What?! Ultron’s not Indie! He is too! This Ultron is so Indie he’s not even the right colors!

Ultron is here to let you know about today’s Big Guest List update focusing on Indie Island. So go check it out and then get your HeroesCon 3 day passes so you don’t miss the fun!

Here’s hoping you forgive me for my goofy jokes and Mr. Dorkin forgives me for desecrating his cool Ultron drawing.

Heroes Convention is in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 7-9 2013. Get your 3 day passes today! The full guest list (so far) is here.

Thanks to everyone for making our 30th Anniversary HeroesCon so great! Here are some links to what others saw and did at the show. More memories and photos from HeroesCon 2012 to come! Please share your photos and links with us on our Facebook page! Thanks again and we’ll see you next year, June 7-9, 2013! If you miss your friends from HeroesCon please visit our store!

CREATOR RECAPS
Scott C.
Henry Eudy at Shannon Smith’s File Under Other
Cory Godbey
Josh Greathouse
Jason Latour
Brian Ralph
Christian Sager
Ben Towle & Part Two
Skottie Young

BLOGS & REPORTS & MORE
The Beat – HeroesCon proves Thirty is Fabulous
Bleeding Cool
CBR – When Words Collide
Charlotte Observer Interview with Karla Marsh
Chris Sims’ Jack Kirby themed sketchbook
CNN
Comics News Insider
Comics Reporter – Interview with Heroes Creative Director
The Comixverse
Good Girls Gone Geek
Life with Fandom
Patrick’s Tentative Ramblings
Staton, The Obvious

COMICBOOK.COM
Photo Parade
Fantasy Writing with Bill Wilingham, Scott Snyder and Adam Hughes
Coloring with Laura Martin
DC’s New 52
Wonder Woman

PHOTOS
Heather Peagler
Chris Pitzer/AdHouse
Patrick Sun

PODCASTS
Comic News Insider
Shut Up Nerds

VIDEO
Stack Exchange:
Joe Quinones & Maris Wicks
Kelly Sue DeConnick
Dean Trippe

We are happy to welcome Neal Adams back to HeroesCon this June 22-24! Thanks to everyone who attended last year and met Neal on his first visit to HeroesCon; you must have made a great impression! Neal is a legend in the comic book industry as much for his artwork as he is for crusading for the rights of fellow creators and striking out on his own when such a thing was unheard of. Neal’s career spans decades, from classic runs on characters like X-Men, Green Arrow, Green Lantern, and Batman to his current Batman: Odyssey. Be on the lookout for The First X-Men coming soon from Neal and writer (and fellow HeroesCon 2012 guest) Christos Gage!

One of Jared Moraitis’ BeastWreck Shirts & Stuff was recently featured on an episode of NBC’s Community. Jared makes great shirts and if you buy two shirts at HeroesCon this year one of them should say BeastWreck on it! The other one will of course say HeroesCon or Indie Island.

Michel Fiffe is the creator of the comic series, Zegas, which he began publishing in 2011 as Copra Press. On top of writing and drawing Zegas, Fiffe has immersed himself in various comics projects such as editing the indie anthology Twisted Savage Dragon Funnies and conducting in-depth creator interviews for several institutions including The Comics Journal.

When he’s not working in animation,  Dan Duncan is making comics. You’ve seen his art on the latest incarnation of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and on the beautifully painted covers of Xenoholics. Catch this guy before he and his crew are super famous and don’t have time for you. Ah, he’d make time anyway, Dan is a super nice guy.

Artist Tom Lyle is also returning to HeroesCon next month.  Tom’s illustrated numerous books like Spider-man, Robin, Punisher and Batman.  He’s also an instructor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD), who he’ll be setting up with again this year.

Get your 3-day passes for $30 here!

Kalman Andrasofszky got his start doing illustration for roleplaying games. In 2003 Kalman co-created and illustrated the comic book series iCandy for DC. From there he has gone on to freelance extensively for Marvel, DC, Image Comics, Top Cow and BOOM! Studios. He’s produced art and covers for such titles as Spider-man, Action Comics, X-Men, Captain America, Dazzler, NYX, Tomb of Dracula, Checkmate, and GI Joe. He just finished a great run as cover artist on X-23 for Marvel.

Paul Azaceta has lent his gorgeous artwork to titles such as Amazing Spider-man, B.P.R.D.: 1946, and Daredevil. He’s currently illustrating the genre-bending Graveyard of Empires with his Grounded collaborator, Mark Sable. Pick up that Grounded trade paperback if you see it, it’s good comics!

We’d like to welcome back our pal Ivan Brandon to HeroesCon, it’s been a while since he’s been able to attend the show and we’re happy to have him back! Ivan is a writer with a resume to be reckoned with! You know him from his work on NYC Mech, his 24Seven anthologies, Viking, and his recently completed run on Men of War. Look for his work on Wolverine #309 in July featuring art by our friend and HeroesCon guest Jason Latour!

Becky Cloonan had such a great time at her 1st HeroesCon last year (thanks to all you great fans!) that she had to come back! It’s pretty amazing how many comics she’s made since last year! Becky is currently working on Conan the Barbarian with Brian Wood, and just finished up some great B.P.R.D. covers.  Hopefully she’ll have copies of her new comic The Mire (a follow-up to last year’s Wolves) at the show, get to her table early!

Patrick Dean and Robert Newsome are the organizers of Fluke, a mini-comic and zine show down in Athens Georgia. They’ll be here promoting that awesome show and selling their own minis and zines, so make sure you pay them a visit in Indie Island.

Josh Latta and Brad McGinty will also be hanging out in Indie Island. These are two of the funniest and most creative guys you will meet at our show. Make sure you stop by their tables and check out their great variety of hilarious and beautifully illustrated mini-comics. Non-Comics Bonus- Behold the genius of Brad McGinty!

Did you happen to see the most beautiful book of 2011, Jim Henson’s Tale of Sand? Well the guy who adapted Tale of Sand into a lush treat for the eyes is Ramón Pérez and we’re happy to say he is coming to Charlotte for his first HeroesCon! Ramón is no rookie though, he’s been making great comic for years. Check out his webcomics, Kukuburi and ButternutSquash.

Drew Weing’s Set to Sea continues to attract new readers.  He is also known for his mini-comics and webcomics including Blar, Pup and The Journal Comic. He is an incredibly talented creator and we are thrilled to have him back in Indie Island for another year!

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!

Oh man! Did you read that headline? Jaime Hernandez is coming back to HeroesCon this year! We are so happy to welcome this modern master of comics back to Charlotte. We’re both celebrating 30th Anniversaries after all! 30 years ago Jaime and his brothers began creating Love & Rockets and, judging from the last 2 amazing books in that series, we’re happy to say Jaime’s best work may still be ahead of him!

Evan Dorkin & Sarah Dyer are becoming like family to us! We’re so happy they’re made HeroesCon one of their regular stops for the summer and we’re sure you are too! Stop by their table to get your shiny new Milk and Cheese and Beasts of Burden hardcovers signed!

Since Tom Hart was awarded the Xeric Grant in 1994 he has gone on to publish Hutch Owen in almost every iteration possible. Aside from cartooning Tom is currently the Director of the Sequential Artists Workshop in Gainesville, FL and we are very happy to welcome him to what I believe is his first HeroesCon!

More fresh names added to our Indie Island guest list today are:

• Robin Holstein –Snow White: Through A Glass, Darkly
• Ashley Holt – Mr. Product, Bedbugs: the Dream Diary of Ashley Holt
• Jackie Lewis – Play Ball
• David Mack – Steak and Cake, Cemetery, Wolf City, OTTO, Some Things I’ve Dreamed
• Chad Thomas – Mega Man, Tricky Journeys
• Ben Towle – Amelia Earhart: This Broad Ocean, Oyster War, Midnight Sun, Farewell Georgia
• Joey Weiser – Cavemen In Space, The Ride Home, Flight, Superior Showcase

The entire HeroesCon guest list is here and you get get your Advance 3 Day passes here!

The weatherman says we’re going to reach 90° today in Charlotte. It just makes us think of summer a little early and summer, June 22-24 to be specific, means HeroesCon around here! We have a jumbo-sized Indie Island update for you guys today (It actually went up yesterday but if you missed that, it’s news to you)! It’s chock full of first-timers, folks we haven’t seen a few years and people that we consider family.

Let’s start by welcoming some new faces for 2012! Justin Jordan and Tradd Moore are the writer and artist respectively of the awesomely violent new series The Strange Talent of Luther Strode. Their comic has a been a big hit with our customers so if you haven’t picked it up yet, check it out!

Benjamin Marra makes comics that need to be seen to be believed (by adults only!). We met Benjamin at SPX last year and were blown away by purity of his artistic vision. We guarantee that Night Business and Gansta Rap Posse will light your senses on fire! Also in Indie Island this year is Matthew D. Smith is a writer and artist working on many self-published books and also stuff for 80 Pork and TAK comics. He is also a self-proclaimed music snob so you can chat with him about that at the show. Shelli Paroline and Braden Lamb are another pair of creators we met at SPX last year. We picked up their self published project The Potter’s Pet and loved it. They’ve been doing great work on the Tricky Journeys books with writer and HeroesCon guest Chris Schweizer (my daughter loves them, check em out if you have kids! They are choose-your-own-adventure comic books! -r). Shelli and Braden are currently the monthly artists of the new Adventure Time comic and of course it is AWESOME!

It’s been a few years since our pal Scott C. has been a guest at our show but we are happy to have him back! Scott did an amazing print for us in 2008 (pictured). Scott’s book Zombie In Love (written by Kelly DiPucchio) is a Finalist in the 2012 Children’s Choice Book Awards and you can totally go vote! Scott has the best smile in comics, make you stop by and say hello and do yourself a favor and check out his Great Showdowns Tumblr. it will help you pass the time until Scott is here in June.

We’d also like to welcome back Heroes family Andy Runton and Robert Venditti! Andy is the creator of the adorable Owly. Robert is the writer of The Homeland Directive and The Surrogates. These guys will be doing double duty, holding down the fort for Top Shelf Productions, publishers of some of the finest comics and books out there! Joel Carroll’s new webcomic Cuttle and Chirp is awesome, go check it out as soon as you’re done reading this! Mike Maihack is responsible for the great Cleopatra in Space, check that out after you’re done with Joel’s Cuttle and Chirp!

Happy Friday! Yesterday afternoon we put our initial Indie Island guest list on the site! There were some techinical difficulties but everything looks A-OK now (please let us know if it looks wonky in your browser). It’s a great start and we already have more great guests that need to be announced so look for more updates soon! Mark your calendars, June 22-24, 2012 is going to be a fantastic weekend!

Not only did our friends from Project: Rooftop host an excellent panel while visiting HeroesCon this year, they were also asked by the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund to redesign Lady Liberty. Check out this video documenting the fun! Thanks to the folks at Project: Rooftop and the CBLDF for helping make HeroesCon 2011 such a great event!

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Last chance for Advance 3-Day passes to HeroesCon 2011 that is! HeroesCon 2011 starts in 5 days! The deadline for purchasing these will be Tuesday, May 31 at 9:00 PM EST. Advance 3-Day passes entitle you to early entry every day of the convention (at our discretion). Every year we also give an signed and numbered print to advance pass holders and this year is no different! The 2011 incentive print features art by master of the macabre, Bernie Wrightson! Feast your peepers on a teaser of the art for this year’s print above. NOTE:  Prints are not guaranteed to be ready for pickup until possibly Friday evening or Saturday as Bernie has to sign over a 1000 of these bad boys when he gets into town. So, if you see Bernie, just say thank you and go easy on the handshakes!

In other convention news, we are working round the clock to get all of our small press listings up on the site and ready for our program books. Thank you for your patience! We are a small staff running a BIG convention and we are going to make sure everyone that attends the show this year has the time of their lives!

Table assignments for professionals, Indie Island and exhibitors are now up on the site, check them out! We can’t wait to see you all in just a few days!