Well! a family-friendly update to the HeroesCon 2010 Guest List this week, or at least friendly to the Van Sciver family. Star artist Ethan Van Sciver, he of  Green Lantern, Flash Rebirth, and Blackest Night fame, is returning to HeroesCon this year.

But this year, Ethan will be joined for the first time by his younger brother Noah Van Sciver. Noah is the creator of the Blammo series that he self-publishes, and has recently been featured in MOME and in The Comics Journal as the cartoonist interviewer. Those are my faves, those little cartoon interviews, I love them.

Noah recently did a “redo” cover of his brother’s cover to Flash: Rebirth #3 over on Robert Goodin‘s Covered blog, which I thought was extra appropriate to feature here, as Robert will also be at HeroesCon. So yeah, sensible.

But wait, there’s more! Also also returning to the show this year is “Comics Reporter” Tom Spurgeon. Tom has informed me several times that he has something mysterious planned for his time at HeroesCon, as opposed to in 2008 when he moderated 1,000 panels. I’m not sure what it is, but today he referred to it as “very specific” which for some reason has made me a little worried. Expect to need to sign hold-harmless disclaimer agreements at the door to any panel Tom is involved in this year.

New to the HeroesCon 2010 Guest List are some old chums and brand new bros; even though I write these announcements each week I’m still a little flabbergasted at the size/quality of this list already–we’re only halfway through February, you know what I mean?

Joining up today is first time guest Marc Bernardin, writer behind hit series like The Authority, The Highwaymen, Push, and X-Men Origins: Nightcrawler. Marc’s career has taken him all over the place, with stints writing/editing for Starlog, Entertainment Weekly, Fangoria, screenwriting, you name it. And now he adds “Charlotte, NC” to his resume. Just watch the money roll in now, Marc!

Returning for his second HeroesCon this year is Clayton Henry, who has a gorgeous slick style that I could just look at all day, I tell you what. I think his most recentish work is on Adventure Comics, but Lord knows I’ve been wrong before. He’s done a ton of stuff for Marvel too, including Incredible Hercules (above), Exiles, and more.

Nathan Massengill is certainly no stranger to Charlotte–one of our favorite guys and an inker par excellence. These days you can catch nathan on JSA, Deadpool, and Deadpool Team-Up, and he’s done a ton of stuff on Bat-books in the past, like Detective and Nightwing.

Also returning to HeroesCon this year is Chris Yambar, who’s happy to work in pretty much any genre you please. His credits include Bart Simpson Comics, Popeye, Mr. Beat, I Dream Of Jeannie… well it goes on for quite a while. I believe you can get the full list from Chris himself at HeroesCon!

Five studly new names this week for HeroesCon’s already-epic Indie Island, let’s splash right in shall we?

EVAN DAHM is one of the fastest-rising stars of the webcomics community–while he’s appeared at HeroesCon before, this year marks his first appearance as an invited guest. At last year’s HeroesCon Jeff Smith brought Evan’s book Rice Boy up to Chris Pitzer and I and basically forced us to go buy it; he was freaking out about it. Having the creator of one of the best comics of all time hand-selling your book at conventions… well, there are worse problems to have. Plus we’re extra super proud of Evan, as he’s a North Carolinian, hailing from lovely Asheville!

JOSH LATTA is from some southern part of North Carolina called “Georgia,” but he’s a sweet guy so we don’t hold it against him much. No stranger to Indie Island, Josh is the creator of the Rashy Rabbit series of minicomics, and has appeared in a ton of anthologies, most notably J. Chris Campbell’s Wide Awake Press anthologies like Ancient Age and Piltdown!

MIKE MAIHACK is another making his debut as an invited guest–he’s the man behind the webcomics Cleopatra In Space and Cow & Buffalo. You may have also espied his work in the Eisner-winning Comic Book Tattoo anthology. He’s a popular sketch-destination at cons, so you sketch-hounds put him on your list and hit him quick before his list fills up at the show!

ED PISKOR is the kind of success story I like to hear about. After first working in comics under Harvey Pekar illustrating American Splendor stories, Ed hit the stratosphere after his fictional hacker-bio comic Wizzywig got mentioned on the influential Boing Boing site. I think Ed has sold upwards of a thousand copies of the first volume all by himself, which is kind of crazy for small press comics. The third volume just came out, and I’m looking forward to picking up Volume 3 at the show. Although I probably could just go ahead and buy it if I wanted to.

And lastly is “Good Ol'” JIM RUGG, who some of you met a couple of Sundays ago as part of the Afro-Tour. Jim is one of the most fascinating people I’ve talked to in comics circles, the way his brain works is pretty interesting. And don’t even get me started on his comics–the just released Afrodisiac is killing on all levels, selling a ton and garnering some incredibly positive critical praise. And with good reason, too! Check out the wraparound cover I stole off of Jim’s Flickr page:

This year’s Indie Island is shaping up to be even more insane than the mammoth 2008 edition. If you don’t believe me, just check out the Guest List–and remember it’s still February, and we’ll be adding names all the way into May! Goodness gracious.

Today the ranks swell by five more, all high quality people of decent and law-abiding backgrounds, all ready to meet you and maybe shake your hand if you look clean. Alphabetically kicking things off is the redoubtable (I had to check on what that word means to make sure it’s not an insult) Evan Dorkin, he of Milk & Cheese fame. Although recently he’s almost better-knowned for the successful Beasts of Burden minseries from Dark Horse, beautifully painted by fellow-guest Jill Thompson.

Evan is coincidentally followed alphabetically by his wife Sarah Dyer, who’s known for her Action Girl Comics series in the 90’s, not to mention as an Eisner Award-nominated colorist for her work on Dave Lapham’s Amy Racecar specials, Hellboy: Weird Tales, and more. But these days she’s a writer whose worked with Evan, on the original Beasts of Burden story in Dark Horse Book of Monsters, and Superman Adventures; as well as writing English-language adaptations of manga like DNAngel and Snowdrop, and most exciting (for me) as a writer and designer for the awesome Yo Gabba Gabba TV show. I could watch that show all day, and I don’t even have kids. It’s totally hypnotic.

While I think Van Jensen made his first “official” appearance in Indie Island last year, he’s more famous this year–his book Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer was recently nominated for all kinds of YA book industry awards, and it’s sort of “blowin up,” which is to say that more and more people are liking it all the time, and also buying it. Just in case you’re not hip to that slang. Van is a super sweet dude too, he hangs with that Top Shelf crowd, and I don’t think there’s a mean one in that bunch, so they probably calmed him down from the wild wooly behavior of his youth.

Brad McGinty is no stranger to HeroesCon, he’s been exhibiting for years and is a workhorse without compare. He’s got super-curly hair too, like a young dark-haired version of–what’s that guy that played the Greatest American Hero?–that guy. Anyway, when Brad isn’t a studly animator, he is a cartoonist without compare, most recently in the pages of his Tobey McGuire Comics & Stories, Wysteria, and tons more. Welcome back to Bradwick!

Rounding out our list this week is a pretty wildly popular webcartoonist, furthering my goal of having the whole Internet as guests at HeroesCon. David Malki! first came to the show back in 2008, but we have made up and agreed to disagree and he’s coming back this summer! David, if you don’t know, is the cartoonist/designer behind the wildly popular Wondermark online strip, the fourth collection of which, Dapper Caps & Pedal-Copters, is scheduled for an April release! David’s weird blend of old-timey stuff with new-timey stuff is pretty hilarious, I think this is his most recent strip (click on it to read the whole thing on his site:

Man, GET A LOAD of this picture of Don Rosa. Is this not the coolest thing you ever did see? I love this guy, he’s like if Uncle Scrooge were really tall and not a duck. I’ve never seen him make this face, but look at all that stuff in the background! That is just nuts, NUTS!

Don joins us today on the HeroesCon 2010 Guest List, which is super great. He’s a sweet dude and a great guest, and an inspiration to a whole generation of cartoonists for his work on Uncle Scrooge since the 1980’s, most notably on his much-lauded The Life And Times of Scrooge McDuck–I have lost count of how many indie cartoonists I have introduced him to over the last few years at HeroesCon. “Oh man there he is, oh man I’m nervous now”.. he’s like Michael Jackson to them! Awesome, I love it!

Also new this week are fellow returning guests George Broderick Jr. (Popeye the Sailor, Simpsons Super Spectacular) and Chris DiBari (The Warriors, Warhammer 40K: Exterminatus). What a trio! I will let you guys know if either George or Chris send me photos of themselves of the same quality as Don’s. Gonna be tough though guys, tough.

Oh man it’s an all-star indie comics revue today, very exciting for Indie Island! Attending his first ever HeroesCon will be Mome contributor and Covered blogger-in-chief Robert Goodin. Many of you thrilled to his book The Man Who Loved Breasts last year from Top Shelf, and his religiously-tinged historical comics in Mome are some of my very favorites. Man, I sure do love Mome. Monsieur Goodin is coming all the way from sunny Pasadena for HeroesCon, so be sure and make him feel welcome!

Also traveling from the West, although in this case the Mid-West, is returning Indie Island champeen Matt Kindt, whose book Superspy was a huge hit for him a few years ago. Matt followed that up with 3 Story: The Secret History of the Giant Man, and this year will see the publication of Revolver and The Tooth. Whew! Matt always has a ton of little geegaws and gimcracks for sale at conventions, and does primo sketches, often in watercolor!

Hailing from much closer are Drew Weing and Joey Weiser, who will be driving up again this year from Athens, Georgia for HeroesCon. Drew is the cartoonist behind the GORGEOUS “Set To Sea“, which Fantagraphics will be publishing this summer. He’s also known for him minicomics and his many many strips in Nick Magazine and Disney Adventures.

Joey is the author of The Ride Home and Tales of Unusual Circumstance, and has been making waves lately in comics circles for his unique way of funding his next graphic novel, Cavemen In Space. Love to see the Southern cartoonists mixing it up on the world stage, it warms my heart it does.

Man, Indie Island is looking RIDIC for this year (short for ridiculous)!! RIDIC!

Dudes! Brand new to the HeroesCon 2010 Guest List this week is none other than Mr Mark Bagley. It’s hard to imagine a more prolific creator working today than Mark, who followed up his 100 issue run on Ultimate Spider-Man with 52 issues of Trinity, then Batman, and now JLA–fortunately Mark was engineered by NASA scientists to not need sleep or food. Once a day he just gurgles down a bottle of 10-W-30 and a couple of D batteries and he’s good to go! We’re excited to have him back and have already stocked up on oil and Duracells!

Mark is joined in this here update by the FCHS team of Vito Delsante and Rachel Freire–the book’s preview was a big hit at last year’s HeroesCon, and Rachel’s amazing art was a surprise hit at the Art Auction. But after getting kicked in the stomach by Diamond’s order minimums last year, the book was cancelled. Never fear, Vito and Rachel are self-publishing it themselves, so you should be able to check out FCHS this June at HeroesCon!

Last up this week are two Missourans who are always big hits at cons for their sketches, which means they’ll be doubly–or even triply–welcome at HeroesCon, where doing sweet con sketches is like printing money. Oh wait I got so excited I almost forgot to mention their names–Brian Hurtt is the artist and co-creator of The Damned, and did the art on the upcoming Cowboys from the Vertigo Crime imprint, not to mention The Sixth Gun, coming this spring from Oni. And his buddy Chris Samnee is all over the place lately, on Siege: Embedded most recently, not to mention X-Men Vs Agents of Atlas and DC’s The Mighty.

More updates in store this week–stay tuned all y’alls!

Yes yes, oh my yes please! Brand new to the HeroesCon 2010 Guest List today are 2 old buddies and one brand new one–the new one is none other than Mysterius The Unfathomable artist Tom Fowler! Tom comes to us through the good offices of his Mysterius collaborator, Jeff Parker, who is also coming I do believe, although hasn’t seen fit to reply to my email yet. Probably *sniff* technical issues or something. Anyway, Tom is not only the studly Mysterius artist, but also has a ton of work in Mad Magazine and elsewhere–looking through his site is a real treat, believe you me!

Also a “real treat” is “Big” John Beatty, who returns triumphant to HeroesCon this year after several years of absence. We love John, he’s an inker’s inker and a studbolt and a sweet dude besides. He got his start at the age of–18? 19? anyway it was super young–inking Mike Zeck on Punisher. He worked on some of the biggest books of the 80’s, including Zeck’s Captain America run, Secret Wars, and a ton more. These days he’s in-demand working on DC style guides and a ton of sketch cards.

Also returning this year is another old chum, and a local comics star to boot, Mr. Al Bigley. Besides credits including Tao Boy, Sonic the Hedgehog, and a bajillion trading card illustrations, Al also wrote Draw Comics Like A Pro, a comics how-to published by Watson Guptill!

Brand new to the HeroesCon 2010 Guest List today are some old buddies and at least one brand new buddy! Jamal Igle will be no stranger to most HeroesCon attendees–the fan-favorite penciller who’s currently working on World’s Finest is also famous for his runs on Supergirl, Nightwing, and Firestorm. He’s a sweet dude too, so if you somehow haven’t met him yet, then I foresee good times in your future for sure.

Jamal is joined by fellow return guest and buddy Nathan Edmondson, who you may have met at our big Holiday Sale or at last year’s HeroesCon. Now that Nathan’s done with his acclaimed book Olympus, he’s setting his sights on the upcoming The Light, drawn by Surrogates co-creator Brett Weldele! Yes, yes I know what you’re thinking, I’ll get right on it; but for now, let’s just reflect on good ole Nathan. All done reflecting? Okay.

Because also new this week is first time guest Gabriel Hardman, who comes to us through the good offices of our friend and his collaborator Jeff Parker. Jeff and Gabriel have worked together on numerous Agents of Atlas projects, including the recent Avengers Vs. Agents of Atlas miniseries. Gabe’s also the artist of the Image/Shadowline graphic novel Heathentown, and has worked on a ton of movies including a few little indie productions like Spider-Man 3, Superman Returns, and Tropic Thunder. But hopefully one day he’ll get to work on one of the BIG movies, here’s hoping on that.

Oh but wait! Before I release your Internet-roaming eyes, leave me not forget two more artist returning to HeroesCon this summer: Charlie Kirchoff is the colorist of a bajillion different IDW books, including the Doctor Who ongoing series, the recolored Doctor Who Classics, and Angel: Aftermath. He also colored the Zombies That Ate The World miniseries over Guy Davis‘s sweet pencils. S.L. Gallant is another IDW rising star, working mainly lately on GI Joe books, including the main series, GI Joe Origins, and the GI Joe movie prequels. You may have also seen him on Marvel Adventures: The Avengers and more!

Okay, that should do it for this week for big con announcements, although there’s some sweet stuff in store next week. For now we’ll spend the rest of the week getting ready for the big Charlotte Minicon on Saturday. See you there!

Yessir! New to the HeroesCon Indie Island Guest List for the first time ever this year is one of my very favorite cartoonists, Ken Dahl–I’m pretty excited to have Ken (or Gabby, as most people know him–Ken Dahl is a pseudonym AS IF YOU COULDN’T TELL) as a guest, and I suspect I’m not the only one. Gabby’s book Monsters was on pretty much every critic’s “best of” list for 2009, so many that it ended up #6 on the “meta-list”, compiled by the guys at the I Love Rob Liefeld comics blog. Gabby’s a pretty amazing cartoonist, and I suspect still with his best work ahead of him–there are worse places to be than there.

Gabby is joined this week by his fellow Punchbuggy Tour member (along with already-guestified Liz Baillie) MK Reed, who self-publishes her own Cross Country books, and has a a book coming out from First Second in 2011. In fact, I am informed that HeroesCon will be the final stop on Gabby, Liz, and MK’s Punchbuggy Tour, and they’ll be doing readings and discussions and all manner of public panel stuff at the show to celebrate.

And they are joined by up-and-comer Sally Bloodbath, who sharp-eyed attendees may recognize from early Indie Island appearances as a talented helper of Liz and MK’s. This year Sally has attained full-blooded Guest status, and we are happy to have her. She co-edits the anthology Always Comix, and does pretty hilarious (and angry) comics of her own.

While not affiliated with these guys or Punchbuggies other than friend-wise, Chris Schweizer is a popular guest each year in Indie Island, almost since the first one back in 2005. This year he returns on the wings of success, in this case the critical success of his all-ages adventure series, the first volume of which (Crogan’s Vengeance) was published last year. Or late 2008? Crap, now I can’t remember. Anyway, it’s great and Chris is better!

Okay, another non-indie update in the next day or so, but these guys kept emailing me to ask if I was ever going to add them, so it was the best way to shut them up!