As you know, our friend Mike Wieringo passed away last year. Mike was an extraordinarily popular figure among fans and pros alike, and the outcry over his passing was enormous. Now some of his closest friends and collaborators have come together to finish the last book he was working on! But the Hero Initiative says it a lot better than I do, in a press release sent out today:

LOS ANGELES (June 6, 2008) – The long awaited Mike Wieringo Tribute Book can now be yours at HeroesCon on June 20 before it is officially released everywhere on June 25th!

When artist Mike Wieringo passed away, he was in the middle of his latest Marvel Comics book, a What If? story. Mike had completed seven pages of what became a massive 27-page story. With Mike’s passing, Marvel Comics generously provided access to the script and Mike’s art to The Hero Initiative, and Mike’s friends stepped up to finish the story, and pay tribute to Mike. Now, What If…This Was The Fantastic Four?: A Tribute to Mike Wieringo is a massive, 48-page tribute book that contains the full story, and additional written tributes to Mike.

The tremendous list of talent participating in the book includes Jeff Parker, Arthur Adams, Paul Renaud, Stuart Immonen, Cully Hamner, Alan Davis, David Williams, Sanford Greene, Humberto Ramos, Skottie Young, Mike Allred, Barry Kitson, and Val Staples. Cover artwork is by Mike Wieringo and Paul Mounts, and The Hero Initiative is publishing the book with the full support of both Marvel Comics, and the family of Mike Wieringo.

Stop by the Hero booth to obtain your very own copy before it is available everywhere on June 25th. The book retails for $4.99. In addition, the following ten talented men will be signing the book at HeroesCon: Richard Case, Todd Dezago, Cully Hamner, Stuart Immonen, Barry Kitson, Nathan Massengill, Jeff Parker, Val Staples, Mark Waid, Karl Kesel and Matt Wieringo so don’t miss out on this once in a lifetime opportunity!

“Thanks to Marvel and The Hero Initiative, Mike’s friends got to work with him one more time and I get to experience seeing one of my brother’s comics on the stands again. That’s a thrill I never again hoped or expected to have. And it’s for a great cause that Mike would have been proud to be a part of,” said Matt Wieringo.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays’ creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment. For more information, call 310-909-7809.

Well put, Hero Initiative! Be sure and visit their website for more information on this excellent charity!

Aw yeah! Remember all those sweet Indie Island shirts I had planned? Well, I haven’t forgotten them–in fact, we’re doing up this sweet Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer art as our first ever OFFICIAL Indie Island con shirt! Oh yes, it’s true! I just got this art today from Sarah, and as we speak it’s wending its way to our awesome screenprinters, and will be available for sale to one and all at HeroesCon!

Now, I know you’re thinking–wait, weren’t there supposed to be an ambitious SIX Indie Island shirts? I know, I know–I haven’t forgotten. But it was ambitious, wasn’t it? Well, I’m working on it–you should concentrate on just how great you’re going to feel wearing this shirt, available in a MULTITUDE of different sizes, and in some non-American Apparel styles too. I know, I know–my mistake. But I’m making good on it!

I’d write more but I’ve got to go sleepy-bye, so I can wake up early and get back to work on the greatest HeroesCon of all time! I just got back from a pre-show staff meeting, and it looks like we’re really firing on all cylinders. We’ll be bringing our “A” game this year, so you’d better bring a real high level game as well. At LEAST “B” level, I’m thinking. B+ would probably be better.

Who knows where we’ll put them, but we’ve got some late-breaking HeroesCon 08 Guest List additions!

Dave Dorman and Scott Hampton need no introduction to people who attend HeroesCon each year, but just in case: Dave is the highly recognizable painter of literally ZILLIONS of Star Wars, Indiana Jones, and many other high-profile properties! Scott is another high-profile painter, although most of his work is on the macabre side of things. Besides work on SPOOKHOUSE and an issue of DC’s SOLO dedicated to him, Scott has also provided the gorgeous art to BATMAN: GOTHAM COUNTY LINE and HELMET OF FATE, among many others.

Rod Whigham really should have been on the guest list a month ago, but I totally spaced! Sorry, Rod! Rod’s worked all over the place, on titles as diverse as PUNISHER, JUSTICE LEAGUE, FLASH, and DOC SAVAGE, as well as many others. These days he draws the newspaper strip GIL THORP!

And a couple more names to add to the Cancellation list–unfortunately our buddies John Lucas and John Beatty won’t be able to come this year, although hopefully we’ll be able to get them back next year! You can see a list of all the cancellations on our Guest List page, underneath the “RECENT ADDITIONS” column.

Well, while it’s not normally our wont to post to the blog on the (what?!) weekend, we’re burning the midnight oil getting ready for things, and have been chugging away on the packed HeroesCon 08 Event Schedule! Progress on the over 300 bios I have to write is not as sunny, but we’ll leave that for a different blog post. For now, new schedule (note that some of these panels are pending final approval from participants, and like everything else is subject to change:

CONVERSATIONS: Roy Thomas and Gary Friedrich Room 216
This is sure to be a fascinating discussion, between former Marvel Editor-In-Chief and Alter Ego editor Roy Thomas, and Ghost Rider co-creator and Marvel writer Gary Friedrich. Listen as they discuss the Silver Age of the House of Ideas, the creation of Ghost Rider, and much more!

THE FUTURE OF PODCASTS IN THE MEDIA Room 213A
Heidi MacDonald of The Beat moderates this panel featuring a who’s who of comics podcasting talent: Jimmy Aquino of Comic News Insider, Charlito and Mr. Phil of Indie Spinner Rack, Brian Christman and Adam Murdough of Comic Geek Speak, and most likely a bunch more guests from our Podcast Arena!

WEBCOMICS ROUNDUP Room 213BCD
Join the Comics Reporter‘s Tom Spurgeon for a roundtable discussion on webcomics, from conception and creation to marketing and–what?–profitability. With guests Nicholas Gurewitch, David Malki, Julia Wertz, Chris Harding, Danielle Corsetto, and more!

CRAFT IN COMICS: Jaime Hernandez, Jim Rugg, and Frank Santoro in Conversation 213A
Less a conversation on materials and techniques and more a conversation on ideas and beliefs, this panel will focus on tradition and innovation in composition and drawing for comics. From Jaime’s insistence on not using photographs as reference in his comics to Jim’s clarity of composition and Frank’s careful color choices, there are countless tenets of craft that are largely underappreciated by readers. This panel will investigate these ideas and attempt to illuminate and outline them in a lively conversation led by Frank Santoro.

THE FUTURE OF PODCASTS IN THE MEDIA Room 213A
Heidi MacDonald of The Beat moderates this panel featuring a who’s who of comics podcasting talent: Jimmy Aquino of Comic News Insider, Charlito and Mr. Phil of Indie Spinner Rack, Brian Christman and Adam Murdough of Comic Geek Speak, and most likely a bunch more guests from our Podcast Arena!

NEWSPAPER STRIPS: Keeping It Fresh After All These Years Room 216
Our own Andy Mansell moderates this panel featuring some of the brightest stars of classic newspaper strips! With Jim Scancarelli (GASOLINE ALLEY), Marcus Hamilton (DENNIS THE MENACE), Irwin Hasen (DONDI), June Brigman (Brenda Starr) and Alex Saviuk (SPIDER-MAN)! Explore the challenges of taking over an iconic strip, and keeping it fresh day in and day out!

TORI AMOS’ COMIC BOOK TATTOO ROOM 217A
Heidi MacDonald moderates a panel of cartoonists, writers and artists hand selected by Tori Amos to reinterpret her music into sequential art. Features previously unseen images exclusively from the forthcoming book from Image Comics!

Check the Event Schedule page for all the times and to see all the zillion other events going on! Is that enough for you? Well, I’ve still got some more coming, but good GRAVY, I’ve been at the computer all day and haven’t even had a shower yet. The dog won’t even lick my feet anymore. Gross! More to come–TODAY IS JUNE 1ST! Just under three weeks to (gulp!) go!

Big news this week: while there are individual room nights still available at both, it looks like we’ve effectively sold out both the Hilton Charlotte Center City AND the Westin Charlotte! What? Seriously? Oh yes–fortunately Shelton has been casting his net farther and farther out, as we could see from pretty much the first day we announced our HeroesCon rates at those two hotels that the rooms were going WAY faster than normal.

So Shelton has signed contracts with TWO more hotels: the Hilton Garden Inn Uptown, and the Hampton Inn! Both are just two blocks east of the Convention Center, and both are providing us with $99/night rooms! So if you’ve been hanging onto some overpriced room reservations because you couldn’t find anything better, ditch em and call:

HAMPTON INN: CHARLOTTE UPTOWN
1.800-HAMPTON

or

HILTON GARDEN INN
1.877.STAY.HGI

BE SURE TO SAY THAT YOU WANT THE “HEROESCON RATE”. There’s a good chance that the rate won’t go “live” until Monday, so try back then if it’s not working yet. And as before, if you have any problems, please feel free to comment below–Shelton and I both will be monitoring this post closely, and will try to address any problems as quickly as possible! Remember to be polite!

Our good buddies over at the HERO Initiative are bringing 70’s and 80’s great Ron Wilson to the HeroesCon 08 Guest List! I know a ton of people are going to love this news, especially our employees Phil and Rusty! His appearance will be to benefit the Hero Initiative, which–well heckfire, they say it better than I do, both about Ron and themselves! Ladies and gentlemen, Mr. Jim McLauchlin (emphasis mine):

“Longtime Marvel Comics artist Ron Wilson worked extensively for the publisher from the 1970s through the 1990s, notably on Marvel Two-in-One and The Thing. He also made contributions to Power Man, Incredible Hulk, and What If? It’s only very recently that Ron started hitting the convention circuit, so his appearances have been very few.

The Hero Initiative is the first-ever federally chartered not-for-profit corporation dedicated strictly to helping comic book creators in need. Hero creates a financial safety net for yesterdays’ creators who may need emergency medical aid, financial support for essentials of life, and an avenue back into paying work. It’s a chance for all of us to give back something to the people who have given us so much enjoyment. For more information, call 310-909-7809 or visit http://www.heroinitiative.org/.”

Two of our oldest and best friends are joining the HeroesCon 08 Guest List today, although they should have been among the first to be added right after last year’s show! Steve Saffel and Dana Hayward are not only esteemed working professionals, but they actually come down here from New York every year–just to bust their butts working for us! Now that’s friendship! So it’s very embarassing for me, having CONTINUALLY forgot to add them to the list, despite Steve’s regular gentle reminders. What can you do?

In his latest e-mail, Steve was kind enough to actually write bios for himself and Dana; perhaps he thought I couldn’t think of anything to say. Ladies and gentlemen, may I present:

Dana Hayward is a letterer and designer for Del Rey Books, HarperCollins Children’s Books, and others, with credits that include dozens of installment of the bestselling manga titles Tsubasa (from Clamp), Wallflower, and xxxHolic (also by Clamp), as well as the Terry Brooks graphic novel Dark Wraith of Shannara.

Steve Saffel is the writer of Spider-Man: The Icon from Titan Books, and is an independent book editor for Titan, Random House, Perseus Books, Watson-Guptil, and others. Most recently Steve has worked with noted Hollywood professionals to develop properties such as the military-meets-monsters series SPOOKS, currently available as a limited series from Devil’s Due (www.spooksthecomic.com).

I’m in the middle of trying to put together the massive 64 page program book for HeroesCon 08 right now, plus beat a bunch of other print deadlines, so I HOPE YOU’LL PARDON THE BREVITY of this post. Most of you will welcome it! But I just hate to slight any of these EXCELLENT guests, who I will now unceremoniously announce. Lo, behold!

CHRIS BRUNNER, our old friend, and artist of the upcoming LOOSE ENDS from 12 Gauge, as well as on numerous books including THE RIDE and GOTHAM CENTRAL!

SEAN CHEN, returning champeen, member of theBLVD studio, and excellent draughtsman behind NOVA, WOLVERINE, and X-MEN: THE END!

SANFORD GREENE, who smiles a lot and giggles even more! And who is working now on the upcoming METHOD MAN GN, besides past work on Teen Titans, Army of Darkness, and more!

RICO RENZI, blistering colorist, proud papa, and printer extraordinaire. Also with credits on THE RIDE, GOTHAM CENTRAL, and 24/SEVEN!

MARK TEXEIRA, the smiling painter who always dashes into the Art Auction at the last minute, having just finished his submission on stage! Past artist of GHOST RIDER, WOLVERINE, and his own PSCYTHE!

Oh, and there’s more less exciting news: joining the list of people forced to cancel their appearances at this year’s HeroesCon is Greg Rucka and Jennifer Van Meter. Greg was super-apologetic, saying it was just unavoidable and it killed him. He assures us that they’ll be back next year. Also heartthrob Dean Haspiel and Sean “Cheeks” Galloway. Sniff! We’ll try to get these guys back in 09, for sure! For now, you can see an up-to-the-minute list of cancellations at the bottom of the “Recent Updates” list on our Guest List page.

What a fun night!!! On Monday we hunkered down and discussed Frank Miller and David Mazzuchelli‘s Batman Year One. We covered a number of topics, but the majority of the entertainment-packed two+ hours revolved around the effects of the dual narrator on the flow of the story, the importance of Commissioner Gordon’s character in the Batman mythos, and most importantly (ok, arguably most importantly) the effect of the characters on Gotham and the effect of Gotham on the characters.

As an added bonus, Andy Smith, local penciller/storyteller extraordinaire (Stormwatch, 52, Red Sonja/Claw) went over Mazzuchelli’s page layout and demonstrated how certain graphic tricks work to lead the readers eye through a given page. OUTSTANDING!!! Thanks Andy!!!

We’ve posted a few new pictures from the night over in our Heroes Discussion Group set on our Flickr site, if you’d like to take a peek.

Of course the last fifteen minutes were spent on the battle royal to decide what the next book will be. We have it narrowed down to three and we would like ALL of your input as to what it should be:

SHAZAM: Monster Society of Evil by Jeff Smith
Sandman Volume 4: Season of Mists by Neil Gaiman
Astonishing X-Men Volume 1 by Joss Whedon and John Cassaday

These nights are fun and informative and can only improve if more of you join us. It’s VERY laid back, and a lot of fun! All you need to do is set the date aside– the next one will be after HeroesCon in July–we’ll announce it right here on the blog once we nail it down. Read the book and then join us! There is no pressure to speak, but if the past discussions are a harbinger for future meetings, we feel confident you will want to join in.

Quick Reminder:

Diamond will be closed May 26th in observance of the Memorial Day Holiday. That means we won’t be receiving new books until Thursday the 29th next week.

Ok-bye!