HEROESCON 2013 :: GUEST LIST UPDATE :: GOLDEN! OLIFF! & MORE!
Today’s Guest List update is pretty awesome! Check it out!
Heroes Convention is in Charlotte, North Carolina, June 7-9 2013. Get your 3 day passes today! The full guest list (so far) is here.
We still need volunteers too!
MICHAEL GOLDEN – Artist: The Nam, Micronoauts, Dr. Strange, She-Hulk, Howard the Duck
DANIEL GOVAR – Artist: Azure
MIKE HENDERSON – Artist: Masks and Mobsters, TMNT, Banshee: Origins
VAN JENSEN – Writer: Pinocchio, Vampire Slayer, Green Lantern Corps
KONSTANTIN KOMARDIN – Artist: City Stories, Max Cooler
STEVE OLIFF – Digital Color Pioneer: Akira, Spawn, Sandman, The Maxx, Armature
MARK TEXEIRA – Artist: Wolverine, Ghost Rider, Moon Knight, Sabretooth, Jonah Hex
BILLY TUCCI – Artist: Shi, Sgt.Rock: The Lost Batallion, A Child Is Born
ROBERT VENDITTI – Writer: X-O Manowar, Demon Knights, Green Lantern
RENEE WITTERSTAETTER – Writer/Editor: Excess: The Art of Michael Golden, Joe Jusko: Savage Beauty, She-Hulk
MATT’S PICK :: ALIEN ILLUSTRATED STORY TP: Ohmanohmanohman! What an AWESOME week the comic shops have in store for us fan-boys AND girls! Its not every week we get hit with TWO Frederator Studio comic books. Boom Studios produces the finest all-ages books on the shelves. (The Mouse should have maintained his relationship with them.) The Adventure Time: Fiona and Cake mini-series is produced by the the same people who came up with the concept for the original F&C episode. Excellent reading. The other title, Bravest Warriors adds a lot of depth to this web-based Frederator cartoon. You can enjoy the comic or cartoon on their own, or get the full effect by enjoying them in tandem!
ANDY’S PICK(S):
JUSTIN’S PICK :: EC JACK DAVIS HC TAINT MEAT IT’S HUMANITY: Jack Davis is the cartoonist’s cartoonist, a man whose sheer command of his craft is universally praised. His style is at once elastic and iconoclastic; whether it’s horror or humor (or somewhere in between), Davis’ inimitable work is instantly recognizable. As a youngster, he was one of the first cartoonists I knew by name. And here’s a book to treasure: a lovely volume collecting all of Davis’ seminal work from EC Comics’ Tales From the Crypt. These are the comics that set an incredibly high bar for sequential art, and also caused a national uproar for their daring and graphic content. By modern standards they may seem tame, but make no mistake: this was heady stuff for its time. Davis was at the epicenter of that controversy, turning out highly detailed, expressive work that is matchless in its quality. Pick up this book (or IDW’s MAD Artist’s Edition, or Fantagraphics’ Jack Davis Drawing American Pop Culture, et al.) to find out why.
The most important aesthetic breakthrough in comics in the 21st century is the increased attention (by both artists and critics) to the picture plane, the exploration of comics as a rapturous visual experience as well as a vehicle for narrative. The book most responsible for this shift is the anthology Kramers Ergot #4 (2003), which juxtaposed the deliberately crude, resolutely non-narrative aesthetics of Fort Thunder cartoonists like Mat Brinkman and Leif Goldberg with such story-based work as Jeffrey Brown’s autobio strips, Sammy Harkham’s Poor Sailor, and early excerpts from Frank M. Young and David Lasky’s Carter Family graphic novel. This mix of approaches made reading Kramers #4 a disorienting experience, a book that, in 
SETH’S PICK :: BATMAN LI’L GOTHAM #1 :: On paper, it looks like a standout week for new books. There are sure things like Hawkeye #9, Saga #12, a new Marvel Oz hardcover, and books you should be reading if you aren’t already, like Sledgehammer 44 #2 and Rocketeer: Hollywood Horror #3. I’ll pick all of these up, but have chosen as my official staff pick, this delightful new series from Dustin Nguyen. At first glance it might look like DC is trying to jump on the ‘baby variant’ bandwagon, but for those who don’t know, Nguyen started producing these stories as digital only releases last year. Having read many of the stories online, I’m excited to see them enter our glorious realm of print. These are fun all ages comics that feature diminutive versions of Batman and his extended family of heroes and foes on holiday themed adventures. They’re perfect for young readers or any adult fans who appreciate lighthearted palate cleansers. 
Bonus Pick of the Week: Most of you know that the majority of the Heroes staff is comprised of creative people. Several of us are in various stages of developing our comic work. Rico, of course, colors world class comics all the time, and others like Bridgit are quickly developing into creators on the rise. Add to that list our own Justin Crouse, who contributed art to three stories in a new book on the shelves this week. Pick up Center of Gravity from Low Key Comics and see what Justin works on outside of Heroes. I’m particularly fond of the first story “Monkey Bars.” There are some nice, quiet moments in it that remind you of Justin’s skill as a visual storyteller.
RICO’S PICK :: GODZILLA: HALF CENTURY WAR #5: This concludes James Stokoe’s Godzilla opus. If you haven’t been along for the ride I’d recommend picking up the trade when it comes out. Before this series, only the great and powerful Arthur Adams could make me this excited about Godzilla in comic book form! You know the Big G is gonna wreck shop in this finale issue! SKREEEEEEEEEOOONGK!
