The Heroes Pop Swap is back! Join us Saturday, October 26th 10AM-4PM at our store. Whether you have things to sell, are shopping for treasure, or you just want to give your Halloween costume a test run, the Pop Swap is sure to be a great place for it!

A 6′ table is only $20 and you can be sure your great collectibles will be going to a loving home.  This event is limited to local creators and comics and pop culture enthusiasts (no professional dealers) who have interesting items in their personal collections that they are willing to sell and self-produced comics and related products. People who are purchasing space are encouraged not only to bring comics but any items falling under the pop culture umbrella. That could be toys, games, music, movies and more. Space is limited and reservations are 1st come, 1st served.

CLICK HERE TO REGISTER FOR YOUR TABLE TODAY!

Come say hello to Shelton and check out our great comic book road stock at the 1st ever Florence Comic Con this Sunday, September 15th! The show takes place at The Art Trail Gallery in Florence SC. The show begins at 10am and goes until 6pm. Admission is $5. For full guest and vendor list check out their Facebook page here. It should be a great time and we hope to see you there!

Heroes will be on the road almost every weekend in the coming months. Check to see if we’re coming to a town near you!

• A.C.E. in Asheville – September 21
• Winston Salem – September 29
• New York Comic Con – October 10-13
• ACME’s Comic Book City Con – October 26-27

UPDATE: Happy Labor Day! Today is the last day of our HUGE Warehouse Sale! Get here now!

Here’s a reminder that we’re kicking off our first ever Warehouse Sale next Friday, August 30th!  We’ve been hearing how excited all of you are for this event, and we’re looking forward to it just as much as you!  We also know many of you are curious about how these books will be priced.  Here’s what you can expect next weekend:

As you can see, you’ll have three different levels of pricing over the weekend, and the more you buy, the cheaper the books will be.  Friday and Saturday will obviously offer the most quantity to choose from, but by Sunday and Monday you’ll have the chance to pick up even greater deals.  We’ll have 100,000 comics under tents outside the front of the store for you to dig through.  That’s 300 long boxes!  I should also mention that over 100 of those boxes will be in alpha-numeric order for your shopping ease!  As a reminder, we’ll be open extra hours all weekend.  The official hours for the sale are:

Friday, August 30:  6 p.m. – MIDNIGHT

Saturday, August 31: 10 a.m. – MIDNIGHT

Sunday, September 1: 10 a.m. – MIDNIGHT

Monday, September 2: 10 a.m. – DARK (or until everything’s gone!)

On Friday the store will still open at 10 a.m. like normal, but we’re aiming for 6 p.m. to kick off the outside sales.  Also note that in addition to extending our hours on Sunday, we’re opening three hours earlier than usual.  That’s right, you’ll have the opportunity to shop Heroes on a Sunday morning!

PARKING: We’ve also heard some concerns about parking for the event.  You can still park in the small lot directly behind Heroes (between Heroes and the warehouse), but we’d also like to remind you that there’s plenty of free on-street parking on Pecan Ave, and on 8th Street.  All of these spaces are right around the corner from our store, and provide multiple options if the lot behind the store is full.  There’s also $2 parking available at the end of the large lot to the side of Heroes.  Between all of these options, there will be plenty of convenient places for you to park.

This is not only the first time we’ve had a true Warehouse Sale, but the first chance you’ll get to shop late night hours at the store.  Come by, pick up some incredible deals, and celebrate Labor Day with your friends at Heroes!

The Heroes Discussion Group returns!!  Thanks to all of you who have requested we continue this delightful endeavor.

What is it?  We select a graphic novel and on a scheduled Saturday afternoon we meet at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find and then repair to a local watering hole (or bakery).  There we eat, drink and have a full blown discussion about the book we’ve selected.

 Our mission is simple:  How often have you read a terrific (or really bad) comic and wanted to discuss it and for one reason or another, you could not.  We offer a forum where every one is on the same page and we do our darnedest (pardon my French!) to keep the discussion on track for a few hours.

 In the past 4 years (!) and almost 50 meetings, we’ve tackled every kind of comic book from Maus to Scott Pilgrim to From Hell to The Walking Dead to Sandman to All-Star Superman. The discussions are always lively and above all fun! For our re-inaugural, we thought we’d try something a bit different.  We want to examine a series that is currently on-going and (obviously) unfinished.

The book is Saga written by Brian K Vaughan and drawn by Fiona Staples (what a great comic book name!). SAGA is currently one of the best-selling comics and it is certainly the most buzz worthy outside our four-color world.

 We will be discussing the first 13 issues— which have been collected so far into 2 trades (with 13 a single issue).  As always, Heroes is offering the 10% DISCUSSION GROUP DISCOUNT on the two trades as well as #13.  But as an added incentive, if you purchase both collections and #13 at the same time, we are offering you the package for only 24.00!!! REMEMBER to inform the clerk of the discount when you check out!!

 Topics will include (but these are just suggestions)

• How does the artwork and especially the coloring sets the tone for the story?
• How do we as readers react to the reputation or past work of a creator? (Example, I have trouble reading anything by Vaughan without looking for parallels to LOST)
• Can this kind of sub-textural investigation help or hinder a readers experience?
• What sets Saga apart from all the other Sci-Fi and Fantasy books that are being published.
• Where do you see the book going in the months ahead?
• Does a book like Saga (or any other comic for that matter) benefit from ‘binge’ reading as opposed to reading each issue as it is released?
• And lots and lots more…..

If you are a big fan of Saga or if you dislike it or if you just want to break bread and talk with folks who have like interests, then please consider stopping by Heroes on SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 28 at 1:00PM. There is no pressure to contribute!  You can just come by to listen.  All we ask is that you keep an open mind. And if you enjoy yourself (and we think you will!), mark your calendars to join us on Saturday, November 2ND at 1:00PM as we celebrate a belated Halloween by discussing Hellboy/B.P.R.D. (specific titles to be announced later–but if you have a particular volume in mind either respond on this Blog or our Facebook page!) And for the Yuletide???  We have a wonderful surprise in store.

See you there!

Thanks to everyone who has already pre-ordered a HeroesCon 2013 Rocketeer t-shirt featuring art by the great Lee Weeks (We should mention Lee’s last issue of Daredevil: Dark Nights comes out today!)!  These shirts are at the printer and ready to go but we thought we’d give any stragglers one last chance to order. If you’ve already ordered a shirt, yours will be on its way to you in the coming weeks. We will overprint by a little bit and have some available in our store and online but pre-ordering is the only way to be sure you get the size you need. So this is it, last chance, order your Rocketeer shirt today!

“Why don’t you guys ever have a warehouse sale?”  It’s something we’ve heard from countless customers over the years, and it’s finally happening over Labor Day weekend!  The sale will take place over four days from Friday, August 30 – Monday, September 2.

“What exactly makes this a warehouse sale?”  As you know, we buy comic collections all the time, and we’ve bought so many in recent years that we just don’t have the space to keep them anymore.  With multiple warehouses overflowing, it’s time to let our customers pick through what we’ve accumulated.

“What can I expect to find at the sale?”  For starters, we’ll have nearly 100,000 comics under tents in front of the store ready for you to dig through.  Do the math – that’s nearly 300 long boxes of comics!  As the sale goes on prices will get lower, but the selection will be smaller. We’ll have big deals right from the start, but as usual, the more you buy, the cheaper the cost.  We’ll also have a plethora of trade paperbacks on sale, reduced prices on HeroesCon prints through the years, and more!

“What are the hours for the sale?”  It will officially kick off Friday evening around 6 p.m. and go until MIDNIGHT!  Saturday it will begin at our normal opening hour of 10 a.m. and go until MIDNIGHT!  Sunday we’ll open three hours early at 10 a.m. and go until MIDNIGHT! And Monday, we’ll open at 10 a.m. and go until dark, or until everything’s gone, whichever comes first.

We’ve had lots of sales over the years, but trust me – you’ve never seen one this big.  Start getting your back issue list together and get ready for this gargantuan event!

Just for the sake of reminding you, here are the times for the sale:

Friday, August 30: 6 p.m. – MIDNIGHT

Saturday, August 31: 10 a.m. – MIDNIGHT

Sunday, September 1: 10 a.m. – MIDNIGHT

Monday, September 2: 10 a.m. – DARK (or until everything’s gone!)

Come celebrate the holiday with us, and pick up some great deals in the process!  See you Labor Day weekend!

It’s been almost 2 months since HeroesCon and all of the pressure, excitement and stress that brings to Heroes and to me personally. The volume builds for months before the show every year and takes some time to settle down afterwards. The one aspect of HeroesCon that I regret every year is that I don’t get to spend enough, if any, time behind my table selling and trading comics with attending fans. I love old comics. I love handling and talking about old comics. I love buying and selling old comics.

My long-time friends and associates in the Charlotte comic-collecting community Rick Fortenberry and Dave Hinson are holding their Charlotte Comicon this Sunday at the Crown Plaza Executive Park Hotel (formerly the Marriott) off of Tyvola Rd and I-77. I love this show! I’ll tell you why. I can go set up my stock of comics and spend a whole day immersed in old funnybooks and talking to local collectors. Many customers are old friends and the war stories and tall tales are fun to recount, but I always meet new fans and collectors every time this show is held. This con is like a day off for me and I can’t wait.

Come join us this Sunday for a full day of fun, collecting and reminiscing about the comics and characters we all love.

http://www.charlottecomicon.com/

*photo by Todd Lacey

While our bossman Shelton Drum is off in San Diego hob-knobbing with celebrities like Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (!!) and spreading the gospel of Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find to the masses, we are here holding down the fort, making sure you get the comics, statues and supplies you need!

We have another great HeroesCon 2014 Guest List announcement coming your way next week so look out for that. We’ll also be announcing our first big Warehouse Sale soon!

Time is running out to pre-order your HeroesCon 2013 Rocketeer shirts. Get yours here. Have a great weekend!

This year marked my seventh year as a member of the capable HeroesCon management and organization team.  Every year there are countless little moments that make me (and the rest of the staff) happy to be a part of this incredible comics community.  This year, more than any other year, I was especially heartened and humbled by our 3rd Annual Drink and Draw.  It was at our first Drink and Draw back in 2011 that I met Richard Thompson, the genius cartoonist behind the award winning Cul de Sac comic strip.  It was Richard for whom Team Cul de Sac started, in an effort to raise money for Parkinson’s research.  And it is Richard’s humor, humility and general kindness that made us want to continue to do more to battle this disease.

This year, thanks in part to a spacious new venue (the Hilton), an appropriately Southern soundtrack from Jack the Radio, and the creativity of professional and amateur artists alike, we raised over $7,000 for Team Cul de Sac and the Michael J. Fox foundation!   The combined total from money raised in the first two years was under $3,000, so that alone should let you know the extent to which our fundraising increased this year.

Planning for this year’s Drink and Draw began earlier than ever before.  Team Cul de Sac founder Chris Sparks, my wife (and fellow Drink and Draw organizer) Heather and I had a few meals together in Asheville this past Spring, and talked at length about what we could do to bring even more money and awareness to Team Cul de Sac at HeroesCon’s Drink and Draw event.  Chris took those brainstorming sessions and turned them into original art from Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), Jim Borgman (Zits), Mark Tatulli (Lio), Roger Langridge (Snarked), and more, all for us to auction at the Drink and Draw.  In addition to these pieces, Chris brought an Art Spiegelman signed and sketched edition of Maus, and Bill Watterson signed editions of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes and Team Cul de Sac: Artists Draw the Line at Parkinson’s.

With all the art produced and auctioned off at the Drink and Draw, we not only raised a sizable donation for Parkinson’s research, but sent a strong message that the philanthropic efforts at HeroesCon have never been more vibrant than they were this year.   I look forward to working with Chris to bring even larger things to HeroesCon 2014’s Drink and Draw.

Thanks to all the fine volunteers who continue to come back every year to help us run the event (Heather Peagler, Brian Purvis and the rest), all the artists who still draw for us after a long day on the convention floor, and everyone who donated money for the various pieces produced that night. Thanks to Chris Sparks for his perseverance, Richard Thompson for his ever-present inspiration, and Shelton Drum for giving us so much time and space at HeroesCon to continue to raise money for this worthy cause.

If you’d like to continue to support Team Cul de Sac throughout the year, please visit them HERE.  The battle against Parkinson’s disease needs more than just our annual event to help fight it.  We hope to see you next year at Drink and Draw.  We’ve already started planning, so trust me when I tell you – HeroesCon 2014 is going to be bigger and better than ever!

If you’re attending HeroesCon next weekend, we want to remind you of what has become one of the highlights of recent year’s cons – our Drink and Draw event.  Inspired by the original Drink and Draw Social Club (founded by Dave Johnson, Dan Panosian and Jeff Johnson), this is a laid back event where anyone can sit down, have a drink, and create art alongside countless comic artists and fans.  The great thing about the Heroes’ Drink and Draw is that much of the professional art produced is auctioned off that night at the event itself, with all the proceeds going to charity.  Amateur artists can also enter their work into art contests that night, with the possibility of winning art supplies and products from our friends at Jerry’s Artarama, Prismacolor, and Artograph.

For the third year in a row we are happy to be donating all of the proceeds to Team Cul de Sac, a fantastic group that raises money and awareness for Parkinson’s research.  The Heroes family became aware of this organization when our friend Richard Thompson (the brilliant cartoonist behind the critically acclaimed Cul de Sac strip) was diagnosed with the disease.

Team Cul de Sac’s founder Chris Sparks has assured me that he’s bringing some incredible items to auction off at the Drink and Draw and throughout the con, including gems like an Art Spiegelman signed/sketched copy of Maus and Bill Watterson signed editions of The Complete Calvin and Hobbes and the Team Cul de Sac book. He’ll also be bringing original art from the likes of Mark Tatulli (Lio), Patrick McDonnell (Mutts), Jim Borgman (Zits) and more to auction Friday night.  Bidding on the signed/sketched Maus edition will take place all day on Friday at Team Cul de Sac’s table, and resume and conclude at Drink and Draw.  Similarly, you can bid on the signed Complete Calvin and Hobbes at Team Cul de Sac’s table, with bidding concluding at our annual Art Auction that night.  These are truly rare items, and HeroesCon might be your only opportunity to pick them up.

This year’s Drink and Draw will be at a new location, the Hilton Charlotte Center City.  As with past years, the event kicks off on Friday at 7:30 and lasts until there’s no one left drawing.  In addition to being one of our host hotels, the Hilton is close to the Convention Center (at 222 E. 3rd St.), and has spacious indoor and outdoor bars that will make this year’s Drink and Draw our largest to date.  Another new element at this year’s event will be live music provided by Jack the Radio.  They’re a Southern-Indie band from Raleigh comprised of several comic fans and artists, and we know they’ll add to the experience.

The Drink and Draw event hearkens back to HeroesCon’s long tradition of charitable involvement.  If you attended the Con in past years, you might remember the numerous blood drives and work with the Firefighters Burned Children Fund.   The Drink and Draw offers everyone who comes to the Con an opportunity to kick back and create some art in a fun atmosphere.  Make it a point to be at the Drink and Draw, pick up one of these remarkable pieces, enjoy the comics community at large, and most importantly, raise money for a worthy cause.