ANDY’S PICK :: DEAD BOY DETECTIVES #2: Attention all fans of of Neil Gaiman’s Sandman and Bill Willingham’s Fables:  Mark Buckingham— the insanely talented artist of the latter takes charge (co-writing and drawing) of two of the most beloved supporting characters from the former. Our deceased yet upbeat and ever so polite British sleuths, Charles and Edwin formerly (and presently) of St. Hilarion’s School join forces with the young and lovely (can Buckingham draw women any other way?–I suggest–no, he cannot) Crystal as the three investigate look into the past to uncover the truth about the  one’s who (as Eliza Doolittle might say) ‘Done them in‘.  Don’t miss this series.

Charlotte’s longest running comic convention returns this weekend! Featuring great vendors and comic creators including: Skottie Young, Rich Case, Sanford Greene, Jason Latour, Andy Smith, Rob Ullman, & many more!

Register now for FREE admission and don’t forget to bring a non-perishable food item for Second Harvest Food Bank!

Guest List:

Natalie Andrewson
Duane Ballenger
Chad Bowers
J Chris Campbell
Joel Carroll
Rich Case
Sage Coffey
Jeremy Dale
Bo Fader
Billy Fowler
FRANK comics
Randy Green
Sanford Greene
John Hairston Jr
Dustin Harbin
Sandy Jarrell
Cassie Hart Kelly
Jason Latour
Jackie Lewis
Cara McGee
Chris McJunkin
Brockton McKinney
Kevin Mellon
Drew Moss
Out of Step Arts
Eraklis Petmezas
Buddy Prince
Pat Quinn
Budd Root
Bridgit Schiede
Hoyt Silva
Andy Smith
Rebel Stars Studio
Spandex Splinters
Ben Towle
Robert Ullman
Brittney Williams
Kelly Yates
Skottie Young

ANDY’S PICK :: PLANETARY is a super-group comprised of Elijah Snow, Jakita Wagner, and The Drummer. They are the greatest power trio since RUSH and perhaps  CREAM (but not GRAND FUNK— you got a problem with that?).  This is far and away my favorite superhero series from the past ten years.  There is more to think about, revel in and just plain enjoy than just about any other series I can think of.  And if the story by Warren Ellis, firing on all cylinders  isn’t enough– but it is–I swear– then how about 500 pages of art from John Cassaday?  A while back,   the Heroes Discussion Group focused on PLANETARY and it was one of the best round tables we’ve ever had. Archetypes Ahoy!! This is well work a Grant, a Jackson and a Lincoln (yet another famed power trio!).  This is a book you will read and re-read many times.This omnibus collects PLANETARY #1-27, PLANETARY/BATMAN #1, PLANETARY/JLA #1 and PLANETARY/AUTHORITY #1.

SETH’S PICK :: DEADLY CLASS #1: You’ve undoubtedly heard one or more Heroes staffers extolling the recent virtues of writer Rick Remender.  With quality work on titles like Captain America, Uncanny Avengers, and Black Science, Remender is approaching that sought after balance between writing big mainstream super hero comics and critically acclaimed creator-owned titles.  This week Remender returns with yet another new creator owned series for Image: Deadly Class.  Produced in collaboration with artist Wesley Craig, this series set in the ’80s features disaffected high school students who happen to study at a school for world class assassins.  It’s all the angst of high school combined with the frenetic energy of an action movie.  With yet another promising new series (Low) coming from Image later this year, Remender continues to reiterate his place among the comic writing elite. 

JUSTIN’S PICK :: TEENAGE MUTANT NINJA TURTLES UTROM EMPIRE #1: I’m a Turtles guy, and this three issue miniseries fleshes out the plans of warlord Krang and his assistant Baxter Stockman to complete their Technodrome and devastate the Earth. There are enough reference points in that sentence to perk the ears of any Turtles fan, but the real, true reason I’m blathering about this comic book can be boiled down to a single name: Andy Kuhn. This guy is one of the most criminally underrated artists working today. His clean, high contrast style adapts incredibly well to anything he chooses to work on (see his creator-owned Firebreather with Phil Hester, or issue #33 of Secret Avengers he did with Rick Remender to see what I mean). Any time Andy lays pen-to-paper, I’m there; that he’s back on the Turtles only sweetens the deal.

Pre-order your very own Skottie Young commemorative Charlotte MiniCon T-shirt today!

Shirts will be available for pick-up at Charlotte MiniCon on Saturday, January 25, 2014 at the Fine Print Shoppe table. Any orders not picked up at the show will ship after that date.

Order now to make sure you get the size, color and fit you want.

Shirts are 17 plus $3 shipping in the US, no international orders please.

ADD NOTE TO SELLER at checkout to SPECIFY SHIRT COLOR!

Colors available:
• black (light purple print)
• heavy metal (light purple print)
• indigo (light purple print)
• heather gray (light purple print)
• light gray (dark purple print)
• yellow (dark purple print)
• white (dark purple print)

Colors may vary slightly between your monitor and the actual garment.

Next Level Apparel t-shirts. Sizing runs similar to American Apparel.
•4.3 oz. 100% combed cotton jersey
•Tear away label

Click here to get yours!

JUSTIN’S PICK :: BLACK DYNAMITE #1: Black Dynamite has gotten staggering mileage for a cult-spoof introduced a half-decade ago. Some things – pomade, French fries, Blaxploitation – just never go out of style. Writer Brian Ash penned the wonderful (and now evidently rare) Slave Island one shot for Ape Entertainment in 2011; now, IDW is serving up the funky fury, with Ash aided and abetted by Ron Wimberly (!) and Sal Buscema (!!!). This is the first of a four issue series, so sharpen your ninja stars, break out the Nag Champa, and settle in for some quality funnybook entertainment.

BONUS PICK :: SAVAGE DRAGON ARCHIVES TP VOL 3: Plagued by delays, volume three of Erik Larsen’s Savage Dragon Archives finally hits the stands. This bargain collection – in the format of Marvel’s Essential and DC’s Showcase trades – is the easiest and most affordable way to catch up on Image’s most underrated ongoing. This volume really drives home how daring Larsen is as a creator; for example, Dragon’s not even the star at the outset! It’s the sensational She-Dragon at that point! This third volume of Archives ramps up the crazy, culminating in the series-shattering issue 75, where everything changed forever. If you’re sick of the spurious changes and relentless retcons of most mainstream superhero mags, Savage Dragon is your safety haven.

ANDY’S PICK :: MIRACLEMAN #1: Short and sweet.  Buy this comic book.  Forget about all the litigious baggage this series carries and revel in a great (not good–GREAT) comic series that changed things up in the superhero world as much as Dark Knight and Watchmen.  This is Alan Moore’s re-imagining the Captain Marvel legend (changed to Marvelman then Miracleman for British publication) tailor made for a modern audience.  I don’t want to give anything away.  Just buy it and make sure you have Justin add MIRACLEMAN to your subscriber pull-list.  The book just gets better and better.  Issues 14 to 16 will take your breath away and then Neil Gaiman takes over and the results are truly sponge-worthy!!  I can’t wait!!!!

RICO’S PICK :: ADVENTURE TIME: The FLIP SIDE: There are a bunch of comics I’m excited about this week. Minimum Wage #1, Black Widow #1, and the conclusion of Fantomex are all worth a look. Adventure Time: The Flip Side features art by Wook Jin Clark (whose awesome OGN MegaGoGo comes out next month!) and it’s written by Paul Tobin and Colleen Coover. Check it out!

ANDY’S PICK :: ART OF HARVEY KURTZMAN HC  is a fine career retrospective from Denis Kitchen that is offered again from the good folks at ABRAMS.  The book is subtitled, “The MAD Genius of Comics” highlighting Kurtzman’s role as the creator of MAD Magazine.  That alone would make Kurtzman a first ballot Hall of Famer (no steroids here) , but Kurtzman deserves recognition for developing the Modern War Comic in two famous must-read EC titles Two Fisted Tales and Front Line Combat.  And to add yet another layer to the legacy, with his humor magazine titles Trump and Humbug, Kurtzman unwittingly became the patron saint of the ’60s Underground Comix as well as  Independent Comics publishers that followed in their wake.  It matter not if you know a lot or a little about this talented visionary; this is a terrific book for your library.