Welcome to our first guest spotlight for HeroesCon 2011! This is where we’ll help you get to know our first time guests a little better and see what our returning guests have been up to. Today’s guest is David Antoine Williams. He was kind enough to answer a few of our questions and tell us a little bit about his career. Enjoy!

We promised you several huge HeroesCon 2011 Guest List additions as we transition into 2011 and we are here to deliver! It is hard to believe that HeroesCon is just around the corner. We’ve got even more surprises for you coming up so stay tuned!

Scott Beaderstadt is probably best known for his work on Troll Lords, which he plans on re-launching with the three-issue mini-series Death: My Life and Love. You may also know him from The Mummy or Archie: Superteens. You can become a fan of Troll Lords on Facebook!

Jacob Chabot is the writer/artist on The Mighty Skullboy Army. He also did the art for the adorable comic X-Babies. Recently he has worked on several books for Marvel like Spider-Ham 25th Anniversary Special #1, Deadpool #1000 and I Am an Avenger #2.

SL Gallant is currently the artist on GI Joe: Real American Hero which is written by Larry Hama. Issue #162 was just released this week! It is published through IDW but continues where the classic Marvel run left off. Gallant has also worked on other popular GI Joe titles like GI Joe: Origins and GI Joe: The Rise of Cobra.

Chris Giarrusso burst onto the scene with his highly entertaining and enormously popular Mini-Marvels. When Mini-Marvels TP vol 1 Rock, Paper, Scissors came out we had a hard time keeping it in stock because it was flying off the shelves! Most recently Giarrusso worked on G-Man: Cape Crisis which was a witty and fun-filled all-ages book. He is an incredibly talented writer and artist and you should definitely track him down at the show!

Gregg Schigiel is the writer of the aforementioned adorable comic X-Babies. He is currently working on SpongeBob Comics which will debut in February. He is also working on Pix: Teenage American Fairy which can be viewed here. You can also check out his extremely funny Stick Figure Night Live comics which summarize Saturday Night Live in stick-figure form.

David Williams has recently done interiors and covers for a number of Marvel’s all-ages books such as Wolverine: First Class, Uncanny X-Men First Class and Hulk and Power Pack. You may recognize him from his cover runs on Incredible Hercules or GI Joe.

Thom Zahler is best known for his creator-owned book Love and Capes which just got picked up by IDW. Be on the look out for Love and Capes: Ever After #1 this February! Back in October for 24-Hour Comic Day Zahler set up a studio in the Great Lakes Mall and created a comic live. You can check out Robot 6‘s coverage of his process or read about his experience on his blog!

We are super excited to be able to announce some great additions to the HeroesCon 2011 Indie Island Guest List! 

Stephanie Buscema is a fantastic illustrator and cartoonist. Most recently, her painterly style can be seen in Girl Comics and Web of Spider-Man. She is also currently working on picture books for Dial and Disney/Hyperion. This will be Buscema’s first appearance at HeroesCon but hopefully it won’t be her last. Make sure you stop by her table and check out her amazing work!

Evan Dorkin is probably best known as the writer and artist for Milk & Cheese and Dork. He is also the writer on the critically acclaimed Beasts of Burden mini-series. Currently he and Sarah Dyer are working on a Super Martian Robot Girl story for a Yo Gabba Gabba! anthology for Oni Press. Check out his blog for news on his upcoming work!

Sarah Dyer got her start in the underground zine movement of the eighties and nineties and is famous for creating Action Girl Comics an all-female comics anthology. She frequently collaborates with her husband Evan Dorkin and is often his editor and colorist. She is a mulit-talented writer and artist who doesn’t confine herself to comics.  She also bakes, sews and knits! Check out some of the projects she has been working on over at her blog!

Dusty Higgins is most famous for being the artist and creator of Pinnochio Vampire Slayer, which is written by Indie Island guest Van Jensen. The first two volumes have been released and they are working on the third one. He also illustrated Pedestals, Parapets, and Pits and Where You Stand is Where You Sit.

Matt Kindt is the amazing writer/artist behind Pistolwhip, Super Spy and Two Sisters. His most recent work includes 3 Story, Revolver and a Black Widow story in Marvel‘s Strange Tales. He is currently working on The Tooth with Cullen Bunn and Shawn Lee.

Robbi Rodriguez made his comics debut in 2005 with Image Comic‘s Hero Camp. Since then he has been entertaining audiences with his art on such titles as Maintenance and Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen. He just completed work on Polly and the Pirates from Oni Press, so look for that soon!

Joel Watson is the creator of the webcomic HijiNKS ENSUE which focuses on geek culture. He recently started updating his webcomic 5 times a week! Watson has begun collecting HijiNKS ENSUE into handy trade paperbacks. Volume one is already out and it collects 2007-2008. Volume 2 is scheduled for early this year. For more information visit the HijiNKS ENSUE website.

I can’t believe it has been over a month since we made the last addition to the HeroesCon 2011 Guest List. It seems like a week ago to me! We have quite a backlog of confirmed guests to get up on the website, so without further ado, here is the first guest list addition of the New Year!

Cullen Bunn is probably best known for his collaborations with Brian Hurtt, which include The Damned, The Damned: Prodigal Sons and The Sixth Gun. In addition to his comics writing he does a considerable amount of short fiction, typically horror stories. Bunn has a ton of comics coming out this year so be on the lookout for Superman/Batman #81, Captain America #616 and Deadpool Family #1!

Jeremy Dale first broke onto the scene with his six-issue comic series Trust. Since then he has worked on numerous other projects including Popgun vol 1 and GI Joe: A Real American Hero. He is currently working on the creator-owned project Skyward.

We are happy to welcome GW Fisher back for his tenth consecutive HeroesCon! In his 14 years as an artist and inker he has worked on numerous books including ShadowHawk and Intimidators. Currently he is a licensing artist for Marvel.

HeadHunta’ Studios have several more names to add to their corner of Artist Alley. Joining previously announced members will be: Jeff Balke (Grimm Fairy Tales), Ben Fisher (Smuggling Spirits), Kevin Stokes (Guardian Project) and Wilfredo Torres (Salem: Queen of Thorns).

Brian Hurtt, as previously mentioned, frequently collaborates with Cullen Bunn. He has also worked on such popular titles as Queen & Country, Gotham Central and Hard Time. He has a lot of upcoming projects including the Vertigo Crime book Cowboys which is scheduled for a July release.

Sunny Lee has been in the industry for about 15 years now. He has worked on such fan-favorites as Superboy and Wolverine. His most recent work was Wildstorm/DC on Gen13. Check out his deviantART page for some examples of his awesome commissions!

We are thrilled to be able to add Tony Moore to the HeroesCon 2011 Guest List! It was just announced that he will be doing the art for the upcoming Venom ongoing series. Moore is well-known for his work on Battle Pope, The Exterminators and Fear Agent. Most recently he has been doing Punisher and Franken-Castle for Marvel. He is probably best known as the co-creator of The Walking Dead which AMC turned into a television series last year. It is a huge success and it is the most-watched basic cable series of all time!

Chris Samnee is the critically-acclaimed artist on Thor: The Mighty Avenger, Area 10 and Serenity: The Shepherd’s Tale. It was recently announced that Samnee and Roger Langridge would team up once again for a Thor and Captain America story in one of Marvel‘s FCBD books. Also, Samnee will be doing the art for Ultimate Spider-Man #155!

Matt Wilson is the super-talented colorist on such popular titles as Wolverine, Invincible Iron Man, Ultimate Spider-Man and Thor: The Mighty Avenger. He is working on a ton of upcoming books  including Captain America and Crossbones #1, Arcade: Death Game and Ultimate Comics Doom. He reportedly has colored over 1,000 pages this year! It boggles the mind!

Stay tuned to our blog and keep reading the newsletter because this is just the first of many announcements for HeroesCon 2011!

We also have a small Indie Island Guest List addition to make today. You better believe that we have lots more announcements to make as the year winds down and as we gear up for HeroesCon 2011!

Paul Maybury is probably best known for his original graphic novel Aqua Leung. His forthcoming book DOGS of Mars, for which he did the art, will be released in 2011. He is also working on an original webcomic called Party Bear which you can read here. On stands now is Strange Tales 2 #2 which features a Spider-Man story by Maybury!

Tom Scioli is an award winning writer, artist and co-creating Godland, along with writer Joe Casey. He is also the writer and artist of the popular series The Myth of 8-Opus and American Barbarian. Currently he is working on Captain America: Hail Hydra which hits stores early next year.

Are you ready for even more additions to the HeroesCon 2011 Guest List? We are churning out guest list adds like they are going out of style! We haven’t even made it to 2011 yet and already our guest list is jam-packed with awesome guests and we keep adding more and more. I don’t know about you but I think that HeroesCon 2011 can’t get here soon enough!

The BPRD brain trust will be in attendance as John Arcudi joins Mike Mignola and Guy Davis on the HeroesCon 2011 Guest List, and we couldn’t be happier!  Arcudi has been a mainstay at Dark Horse since the late 80s and has worked on such popular titles as The Mask, Barb Wire and The Machine. His recent work includes the Superman story in Wednesday Comics and the original graphic novel A God Somewhere.

Richard Case is a well-known penciller and inker who has worked on Vertigo titles such as Doom Patrol, Ghostdancing, Shade The Changing Man and Hunter: The Age of Magic. According to his blog he hasn’t missed a HeroesCon since 1989, which is incredible! We are happy to welcome Case back for another year and help him keep that streak going!

HeadHunta’ Studios had a huge presence this past HeroesCon and it looks like they want to step it up even more for 2011. CBR did a really nice write up about them coming to HeroesCon last year. You can read that article here. Members Chuck Collins, Derrick Fish, John Floyd, Austin Janowsky, Nathan Massengill, Keith Miller and Chris Walker join the already announced Koi Turnbull. They are all ready to represent the Atlanta, GA based studio collective. Be sure to check  them out to see the awesome projects they are working on!

Jamal Igle has run the gamut by working for numerous companies in the comics, toys, gaming, film and television industries. Currently he is an exclusive artist for DC Comics and has worked on such fan-favorite titles as Supergirl, Nightwing, 52 and Superman: War of the Supermen.

Mark McHaley began his career when he was just 19 years old and since then he has illustrated for countless companies. Recently has done a wide array of sketch cards including DC Universe: Legacy, Indiana Jones: Heritage, Star Wars Galaxy 5 and Lord of the Rings: Masterpieces II. Check out some of the many galleries he has created to showcase his artwork!

Bob McLeod has been the artist on some of the biggest and best titles in comics! His career highlights include Conan the Barbarian, Star Wars and Hulk. He also had a long run on Action Comics in the 90s and did the art for the Kraven’s Last Hunt storyline in the Spider-Man titles. He is most famous for co-creating the New Mutants, along with Chris Claremont. Also, he was the editor of Rough Stuff, a magazine released through TwoMorrows Publishing. Most recently he has done a number of children’s books. McLeod is a versatile and talented artist!

Michael Watkins is the founder and owner of Highburn Studios but you may also know him from his art on Sonic The Hedgehog, Femme Noir or his creator owned title, Guardians. In addition to his comic work he designs fabric for Solid Stone Fabrics.

Skottie Young had to cancel at the last minute this past HeroesCon so we are doubly excited to have him confirmed for next year! You may remember seeing his artwork on our badges at HeroesCon 2010. We also used that artwork on our Holiday Sale fliers because we loved it so much! You can currently see Young’s distinctive work on countless covers and in the interiors of Ozma of Oz which is the third Oz mini-series that he has worked on with writer Eric Shanower. The first Oz series, Wonderful Wizard of Oz, won two 2010 Eisner Awards: Best Limited Series or Story Arc and Best Publication for Kids. We are super excited to have him as a guest next year!

Phew! Thanks for sticking around till the very end! It is an exciting time at Heroes and we have got lots of announcements and news coming your way so you better keep it tuned to the Heroes blog!

Most people would be cruising through this week in anticipation for the holiday. Not us! We are busy, busy, busy! Just consider this seven more reasons why you should be thankful for HeroesCon. We have got a ton of names that need to get on the HeroesCon 2011 Guest List so stay tuned because we plan on making another big announcement next week! In the meantime, have a very Happy Thanksgiving!

Mark Brooks is a phenomenal artist whose HeroesCon 2010 Art Auction piece went for an astounding $8,000! We can’t wait to see what he has in store for us next year! Until then you can enjoy his art work at much more affordable prices in books like Dark Reign: Young Avengers, New X-Men, Amazing Spider-Man and Avengers: The Initiative. (Photo courtesy of Patrick Sun‘s Flickr page.)

Nathan Edmondson is an up-and-coming writer whose newest title, Who Is Jake Ellis?, isn’t shipping until January but it is already getting a lot of buzz. You can find out more about Edmondson and Who Is Jake Ellis? by reading this interview from Newsarama. He is also the writer of Olympus and The Light. Our very own Jenny Bement reviewed The Light #1-#4 a couple months back on our blog.  He might deny it, but he is also a very talented painter.

Gene Gonzales is a diverse artist whose work ranges from comic to commercial. He does everything from pin-ups to sketch cards. Also, he is the artist on Diary of Night and he is the writer, illustrator and publisher of Tales of the Cherokee. In addition to all of that he is currently working as a DC licensing artist.

Craig Hamilton is best known for his painterly art style. He has worked on such popular DC titles as Sandman, Fables, Lucifer, The Spectre and Starman. It was announced last year that he will be doing the art for Fables: Werewolves Of The Heartland which will be a graphic novel focusing on Bigby.

Joe Pekar is probably best known as a “good-girl artist” especially because of art books like Strawberry. Recently he has done work on Hexed, Grimm Fairy Tales and Escape From Wonderland. He is also well known for his self-published comic Brandi Bare. Additionally, he is an artist on Marvel Ultimate Alliance 2 and Spider-Man: Shattered Dimensions.

Rachelle Rosenberg is a rising star in the comic industry. She is a colorist for Marvel and Boom! Studios who has worked on such diverse titles as Cars: The Adventures of Tow Mater, Namora and Captain America and the Korvac Saga. This will be Rosenberg’s first HeroesCon as a guest and we are super excited to have her!

Stuart Sayger is the creator of the independent comic Shiver in the Dark. You might also know him from his work on Lego‘s Bionicle comic. He recently was the artist on Bram Stoker’s Death Ship. He also did the art on Machete #0 which is based on the Robert Rodriguez movie.

Didn’t we just add names to the HeroesCon 2011 Indie Island Guest List a couple of days ago? Yet here we are, making another announcement! We are working ’round the clock to bring you the best convention ever and here are three more reasons why HeroesCon 2011 will be off the charts awesome!

Van Jensen is the writer of Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and its sequel, Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer and the Great Puppet Theater, both of which are published though Slave Labor Graphics. The sequel is scheduled for release later this month so keep checking our New Releases page for it! You may also know him from his autobiographical mini-comic Nebraska. Nebraska #1 and #2 are available online on Jensen’s Flickr page.

GB Tran‘s new book, Vietnamerica, will be released this January through Villard. You can check out some of the amazing preview art on Tran’s website by clicking here. He also has self-published several books and mini-comics including Content, Mobile and Morning Emails. He also had a story in Awesome: The Indie Spinner Rack Anthology alongside some other incredibly talented creators. Be sure to make him feel extra welcome as this will be his first appearance at HeroesCon!

Drew Weing’s most recent book Set to Sea is a testament to his craft. Since its release it has garnered a lot of critical acclaim and I won’t be surprised to see it on several Top 10 of 2010 lists.  He also known for his mini-comics and webcomics including Blar, Pup and The Journal Comic. Also, he has collaborated with his awesome wife Eleanor Davis on books like Bugbear and Secret Science Alliance. He is an incredibly talented creator and we are thrilled to have him back in Indie Island for another year! Click here to read my review of Set to Sea.

We have a ton of announcements to make within the next couple of weeks and we are sorting through lists and going through emails so we can bring all those names to you. For right now though, we will give you just a little taste of things to come. It is our pleasure to add these incredibly talented creators to the HeroesCon Indie Island Guest List! HeroesCon 2011 is shaping up to be our biggest and best show ever!

Rich Barrett is a great guy and a long time customer of the store. Last year’s convention was his first time as a guest and we are happy to welcome him back for a second year.  He is currently working on his graphic novel Nathan Sorry and is posting a page at a time on his website. Click here to read the story of an investor who should have been in the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001.

Jason Horn is best known for his creator-owned title Ninjasaur which is about a dinosaur who is also a ninja. You can also check out his humor and wit in Gruff which is a sequel to the Three Billy Goats Gruff and, like Ninjasaur, stars anthropomorphic characters. Tim O’Shea recently interviewed Horn over on the Robot 6 blog. It is a great interview and definitely worth your time.

David Mack hails from Athens, GA like a number of our Indie Island guests. You may know him from his mini-comics Wolf City, Otto and Some Things I’ve Dreamed or from his weekly comic in Athens’s Flagpole Magazine. In addition to the comic and illustration work on his website he also showcases some of his ceramics. Check out a few of his tiles here!

Dean Trippe is a writer, artist and colorist, a veritable powerhouse of talent! He is probably best known for his superhero parody strip Butterfly. He is also the founder and editor of Project: Rooftop. He also collaborated with Jason Horn on a story in the award-winning anthology Comic Book Tattoo that features stories inspired by Tori Amos songs.