Oh yes! As we announced last month, HeroesCon guest Richard Thompson‘s strip Cul de Sac is premiering in our local paper, the Charlotte Observer. In fact, it premiered today, I believe–I usually read it online (shhh!), but Shawn and Shelton both love the feel of newsprint on their fingers, and they read it today. As a daily reader and LOVER of this strip, this might not be the best place to start new readers off, but trust me, once you get down with the rhythm you’ll be hooked. And remember, if you like it, let the Observer know! From what Richard tells me, this is a test run, and if they don’t get enough reaction they may pull it in favor of more Garfield or something. These Observer guys are tough–why, they don’t even run Gasoline Alley, the nation’s oldest continually running strip, and its artist (Jim Scancarelli, our buddy) lives and works right here in Charlotte! I’m just saying be vocal, but be careful, too. And enjoy Cul de Sac!

Not only is this year going to be–BY FAR–the biggest year ever for Indie Island, but definitely the most critically acclaimed. Well, at least our guests will be very critically acclaimed: just added to the Indie Island list is Picturebox, the cutting edge publisher of The Ganzfeld, Brian Chippendale’s Maggots (pictured), Powr Mastrs, and tons more. Not only that, but coming along with Picturebox publisher Dan Nadel is Frank Santoro, the creator of Storeyville and writer of Cold Heat! Which is not to sneeze at Mr Nadel’s not inconsiderable acclaim–besides editing the Ganzfeld and the recent Art Out Of Time book, Dan is also editing the forthcoming and highly-anticipated Gary Panter book set to come out this year! And with The Comics Reporter‘s Tom Spurgeon on hand to conduct some high-class discussions with these guys, this will be an extra special year for people with highbrow comics taste–like our own Andy Mansell, who has probably already wet his pants in excitement on reading this. BAD Andy!

Yes, it’s true! In fact, we’d already sent this SWEET little postcard off to the printer when Ethan Van Sciver threw his hat in the ring! A little quick editing, and now Ethan, famed artist of Green Lantern and Superman Batman, among many others, joins fellow newcomers J. Chris Campbell (Zig Zag, Wide Awake Press) and Rob Ullman (Project: Superior, Grand Gestures) on our Charlotte Minicon Guest List! They’ll be joining a ton of dealers from around the Southeast, not to mention a crack squad of hand-picked Heroes employees, and YOU! The particulars, once more:

DATE: SATURDAY, JANUARY 19, 2008
TIME: 11AM – 5PM
COST: Suggested donation of $3 or more to National MS Society
PLACE: PALMER BUILDING AT FIREMAN’S HALL, which is located at the corner of E. 5th and E. 7th Streets, about a half-mile from our store. For more information feel free to give us a call at 704.375.7463, or e-mail us directly.

And in case you don’t know, the Charlotte Minicon was founded in 1977 by Shelton Drum, who at the time was selling comics at flea markets. The Minicon was the seed that led not only to the creation of our store in 1980, but also the mighty HeroesCon, which you might have heard something about on this site before. Last year saw the return of the once-yearly Minicon, in honor of its 30th anniversary. Join us on January 19 to ring in the start of its fourth decade!

That’s right, sports fans! 2008 is here, and we’re kicking our inexorable march to HeroesCon 08 into high gear. Yesterday we put up the bare bones of our Event Schedule, on which we’ll be hanging the many panels, workshops, and special events as we announce them throughout the coming months.

Also up now, in response to the passionate requests of many of you, are the lists of people who have purchased Small Press space in Artists Alley, as well as Exhibitors. The Small Press list appears at the bottom of our Guest List and Indie Island pages, and the Exhibitor list is, well, on the Exhibitor page. While the line between getting your forms in and payment confirmed to actually being listed on our website is not the straightest line in the world, if your name is not on one of these lists as of RIGHT NOW, then you are not on our list. Once we get your form and payment, your name appearing on one of these lists will act as confirmation.

Also, let me point out now: space at HeroesCon 08 is going to be at an incredible premium this year: our guest list will be far larger than any of the over 25 years of HeroesCon’s, and dealer space is sure to sell out far sooner than usual. There are already over 30 dealers confirmed and paid in full, and it’s still over 5 months from the convention itself. Remember, the ONLY WAY to reserve space at HeroesCon 08 is to pay IN FULL! This goes double for Small Press spaces–Indie Island is already twice as big as it has ever been, and there will be far fewer spaces available for sale. If you’re planning on purchasing a space in Artists Alley, you can e-mail me directly or call us here at 704.375.7462. I’ll be seating persons on a first-come, first-served basis, starting at the edge of Indie Island and moving outward into the hall. So the earlier you get in, the closer to the center of the hall you’ll be!

GIANT announcements are in store for next week, so stay tuned! And Happy New Year!

Happy New Year, everybody! In honor of the auspicious occasion of this first day of 2008, we’re unveiling a TON of new HeroesCon stuff, and kicking off our march toward June and HeroesCon 08!

So, first up, we’ve just added four new guests to our HeroesCon 08 Guest List! We’re stoked to welcome back HeroesCon stalwart supporters: Terry Cronin, head of 3 Boys Productions and publisher of the Students of the Unusual anthology book, has just signed on to appear in Indie Island, no doubt with a cadre of the artists he publishes. Returning to promote his own forthcoming BloodRed (from Oni Press) and run workshops in conjuntion with the Savannah College of Art & Design workshop program is Shawn Crystal. Joining them are Jubilee and Connor Hawke artist Derec Donovan, not to mention Alex Saviuk, longtime Marvel artist on books including Web of Spider-Man and the current Spider-Man newspaper strips.

Best of all, now that we’re actually into 2008, we’re sure to get a ton of confirmations–get ready for the biggest HeroesCon ever! More coming up later today, as we continue to roll out more HeroesCon news.

Well, I’ve been trying to tell you guys that we had some big names in store for January’s Charlotte Minicon–just added to the roster are Andy Smith (52, World War III, Klaw) and Budd Root (Cavewoman), both of whom are always in high demand for sketches at shows.

And if they aren’t enough, Dave Johnson, the artist of Superman: Red Son and cover artist for every issue of the acclaimed 100 Bullets, has just signed up as well! Due to circumstances beyond his control, Dave was forced to cancel his appearance at last summer’s HeroesCon at the last minute, so this will be a great makeup-day for those of you who missed the chance to meet him! Not only that, but if you picked up one of the prints we had available at HeroesCon, featuring his INCREDIBLE badge images, you’ll be able to finally get it signed! And if you didn’t get one, don’t worry–we still have some left!

The Charlotte Minicon will go on January 19th in the Palmer Building at Fireman’s Hall–just a few blocks away from our store, at the corner of E. 7th and E. 5th Streets! The room will be jam-packed with dealers from all over the Southeast, and there are still more special guests we’ll be announcing in the weeks leading up to it, so stay tuned! Best of all, in lieu of admission, there’s a suggested donation of $3-$5 (or more, you’re so generous) to the MS Society for attendees–so you can not only enjoy a great 1-day comic convention, but help a great charity at the same time. Wow, you’re the best!

YOUR ATTENTION PLEASE:

The week of Christmas we will be receiving new books on Friday, Dec 28th; bring your Christmas money!

BUT WAIT THERE’S MORE:

The week of New Year’s, we will be receiving new books on Friday, January 5th; bring your New Year’s money!

THAT IS ALL.

[Apologies To John Hodgeman.]

Still more pro’s throwing their hat in the ring for HeroesCon 2008! Just added to our Guest List are Jason Aaron, writer of Scalped and The Other Side, and future writer of Wolverine and Ghost Rider; Jason Latour, the artist behind The Expatriate and the forthcoming Loose Ends title from 12 Gauge; and Robbi Rodriguez, the artist of Maintenance, Tek Jansen, and the upcoming Hazed graphic novel from Image! The two Jason’s are both members of the Atomic Revolver virtual studio, which also includes fellow guests Jeremy Haun and Tony Moore. Robbi has worked with half of the guys in that studio, and is a returning guest at the show. Where in the world are we going to fit everyone next summer? I know we can fit all the pro’s in, but I’m starting to wonder how we’ll fit all the fans! Stay tuned for more!

Holy Mackerel! Just added to the HeroesCon 08 Guest List is cartoonist Richard Thompson, the creator of the strip Cul de Sac and Richard’s Poor Almanac newspaper strips, both for the Washington Post! “Cul de Sac”–which Todd and I have recently discovered here in the office and are APE over–is a shockingly well-crafted strip, the story of a suburban family and their, er, hijinks. While Cul de Sac is funny–and plenty funny at that–what makes it so fun to read is the mix of loose, energetic art with a spot-on sense of timing and all-around knowledge of what makes comics “work.” Todd insists he’s been telling me to read Cul de Sac for “like months”, but it took a profile by Comics Reporter scribe Tom Spurgeon to make me take the plunge. Who can trust Todd? You shouldn’t.

While Cul de Sac and its older brother, the acerbic editorial strip “Richard’s Poor Almanac”, are currently published in the Washington Post, next year it’ll be syndicated in a number of papers nationwide–including our own Charlotte Observer! So if you are an Observer reader and like what you see when it starts, be sure and be vocal about it so they keep it around! And don’t miss the chance to welcome Richard to his very first HeroesCon next summer!

Kids Comics For Everyone!
I think one of my biggest discoveries this year was how incredibly good kid’s comics actually are. So for those 4-7 year olds I suggest Owly. No words, so if your kid can’t read yet, he can still be fully immersed in the story. For the young man superhero fan the Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man collections are inexpensive for the adult buyer and great fun for the kid reader. The Best of Archie in the… decades collections I think can be admired by anybody. In particular the collections focusing on the 50’s and 60’s which has beautiful, crisp cartooning to be admired by the connoisseurs and family-friendly stories for the rest, because its Archie and that’s what Archie does.

Bang for Your Buck: Essentials and Showcases
These massive black and white reprints are probably the best way to pick up old comics. Without the color you can see just how clear, crisp, and concise these classic artist were and you can get 500+ pages ranging from $10 to $17 and that’s awesome. On the “Essential” side of things I gotta go with Essential Iron Fist, Essential Ghost Rider Vol.1, and Essential Tomb of Dracula Vol.1-3. These are the funnest in the fun of 70’s comics and feature work by Gene Colan, John Byrne, and Mike Ploog that is just spectacular.

“Showcase” wise I’ll say they offer a greater variety of genre. Showcase Presents: Sgt. Rock for war comics (and Joe Kubert), Showcase Presents: Jonah Hex for western stuff, Showcase Presents: Adam Strange for 50’s sci-fi, and Showcase Presents: Legion of Superheroes for superhero adventure. These are all appropriate for kids but there are some darker themes in the Jonah Hex, Tomb of Dracula and Ghost Rider comics, so you parents should look through them first to see if they’re appropriate for you and yours.

Across the Board:
For Teens: Runaways Digest
For the Old School Fan: Spider-Man Visionaries: Robert Stern Vol.1 or Captain America: War and Remembrance
For the Kid Who Wants to Draw Comics: How to Draw Comics the Marvel Way
For the Fan with a Lot of Money to Blow: Absolute New Frontier
For the Oddballs: Punisher War Journal Vol.1 or Nextwave Vol.1-2

For Mature Readers Only
For the Manga Fan Who Is Ready To Make A Financial Commitment: Lone Wolf and Cub
For the Fan Who’s Looking for Something Really Different (But Can’t Put Their Finger On What): Cerebus. Try the High Society book at the very least.
For History Buffs: Kyle Baker’s Nat Turner
For the Hopeless Romantic: Apollo’s Song
For the No-Goodniks: Criminal Vol.1 or Scalped Vol.1
For the Widely Read Person: League of Extraordinary Gentlemen (I enjoyed it and I’m thinly read!)