Tomorrow evening beginning at 7pm, we’ll be hosting an informal little get together in honor of our friend Adam Hughes, in advance of his signing this Saturday from 2-4pm. Come and join us for drinks and snacks, and hobnob with Adam and other guests in our store! This is an excellent way to limber yourself up for the signing the next day, where Adam will be meeting people and signing copies of his new art book, “Cover Run: The DC Art Of Adam Hughes.” You can read all the details about both events right here!

Oh man this should be a big one. Coming Saturday June 26, from 2-4pm, our buddy and benefactor Adam Hughes will be appearing in-store to sign copies of his new book Cover Run: The DC Comics Art of Adam Hughes. Adam is a wildly popular comics artists and painter, not to mention a friend of ours, and we are insanely proud to be hosting an event like this. So proud in fact, that the preceding night we’ll be hosting an informal cocktail reception in our store in advance of the event, attended by the staff, Adam, and if you’re lucky the lovely Allison Sohn, maybe even some other guest stars. That’ll start at 7pm on Friday June 25, and last until Adam says so.

Don’t miss this chance to a) hobnob with some really swell people in a friendly environment in a world-famous comics shop; b) also we’ll be there, so you can hobnob with us too; and c) come to the signing the next day and pick up an autographed copy of this fantabulous art book by one of the most recognizable creators in comics. Trifecta! We’ll be talking more about it over the next couple of weeks, but mark those calendars now!

Steve Niles is one of the hardest working men in comics! He has been touring all over to promote his newest book Mystery Society. If you haven’t picked up a copy of issue #1 you should do yourself a favor and give it a read. Better yet, stop by the store this Thursday and meet Steve. He will be here from noon to 2 pm signing books and hanging out. He is a super sweet guy and if you have the chance you should definitley stop by and chat with him!

Steve is most known for his work on 30 Days of Night, which was recently made into a major motion picture. But you may also know him from Simon Dark, The Creeper, Criminal Macabre, Ghoul, Dead She Said or City of Dust. Stop by Thursday and save yourself some time by getting some of your comics signed a day early. Get your copy of 30 Days of Night TP signed and then get it signed by Ben Templesmith at HeroesCon! Or get your copy of Ghoul #3 signed so you can get it signed by Bernie Wrightson at HeroesCon!

But wait! There’s more! Check out the previous blog post for video of Shelton and Steve on WBTV!

SUNDAY SUNDAY SUNDAY!!!

Unless the whole world is wiped away in the Continuing Great Blizzard of 2010, we will be hosting Afrodisiac co-creator and artist Jim Rugg this Sunday! NOTE that we’ve moved the time up an hour from the 3-6pm listed in the image above. To give you guys more time to get home and safely ensconced in your many sofas and Barca-loungers for the Super Bowl, we’ve changed the time to 2-5pm.

WHICH MEANS that you can come join in the event, which will not only be a signing, but a discussion of the book, which is drawing praise from every direction. Publisher Chris Pitzer will be in attendance as well, and the two will answer questions about the book, its design, sandwiches, whatever you want to ask! The discussion will be led by our own Heroes Discussion Group leader Andy Mansell, so it’s sure to be a lively one!

Hope to see you on Sunday–come support us before you throw corn chips at the TV that night!

Next Sunday, while Shelton’s selling comics at Wes Tillander’s Atlanta Comic Con, and before you sit down to the Super Bowl (or something else, depending on your interests), we hope you’ll sit down with us for a store signing/discussion group hybrid that should be pretty righteous.

Afrodisiac co-creator and artist Jim Rugg will all up in our store to sign and discuss the book, which is getting some pretty high-falutin’ reviews lately from up and down the comics press! Jim is a great guy too, and a stellar cartoonist, and a super-knowledgeable dude, so any discussion with him in it is sure to be a fascinating one. Our own Discussion Group leader Andy Mansell will be on hand to grill Jim, which I am double-definitely looking forward to.

NOTE that, due to the Super Bowl at 6 or 6.30 or whenever that thing cranks up, we’ve moved the signing up by an hour so that people can get home afterwards to see the game. Earlier announcements had it at 3-6pm.

Oh, that reminds me–the discussion itself (and the book) are not for kids, so please be advised! There are so many quadruple entendres in that thing, I don’t think you could discuss a single page of it in a “SFW” way, you know what I mean?

I’ll link up the trailer video below again, just because I love watching it. Note the “December 2009” release date–bogus! Okay, hope to see you guys there next Sunday!

Shazam! Coming up on February 7, just one short month away, Heroes Aren’t Hard To Find will be hosting Afrodisiac‘s Jim Rugg! Jim is also the co-writer of the book, along with Brian Maruca; the two first created Afrodisiac in the pages of their Street Angel series. Jim has also been the artist on several graphic novels with other collaborators, including The Plain Janes and Janes In Love with writer Cecil Castellucci.

But enough about all that. AFRODISIAC. This is a pretty hotly anticipated book–Jim has turned into a sort of cartoonist’s cartoonist over the last few years, and he’s definitely showing off in Afrodisiac, switching up styles like Kool & The Gang switches up the rhythm. That was a 70’s funk reference, dig it? The book is chock full of them, and much better ones too–Afrodisiac is (if I have this right) a kind of amalgamation of 70’s-era comic books, blaxploitation films, and sexy times. All filtered through the minds of a couple of dudes from Pennsylvania who grew up on all that stuff.

Anyway. Jim will be appearing in our store Sunday, February 7, from 3-6pm, for a signing and a discussion of the book. He’ll be joined by AdHouse Books publisher Chris Pitzer, there mainly for security in case any of you ladies try to swarm Jim or anything. Our Heroes Discussion Group leader Andy Mansell will also be on hand–those of you who have attended any of the Discussion Groups know Andy will close-read a book like no one else, so expect some high quality questions–no extra charge!

And there’ll be plenty for Andy to talk about–Afrodisiac is filled with more double entendres than.. well, than a 70’s blaxploitation movie. See for yourself in this trailer for the book–not for the youngsters! Well, it’s not that bad, but still. You parents who are still pretending you can control what your kids see on the Internet, take heed my warning:

Okay see you there!

Thanks to “Snappy” Matt Knapik for acting as photojournalist last Saturday at our big Holiday Sale and Store Signing. Though it was cold COLD, a bunch of people came out hunting some sweet deals and to meet our visiting stars, which included Nathan Edmondson, Chrissie Zullo, Andy Smith and Budd Root. Shelton provided cookies and coffee to take the tinge off the cold and replace it with some holiday cheer, and as usual our patented mix of friendly pros, friendly customers, and friendly staff made for some friendly times. Actually the patent is still pending, but things look good.

You can see the whole set of photos over on our Flickr page! Thanks again to Matt and to everyone who came out to make our Holiday Sale a success!

TODAY, TODAY!! We’ve been talking about it for weeks, but it’s just minutes away from starting! Seth and Shelton have got THIRTY boxes of $1 books that have never been touched by non-Heroes hands, there are deals throughout the store on pretty much EVERYTHING! From a base discount of 10% on pretty much everything, on up through 50% off back issues, to 75-90% off select items we need to blow out to make room for next year’s stuff!

It’s grey outside, and brisk to be sure, but we are assured by all the weather powers-that-be that any rain is scheduled for much later today, probably after dark! So bring it on out to Heroes today and help support your favorite comic store in this once a year tradition! AND, from 2-5, meet comics stars Nathan Edmondson (Olympus), Budd Root (Cavewoman), Andy Smith (Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein), and Chrissie Zullo (Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love)!

More details in the post directly below this one, but bring it on, we are about to open this piece UP!

TOMORROW begins our massive 2-day Holiday Sale! There’ll be enormous deals on pretty much everything in the store, including half-off back issues, a huge stock of dollar books, deep-discounted trades and hardcovers, and tons more! In true holiday style, amateur-Santa Shelton’s going to be serving hot chocolate, cookies, and coffee, and I’m sure he’ll be jamming some Christmas music as well–that guy is crazy about Christmas music. He also told me he’s been unearthing some weird stuff from the warehouse that will be seeing the light of day for the first time in awhile, including some old t-shirts, HeroesCon prints and swag, and more!

AND AS IF THAT WEREN’T ENOUGH, we’re hosting a big celebrity signing just to make it a big happening. As reported last week, we added famous-people-types Cinderella: From Fabletown With Love cover artist Chrissie Zullo and Cavewoman creator Budd Root! They join Olympus writer Nathan Edmondson and Dean Koontz’s Frankenstein artist Andy Smith in a store signing going on December 12 from 2 to 5pm, all a part of our big 2-day holiday sale that weekend (Saturday-Sunday)!

Our holiday sale has become legend in the area over the years, as not only a place to get ridiculous deals on back issue comics–especially with Seth building a brand-new, never touched by mortal man (Seth is immortal, natch) stock of $1 books–but a great place to pick up presents for that hard-to-shop-for friend or family member! Why, heavens knows we’ve got comics, graphic novels, mangas, back issues, statues, toys… all sorts of stuff. Why, it sounds like a downright jamboree to me!

Heck, if you still can’t find a gift for that special (or let’s face it, not-that-special) someone, you can always buy them a 3-day pass to HeroesCon 2010! We’ve even got a fancy little voucher you can give them! Truly, we have thought of everything this year. See you there!

We know you’re super excited about this weekend’s big Holiday Sale/Store Signing Jamboree, but we thought we’d redouble your excitement a little bit by announcing today that Bill Willingham has signed on for next summer’s HeroesCon 2010! Shelton will know better than me, but unless I miss my guess, Bill hasn’t been to HeroesCon at least since he was working on Elementals back in the day. If even then! I know he hasn’t been here since HeroesCon ’96 (my first as an employee), so either way, get excited!

For the three of you who aren’t aware of Bill’s work, he’s the writer and creator of the hit Fables series, as well as co-writer of its spinoff Jack of Fables, and more!  What newer comics readers might not know is that Bill is a full-on cartoonist as well as a writer–his series Elementals was pretty hot back in the 90’s. These days he’s written all over the place, including notably on DC’s Day of Judgment, Justice Society of America, and a ton of others.

But it wouldn’t be like us to announce just ONE name, would it? In fact, I’m looking at a long list of a couple dozen names Shelton has given me, enough that I’ll need to break it up into 3 or 4 separate updates! Also officialized this week are some of our favorite Charlotte-area cartoonists, pretty much all of whom are regular shoppers in our store for you Wednesday customers! They include upcoming Loose Ends creative team Chris Brunner and Jason Latour, Night artist Buddy Prince, Cavewoman creator Budd Root, and Dean Koontz’ Frankenstein artist Andy Smith! And of course, you can meet those last two this Saturday at the big 4-person store signing, all part of our Holiday Sale! More details here!