My, how time flies! Can you believe that the Heroes Discussion Group is celebrating it’s 50th (that’s right, 50th!!) meeting already?!

The history of comics is brimming with mysteries and enigmas.  Did Alex Raymond kill himself? Why did DC cancel the Jack Kirby penned Fourth World series so early in its run? Is it really a true story that Gwen Stacy’s death got published because Stan Lee was out of the office for the month and couldn’t stop it ? Why did Jack Cole take his own life when he seemed to have everything he’d ever wanted?

Two of my favorite underground comics are Justin Green’s Binky Brown Meets the Holy Virgin Mary (1972) and Sacred and Profane (1976), and I’ll sing hallelujah praises for both, but only as a means to celebrate Green’s lesser-known, humbler, but still uproarious Show + Tell (1973).

Justin Green, from BINKY BROWN.

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SETH’S PICK :: JOE KUBERT PRESENTS #1: Comics lost another of its true legends earlier this year when Joe Kubert passed away.  Thankfully, this week offers us an opportunity to further celebrate his life and work with this, his final project, Joe Kubert Presents.  The highlight of this anthology will inevitably be Kubert’s return to Hawkman.  Everybody knows Kubert helped to define the Silver Age Hawkman, but I’m among those who think that no one since him has really captured the character’s essence quite as successfully.  In addition to Hawkman, it’ll be fun to see the return of Angel and the Ape (from Brian Buniak) and U.S.S. Stevens (from Sam Glanzman).  Comics will never produce another Joe Kubert.  Pick up this book this week and celebrate the man and his art.

Over the past several years, writer Matt Fraction has produced a varied body of work, ranging from big company events like Fear Itself, to smaller, character driven books like Immortal Iron Fist.  Let’s not forget he also managed to write fifty-plus issues of Invincible Iron Man and still maintains creator owned projects like Casanova.  Fraction currently reunited with Iron Fist collaborator David Aja on the critically acclaimed Hawkeye series, and is taking over Fantastic Four and FF as part of the Marvel Now event.  Plus, Image announced that he’ll be working on even more upcoming creator owned titles for them in the near future.  With all these irons in the fire, Matt still found time to answer a few questions, and I appreciate it.

Seth Peagler (SP): First off, congratulations on what ended up being a long and successful run on Invincible Iron Man. Have you had a chance to reflect on your tenure? (more…)

JUSTIN’S PICK :: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES ANNUAL 2012: Old school Turtles fans rejoice! This oversized annual features a rare treat, a solo Kevin Eastman story starring Raphael and Casey Jones! If you’ve been missing Eastman’s contribution to IDW’s main Turtles ongoing, this’ll tide you over.

Bonus mention: If you’re a Turtles fan and haven’t been checking out the main title, now’s a great time. HeroesCon alum Andy Kuhn is providing the art, and anyone that read the Michelangelo micro-series issue knows, that man can draw a mean Ninja Turtle. For those already familiar with Mr. Kuhn’s fantastic work, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention he ALSO drew up the latest issue of Secret Avengers, so wander on over to that superhero side, genre people!

HEATHER’S PICK :: LOT 13 #1: Just in time for Halloween, a creepy new series from Steve Niles and Glenn Fabry that follows the cross country move of a family into an old apartment complex.  Based on the premise about their chances of surviving the night, it seems like there’s lots of horror in store for both the family and the readers.  I bet this is going to be hard to read while peeking through my fingers.

ANDY’S PICK :: SUPERMAN EARTH ONE VOL 02 HC: Two years ago at HeroesCon we had a Discussion Group about Superman Earth One HC with the books artist Shane Davis. Now, after being floored by our discussion of All-Star Superman the year before, I didn’t think I would ever be impressed or really care about any other Superman stories. Then I sat down to read and re-read Superman Earth One Volume 1 for the meeting with Mr. Davis and I was so taken in by the story and the art, I was genuinely disappointed that there was not a sequel forthcoming. But now it is two years later and here is Superman Earth One Volume 2–with art by Shane Davis and written by J. Michael Straczynski (Babylon 5 and Spider-man) and frankly I can’t wait. Do yourself a solid and pick up both Volume 1 and Volume 2. It is so chock full of little details about Superman/Clark Kent’s life that just makes it a special reading experience.

Please welcome guest blogger and Heroes customer Matt Plummer!

When it comes to purchasing or recommending manga to check out, there’s always the problem of middle to long-term commitment to the series because manga reads much faster and builds at a slower pace than American comic series.  Often-times, you have to wait for it to hit its stride.  In addition, the story arcs in manga are so long that you don’t know if it’s worth the time, effort, and money you need to put into it.  Worry not though, because Drops of God: The New World addresses both issues. (more…)