The Heroes family is in mourning today: Sunday, August 12, fan favorite artist and HeroesCon regular Mike Wieringo suffered a heart attack and passed away. Mike was the artist behind many popular runs on big-name characters like Spider-Man, the Fantastic Four, Flash, and many more. He was also the co-creator, along with writer and close friend Todd Dezago, of Tellos. He was just 44 years old.

The unbelievable news of Mike’s death overnight was the first thing I heard this morning—it’s still impossible to accept. He was a fan at the 1985 Heroes Convention, his first one, and I had the opportunity to meet him that year. He was of course an aspiring young artist, and I thought he showed a lot of promise. He never missed another con after that first trip. I watched him work on his art from year to year, and was so proud of him when he got those first independent jobs; then practically overnight he was a pro. His art took on a life of its own, and besides his artistic talents, he became one of the most universally respected and loved creators in the industry. And at the same time, Mike was becoming a part of our/my family. He was like a brother or a son to me, and established himself as firmly with my staff and the fans. He would have done anything for me—and many times, did–and I would have for him. That’s one of the things that being a family means, doing things for one another out of love.

In many ways, Mike embodies everything that I love about comics; in a very real way, he represents our closest friends and “family” members. When we refer to the HeroesCon “family”, it’s Mike Wieringo that we’re talking about. When we say that we’re excited to see everybody this summer, it’s Mike Wieringo that we can’t wait to see. And when we talk about how much we love and cherish the many pro’s and fans that make what we do possible, it’s Mike Wieringo that we’re loving and cherishing.

And next year, when we come together again and remember the friends we’ve lost, it’ll be Mike Wieringo that we’re missing. I am proud to have known Mike for the past 22 years and to have c­alled him friend and brother. Thanks for the wonderful art, support and memories, and most of all, for your friendship. Rest in peace, Mike.

Next weekend I’ll be attending this year’s Toronto Comic Art Festival, aptly located in Toronto, Ontario. I’ve been curious about this somewhat new convention for a while now; it has a hugely positive reputation among creators and the attending public (just like us), is run by a well-respected, pro-active comics store (us, too), and promotes appreciation of and participation in comics and the comics industry (that’s so us!). Their guest list isn’t too shabby either, including Darwyn Cooke, Paul Pope, James Jean, Chester Brown, Seth… et cetera. With any luck I’ll be bringing back some guest list announcements for HeroesCon; but I’ll definitely be up there promoting the show, hobnobbing, and generally trying not to embarass us in front of Canada, or pee myself while talking to Chester Brown. Wish me luck! For more info check out the TCAF site! Not to mention The Beguiling, the store that organizes the show–besides being a nice shop, they sell TONS of original art on their site.

In the next week there’s some good stuff happening in and around town; it looks as if it’ll be a busy weekend for this hirsute individual.

Perhaps the second greatest submarine movie of all time will be playing this Friday and Saturday at the Ballantyne Village Theatre. Is it The Hunt for Red October? Or Run Silent, Run Deep? Maybe The Enemy Below? These are all good guesses, but, sadly, quite incorrect. I speak of Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan. At 9:40 and Midnight, you’ll be able to partake in a tale of war and remembrance, of vengeance and loss. Don’t you judge me, you unterseaboot snobs! And best of all, we have a limited number of free passes available in the store–come by beforehand to pick yours up, and then enjoy the show!

Additionally, there are some excellent shows coming up in the next week at local watering hole Snug Harbor :

Tonight (Friday, August 10) local boys Bullship will be playing with Chapel Hill’s North Elementary. I have it on good authority that Dustin Harbin will be in attendance, and will almost certainly be accepting any beverages our customers would like to purchase for him. For those of you who’ve never heard Bullship, Dustin describes them as “…kind of like the weirdest, oddest, most relaxing music you’ll hear in a rock club this year. Kind of.” Thanks, Dustin.

On Saturday, August 11, former Guided by Voices guitarist and current solo artist Doug Gillard will be playing with Charlotte’s own Fence Lions . See who Creative Loafing’s John Schacht called “a master axe-man with an uncanny ear for just the right hook in just the right place.” You’ll also get the chance to check out Fence Lions, one of the best of the recent crop of excellent local bands. Swing by the store if you want to give a listen to their new CD. If you like what you hear, they’ve got another show coming up in September.

Next Wednesday, August 15, Snug Harbor will feature the Charlotte version of a supergroup, Nitehawk . Current and past members of Snagglepuss, Tyre Fyre, Babyshaker, Buschovski and The Houstons are part of the most over-qualified cover band in Music History. It’s like Damn Yankees, but, y’know, good (Rusty swears to me he enjoyed it!). Plus, if they make lots of money, my girlfriend gets paid more, and I am all around happier. Thusly, you receive most excellent customer service. It is the circle of (retail) life.

Snug Harbor is located at 1228 Gordon St., just up Pecan Avenue from our store. We’ll see you there!

In our quest to broaden the focus of our blog/Hotline/website media onslaught, this week we debut a new feature: SWEET/NOT SWEET. We know that what you want is more of our opinions. We hear you! But why limit these opinions to just comics? Why, we’ve got opinions on nearly everything! For our debut installment, we turn the somewhat dubious spotlight that blogging provides on young employee and former jockey Daniel Von Egidy–have at you, Daniel!

SWEET: The Bourne Ultimatum
The saga of Jason Bourne comes to a satisfying conclusion. This movie has a tight script and doesn’t try to pull any big shock-a-roonies with the title character’s past. All the important questions get answered, and we’re treated to some great chase scenes. Probably the best of the three.

NOT SWEET: Detective Comics
Paul Dini’s stories are awesome but the sporadic fashion in which they come out isn’t. For every two issues we get of Dini, we get another two of fill-ins. A regular team that doesn’t put out work regularly can be a hard sell for fans. With Dini occupied with Countdown and Madam Mirage, this doesn’t look like it will change soon.

SWEET: Immortal Iron Fist
The best comparison I’ve heard about this book is that it’s like reading Frank Miller’s Daredevil before it got big. This is a densely plotted, clever, and always fun book. Matt Fraction’s off the wall ideas blends with Ed Brubaker’s deft characterization and David Aja’s agile artwork to build a magnificent mythology for the Iron Fist.

NOT SWEET: This Weather
100 Degrees for a straight week is not okay. It’s just not.

SWEET: Looney Tunes DVD’s
I’ve been renting these from our neighbors at VisArt and they are just great. They really don’t make em’ like this anymore and they’re a good way to while away the time whether you’re 5 or 54.

NOT SWEET: Darwyn Cooke Leaving The Spirit
Cooke announced that he’s leaving the book with issue 12. Nobody expected him to do it forever and I can understand not wanting to go on without your friend & collaborator (like Zeppelin) but it still stinks. Now we’ll never see his Sand Serif story.

written by J. Michael Straczynski
art by Oliver Coipel

Reviewed by Daniel Von Egidy

Thor was cancelled in 2004 as part of Marvel’s reshuffling of the Avengers line. Since then Captain America, Iron Man, and the Avengers have all been relaunched to mucho sales but Thor has stalled at the starting gates. Mark Millar and Neil Gaiman were both attached to it before becoming busy with something else but now J. Michael Straczynski and Oliver Coipel have finally got this thing up and running.

I personally think that leaving the character dead for this long (three years) was a good idea. If you think about it, his absence in the Marvel Universe has allowed everything to transpire the way it has from House of M to Civil War to now with World War Hulk. I hope Marvel waits at least this long before they bring Captain America back.

The major complaint from the online fans about this title thus far is the fact that nothing seems to be happening and it’s all talk. I can understand that but I also understand that there needs to be set-up, simply because the character has been gone so long and so much has changed. The story of the first two issues can be summed up pretty quick. Issue One: Thor and Donald Blake come back; Issue Two: Thor rebuilds Asgard and decides to go find his fellow gods. The plot’s pretty light but JMS builds around it with flowery narration, reflective moments, and humorous interludes.

There are two things that I L-U-V about this new Thor. The first thing is that Donald Blake, Thor’s original mortal alter ego is back. I think I’m one of the few that prefer Lee/Kirby’s Thor run to their Fantastic Four run and I’d recommend the Essential Thor volumes to anyone. So I have a great affection for the character of Blake, and it seems like no alter ego since the lame doctor has been quite as good. The other thing is Thor’s new characterization. This isn’t the Thor who screamed about the glory of Asgard in Shakespearian dialogue. This is a Thor for the post-Lord of the Rings world. In a lot of ways JMS’s version of Thor is a lot like Aragorn. His speech is formal and he has a quiet dignity about him now. Read Thor’s dialogue with Viggo Mortensson in your head and it fits.

But it’s artist Oliver Coipel who carries a lot of the weight of the story here and he just nails it. This guy is like a mix of Kevin Maguire and Jim Lee. This guy could illustrate a book about the life cycle of grass and make it dynamic and beautiful. And I also think that his redesigns of Thor’s suit and Asgard are pretty cool too, and I bet a little closer to the Norse origins than Kirby’s sci-fi inspired designs. It’s all very Xanadu.

If any of this lovely reviewing hasn’t convinced you to give this a look than maybe the third issue will because it looks like Thor’s gonna be seeing Iron Man again and we just can’t get enough of that jerk getting his. Thor and Hulk should start some sort of “Bleep Iron Man” support group.