Ah Free Comic Book Day—not just a day of avarice, it is also a day of trying new things and taking advantage of Shelton and Shelley Drum’s good nature and keen merchant instincts.

So what’s my point?  Beats me, but if you are still reading you will know that there are dozens of books on the shelf just begging to be read.  This is the time to take advantage of deep discounts and give some books a whirl…

Outside of our protected 4-color world, are you a fan of History? Horror Movies?  Classic Comedy?  Of course you are and FCBD is a day made just for you.

If you are like me (and if so, medication helps—I swear!) you catch yourself engrossed in programs on The Military Channel, The Science Channel, The Travel Channel and History International.  Well sir (or madam), there are a number of terrific graphic novels sitting on the IKEA Billy brand[TM]  shelves in the back right hand corner of the store.  Head over there—go on–I’ll wait.  OK, now take a look at any book by Joe Sacco—Palestine, Safe Haven Gorazde or Footprints from Gaza.  All are award winning and are gripping fusions of comics and journalism.

For a more intimate take on world travel try any one of Guy Delisle’s excellent travelogues:  Shenzhen (China), Pyongyang (North Korea), the Burma Chronicles and the most recent Jerusalem.   Any of these books can be read on its own and I promise they are all worth your time and money.

Horror fans stand tall and rejoice —remember there is more to life than young brooding hunkish vampires.  Try any graphic novel collection of John Constantine: Hellblazer.  They are self-contained, really entertaining and above all as scary as the back of the crisper in my refrigerator.  Try any of the collections written by comic heavy-hitters like Jamie Delano, Garth Ennis, Warren Ellis or Brian Azzarello.  My absolute favorites are The Fear Machine, Rare Cuts, Dangerous Habits, Haunted and Hard Time.

And don’t forget Hellboy/BPRD.  It is first and foremost a horror series. If you have not tried these titles, you need to get in there and start reading—you won’t stop at one.  Hellboy creator Mike Mignola is as good as you’ve heard.  For recommendations, why not ask Heroes own Seth and Phil—they will guide you well my son (or my daughter)

So now we’ve got you geographically informed and scared out of your wits– what about something funny—I mean really funny– to cleanse the old palette?   Earlier this year, I recommended Snarked by Roger Langridge and Sergio Aragones Funnies—those suggestions still stand– but let me also offer up any collection of Aragones masterwork, Groo, any volume of Little Lulu by John Stanley and above all else, Carl Bark’s Donald Duck—Lost in the Andes or The Barks Bear Book. We had a great discussion about Barks last week and I cannot recommend these comics more.  The Duck man’s life work improves with age.

So remember—FCBD is really an acronym for Try Something New—Something Different!

Heroes prides itself on the variety they offer at any given time.  Take advantage of the sale prices– You will be surprised and delighted by what you uncover.

Are you guys ready for Free Comic Book Day?! We sure hope so because it’s here! This Saturday the free comics will be flowing starting at 10AM. And then, at 1PM, our guest artists will be signing books and drawing sketches for you! Get here early to make sure you get the books you want as supplies are limited!

Some of the guests appearing are…

CHRIS BRUNNER – Co-creator and artist on Loose Ends, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Covers for Static Shock, Boondock Saints, & NOLA

IAN FLYNN – Writer of Sonic the Hedgehog, Mega Man, and The New Crusaders

SANFORD GREENE – Creator of Rotten Apple, Artist on Deadpool, Wonder Girl, Methodman GN

CULLY HAMNER – Co-creator of Red, Artist on The Question, Detective Comics, Black Lightning, Blue Beetle

JASON LATOUR – Co-creator of Loose Ends, Artist on BPRD: Pickens County Horror, Noche Roja, Scalped, Daredevil: Black & White

JACKIE LEWIS – Artist on Play Ball

JAY POTTS – Creator of World of Hurt

BUDD ROOT – Creator of Cavewoman

BRIDGIT SCHEIDE – Creator of Brother Nash

BRIAN STELFREEZE – Artist on Wednesday Comics, The Ride, Gun Candy, last year’s I.C.E. & a ton of Batman: Shadow of the Bat covers

SKETCH CHARLOTTE – Several artists from this local sketch group including Eraklis Petmezas and Brandon Padgett will be on hand! Sketch Charlotte meets every Thursday at 6:30pm at Showmars on 7th and Pecan.

Wow! NOTE that free sketches are at the discretion of the artists, and are not guaranteed. So please come and see us this weekend, we’ll also have some comics for sale at DEEP discounts! We hope to see all of you this Saturday!

NOTE: Because of the grueling schedule and lifestyle of comic artists, a few previously announced guests have had to cancel their appearance this Saturday. Shawn Crystal, Francesco Francavilla, & Kevin Mellon will not be able to attend our FCBD event this year, but they have all promised that they will see everyone in June at HeroesCon 2012!

Avengers Fans Assemble!

Have you been counting the days, nay, the minutes, to the release of the new Avengers movie? Do you stay awake at night thinking about the sheer awesomeness that is sure to be one of the best, if not THE BEST super hero movies of all time? If so, True Believers, then boy do we have a treat for you!

Avengers Movie Pass Contest Swag

Hold on to your Power Suits, because at this very moment, Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find is in the possession of not one but TWO pairs of passes to the Avengers movie debut next Thursday night! That’s right THURSDAY NIGHT, and not at just any theater either! These tickets are courtesy of our good friends at Regal Cinemas Stonecrest, and are for the MIDNIGHT showing of the Avengers in their beautiful IMAX theater! Stonecrest has also sweetened the deal (as if they needed to, right!?) by including with these passes a 13½” x 20” Avengers movie poster, an Avenger’s hat, a set of Avenger’s collectible buttons and a Regal Cinemas ink pen! So that’s a possible ticket for you, and one for your favorite sidekick, as well as the hat, poster, buttons and ink pen!

So the question is, “What can I do to win these fabulous prizes?!” Well gee, I’m glad you asked!

Do you think your Avengers fandom makes you the most worthy to wield these prizes? Does your love of the Avengers hulk above all others? Are you a super soldier for the cause? Well then use your superior talents and technology to prove it! Here’s what we’re aiming for: send us pictures or write us a brief description showing us why YOUR Avengers fandom is the most incredible! Send us pictures of your Avengers collection, costumes, or anything you think will prove that your love of the Avengers is superior to all others!

You can also write us about your Avengers fandom and why you deserve to be known as the Avengers #1 fan. You could even tell us how Hawkeye changed your life (sorry Seth, Heroes employees are not eligible to win), but just remember, a PICTURE is worth a thousand words!

So don’t waste any time! Send your photos or stories to [email protected], and be sure to include your contact information so that we can notify you when you win! We will be accepting entries from now until 9pm on Tuesday, May 1^st and the winner will be announced on Wednesday morning, May 2^nd! The Heroes staff will judge the entries to determine who’s photos and/or stories are the best of the best! In the event of a tie, we will draw at random from the qualifying names to decide the winners.

Also, please keep in mind that in order to win you must be able to attend the MIDNIGHT showing at Regal Cinemas Stonecrest on Thursday night, May 3^rd.

Regal Cinemas Stonecrest is located at 7824 Rea Road, Charlotte, NC 28277. Please take this into consideration BEFORE entering this contest.

GOOD LUCK!!

It’s a Mega-Monday HeroesCon Guest List Update! Here are some of the recent additions to our ever-growing list of guests who will join us for our 30th Anniversary!

Roger Langridge has been an anchor of Indie Island for years now, and we’re happy he’ll be back again with us this year!  Roger’s probably best known for his work on books like The Muppet Show and Fred the Clown, but he’s also garnered acclaim for his writing on the all ages Thor: The Mighty Avenger and John Carter: A Princess of Mars, Marvel’s adaptation of the classic novel.  Currently, he’s writing and illustrating the popular all ages title, Snarked, and is writing IDW’s brand new Popeye series.  Make sure to stop by and welcome back one of our industry’s nicest folks.

We’re also happy to have the entire creative team from IDW’s brand new magic-based title, Smoke and Mirrors!  Co-writer Jon Armstrong brings a bevy of magic experience to the book, as he’s a respected magician and a consulting imagineer for Disney.  Stay tuned to the Heroes Blog as we get closer to HeroesCon.  Mr. Armstrong may indeed be a part of a magic panel at the show!  Co-creator/artist Ryan Browne will also be with us this year.  In addition to Smoke and Mirrors, you might’ve seen Browne’s work on other titles like Image’s Monstro-City, and God Hates Astronauts and Blast Furnace, both of which he wrote and illustrated.  Rounding out our Smoke and Mirrors attendees is co-creator/co-writer Mike Costa.  Along with work on Monstro-City, Mike’s also been working on high profile books like G.I. Joe, Blackhawks and Transformers.

Writer/artist Colleen Coover also returns to HeroesCon this year!  With work on titles like Tails of the Pet Avengers, X-men: First Class, Power Pack and Jim Henson’s Storyteller, she has become one of the industry’s best when it comes to all ages books.  She’s also done work on books like Creepy Quarterly and Gingerbread Girl, the latter of which was co-created by fellow guest Paul Tobin.  Paul has also garnered attention for his writing on numerous Marvel Adventures titles, as well as Spider-man & the Secret Wars, Spider-girl, and the recent Bionic Woman series.

In addition to being our guest at Free Comic Book Day this year, writer/artist Jay Potts will also be with us for HeroesCon!  Jay’s the creative force behind World of Hurt, the internet’s #1 blaxploitation webcomic.  World of Hurt is a really great webcomic, and you should definitely check it out if you haven’t already.  Jay’s a spot-on writer and a really talented illustrator, too.  Make sure to stop by and see him at FCBD and HeroesCon!

If you’re a regular customer at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find, you probably know Bridgit Scheide as one of our retail staffers.  In addition to that, she’s also been gaining a lot of attention in recent years for her comics!  Along with earlier works like Kindle, Bridgit is the writer/artist of Brother Nash, and a contributer to anthologies like Death Curse.   She’s also provided design work for some upcoming Atomic Robo stories.

Matthew Southworth is probably best known the artist of the popular crime noir series Stumptown, but he also illustrated the popular Spider-Man: The Grim Hunt storyline, along with books like Thunderbolts, Spider-girl and Infinity, Inc.  It’s Matthew’s first time coming to HeroesCon, so make sure to welcome him this year.

Indie Island regular Shannon Smith also makes a return to HeroesCon this year.  He’s the creator of books like #RockingSoHard, mini comics like Brush & Pen, Small Bible and Spaghetti Junktion.  Shannon’s just one of our many great Indie Island guests this year, and we’ll have more guests to announce soon, so keep checking the Heroes Blog for weekly updates!

DISCOUNTED 3-DAY PASSES ON SALE HERE!

• CHRIS BRUNNER – Co-creator and artist on Loose Ends, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Covers for Static Shock, Boondock Saints, & NOLA
• SHAWN CRYSTAL – Artist on Deadpool, Deadpool Max, & Deadpool Team-Up
• FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA – Creator of The Black Beetle, Artist on Captain America & Bucky, Detective Comics, Black Panther, & cover artist for pretty much every other comic book
• SANFORD GREENE – Creator of Rotten Apple, Artist on Deadpool, Wonder Girl, Methodman GN
• CULLY HAMNER – Co-creator of Red, Artist on The Question, Detective Comics, Black Lightning, Blue Beetle
• JASON LATOUR – Co-creator of Loose Ends, Artist on BPRD: Pickens County Horror, Noche Roja, Scalped, Daredevil: Black & White
• JACKIE LEWIS – Artist on Play Ball
• KEVIN MELLON – Artist on Heart, Lovestruck, S.H.I.E.L.D.
• JAY POTTS – Creator of World of Hurt
• BUDD ROOT – Creator of Cavewoman
• BRIDGIT SCHEIDE – Creator of Brother Nash
• BRIAN STELFREEZE –  Artist on Wednesday Comics, The Ride, Gun Candy, & a ton of Batman: Shadow of the Bat covers
• SKETCH CHARLOTTE – Several artists from this local sketch group will be on hand! Sketch Charlotte meets every Thursday at 6:30pm at Showmars on 7th and Pecan.

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

So, mark that date on your calendar folks! Get here early on Saturday, May 5th at Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will be a good time and you won’t want to miss it!

Just a quick reminder, join us on Saturday, March 24th at 1:00pm as we hunker down and discuss  Daredevil: Born Again collecting Daredevil # 227-233. by Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli. If you have not read it before you are in for a treat!

Here are just a few of the topics we will discuss:

• What is it about Mazzuchelli’s art that sets it apart?
• Does the multiple narrator frame work succeed or detract?
• The God and Country/Armageddon Coda
• Ben Urich’s role in the finale two issues
• Sister Maggie
• How did this run on Daredevil affect Miller’s career as a writer/cartoonist?
• The lack of the patented Miller comic relief
• Murdock’s descent into madness
• An examination of the splash pages and the titles of each of the issues
• And lots more–there is quite a bit to talk about!!!

And as always, Born Again is available from Heroes with the special 10% Discussion Group discount.  Just be sure to remind the clerk as you check out!

See you Saturday, March 24th!

Cheers to Andy Mansell, who has led and moderated the Heroes Discussion Group through 41 different books over the past four years.  We’ve tackled a wide gamut of books during this time, but rest assured, we’ve saved some of the biggest guns for this year as we approach our 50th Discussion Group Meeting.  With that in mind, we’ve put our heads together and come up with a rough outline for the rest of 2012’s book selections.  I’ll leave it to our fearless Group leader to further elaborate on our plans. – Seth

SATURDAY, MARCH 24: Daredevil: Born Again collecting Daredevil # 227-233. In this collection Frank Miller and David Mazzucchelli destroy Matt Murdock’s life!  This will be the third Mazzucchelli-illustrated book we’ve discussed.  If you haven’t read Born Again— you are in for a treat.  I mean just take a stare at the cover!!!

April:  Donald Duck Lost in the Andes.  Even if you’ve never read any of his books, you’ve undoubtedly heard of Carl Barks.  He is regarded as one of the all-time great cartoonists and this recent reprint from Fantagraphics is a perfect place for you to dive in and get your feathers wet.  This also marks the Discussion Group’s first foray into classic funny animals.  You won’t be disappointed!

May:  We need to do something really big–really major– before the convention.  What is bigger (and better?) than Art Spiegelman’s Pulitzer Prize winning graphic novel Maus.  This truly belongs on the short list of must-read comics.  Read it (or read it again), join the discussion and brace yourself.

June:  We hope to have at least three Discussion Groups throughout the HeroesCon weekend.  Our goal is to discuss the particular books with the creators joining in.  Last year, the Darwyn Cooke-The Outfit Discussion and the Wednesday Comics Panel  were major highlights.  We promise we will do our level best to top them in 2012.  Watch this space!

And what about the next six months? Glad you asked.  Although these are tentative selections (based on whether the books remain in print), we hope to present: The Dark Knight Returns by Frank Miller, Cages by Dave McKean, Habibi by Craig Thompson and book-length works by Gilbert Hernandez and Canadian Cartooning Legend Seth (but which ones????)

Plan to join us– it’s fun, it’s no pressure, it’s a great way to spend part of a Saturday afternoon.  We’ll announce the specific dates for each discussion right here, so stay tuned, and we hope to see you there!

We bought a huge statue collection and we are selling them to you at crazy low prices because we are out of room! This is your chance to get some great statues for your collection that you may have missed the first time around. Prices start as low as $9.95! Get down here now!

There are few things more satisfying than high quality crime fiction (The Novels of Jim Thompson, HBO’s The Sopranos, and Polanski’s Chinatown just to name three).

And there is nothing more embarrassing and ridiculous than cliche-ridden badly done hard boiled crime like Mickey Spillane (OK, it’s kinda funny), Bones (yikes!), Fatal Attraction (GAH!) and sadly I could go on and on.

The essential ingredients needed to produce quality crime writing are a consistent and believable tone, a fully developed central character/narrator and solid cast of supporting characters that allow you to suspend your disbelief until the final page is turned.

In recent years there have been a number of successful crime series in comics–(Darwyn Cooke’s Hunter adaptations, Brian Azzarello and Eduardo Risso’s 100 Bullets and Warren Ellis’ Fell ) and quite a few crime comics that fall headlong into cliche (the last four Sin City GNs).

One of today’s most popular crime series is Criminal by Ed Brubaker and Sean Phillips.  For February’s Discussion Group we’ll be looking closely at two of Criminal’s story-arcs and examining what makes the stories work.  How do the writer and artist avoid cliches or how do they use them to enhance the story?  How do the creators use the comic medium to their unique advantage versus a prose writer or film director treating the same material?

Please plan to join us on Saturday February 18th at 1:00pm down at Heroes Headquarters and help us get the facts straight about Criminal: Bad Night and Criminal: The Last of the Innocent. Just leave yer pieces at home, but bring an open mind along with an air-tight alibi (See??? Bad Crime writing is a breeze!!!).

As usual, Heroes is offering the Discussion Group 10% Discount on both books,  Just remember to mention the Discussion Group as you check out.  We’ll see you on February 18th; and as always, Dames are welcome (Dear God, somebody stop me!)

Once again Heroes has a special treat for our loyal reserve customers. As of now, you can come by the store and pick up tickets for an advanced screening of Ghost Rider 2: Spirit of Vengeance on Thursday, February 16th. Nicolas Cage returns as Johnny Blaze in this sequel to his 2007 release. What better way to check it out than a free screening?