RICO’S PICK :: ONE TRICK RIP OFF/DEEP CUTS HC: Whoa! New/old Paul Pope comics! For the first time in color by Jamie Grant (All-Star Superman).  ONE TRICK RIP-OFF/DEEP-CUTS is 288 pages comics by Pope, of which over 150 pages are comprised of new, rare, and never before seen stories created during Pope’s time traveling the world in the ’90s. Included also, Pope’s work created for Kodansha in Japan, appearing here in print for the first time. 

While were pushing hard to get ready for the Charlotte MiniCon this month (register for your FREE pass here) we can’t forget about the big show coming up in June! We have a bunch of great guests to tell you about today! Get your HeroesCon 2013 tickets here, don’t miss the fun!

Please give a warm welcome back to Ming Doyle! Ming combines science fiction, super powers and sports in her new miniseries Mara (with Brian Wood) and we are happy she is returning to HeroesCon this year!

Tom Fleming is a talented painter who has worked on titles such as KULL, Elektra, Vampirella, Heavy Metal, Magic: The Gathering and many more!

Artist Tom Lyle is also returning to HeroesCon 2013.  Tom has illustrated numerous books like Spider-man, Robin,Punisher and Batman.  He’s also an instructor at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD)!

Mark McHaley began his career when he was just 19 years old and since then he has illustrated for countless companies. Recently has done a wide array of sketch cards including DC Universe: Legacy, Indiana Jones: Heritage, Star Wars Galaxy 5 and Lord of the Rings: Masterpieces II. Check out his website for more!

Joe Quinones is well, I’m just going to let the beautiful Captain Marvel cover below do the talking. Geez Joe!

Robbi Rodriguez has self published 2 volumes of his acid western comic Frankie Get Your Gun and is working on the 3rd now. His first comics work was 2004’s Hero Camp followed by Image titles which include Night Club, 24seven vol.2 and Hazed. He also illustrated Stephen Colbert’s Tek Jansen and the Harvey nominated series Maintenance, published by Oni Press. Look for his new monthly series Collider from Vertigo later this year!

Tony Shasteen was the illustrator behind the Burn Notice graphic novel for DC Comics and USA Network, the Talisman graphic novel, co-written by Stephen King and Peter Straub, and 12 Gauge/Image Comic’s The Occult Crimes Taskforce (the O.C.T.), co-created by David Atchison and Rosario Dawson.

Tim Townsend pleased our eyes with his immaculate inks on Chris Bachalo’s Wolverine and the X-Men art in 2012 and this year he’s on Marvels big re-launch of Uncanny X-Men with Bendis and Bachalo. He’s been inking Marvel Comics for 20 years, stop by and wish him a happy anniversary!

Maris Wicks wowed us a few years ago with her beautiful Yes, Let’s comic and has continued to show that she is comfortable with all aspects of comic storytelling. From doing covers for Bravest Warriors and Adventure Time to writing scripts for Spongebob Comics. Check out her blog for more great drawings of your favorite superheroes as you’ve never seen them before!
Kubert School grad Thom Zahler’s Love and Capes series is a fan favorite. He has won awards for both his graphic design and illustration work. He is also a recurring presence on Cleveland broadcast media, both television and radio. He recently made the jump to the national spotlight as a contestant on the syndicated version of “Who Wants To Be a Millionaire?” where he won $32,000. He could have gone farther, but he didn’t know who the heck Charles Goren was.

RICO’S PICK :: IMAGE FIRSTS: Dollar comics! Brand new dollar comics! Image Firsts are new printings of the 1st issues of some of Image’s best books. CHEW, FATALE, MANHATTAN PROJECTS, REVIVAL, SAGA and a few more are being offered this week at a low $1 cover price. This is a great time to try a series that you’ve been hearing about without making a big investment.

JUSTIN’S PICK :: BODY BAGS TP VOL 02 : This Christmas, give the gift of outstanding action and cartoon violence with this collection of sundry one-shots by the inimitable Jason Pearson. Hitman Clownface always has a hard time managing his overly-enthusiastic daughter/protégé Panda, and hilarity subsequently ensues. A little John Woo, a little Michael Golden, and presto. And if you haven’t read volume one, by all means, be my guest.

SETH’S PICK :: MULITPLE WARHEADS: ALPHABET TO INFINITY #2: Okay, I know this is a little longwinded for a staff pick, but bear with me on this one.  I admittedly jumped on the Brandon Graham bandwagon late.  I didn’t read King City in single issues, and didn’t buy the trade when it debuted.  In fact, the first thing I read by him was a short story in Dark Horse Presents called The Speaker.  Still, that impressed me enough to get me to buy Mulitple Warheads #1 (and King City), and I’m happy I did.  Since the first issue hit the shelves I’ve been trying to wrap my mind around Graham’s work and figure out some way to write about it for a review.  It’s a challenge, because Graham’s comics seem like an entity unto themselves.  There are elements of manga and science fiction, which anybody can see, but the most striking thing about these books to me is just how much material Graham crams into each issue.  I wouldn’t say this is done with excessive dialogue or description, either.  There are all kinds of little byways that branch off of panels or that materialize in empty space.  Sometimes these manifest in verbal wordplay, sometimes they’re more like little occurences that might have little to do with the overall narrative, but enrich it nonetheless.  The end result is that the comics can be read and re-read over and over, with each time offering a chance to catch something that was missed during earlier readings.  I avoided Graham’s comics for a long time because I wrongly thought they might be a little too gimmicky for my liking.  After having spent some time with them, I now see that he puts a lot of thought and soul into his work, and in the process has created some truly unique comics.

RICO’S PICK :: NOWHERE MEN #1: Earned fame is becoming a foreign concept but Nowhere Men promises a world where top scientists are revered as celebrities. Image publisher Eric Stephenson writes it, Nate Bellegarde draws it, Jordie Bellaire colors it, Steven Finch (Fonogafiks) designs and letters it and I can’t wait for it.

DOUG’S PICK ::  MANHATTAN PROJECTS TP VOL 1: SCIENCE BAD: There is a LOT that excites me this week- that New Avengers omnibus is going to look sweet on my shelf, I’ve been holding out on Incognito for this week’s hardcover edition, I want to sample a few DC zero issues…and I could go on and on.  The book I am most looking forward to this week is the first Manhattan Projects collection from Jonathan Hickman: Science Bad.  Hickman is the Alan Moore of this generation of comic creators; his books are full of big ideas, mad science, well defined characters.  I look forward to any book with his name on it.  Oh yeah, the story has an evil Albert Einstein and something to do with the Manhattan Project.  You probably guessed the latter.