It’s time for another Heroes Online Blog exclusive! For those of you that missed out on it the last time, we are giving our reserve customers another super special chance to see Scott Pilgrim vs. the World before it opens on August 13th!

I saw the movie back in July and it was AWESOMELY EPIC!

Getting tickets will be the same as the last time. Just come in and clean out your reserve bag before the super-duper exclusive advanced screening on Thursday the 12th @ 7 o’clock and let us know that you read about the screening on the blog. We’ll reward you with a ticket for two! If your reserve bag is already squeaky clean then you’re in luck! Just mention this blog post at the register and you too could be headed to see the Epic Adventure of the Year! We have a limited amount of tickets so they will go to the first customers that ask for them. Remember, this is a Heroes Online Blog exclusive, and only applicable to our darling reserve customers! See you at the movies!

We were saddened to learn this morning that our friend George Tuska passed away last night at the age of 93. George had one of the longest and most incredible careers in comics, starting with the legendary Eisner/Iger studio in the late 30’s, all the way through the 80’s. In recent years he was a prolific commission artist, still with more artistic chops in his little finger–in his 90’s!–than many up-and-comers will have in entire careers. He’s probably most closely identified with characters like Iron Man and Luke Cage, but he worked throughout comics and was as influential as he was well-loved by his contemporaries.  Tom Spurgeon has posted an excellent overview of his life at The Comics Reporter, I highly recommend it.

(above, George in foreground, next to Nick Cardy and Jim Amash, at HeroesCon 06)

It always hurts when someone passes away, but George in a way represents the entire history of comics–he was there at the very beginning, and according to Tom’s post he was producing art even just weeks prior to his death. Think of that for a minute–George Tuska was making comics before World War II. While he never had the “star” status of a Jack Kirby or Neal Adams, his knowledge of human anatomy let him create some of the most dynamic tussles in comics this side of Kirby himself. I love looking at George’s art, even in books where I’m less interested in the story–his dynamic figures are what make his comics so fun, so energetic.

Heroes owner Shelton Drum, up in New York this weekend manning a booth at the Big Apple Con, sent me this note when he heard the news:

“George was a tremendous supporter of HeroesCon over the years, and it was always a pleasure to see him and his wonderful wife Dorothy. And of course he was an incredible talent. I will forever cherish the originals he did for me for the HeroesCon programs. I will be eternally grateful to have known him.”

We bid our most heartfelt condolences to George’s wife Dorothy and his entire family, and to all those others who love him and will miss him.

I really wanted to say something about this a few weeks ago, but things got away from me. But no time like the present! August 12 was the two-year anniversary of our friend Mike Wieringo‘s death.  Mike was one of the sweetest, friendliest, most generous people ever to cross the threshold of a HeroesCon, and believe me that’s saying something. 

I don’t want to get into a long thing here, because frankly I liked Mike a lot and it will totally screw up my day if I get all sad. Besides, many other people (including Mike’s brother Matt) have already done a much better job than I could.

BUT I do want to point out something we can all do to commemorate the life of Mike–contribute to the Mike Wieringo Scholarship, the first of which was awarded this June at the HeroesCon Art Auction. It took a little longer than normal, mainly because Matt Wieringo got a loonnnnng standing ovation when he took the stage to present the award:

This is just as people starting to stand up–at that point I had to stop taking pictures because I wanted to clap too.  Anyway, the scholarship is awarded to a student at the Savannah College of Art & Design‘s Sequential Arts program.  The scholarship was set up through contributions and the sale of some of Mike’s original art, and is run by Matt, so 100% of the proceeds go to the scholarship.  If you’d like to donate you can drop your donation off at the store and we’ll get it to Matt, or send you donation by mail here: 

Savannah College of Art and Design
Attn: Office of Institutional Advancement
Mike Weiringo Memorial Scholarship Fund
P.O. Box 3146
Savannah, GA 31402

Make the check out to “The Savannah College of Art & Design” and put “The Mike Wieringo Scholarship Fund” in the memo line.  Be sure to include your name and address somewhere, so SCAD can send you a thank you note. I’m a little unclear on whether the donation is tax-deductible or not.

We don’t make a lot of these kinds of endorsements, but this is something that’s important to us, and we think it’s a great cause, something Mike would have been enormously proud of. And something which we’re enormously proud to be a part of as well!

Yessirree! As reported over the weekend by me on Twitter, both in my at-work and at-home identities, as well as by numerous employees on their various social media throughout the weekend, our boss Shelton Drum pulled a fast one this weekend and got HITCHED to his lady-love Linda D’Olivat!

While some of the staff were invited to a “light dinner” at Shelton’s house Friday night, only a few of us showed up on time–it was, after all, Friday night. I, as a matter of fact, called to tell Shelton I wouldn’t be there til after 9.30, but as I listened to the phone ring I didn’t realize it was being used as a wedding iPod. So when I showed up the party was in mid-toast, everyone was pretty, er, mellow after a couple of hours of celebration, and I found myself late for my boss’s wedding!

Whoa! Fortunately almost everybody else had been surprised by Shelton’s backyard wedding/eloping trick, but once you got over the shock you realized in you were in the middle of a great big party. Super awesome, and Shelton and Linda were beaming all night–we’re all pretty excited about adding a Canadian to the store family, which makes us 75% funnier AND 125% better cartoonists by association. Also now Seth can play hockey.

Shelton’s pretty excited too–I asked him for a little quote for this announcement, and he sent me this:

It was like we eloped, but at home, and with our friends and family! It couldn’t have worked out better. The weather was fabulous and everyone was surprised and happy for us. Linda and I are looking forward to sharing many happy years together!

Ladies and gentlemen, please join me in congratulating Shelton Drum and newly minted Linda D’Olivat Drum on their happy nuptials! Many happy returns!

The internet is a-buzz with rumors and speculation about Captain America #600! But there are a few things that we know for a FACT:

FIRST: it is coming out next week and will be available for sale on Monday, June 15. Yes that is right, MONDAY! They will be on the rack just as soon as UPS delivers it! Note: only Cap will be for sale on Monday, all other books ship Wednesday.

SECOND: not every store has opted to get it in early.

THIRD: be the first kid on your block to read it by purchasing your copy at Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find, America’s Comic Source.

FOURTH: this issue is going to be H-U-G-E! There is expected to be plenty of media coverage surrounding this monumental issue.

AND LAST: but certainly not least, Captain America #600 writer Ed Brubaker AND Captain America #600 cover artist Steve Epting will be at our convention which is being held June 19-21 at the Charlotte Convention Center! Less then a week after you read the book you can let the creators know what you think. And perhaps get your issue signed!

I am so excited I can barely contain myself! This convention is going to be so awesome I can’t help but use a billion, billion (1,000,000,000,000 x 1,000,000,000,000) exclamation points when talking about it! So hopefully I will see all you guys on Monday when you pick up your very own copy of Captain America #600, Wednesday when you pick up the rest of your books and then Friday through Sunday at the convention. It is going to be the best week ever!

Hey if you haven’t already seen it, I did an interview with Tim O’Shea of the Robot 6 team over at Comic Book Resources. Although Tim didn’t ask me any questions at all about a) whether I was single; b) my top 5 desert island CD’s; or c) if I could spell Bill Sienkiewicz’s name without having to look it up, it was a fun interview and Tim is a nice guy. Check it out right here and drop a comment about how excited about HeroesCon you are!

Hear Ye! Hear Ye! Memorial Day is Monday, May 25 and as a result books will ship THURSDAY instead of WEDNESDAY. You have officially been warned! If you come by Wednesday you won’t have new comics but you will have us and our sparkling personalities and razor sharp wit. And Matt will be there trying to get you to buy Umbrella Academy!

Check out our pal Tommy Lee Edwards, who beyond being an amazing AMAZING artist on comics like Marvel: 1985 and more, is also a bigtime illustrator who’s worked for Lucasfilm among a ton of other high-profile clients. Tommy Lee is once more participating in the Ride For Kids program this year, which benefits the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation. We love Tommy Lee and hope you can help, or pass this along to help get the word out. From TL’s e-mail:

“Giving my time as a motorcyclist is my way of showing support for those families battling every day with childhood brain tumors.

Last year, hundreds of North Carolina bikers and I traveled the Triangle area and contributed to a national fundraising total of $4.5 million. With generous donations from friends and family, I was able to personally deliver $9,350. This total earned me the title of “Champion Fundraiser”. Along with that honor, I will be leading this year’s ride as we strive to beat the 2008 total and get even closer to a cure.

The 2009 Ride for Kids is next weekend, May 3rd, and the Pediatric Brain Tumor Foundation needs your help.

DONATE NOW to sponsor my ride
http://www.firstgiving.com/edwardsillustration

Our primary source of donations in 2008 came from teaming up with Lucasfilm. We shipped a limited-edition Star Wars print, illustrated and signed by me, to anyone donating a minimum of $30. I’ve been unable to gather the resources in time to offer the same incentive for donors this year, but have planted seeds for 2010.

For this year, I’ve decided to go for a wild blitz-week of fundraising. We have one week to raise as much as possible. The cut-off is May 1st. So if you can, please donate today.

You can visit my firstgiving website to make a donation. Donating through this site is simple, fast and totally secure. It is also the most efficient way to make a contribution to our fundraising efforts. Large or small, anything helps. And please don’t feel any pressure to donate at all. Many of you may not be in a position to do so, or chose to put your funds toward a separate charity.”

Last week our friend Jim Royal died. Jim was not only a gifted penciller, inker, and all around artist, but the kind of guy who could crack you up just by turning his head a certain way at the right time. He’s known Shelton for years and years, and I myself have known him since I started working here, 13 years ago last week.

I remember sitting across the street at a table with (then fellow clerk) Matt Fraction, and the both of us just crying laughing at Jim, who could make a stone gargoyle laugh. We called him “Gentleman” Jim, although in truth he was anything but, but in the best possible way. Jim was generous to a fault, and the kind of guy it was always fun to see, whether in your hometown or out somewhere on the con circuit.

Besides his personal qualities, Jim was an illustrator and inker with a deep portfolio, including work on Arkham Asylum, The Spectre, Birds of Prey, and Spider-Man, and many more. He was a primo dude, and he’ll be sorely missed, not just by us, but by his many many friends throughout the comics industry.

Our thoughts go out to his many friends and family. Goodnight, Gentleman Jim.

1) New comics will ship on THURSDAY, not Wednesday, next week (December 4). As always, we will be here and smiling if you’d like to come on both days. You can see a list of all the sweet books shipping next week on our New Releases page.

2) As mentioned in prior posts and pretty much EVERYWHERE ALL OVER THE WORLD, today is the “official” start of the holiday shopping season. Our giant holiday sale is going on next weekend (December 6-7), with a ridiculous number of items deeply discounted. Not only will pretty much everything in the store be discounted at some level, this is an excellent chance for you, our loyal customer, to (as Shelton says)…

3) “Be An Ambassador.” Comics shops like ours run on the goodwill of our regular customers, AND a fairly steady stream of new customers. We try hard to bring new, especially younger, readers into our store, but this holiday season we’re asking for YOUR help! If you have friends or family members who would appreciate a comics-related gift this holiday season, let us know–we’d love to help! Or even better, bring your friends and family into the store! We have a nationwide reputation as one of the best and best-stocked stores in the country, not to mention being such nice people and all. We appreciate your help in spreading the word about the nation’s best comic book store!

[Pictured: The Honorable Nancy Powell, U.S. Ambassador to Nepal]

4) Finally, to EVEN FURTHER aid your shopping season, we’ve put our good ole Holiday Gift Registry online. This means you can download and print out the form, fill it out at your leisure, and bring it in to us. We’ll hold onto it for you, and then you send your loved ones in: just let them know to ask for your Holiday Gift Registry, and we’ll help them find everything you’re looking for! What could be finer?