by Dustin Harbin

Holy Cow, where did 2008 go? No matter–leave us not mourn the passing of good ol’ 2008, when sexy young 2009 is right around the corner. Not to mention that we’re getting ready for our big Holiday Sale this weekend, and haven’t time for hindsight. Well, except these ten bits of hindsight.

Below is a list, in roughly ascending order, of my 10 favorite comics of 2008. Are all of these currently in stock in our store? Coincidentally, yes. Will they all be on sale this weekend (December 6-7)? Oh sure. Will you love each and every one of them? Of course! Let’s get it started in here:

10: WHAT IT IS by Lynda Barry
This is the first book by Lynda Barry I’ve ever read, not that she has many other books, if any. I never really had read her long running “Ernie Pook” comic, lumping it in with a bunch of other snarky alternative free-weekly comics. I know, I’m judgmental–ask anybody. But within seconds of cracking the cover of this book, I knew this was the only book of its kind on the planet. I don’t know how to explain it–the thing looks like a mess of collage and paint and post-it notes at first, but when you read it you IMMEDIATELY get the feeling of being connected directly to Lynda Barry’s SOUL somehow. I know that sounds hokey, but I can’t think of another way to put it. She spares no private corner of her persona, and the book–almost in a protective, motherly fashion–asks question after question with the idea of making you teach yourSELF how to think creatively, rather than merely showing you. This book belongs in every library of every person, comics reader or no.

09: KRAMER’S ERGOT VOLUME 7 edited by Sammy Harkham and Alvin Buenaventura
I would probably place this much higher on the list, and I suspect that 10 years from now this will be the book of the DECADE. But I’ve only leafed through it, and have not yet seen it, held it, read it. I have been enormously excited about this book since I first heard about it, and have been more vocal than usual about this fact. This would probably be #1 if I had the book in my hand already.

08: ORDINARY VICTORIES VOL 2 by Manu Larcenet
These freaking French guys are amazing. NBM has really been publishing some great books this year, possibly goosed into activity by the even-more-superior offerings from First Second, which also publishes a lot of translated European comics. Unfortunately, NBM books are terribly designed, so often you need to know a cartoonists’ work to buy the book–otherwise you would just pass the thing by on the rack. I think we would sell this book in double digits easily if Volume 1 were only available. Such a travesty. Oh, I didn’t say anything about the book, did I? Ooh, it’s good.

07: GANGES #2 by Kevin Huizenga
Man, I love this guy. Kevin Huizenga might be the cartoonist I’m most intimidated by in person, although he’s a nice guy, for sure. But he’s obviously super-smart, and doesn’t talk much. This is a great weakness for people like me who can’t stop talking in public: my great Achilles heel is conversational silence. Now you know. Kevin’s books look deceptively simple, but resonate long, long, LONG after being read, regardless of the topic. Which, in this case, in video games.

06: LITTLE NOTHINGS by Lewis Trondheim
Also published by NBM, but not so bad looking. This is a combination memoir/travelogue/rumination by one of the most prolific cartoonists in history, and is maybe the most pleasant book I’ve read all year. Trondheim seems to get off as much in screwing with people as anything else, and his mercurial nature–combined with his excessive complaining and chronic hypochondria–lend an air of real humanity to the book. It’s this humanity that elevates Little Nothings from standard autobio comics to something truly great; not to mention providing a picture of one of the world’s eminent cartoonists at a key point in his career and development as an artist.

05: CRICKETS #2 by Sammy Harkham
This book made me think for weeks and weeks after my initial and subsequent readings. Not just the main story (Crickets is a one-man anthology, although the main “golem” story takes up the majority of its pages), but especially the final couple of pages, where in a small space Harkham insults one of his publishers and CREAMS another cartoonist and educator. Why would someone do this? What does it mean? For another person, this would just be standard poo-slinging, but from someone of Sammy Harkham’s stature and influence, these questions take on different meaning. Speaking for myself, Sammy might be my favorite cartoonist working today–the “Napoleon” strip on the inside front cover might be the best one-page strip I’ve ever read. Amazing!

04: POPEYE VOLUME 3: LET’S YOU AND HIM FIGHT! by E.C. Segar
Oh man, I’ve made no secret of my almost child-like delight in discovering Popeye. I know I’m wasting all my superlatives in this “Best Of” list, but here’s one for Popeye: I get a juicy discount at work, but still paid FULL PRICE for this book at SPX just to have it early, and was reading it the very night I returned. From the strip itself to the design of the book, reading the new Popeye volume each year is the most pleasant reading experience of that year, period. I will be very sad when I finish the last volume (#6, I think).

03: SKYSCRAPERS OF THE MIDWEST by Josh Cotter
I have a lot of friends who are cartoonists, but I’m really bad about reading their work for some reason. I’ve known Josh Cotter for a couple of years, mainly through seeing him at conventions, but only finally made myself read Skyscrapers a few months ago, and mainly because I was going to be sharing a table with him at SPX, and would have been mortified to admit I hadn’t read it. While I’d heard the book was incredibly sad (and it was), it wasn’t the sadness of it that impressed me so much. This book was just plain well-CONCEIVED. Without beating you over the head with it, Josh draws a picture of what it feels like to be a sad, lonely kid, in a world that only barely makes sense, and only for brief intervals. This was definitely the most surprising book I read this year, although I do Josh a disservice to be so surprised at his obvious talent. I shan’t be surprised again.

02: BOTTOMLESS BELLYBUTTON by Dash Shaw
Wow. Seriously, wow. This really should probably be the #1 book on this list, and for most of the year, it would have been. I certainly pushed it on plenty of people that way. While I like and respect Dash Shaw, I had never really connected with one of his works before. Counter-intuitively, I bought this book because it was MASSIVE and looked great. I do dumb things like that. But from the moment I read the line on the title page suggesting that the reader take a break between each of the three parts of the book, I was hooked. Why I can’t say, but suddenly I was engaged, and it never went away. What looks like rough, hasty art in the first few pages becomes nuanced and perfect by its end, without ever changing. Another must-read, and another entry for “Best of the Decade”.

01: GUS AND HIS GANG by Christophe Blain
Holy crap, this book blew me away. I’ve been a fan of Blain’s, as well as his compatriots David B., Lewis Trondheim, Manu Larcenet, and pretty much all those L’Association guys, for awhile now. I have a tendency toward hyperbole, BUT try this on: this is a career-defining book by an already-great artist. What seems at first like a loose collection of humorous-but-not-hilarious cowboy stories quickly becomes a character study of a gang of three bandits. Blain’s cartooning seems at once effortless and extraordinary. He does more with gesture, color, and line in a page than most cartoonists do in an entire book. Oh, but those colors! I finished this book wanting to splash color on everything: deep colors; wild, bright, ugly colors; any colors, just as deep and as saturated as I could make them. While I think that Bottomless Bellybutton is a better work, and certainly a better novel, this book was such an incredible shock that when I think of my favorite book of 2008, it comes to mind immediately. What could be better than having TOO MANY good things to choose from? A good year for comics, for sure.

HONORABLE MENTIONS:
ACME NOVELTY LIBRARY VOL 19
BOURBON ISLAND 1730
SCORCHY SMITH
LITTLE ORPHAN ANNIE
These are all almost certainly incredible books, but I haven’t read them yet, and feel weird calling them “BEST” anything.

ALSO I can’t forget MOME #’s 11 and 12, both incredible, both featuring stories by Dash Shaw and Killoffer (I’m a serious Francophile for comics lately), as well as the hilarious “Truth Bear” stories by Ray Fenwick. Plus a bunch of other stuff I’m forgetting. If I could have taken the Dash Shaw story out of 11 and traded it with the one in 12, then 12 would have been one of the best books of the year, maybe in the top 3.

I wanted to disturb you fine folks for a few minutes today, and plead for your assistance. I would like you to vote for my friend Bruce Hazel & Some Volunteers! Take a minute on the “my space” and give his stuff a listen!

Bruce Hazel and the band are one of 13 semi-finalist in an international search for the “Best Unsigned Band” by Genya Ravan, Little Steven Van Zandt from the E Street Band and Wicked Cool Records. The last round of voting continues through Friday, December 12th, via Genya Ravan’s Sirius Satellite program “Goldie’s Garage“. Find out more by checking out Bruce’s website at Wheeler St. Music

Just click on this link to register, and then follow the directions to VOTE. You do have to register at the site to vote online. And just to prove their bona fides, I totally asked them to tell you, the Heroesonline fan, about their favorite comics. I did not just make these pull quotes while I was at work.

Brent Bagwell:
Justice Society of America

Brent is a horn player extraordinaire. He plays all styles, whether it is free form jazz in the NYC-based “eASTERN sEABOARD”, or the improv stylings of the expansive “Project Bluebird”, or the straight up honky-funk in the Volunteers. And he just can’t get enough of the new JSA. He’s a fan of all of Geoff John’s recent yarns, up to and including Green Lantern, but Hawkman and the other ’40s characters grab a firm hold of his imagination. He will totally corner you and go on and on about it (and I love it!)

Karla Marsh:
To Terra, by Keiko Takemiya

The complete three volumes tell the story of one of those “manga futures”, wherein a race of telepathics called “Mu” are on the run from the humans who want to destroy them. Staying hidden and attempting to rescue as many Mu children as possible before they are eliminated, the Mu have only one desire: to return home. Heartbreaking and delicious.

Bruce Hazel:
Omega The Unknown

Bruce Hazel loves him some Jonathan Lethem, author of such notable novels as my favorite, Motherless Brooklyn, to Bruce’s preferred Fortress of Solitude. Lethem’s obvious love of comics is on display in his and Farel Dalrymple’s collection of the ten issue series. Based on the ’70s character created by Steve Gerber, Lethem explores areas of the search for identity, struggles for power and developing an understanding of who we are and what we are capable of.

Shawn Lynch:
E.C. Segars’s Popeye, from Fantagraphics

Shawn, beloved guitarist for the Volunteers, plus member in good standing of Lou Ford, plus 1/9th of the band Buschovski (who happen to have a show at The Neighborhood Theatre on December 20th, along with the release of their “Compact Disk”) likes the Fantagraphics “Popeye” collections. Originally a strip called “Thimble Theatre”, Popeye went from being a one-note incidental player to international superstar. Read these and see why.

Chad Wilson:
Dark Horse Star Wars comics

Chad goes on and on and on about Star Wars, and the Sith and the what not. In his defense, he only likes “real” Star Wars, and not the recent knock-offs. however, he quite enjoys The Knights of the Old Republic series from Dark Horse. He has good taste, so I’ll defer to him. He also liked Alan Moore’s From Hell.

Plus, you can come see some of the Volunteers this very weekend as Shawn Lynch and Mark Lynch play, along with the rest of Lou Ford, Friday night at Snug Harbor! If you like that, come back to Snug Harbor on Saturday to see Mark again, when he plays with The Trouble Walkers. Caution: The show will have B-A-D words.

With all the talk about this weekend’s sale, I wanted to point out another great deal this holiday season: until December 31, advance tickets to HeroesCon 2009 are $25 apiece. After something like 20 years of not raising our prices, we finally had to after the 2008 show (one of our biggest ever). Advance 3-day passes (the only kind of advance ticket available) for HeroesCon 09 are priced at $30 apiece. But convention owner Shelton Drum is a great big softie, and he decided to offer an inbetween rate of $25 until the end of the year. Tons of people have already purchased their tickets, but we suspect that with all the other news going on in the world, this bit of news might have slipped your mind.

So! Ways for you to purchase your tickets include:

1) Call us at 704.375.7462 during business hours (10-9 Mon-Sat, 1-6 Sun, EST) with a credit card, and we’ll take care of you right over the phone.

2) Download the ticket form, fill it out, and fax it to us 704.375.7464. Remember to include all that charge info.

3) Download the ticket form, fill it out, and mail it to
HEROESCON 2009
PO BOX 9181
CHARLOTTE, NC 28299

There you go! For more info, just go to the Tickets page on our website!

Every Wednesday we run down the 5 most interesting comics or graphic novels coming out for the week. Except this week the new comics hit on Thursday thanks to Thanksgiving. Since I’ve still got Triptofphan in my system I’m going to have to keep it short this week.

5. MARVELS EYE OF CAMERA #1
Written by Kurt Busiek; art by Jay Anacleto
Marvel
$3.99

For a book that’s been this long in the making you’d think there would be a little more fanfare for it’s release this week. It is, after all, a sequel to Marvels, the highly popular Kurt Busiek/Alex Ross “realistic” look at Marvel’s Silver Age. You wouldn’t know that from the title. Or the absence of Ross from the book. But it’s got Busiek, man-on-the-street POV character Phil Sheldon, and photo-realistic artwork by newcomer Jay Anacleto.

The original Marvels book was not really my cup of tea but you can’t deny it’s popularity so it will be interesting to see if it’s sequel takes off without Mr. Ross involved.

4. HAUNTED TANK #1
Written by Frank Marraffino; Art by Henry Flint;
DC Vertigo
$2.99 | 32 pgs

Back when we were kids war was a blast. Sgt. Rock, The Unknown Soldier, G.I. Joe. Those guys were just having fun. No one was getting hurt. But these days, war is not something we take too lightly so DC has been reinventing some of their goofy war properties as grittier reflections on today’s wars. We had the Unknown Soldier relaunch a few weeks ago and now a new Haunted Tank mini-series. It’s actually not too far from the original concept. We still have the ghost of Civil War general J.E.B. Stuart hanging out with one of his descendants in a tank but this time it’s in Iraq. And this time his descendant is an African American soldier.

3. FIGHT OR RUN #1
By Kevin Huizenga
Buenaventura Press
$3.95 | 32 pgs

Indie cartooonist Kevin Huizenga, known for his thoughtful, existential mini-comics about life in suburbia, is not someone you’d expect to be a closet video game fanatic. But in the second issue of his Ignatz book Ganges, he revealed his penchant for first-person shooter games. Now, he takes that interest to a new, experimental art book full of minimalist abstractions of the aesthetic of such games as Mortal Kombat and Street Fighter.

2. SUPERGIRL: COSMIC ADVENTURES IN THE EIGHTH GRADE #1
Written by Landry Walker; Art and Cover by Eric Jones
DC
$2.50 | 32 pgs

For years, DC has been giving us a Supergirl that is drawn like a cast member of The Hills, rather than anything that might be appropriately deemed a “girl”. Finally, through their kid-friendly Johnny DC imprint, they’re trying out a Supergirl book that you’d feel comfortable giving your daughter to read. This Supergirl is in eighth grade and is drawn in a Nickelodeon-friendly style like the recent Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam book. It’s a new monthly series that will have little Supergirl facing extra-terrestrial-related threats as well as middle-school related threats.

1. X-MEN NOIR #1
Written by Fred Van Lente; art by Dennis Calero
Marvel
$3.99

Here’s something new that will either be really neat or kind of goofy. Or both. Marvel is trying out a new series of noir versions of their characters. Murder, sexy babes, hard-boiled dialogue. How is this different than a non-noir version of their books, you say? I don’t know but the premise of this book sounds promising. A couple of homicide detectives investigate a body that has been slashed up, seemingly by claws, and has a tattoo of an X on the shoulder blade. All signs point to an upstate reform school that they proceed to check out.

Final Crisis and Secret Invasion are dominating the summer, just like World War Hulk and Sinestro Corp did before that and Civil War and Infinite Crisis before that and… you get my point. So if your event-ed out like me and pretty much the entire staff of Heroes, here’s some neat-o books that I like that stand on their own.

Immortal Iron Fist
This book has been one of the most consistently entertaining books from Marvel since its inception. The first 16 issues plus specials by Matt Fraction and Ed Brubaker have been collected and are absolutely a blast to read. A new creative team came on with issue 17 and defied expectations by maintaining the quality of the book which is really a happy surprise.

Thor
Re-launched by J. Michael Stracyznski last year, Thor is probably in fact Marvel’s best title. JMS has decided to forgo the hammer-smashing super heroics and has instead crafted a slow-burn story first about the return of the Asgardian pantheon after their deaths in Ragnarok and now an almost Shakespearean courtyard drama. But what really completes the package is the absolutely stunning art work of Oliver Coipel (he’s French so that’s pronounced O-liv-ee-ay Coy-pell). The first arc is out in trade and the book is only up to issue 11 so you can play catsup to it pretty easy.

Ghost Rider
I will state that I’m not a big Ghost Rider fan but recently have started to see the character as something that can be a lot of fun if played in the B-Horror grindhouse vein that he very much comes from. This is exactly the way that writer Jason Aaron has played him since taking over the book with issue 20. This book exudes with macho preening and tough guy beat downs mixed with an extreme quirkiness. It’s just one defining moment away from being the next Immortal Iron Fist.

Justice Society of America
The current run of the book, which relaunched back in 2006, reminds me a lot of the heyday of Chris Claremont’s X-Men. Plots, subplots, and lots of characters weave in and without break. JSA is one of the few comics that break the story arc mold and one of the few DCU titles that really stands on its own.

Jonah Hex
This book stands alone by the fact that it takes place two centuries ago. Jonah Hex is the best mainstream book that no one is reading. Almost every issue is done-in-one story usually about the uncaring brutality and general inhumanness of the Old West and its title character that is for the most part kind of unlikeable. It also works as an artist showcase. Some of the best artists in comics such as Darwyn Cooke and JH Williams have contributed to the book as well as some European talent who don’t get much exposure stateside.

Billy Batson and the Magic of Shazam
Teen Titans
These books are cute and smart the way old feature film cartoons used to be. Give them to children, give them to grumpy old men and watch them smile, and then give one to you. They’re great.

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?

Although that’s unfair–Andy Mansell does actually have an education, I believe.

But over on Tom Spurgeon’s Comics Reporter site, he’s posted an excellent group of items for all kinds of different shoppers. While Tom refers often to weird things like “Amazon” and other non-Heroes sites for purchasing, we know that you will replace all these instances in your mind with the sentence “HEROES AREN’T HARD TO FIND IS HAVING A GIANT SALE DECEMBER 6-7“.

In any case, Happy Day-After-Thanksgiving, a day which still feels too festive to call “Black Friday”, regardless of the actual origins of that phrase. We are open for business and ready to accept your money–whether in our store or another, we hope you have a safe and stress-free day!

It’s here! Our yearly post-Thanksgiving/pre-Christmas storewide sale will happen in just two weeks, on Saturday/Sunday, December 6-7! Here’s just a partial list of items that will be discounted:

10% OFF all new comics, trade paperbacks, manga, magazines, and more (15% off for qualifying reserve customers)!

50-75% OFF of select mangas (separate from our regular stock)!

10-70% OFF all statues and toys!

50% OFF regular back issues!

20% OFF “Hot” back issues!

PLUS Seth and Shelton will be unveiling a brand new ENORMOUS stock of dollar comics–nearly 20,000 individual comics, IN ORDER! And all just ONE DOLLAR apiece! This is going to be a great chance to get a lot of holiday shopping out of the way early, both for you AND your loved ones, who are surely wondering what to buy you! More on that later, plus more on the sale as we get closer!

Every Wednesday we run down the 5 most interesting comics or graphic novels coming out for the week.

5. FREAKANGELS HC
Written by Warren Ellis; art by Paul Duffield
Avatar Press
$27.99 | 144 pgs

I swear Warren Ellis has at least one book out a week and it’s kind of hard to not mention them in these lists. This week we have a hardcover of the first 24 episodes of his ongoing web comic Freakangels. Set in a near-future, “post-flood” London, this steampunk sci-fi drama is about a group of disaffected youth called Freakangels who meet a girl called Alice from Manchester who tells them she’s met “the last Freakangel” and that they’re going about everything wrong.

Ellis works with artist Paul Duffield to build a compelling dystopia of retro technology. Duffield’s work combines intricate architectural renderings and punk-influenced fashion styling with really beautiful washes of light-drenched color. Will it look as good on the printed page as it does here on screen? Probably.

4. PETEY & PUSSY
By John Kerschbaum
Fantagraphics
$19.99 | 128 pgs

Petey & Pussy is a graphic novel collection of comics strips about a dog and a cat that, as the title probably hints, is definitely not for kids. Both Petey the dog and Pussy the cat are anthropomorphic characters – part cute animal; part balding, middle-aged men – that are prone to graphic violence, slapstick comedy and gross, misanthropic behavior. Not much different than any other cartoon characters, right? And John Kerschbaum draws the strip in a way that makes it feel like a classic kiddie strip. But it’s like reading a Tom & Jerry cartoon starring Larry David and Jeff Garlin.

You can preview the book here or read some strips at Kreschbaum’s site.

3. THE LAGOON
By Lilli Carré
Fantagraphics
$14.99 | 80pgs

Lilli Carré made a big splash a couple of years back with her droll and folksy Tales of the Woodsmen Pete. Her new one is a flight into gothic fantasy mixed with family drama, called The Lagoon. A family, consisting of a husband and wife, a grandfather and a daughter named Zooey are all attracted to the siren song coming from a creature hiding in a nearby black lagoon. The song offers different things to each of them and they react to it in their own way.

The Lagoon is very much an exploration of sound in a soundless medium. Carré’s inking style is looser and sketchier than the precious drawings of Woodsmen Pete, but she uses the rhythm of her line to help convey the rhythm of the creature’s song. Check out some pages.

2. SWALLOW ME WHOLE
By Nate Powell
Top Shelf
$19.95 | 216pgs

Nate Powell is a talented artist who won the Ignatz’s Outstanding Debut Award at this year’s SPX for this book, Swallow Me Whole, his first major longform work after many years of mini-comics and short pieces. Powell’s expressive inking and experimental layouts make his stories a pleasure to look at even if his subject matter tends to be down in the doldrums. Case in point: this book is about two siblings who are wrestling with OCD and schizophrenia.

It’s a foreboding, slowly-paced family drama just in time for Thanksgiving! Seriously, though, take a look at this preview. That wasn’t the last award Powell will be winning for this book.

1. CROGAN’S VENGEANCE
By Chris Schweizer
Oni Press
$14.95 | 192 pgs

I’m a big fan of ambitious projects (think: Sufjan Stevens planning to make albums dedicated to each of the 50 states – 2 down, 48 to go) and this new book fits that bill. Crogan’s Vengeance is the first of a planned 16 graphic novels (The Crogan Adventures) by cartoonist Chris Schweizer that will each tell the story of a different member of the Crogan Family Tree. It will span centuries, continents and genres and it begins here with a pirate tale set in the early 18th century where we meet “Catfoot” Crogan, an honest sailor who never wanted to be a pirate.

Schweizer, an MFA graduate of Savannah College of Art and Design, has a great animation-influenced style and sense of character design. He pitched his series idea to Oni Press by showing them this family tree image he created, promising to create a story for each person pictured. And the rest is family history.

Read a lengthy preview here.

NOT INTERESTED IN THOSE? HOW ABOUT THESE?

PUNISHER BY GARTH ENNIS OMNIBUS
Collecting not the gritty and realistic MAX series but the earlier, “lighter” fare like “Punisher Kills the Marvel Universe” from the Marvel Knights run.

JACK KIRBY’S THE DEMON OMNIBUS
It’s omnibus reprint week! More mining of the Jack Kirby DC depths.

SPIRIT SPECIAL #1
In anticipation of the movie, more affordable Spirit reprints. This one has the stories “Sign of the Octopus”, “Black Alley”, “Sand Saref”, and “Bring in Sand Saref”.

FABLES VOL. 11 WAR AND PIECES
Cinderella on a cloak and dagger mission. Seriously you need to be reading this book.

UNCANNY X-MEN #504
Terry Dodson draws the X-ladies as a new 4 part story arc begins, written by Matt Fraction.

AMAZING SPIDER-MAN #578
Writer Mark Waid joins Marcos Martin, who I think is one of the most underrated artists working in superhero comics these days.

ARCHER & ARMSTRONG FIRST IMPRESSIONS HC
Reprinting a somewhat obscure but highly acclaimed Valiant comic by Jim Shooter and Barry Windsor Smith. It’s a superhero buddy comedy.

You know, we say it every year, but it’s mainly because each year the HeroesCon Guest List is bigger than the one before. Not the worst problem in the world to have (unless you have to figure out where to put everybody AND all the people that show up to meet them). With a guest list that already–and still more than 7 months out–boasts names like Brian Bendis, Ed Brubaker, Matt Fraction, Jeff Smith, and more–we just can’t help adding more names. And though it’s still early, the names have been piling up on my desk, as I keep alluding to each week.

I’ve got a bunch of additions lined up, but I promised myself that TODAY, by gum, I would get at least two of them done. And so it is with great glee and a small sense of accomplishment that I announce the addition of two real sweet guys: Ivan Brandon and Joe Staton.

Young, scrappy, and multilingual, Ivan Brandon is the writer behind Secret Invasion: Home Invasion, Machine Man, and The Cross Bronx, among others. AND he most recently was the translator of the much-talked about Mesmo Delivery Service from AdHouse Books.

No stranger to HeroesCon, our old chum Joe Staton has worked all over the comics industry on a multitude of different books (and in a multitude of styles), including E-Man, Green Lantern, and Scooby Doo. Joe is one of the nicest guys you could meet–that’s not saying a lot at HeroesCon, but Joe is a prince among nice guys, trust us. If you’ve never met Joe or Ivan, we will charge you a nominal fee to meet them–and a few hundred others–this June at HeroesCon! More updates on the way!