don’t have anywhere near the level of immersion that most of our customers do–so it’s hard for us to know what new mangas are going to be any good, and what are just a bunch of silly hooey. Honestly, we’d really rather just get the good stuff. So being able to ask customers about new trends, scanlations, and other manga-centric stuff was pretty educational. Plus we handed out a lot of the preorder and reorder discount coupons, and took dozens of special orders for books!

What about you? If you were there Monday night, did you have a good time? How would you improve things? What would you like to see us do on future Manga Nights? Presentations? Discussions? Special promotions? Let us know what you’re thinking in the comments section. And go ahead and mark your calendar: the next Manga Night will be Monday, February 11–and every 2nd Monday of each month afterward! Thanks again!

by Jeph Loeb, Joe Madureira, and Christian Lichtner

reviewed by Adam Schnier

The first week of December saw the return of Joe Madureira to the world of comics, teaming up with Jeph Loeb for the first installment of Ultimates 3. With the first issue in the bag, and the second arriving on shelves in two weeks, I thought it would be fun to go over one of the more entertaining books of the year.

Now, I know there are folks out there who are upset about Millar and Hitch moving on. In fact, I was one of them. It’s undeniable that they were a powerhouse of a team, putting out (however delayed it may have been) a great title for the first two Ultimates arcs. I also am willing to acknowledge that some readers have not been too pleased with Loeb’s recent work, and weren’t too thrilled to hear he was taking on what is recognized as one of the best titles around. I happen to be a big Loeb fan, so I was onboard for the idea since it was first announced.

Well, I’ve heard a few gripes about the book, so let’s go ahead and get them out of the way…

I think the most unfair complaint has to do with the dialogue. I’ve heard the word “cheesy” mumbled by a few readers, yet when I ask them to point out an example they can’t seem to do so. I strongly disagree with these statements. I think the dialogue is just fine, thank you. Compared to Ultimates 1 & 2, it’s essentially the same thing. Sure, the original had some great lines (“You think this letter on my head stands for France?”), but it wasn’t without its own level of rubbish. Let’s face it, Hulk’s rant about Betty and Freddy Prinze Jr., however comical, isn’t exactly Pulitzer Prize material.

The other major complaint I’ve heard has to do with the art. Joe Mad has been out of the scene for almost a decade after the ill-fated run of his Wildstorm series Battle Chasers. I loved his work on Uncanny X-Men and was extremely excited when I heard he was going to be on this book. Unfortunately, my excitement was short-lived, as my fan boy dreams were shattered upon glancing over the first page of Ultimates 3 #1. I share the opinion that the pages look cluttered. Yet, I think this has far less to do with Mad’s art, and is more with the inking style of Christian Lichtner. I’m just not down with the whole computer inked, faux airbrush style. In my humble opinion, it takes away from the details of the pencils and makes all the colors and lines blur together. The colors are so dark that the details of the images are almost completely erased.

Now for the good stuff…

One thing that I thought hurt the Millar run was the combination of decompressed storylines and missed deadlines. It frustrated the heck out of me that it was months between issues and I would have to go back and reread at least two previous books in order to understand exactly what was going on in the new release. Loeb has put together a story that comes in five parts, a sharp departure from the double digit series of the past.

He wastes no time, as the conflict is introduced in the first two pages. We’re quickly reminded of the problems the characters are facing in their personal lives (most notably a naughty tape featuring Iron Man as a little less than invincible), then without warning Venom crashes through the wall doing his whole kill-then-eat-you thing. It was nice to see a battle take only one issue in an Ultimates book. In Ultimates 2 I felt like I was reading the same book over and over during the final few issues of the arc. Loeb has decided to bring a much faster pace to a book that, in the past, almost made a fight boring and repetitive. Some readers have seemed to be a little frustrated with the lack of explanation as to why Venom attacks, but let’s all keep in mind that this is the first issue in the arc. If we know from the beginning exactly as to why the bad guy is committing his acts of badness, why would we continue to read? The mystery as to who the “she” is that Venom was looking for should keep us all interested and asking exactly who he wanted and what he needed her for.

Another aspect of the book that readers seemed frustrated by and I really enjoyed was Hawkeye’s new look and attitude. Sure, the bull’s-eye on his forehead is a little much, but his somber, self-destructive demeanor is a logical evolution of his character. This is a guy who spent his life as a black-ops soldier whose family was brutally murdered in a raid to kidnap him. The man was tortured, had his mind probed, and ultimately kills his so-called friend Black Widow, the woman responsible for his wife and daughter’s death. He’s lost everything. His sense of security is shattered. For most guys who do the type of work he did, all they have to go home to, the only thing that keeps them sane, is their family. It’s understandable that he has trouble trusting those around him, for it was another member of the team who caused his misery. I think the downward spiral of Hawkeye may become an integral part of the upcoming story involving the Brotherhood, especially since his methods are being put into question. After all, his new look does resemble another character not necessarily known for anything other than his impulsive love of murder.

My favorite part of this book comes at the very end. It wasn’t the death of Wanda, but the person who attempted to help her. Our good friend Dr. Donald Blake comes forth from the crowd, stick in hand, and attempts to give her CPR. I thought that was fantastic. Dr. Blake was always my favorite Thor alter ego. His return in the regular Marvel U (Earth-616) in the recent issues of Straczynski’s Thor was fantastic, and his appearance in 3.1 gives makes me hope he’ll become a mainstay of the Ultimate books. Since Ultimate Thor’s introduction, the rumor has been that he’s just a crazy guy by the name of Thorlief Golman who stole his brother’s super-soldier technology. I know this may just be my imagination running wild, but I really hope that ol’ Doc Blake taps that stick of his, turns into the real Thor, and then a battle for the title of the Norse God takes place between the two. Honestly, how can you get any better than a couple of Thor’s kicking the poo out of each other? Talk about an idea that sells itself!

I know this review may seem a little defensive of the book, and in all truth, it is. I think this run is going to be fun and exciting. The first issue was nonstop action, so I’m sure the series will continue to build upon what we have already seen. I trust Jeph Loeb to deliver a great story that will add to the mythos of the Ultimates. I hope more people give this title the chance it deserves.

Kids Comics For Everyone!
I think one of my biggest discoveries this year was how incredibly good kid’s comics actually are. So for those 4-7 year olds I suggest Owly. No words, so if your kid can’t read yet, he can still be fully immersed in the story. For the young man superhero fan the Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man collections are inexpensive for the adult buyer and great fun for the kid reader. The Best of Archie in the… decades collections I think can be admired by anybody. In particular the collections focusing on the 50’s and 60’s which has beautiful, crisp cartooning to be admired by the connoisseurs and family-friendly stories for the rest, because its Archie and that’s what Archie does.

Bang for Your Buck: Essentials and Showcases
These massive black and white reprints are probably the best way to pick up old comics. Without the color you can see just how clear, crisp, and concise these classic artist were and you can get 500+ pages ranging from $10 to $17 and that’s awesome. On the “Essential” side of things I gotta go with Essential Iron Fist, Essential Ghost Rider Vol.1, and Essential Tomb of Dracula Vol.1-3. These are the funnest in the fun of 70’s comics and feature work by Gene Colan, John Byrne, and Mike Ploog that is just spectacular.

“Showcase” wise I’ll say they offer a greater variety of genre. Showcase Presents: Sgt. Rock for war comics (and Joe Kubert), Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex for western stuff, Showcase Presents: Adam Strange for 50’s sci-fi, and Showcase Presents: Legion of Superheroes for superhero adventure. These are all appropriate for kids but there are some darker themes in the Jonah Hex, Tomb of Dracula and Ghost Rider comics, so you parents should look through them first to see if they’re appropriate for you and yours.

Across the Board:
For Teens: Runaways Digest
For the Old School Fan: Spider-Man Visionaries: Robert Stern Vol.1 or Captain America: War and Remembrance
For the Kid Who Wants to Draw Comics: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
For the Fan with a Lot of Money to Blow: Absolute New Frontier
For the Oddballs: Punisher War Journal Vol.1 or Nextwave Vol.1-2

For Mature Readers Only
For the Manga Fan Who Is Ready To Make A Financial Commitment: Lone Wolf and Cub
For the Fan Who’s Looking for Something Really Different (But Can’t Put Their Finger On What): Cerebus. Try the High Society book at the very least.
For History Buffs: Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner
For the Hopeless Romantic: Apollo’s Song
For the No-Goodniks: Criminal Vol.1 or Scalped Vol.1
For the Widely Read Person: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (I enjoyed it and I’m thinly read!)