Oh yeah! As hinted at previously, we’re pleased to announce the addition to our HeroesCon 08 Guest List of Mirage Studios! Helmed by Peter Laird, the co-creator of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, this will be (I think, Shelton can confirm) the first official appearance at HeroesCon by Mirage. Peter is also the man behind the ENORMOUSLY influential Xeric Foundation, which provides the generous Xeric grants that have started a TON of careers, including guys like Adrian Tomine and Tom Hart, not to mention Sam Hiti, the oft-recommended-by-me author of Tiempos Finales and referee of Fistacuffs.

And Peter’s not coming alone! Mirage is setting up in force with a gang of dudes including Jim Lawson, Michael Dooney, Dan Berger, Steve Lavigne, and Eric Talbot–good Lord! It’s hard to imagine someone not familiar with the Turtles; people forget that it was TMNT that launched the “black & white explosion” of the 80’s, and explosion that also included already existing books like Love & Rockets, Cerebus, Yummy Fur and a ton of others. In fact, I had a hard time deciding whether or not to seat Mirage in Indie Island, but in the end I decided that they were just too big these days. Ah, the price of success!

I don’t know how newsworthy this is, but our friend J. Chris Campbell, yearly guest at HeroesCon and recent guest at our Charlotte MiniCon, did this really cool thing recently. He’s a pretty prolific cartoonist, but despite having a potty-mouth, is really big on getting kids into comics, and just being great with kids.

Case in point: check out this post on his blog, where he went to his son’s class and gave a little speech on how to draw robots. That’s pretty cool, and it’s easy to imagine a sweet guy like J. Chris doing it really well. But the part I thought was coolest was when he talks about drawing on his son’s lunch bag every day, and the other kids being interested in what new robot would be there. Man, wouldn’t you love to have that memory years later? Nice work, JCC!

So, showing clearly that people don’t do background checks anymore, I was invited to talk to students at the New Technology High School at Garinger today. While the ostensible topic was comics as related to history, we ranged all over, from 60’s books, social relevance and Judaism, to manga and anime. Mostly the latter. It was a ton of fun, and involved not one but TWO fire alarms, which for some reason made it seem like I was really in high school, which was great. Unlike a lot of people, I loved high school.

Anyway, you can find all the details in our Flickr photo report. The short version is that it was tons of fun, and everybody was super-nice. Thanks to the teachers and students at Garinger High School for making me feel so welcome!

A lot of old friends added to the HeroesCon 08 Guest List this week, including two of our oldest and closest friends, Tony Harris and Phil Noto. Casey Jones noticed that they weren’t on the list earlier in the week, and after a flurry of e-mails containing expressions like “What?!” and “Avast!“, the situation has been rectified! We expect a lot of these kinds of additions, as busy writers and artists notice that they haven’t confirmed yet, so there are sure to be a lot of announcements coming up throughout the spring!

Tony Harris is, of course, the highly reconizable artist behind big fan-favorite hits like Ex Machina and Starman, not to mention the current Spider-Man: With Great Power miniseries. Phil Noto is a hugely popular cover artist, not to mention interiors on the current Infinite Horizon, a re-imagining of Homer’s The Odyssey. Phil and Tony both are hugely generous parts of our annual HeroesCon Art Auction, usually doing original paintings on stage throughout the weekend, which then command four figures at the Auction itself.

Also new to the guest list this week is Heidi MacDonald, one of the leading lights of the comics journalism scene, and the writer behind Publisher’s Weekly’s The Beat column. Heidi joins The Comics Reporter‘s Tom Spurgeon and Newsarama‘s Matt Brady on our list; although I just noticed as I typed this that Matt’s not on the list. See what I meant before? I’ll check on that and get back to you next week!

And rounding out this week’s additions to our HeroesCon 08 Guest List are returning friends Kelly Yates (Amber Atoms, Tellos), and Matt Webb (E-Man: Idol, Femme Noir). These guys are no stranger to HeroesCon, and are both popular stops for people collecting sketches and original art!

More announcements next week, including some really great panels, plus a big addition of a certain big studio to the Guest List. Here’s a hint: the aforementioned Casey Jones shares a name not only with the famous engineer in the Grateful Dead song, but also a certain grim vigilante who hung out with some sewer reptiles…

How often have you finished a really terrific comic or graphic novel and wished you had an opportunity to discuss the book in detail? For me it is a daily occurrence. By the time I get to Heroes on Wednesday for my weekly new releases, I am frothing at the mouth to discuss as many comics as possible in the shortest amount of time with a staff trying to counter all of my ideas and still assist all the other customers.

Well, now it is time we MAKE time! Presenting the Heroes Aren’t Hard to Find Discussion Group. The first meeting will be Monday, March 24th at 7:00pm in the store. We hope to meet on the third Monday of every month and discuss a different piece of graphic literature. Our first book will be Alan Moore and Kevin O’Neill‘s League of Extraordinary Gentlemen Volume One, published by ABC Comics/DC and available at Heroes for 19.95.

The book has some mature content, so everyone mature enough to buy the book is invited to join in the discussion. All we ask is that you read the book before the meeting and come prepared with an opinion and an open mind. If you loved it, tell us why; if you were disappointed, explain why… Does it hold up to second reading and various other topics: and the last 15 minutes of the meeting will be a battle royale to decide what book will be discussed at the next meeting.

So come one, come all… We can hardly wait…

We’ve been hinting around about this forever, but finally it’s official! Just added to the Indie Island guest list are “power couple” Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O’Malley! You may have met Bryan at the store signing he did here last fall, right after Scott Pilgrim 4 came out, but if not, now you’ll be able to meet him with a few thousand other people in the background. This will be Hope’s first time doing anything Heroes-related, except for meeting me a couple of times at different conventions both hither and thither. And she’s still coming! Her star is on the rise like CRAZY lately, not just for her Gray Horses and Salamander Dream books, but also a forthcoming title from Simon & Shuster, and who knows what else after that. Phew!

Regardless, this will be the first HeroesCon for both halves of this husband/wife comics machine–which advances our plan to have all of comics’ famous couples in attendance. Why just off the top of my head I can name Bryan and Hope, Stuart & Kathryn Immonen, Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick, Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer… I know there are a bunch more, but my brain stopped working.

But wait, there’s more! Also attending their very first HeroesCon/Indie Island this summer are indie up-and-comers Matt Bernier and Hilary Florido! We just today got a box full of Matt’s sweet mini- (actually maxi–they’re kind of big for minicomics) comics in the mail, including Out of Water and Potato Autopsy. He’s also had work in the Awesome! Indie Spinner Rack Anthology and Critical Citadel. Hilary’s books include The True Heart, The Girl’s Guide To Stuff, and Ofuro.

Be sure and welcome all four of these guys to their first HeroesCon! Which, fortunately, is going to be the best one ever, which should make a good impression. Another guest list update this Friday!

Man, who is this goober? But boy, those shirts look great! These are the only two we got, just to proof, and I quickly snatched them for myself. It looks like we’ll have them available for sale Thursday or Friday, so mark your calendars! The top shirt is by Jim Mahfood, and the bottom (modeled by me in true “Dre Day” style) is by Alec Longstreth, who I’m sure really loves early 90’s gangsta rap. You’re welcome, Alec!

Both shirts look AMAZING, even better than I thought they would. Hats off to our friends at Contagious Graphics, who really do first-rate work, and were extra helpful throughout the process of getting these set up.

If you’re seeing these for the first time, a quick review: they’re the first two of a planned series of 6 total shirts, each featuring the art of a different Indie Island guest. Once we have them in hand, they’ll sell for $20 apiece, plus $5 if you need it shipped within the continental U.S. These are very limited, so if I were you I’d get yours as soon as possible! If you like, I am keeping a little waiting list for when they show up, so feel free to post that you’d like one, especially if we actually know you, which will give your place on the waiting list a little more weight should fights break out.

I know, I know–as if I would tell you if it were a big failure. But hey, no lie: a ton of people showed up for Singles Night last Friday, and it was super fun. I suspect much of the reason was that Shelton decided at the last second to provide beer and wine; whatever the cause, by 8 o’clock or so the joint was jumping! Lots of guys and girls, lots of music, lots of conversation–I’m not sure how many love connections were made, but we weren’t doing any exit polls, either. Suffice it to say that we had such a great time that we’ll definitely be doing this again! Next up on the schedule will be the brand new Discussion Night we’re planning, which readers of the Heroes Hotline may have noticed on Friday. But that’s a blog post for another day, one which I’ll leave to Andy Mansell, who’ll be running the discussion.

For a complete rundown of the night with a ton of color 8 x 10 glossies with the circles and the arrows on the back of each one, check out our Flickr set devoted to the event. And thanks to everyone who made our first Singles Night such a big success! Extra special thanks to the Sweet On Geeks website and Geek Monthly magazine, who provided tons of free stuff and really got the word out–you guys are the best!

Our buddy Carlton Hargro, editor-in-chief of Charlotte’s Creative Loafing, and regular reviewer of comics in CL, is giving a talk at the Levine Museum of the New South on Thursday, March 13, 7:00 pm. The official blurb below (emphasis mine):

African Americans in the Comics. Carlton Hargo, editor of Creative Loafing and author of the paper’s regular “Comic Proportions” column, talks about black artists and imagery from Torchy, a syndicated strip in the era of segregated newspapers, to 70’s super hero Black Man – and beyond. Tusculum College professor Taimi Olsen visits to discuss her research on a surprising African American perspective in the classic strip Krazy Kat.

This is sure to be a fascinating discussion, involving as it does so many fascinating topics: history, segregation, newspaper strips, and the 70’s! Be sure to mark your calendars!

Tonight’s the night! Our first ever Singles Night: an opportunity for our customers to meet and mingle with each other! Whether you’re single and looking to “connect” to other people of similar interests and tastes, or if you’re a couple and want to come and bring a single friend or two to help them along: bring it on! We’ll provide light snacks and beverages, there will be cool music playing and four TV’s a-going, and things will generally be laid-back and delicious.

Not only that, but our first Singles Night is being co-sponsored by the Sweet On Geeks dating site and Geek Monthly magazine, which means everyone who shows up can register for a free 3-month trial of Sweet On Geeks, and there’ll be free copies of Geek Monthly magazine while supplies last! Plus t-shirts and tons more!

And not only that but the event has been picked up by a ton of regional print, radio, and TV media, so we’re expecting a real crowd–don’t miss it!

So to sum up: the date is tonight, February 22, 2008. The time is 7-9 pm, and the cost is FREE! See you there!