You know that it will. That Michael Golden art is totally sweet.

I’ve updated the Promo page at our website, and will be adding banners in different shapes and sizes over the next few weeks, including some with wild moving pieces and flashing portions of the Guest List and so forth. If you have a particular size in mind you’d like (other than the accepted standard sizes like 468×60, etc.) feel free to let me know privately, and I’ll see if I can whip something up for you.

To download a banner, just go to the Promo page and right-click (or Option-click, or Apple-click, or whatever you zany Mac users do) the image and download it to wherever you need it to go to get on your site. All’s I ask is that you point the image’s link towards us at: http://www.heroesonline.com/heroescon.html

More to come!

LORD LORD LORD! The march toward HeroesCon continues this week, with 4 new additions to the HeroesCon 09 Guest List:

BOOLA BOOLA BOOLA! I’ve made no secret over the years that Cliff Chiang is one of my favorite people in comics–they just don’t come any sweeter than this dude, who is a straight-up prince. I wish I read more DC comics, because it’s rare for me to actually have the pleasure of reading comics he’s worked on… The above image is from one of the many fine sketches he did at last year’s HeroesCon–just look at that! No one walks away with a Cliff Chiang sketch thinking they got gypped, for sure.

But Cliff isn’t the only stud joining the list this week. He’s joined by the following tough guys:

BUZZ has worked all over comics on titles including X-Factor, JSA, and Vampirella. Look for his upcoming book Luna Moonhunter.

MARC DEERING is no stranger to HeroesCon, and a super tough inker to boot. Recent credits include Miranda Mercury and GI Joe.

BRIAN DENHAM is making his first ever trip to HeroesCon this year. If you haven’t see his current work on the X-Files comic, you may have seen him on Nova, Thunderbolts, or the recent Iron Man: Hypervelocity miniseries.

Okay! More to come STILL–people are falling all over themselves to get on the list!

YES LORD! This summer Mark Bagley returns to HeroesCon, after an absence of a few years–in fact, I think the last time we’ve seen Mark may have been at one of the first few Free Comic Book Day shindigs we ever had. Although I could be wrong–Shelton’s memory is better than mine for dates and stuff.

ANYway, Mark is coming HERE in JUNE for HEROESCON! He’s one of the most consistent on-time dudes in the business, with some incredibly lengthy continuous runs on books like Ultimate Spider-Man, Amazing Spider-Man, and a little weekly book you may have heard of called Trinity. We’re pleased as punch to welcome Mark back–but he’s not alone! Also this week we added 4 other suh-weet names to the list:

NATHAN EDMONDSON is an excellent dude to NOT get into a bar fight with, as I discovered last year in the Westin hotel bar. What is the deal with drunk people hanging out in BARS all the time? Anyway, Nathan is also a writer of some skill–look for his upcoming book Olympus, from Image!

CHARLIE KIRCHOFF is a studly colorist, with work on a TON of Doctor Who books, including the recent hit Doctor Who: The Forgotten, as well as Angel: After The Fall and Spike: After The Fall; and my favorite, the new Zombies That Ate The World, over our buddy Guy Davis!

SUNNY LEE has worked in comics on and off in comics for the last ten years, most notably on Superboy, Young Justice, and Wolverine, and most recently on the Gen 13 relaunch.

And our new buddy MARK MCHALEY comes to us from the wild world of trading card art, where we got turned on to him through the lovely Allison Sohn. Mark has had work in a ton of different trading card sets including Star Wars Galaxy 4, Indiana Jones Masterpieces, and Batman Archives.

Okay–there’s STILL a sheaf of names I need to work through, so if you’ve contacted me and haven’t seen your name yet, I’m working my way towards you! Look for another update next week, right here!

As I try to work my way down through my pile of guest list confirmations (it’s huge), not to mention the tons of e-mails I still need to return (even huger), I am starting finally to if not catch up, then at least start to pull abreast of the influx of guests. Just added to our HeroesCon Guest List this week are the following studbolts:

JOHN BEATTY is one of the best artists and inkers in comics, period. He is probably most well-known for his stint inking the legendary Mike Zeck on acclaimed runs on Punisher and Captain America, plus work on Secret Wars, Batman, and a zillion others.

JEREMY DALE is an illustrator best known for his work on the popular GI Joe comics for Hasbro, with writer Larry Hama. He’s also had art in Popgun and Wildguard, and is currently working on upcoming books from the Big Two.

SHANNON GALLANT also has worked on GI Joe comics, in this case the upcoming IDW movie prequels featuring Duke and Destro; as well as Monsters Vs. Aliens and Mack Bolan: Executioner.

CASEY JONES is practically a member of the staff, so helpful is he every year in putting on the show. But fortunately, since we don’t pay him, he’s a fan-favorite comics artist as well, most recently on New Warriors and Marvel Adventures: Avengers.

DANIEL WAY has become a member of our little HeroesCon family over the last few years, as well as one of the hottest writers at Marvel Comics. He’s probably most closely associated with Wolverine, as the writer of the longrunning Wolverine: Origins, as well as the upcoming Dark Wolverine series tying into the current Dark Avengers kerfuffle. And this isn’t even mentioning his work on Ghost Rider!

Okay, look for MORE additions to the list next week, to be followed by another Indie Island update around the beginning of March! The “march” to HeroesCon 2009 is indeed on!

Oh yes! Just added to our HeroesCon 09 Guest List, as part of Indie Island, is a star-studded indie cavalcade of ingenious independent impresarios. That may be overstating it a little bit, but hey–this is the Internet, after all. But enough of this blather: witness!

LIZ BAILLIE is totally awesome, believe you me. She’s the author of the My Brain Hurts series, as well as the new Sing Along Forever, and is a regular contributor to indie anthologies like the AWESOME Anthology!

FRED CHAO is just as awesome as Liz, but a little taller. He’s also the cartoonist behind Johnny Hiro from AdHouse Books–I believe a collected edition might be coming out later in the year. EXCITEMENT!

RACHEL FREIRE is a relative newcomer, but HER new book FCHS from AdHouse looks kind of amazing. It’s also written by our old chum Vito Delsante, who is also kind of amazing. So are you!

CARLA SPEED MCNEIL is returning triumphantly to HeroesCon after like… jeez, I can’t even remember when she was here last. It might have been LAST MILLENIUM!! Either way, she’s been producing her acclaimed self-published series Finder since the latter days of the 20th century–it’s already classic!

JIM OTTAVIANI is so friendly it reminds you of how you wished you were more nicer to people. Not you of course, but other, less nice people. When he’s not saving puppies from burning orphanages, he’s the writer behind the science-inflected Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards, and Suspended In Language!

MK REED is know both far and wide for her excellent writing, especially on her Ignatz-winning story in Papercutter #8, not to mention Cross Country and I Will Feast On Your Whore Heart. Whoa, MK, language!

Whew! Okay, still more to come as I work my way through this stack of forms, but I’m starting to, if not catch up, at least get into a rhythm. Signs point to TWO updates to our Guest List next week! See you then!

This just in! New to the HeroesCon 09 Guest List on this fine Friday afternoon are some fine, fine fellows. I say Witness:

GEORGE BRODERICK JR :: has worked all over the place, most recently for Bongo on books like Radioactive Man and the Simpsons Super Spectacular; as well as for Moonstone on Kolchak the Night Stalker!

VITO DELSANTE :: is a sweet dude and an up-and-comer; besides writing in the past for Superman and Scooby-Doo, this year will see the premiere of his new book from AdHouse Books, FCHS–first as a FREE Comic Book Day book, and later as graphic novel!

BOB MCLEOD :: is no stranger to X-Men fans OR HeroesCon. He’s most noted as the co-creator of the New Mutants, as well as creator of the Superhero ABC book, and editor of Rough Stuff Magazine.

THOMAS SCIOLI :: is the creator of the Xeric-winning The Myth of 8-Opus, as well as the artist of the popular Godland series!

Okay! I’m looking at my “to-do” list of guests to announce and they are seriously starting to back up, so expect weekly additions from pretty much here to June! And have a great weekend!

Just added to the HeroesCon 2009 Guest List are an old chum and a new chum. Adam Hughes is one of the most reconizable and sought-after artists in comics, and one of our very dearest and best friends. He and fellow new-to-2009-guest-list-artist Allison Sohn are part of the “spine” of the convention, which is hard to imagine without them, frankly.
Loston Wallace is no stranger to HeroesCon either. And this year sees the release of his new book Lorna Relic Wrangler from Image Comics!

David Petersen is the creator of the extra-super-popular comic Mouse Guard, now in its second series. David’s making his very first appearance at a HeroesCon, joining what promises to be our most massive Indie Island yet, which already includes luminaries like Jeff Smith, Ben Templesmith, and a bunch more, and to which we’ll be adding half a dozen MORE names to next week!

This year’s HeroesCon is already shaping up to be IMMENSE! Look for announcements over the coming weeks regarding more HUGE names, some brand new incentives, and more! And don’t miss the Charlotte Minicon this weekend!

As I type, 2008 is almost gone; I am already looking forward to 2009, I must admit. But I wanted to remind everyone who might see this in the next 6 hours or so that today is the last day to get your HeroesCon 2009 advance 3-day passes for just $25. As of tomorrow, they’ll be $30 apiece.

We’ll most likely be closing early tonight, sometimes after 6pm, depending on how much business there is. So if you can’t get us on the phone at 704.375.7462, just go download the ticket form, print and fill it out with your charge info, and fax it to us at 704.375.7464. Any faxes we receive before midnight will be honored at the $25 price.

Thanks to everyone who has already purchased their tickets–2009 looks like a MASSIVE year for HeroesCon. And to all of you, please have a safe and happy New Year’s! See you next year!

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!

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!