Upcoming Event: HeroesCon

Rather than do a single post as we do with other events, since HeroesCon is near and dear to our hearts, we're making June "HeroesCon Month" on Exile.  It's the 30th Anniversary of our hometown con so there's a lot of great stuff to talk about this year.  There's so much stuff to look forward to we're working on a series of posts focusing on different aspects on HeroesCon.

 




Here's a sampling of what's coming on Exile in June:

• Heather's Top Ten Things to Do at HeroesCon
• Interview with Team Cul de Sac's Chris Sparks
• Interview with local cosplayer, Suzann Knudsen
• Interview with local cosplayer, Victor Goldberg
• Where to Eat at HeroesCon

Since Seth is a part of HeroesCon's organization and management, he's going to take the month off from writing for Exile.  HeroesCon is by far the busiest time of year for Seth and the Heroes staff, so most of his time will be be taken up with Con preparation.  He will still be editing Exile's HeroesCon posts, and you can keep up with his writing for Heroes' blog. 

HeroesCon is June 22-24 in Charlotte, North Carolina.  The con takes place at the Charlotte Convention Center located at 501 South College Street, Charlotte, NC 28202.  In addition to the show itself, there are events like the Friday night Drink and Draw and the Saturday night Art Auction to look forward to. Advance passes are available for purchase here.  Single day passes are available at the show. 

The show hours are:

Friday: 11am-7pm
Saturday: 10am-6pm
Sunday: 11am-6pm 

Upcoming Event: Free Comic Book Day at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find!

Saturday, May 5, you'll find us at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find for Free Comic Book Day!

Books to be excited about:

• Peanuts/Adventure Time Flip-Book from Boom! Studios:This looks to be a super fun kids book.  The art in Adventure Time always looks adorable and who doesn't enjoy Charlie Brown and friends.
• Star Wars/Serenity Flip-Book from Dark Horse Comics: Two great tastes that taste great together!
•  Buffy the Vampire Slayer/The Guild Flip-Book from Dark Horse Comics: It's great to see Dark Horse putting such fun female driven comics together in one book.  I've been a BVS fan since the beginning and even though I am not an on-line gamer, I love The Guild. 
• Walt Disney's Donald Duck's Family Comics from Fantagraphics: Two words-Donald Duck.  Enough said.
• Top Shelf Kids Club by Top Shelf Comics: This book looks so awesome.  Of course, I am going to love a cover by Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken's Ray Friesen.  I want wallpaper made out of that cover.  Inside is full of Top Shelf's great all ages books: Owly, Johnny Boo, Korgi, Okie Dokie Donuts, Upside Down and last, but certainly not least, Pirate Penguin vs. Ninja Chicken.  How does Top Shelf fit that much awesome into one free book?

Artists scheduled to be sketching away:

• CHRIS BRUNNER – Co-creator and artist on Loose Ends, Batman: Legends of the Dark Knight, Covers for Static Shock, Boondock Saints, & NOLA
• SHAWN CRYSTAL – Artist on Deadpool, Deadpool Max, & Deadpool Team-Up
• FRANCESCO FRANCAVILLA – Creator of The Black Beetle, Artist on Captain America & Bucky, Detective Comics, Black Panther, & cover artist for pretty much every other comic book
• SANFORD GREENE – Creator of Rotten Apple, Artist on Deadpool, Wonder Girl, Methodman GN
• CULLY HAMNER – Co-creator of Red, Artist on The Question, Detective Comics, Black Lightning, Blue Beetle
• JASON LATOUR – Co-creator of Loose Ends, Artist on BPRD: Pickens County Horror, Noche Roja, Scalped, Daredevil: Black & White
• JACKIE LEWIS – Artist on Play Ball
• KEVIN MELLON – Artist on Heart, Lovestruck, S.H.I.E.L.D.
• JAY POTTS – Creator of World of Hurt
• BUDD ROOT – Creator of Cavewoman
• BRIDGIT SCHEIDE – Creator of Brother Nash
• BRIAN STELFREEZE –  Artist on Wednesday Comics, The Ride, Gun Candy, & a ton of Batman: Shadow of the Bat covers
• SKETCH CHARLOTTE - Several artists from this local sketch group will be on hand! Sketch Charlotte meets every Thursday at 6:30pm at Showmars on 7th and Pecan.

Remember free sketches are at the discretion of the artist and to respect the time limits set.  The artists work super hard and do their best to get to as many people as they can.

I also had the opportunity to chat with the newest Heroes staff member, Karla Marsh, about FCBD and joining the Heroes Family:

How does it feel to be starting with Free Comic Book Day as your first event as the newest member of the Heroes staff, the Events Coordinator?

Well, I'm no stranger to Free Comic Book Day. For the past 10 years I've either been helping out at the store on FCBD, or attending it. Taking this on as my first real "event" since becoming Event Coordinator is exciting!! FCBD has always been the sample platter for HeroesCon in my opinion, since it's always fallen just a few weeks before the convention. It's an opportunity to meet some amazing artist, maybe get a sketch or two, and really just enjoy being a comics fan. Setting up for it this year has been my pleasure, and is a nice way to get my feet wet before the big show in June.

What's it been like joining the staff?

It's like coming home to hang out with my family! I've spend my entire life with Heroes in some way or fashion. At first I was a regular customer of the store and a faithful patron of the convention every year, then, as time went on, I became a dedicated volunteer at the convention, doing whatever was needed and helping out wherever and whenever I could. Heroes has been a part of my life for as long as I can remember, and it seems only fitting that I should now call it home...the place I pour my heart and soul into. I can't think of a better place to hang my hat. It also doesn't hurt that my fellow co-workers are all amazing, creative, and dedicated individuals who have accepted me into their family with open arms. Because when you break it down, working for Heroes is really all about family, and I feel incredibly lucky to be included.

What are you excited about for FCBD?

Are you kidding?! The FREE COMICS of course!! Who doesn't LOVE a FREE COMIC?! I used to get SO excited about FCBD when I was younger. It was like going to a restaurant and they ask you if you'd like a free dessert! Of course you do! Free comics are my equivalent to a free hot fudge sundae! It also doesn't hurt that we have some truly amazing artists joining us this year! They'll be doing sketches and chatting with the fans. We have such an impressive  list of artists this year that I can't begin to name them all! You can check them out for yourself on the Heroes website at: Free Comic Book Day: Artists 

This year we will also have Radio Disney on site, playing music and giving away prizes. That just adds to the fun of all of the free comics we will have to give away that day! I think the kids will really enjoy it, and parents will too!

What events are you looking forward to after FCBD?

Well, there's this little convention, I don't know if you've heard about it, it's called HeroesCon and it starts on June 22nd and runs through the 24th. That will be what I spend every waking moment on between FCBD and June 25th. I'm currently setting up exhibitors and helping with Small Press, making sure that everyone has the best possible location for this year's show. I'm also doing a lot of "behind the scenes" work as well. There is never a shortage of things that need to be done when you're running a convention like Heroes. We want everyone who comes to HeroesCon to leave talking about it for the next 30 years. It's our job to make sure that each HeroesCon is the absolute best it can be, and that's not an easy task. It takes a lot of work, and a lot of sleepless hours, but I can't wait! HeroesCon is like second Christmas to me, and for anyone who knows me...I take Christmas very seriously!! If I loved Christmas anymore than I already do, I would marry Santa Claus! And that's how much I love HeroesCon. I would marry it, if I could!

We hope you'll join us in welcoming Karla to the Heroes Family (officially) and at FCBD!

Free Comic Book Day us May 5, 2012.  Heroes Aren't Hard to Find is located at 1957 E. 7th Street, Charlotte, NC 28204  Store opens at 10am and artists will be sketching at 1pm-5pm. 

Upcoming Event: Fluke!

Wow, this year is flying! It's a month until an awesome one day show in Athens, Georgia: FLUKE! There's so much to love about this show, from the 40 Watt Club to the show's organizers, Robert Newsome and Patrick Dean, to Athens itself.  It's a great day for mini-comics and indie artists as well as their fans.  If you're in the area (and the area, I mean the South), you owe it to your mini-comic loving self to stop by and treat yourself to all the goodness of FLUKE.  

In addition to the show, I'll looking forward to a lunch trip to The Grit, which is one of my favorite vegetarian restaurants.  I'm convinced that the small Golden Bowl I got last time was an entire block of tofu!  The Grit's tofu is amazingly good and I was sad I couldn't eat the whole thing.  

Sketch Charlotte will be out in force bringing a piece of home to Athens starting with Henry Eudy.  Henry is debuting a new mini called Death Pinata about a deadly paper pony filled with skeletons. He's also planning on using his great Animal Alphabet and AlphaBeasts drawings in some form and I can't wait to see what he brings to the table. 

Sharing a table with the famous Mr. Eudy, will be Heroes' own creative director and colorful fellow, Rico Renzi. Rico is being rather elusive about the wares traveling to Athens with him, but I'm sure we see something pretty and pink on his table.

Last, but anything but last, Bridgit Scheide will have her brand new Brother Nash Mega Issue#1, Sketch Charlotte anthologies, prints, and stuff! :) I don't know about you, but I do so love stuff! She may also have a lovely table-mate in the shape of Herc Petmezas.  

Also representing Charlotte will be our very own local celebrity, Dustin Harbin. Dusty is sure to have his Diary Comics and lots of awesome prints in his wooden con box.  Stop by and ask him about the children's book he's currently working on. 

Moving outside of Charlotte, but still firmly in North Carolina, Ssalefish's own Adam Casey, will be making the trek from Winston-Salem this year and he has some big plans to stock his table: DRAC-DRAC-DRAC-DRAC-DRACULA: a mini containing Dracula stories, REAL LIVE BLEEDING FOREHEADS AND BROKEN WRESTLING RINGS: Portraits of professional wrestlers and HAHA: a collection of gag cartoons.  Just look for the beard and it will lead you to Adam.

Moving to NC adjacent artists, J. Chris Campbell, of lovely Greenville, SC will be in attendance with lots of neat comics and comic related items, including a new Neatobot featuring Orson Spinwell who has appeared in the Indie Spinner Rack Anthologies, his "Across the Universe" poster FLUKE version and some Neatobot buttons.

FLUKE takes place on April 21 in Athens, Georgia at the 40 Watt Club (located at 285 West Washington Street  Athens, GA 30601) from 11am to 6pm.  Only $2 gets you into a world of pure comic imagination. 

We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Event: Charlotte Mini-Con

On Sunday, January 22, 2012, the best one day show in Charlotte will take place at the Palmer Building in Fireman's Hall, the Charlotte Mini-Con brought to you by Heroes Aren't Hard to Find.  The Mini-Con has a lot to offer from vendors with great deals to a sweet location and super creators.  2012 also marks the 35th Anniversary of the Mini-Con

This year's featured guest is Cliff Chang.  Cliff's foray into DC's New 52 with Wonder Woman has been beautiful. I find the story interesting, but it is Cliff's art that brings me back each month.  His body of work is quite vast and includes loads of pretty ladies.  In addition to being a great artist, Cliff is also a super nice guy.  Not only does the Mini-Con present you with the opportunity to meet him, but you can also pick up an awesome print of the image on the left and have Cliff sign it while you're there.  This 16 x 24 silk screened print is available for only $10 the day of the show. 

Cliff's not the only great creator who will be in attendance.  A couple of our local favorites will be there.  Rich Barrett, Dusty Harbin, Jason Latour, Eraklis "Herc" Petmezas, Heroes' own Bridgit Scheide, Andy Smith, and Budd Root. The South Carolina contingent includes J. Chris Campbell and Sanford Greene.

If all of those great artists aren't enough there is a building full of vendors with great deals on comics from all Ages, trade paperbacks and hardcovers.  There's so much to choose from!

The location of the Mini-Con is the Palmer Building at Fireman's Hall which is a very neat old building.  It features hardwood floors, molding and lots of cool architectural details.  It's great place full of characters which makes it perfect for all the comic characters that will be bursting from short and long boxes for your purchasing pleasure. The Palmer Building is also conveniently located just down the street from Heroes which will be open the normal Sunday hours from 1pm-6pm, and possibly even earlier.  

If you're visiting from elsewhere and looking for somewhere to pick up lunch and/or dinner, there are a number of yummy local places nearby.  Unfortunately, Lupie's (which is right across the street) is closed on Sundays.  A short trip over to Central Avenue gives you two great choices for brunch: Zada Jane's and Bistro la Bon.  If you're looking for something lighter, just one shop over from Heroes is Crisp which features salads and sandwiches.  If a sweet treat or a fresh baked cheese biscuit is more your thing, then Sun Flour Bakery is the place for you.  Sun Flour also serves sandwiches, coffee, and ice cream. On the other hand if diner food is what you're seeking, then The Diamond is a must. 

The Charlotte Mini-Con takes place January 22, 2012 from 11am-5pm.  The Palmer Building at Fireman's Hall is located at 2601 East 7th Street, Charlotte, NC 28204.  Admission is only $3!  Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Event: SPX (Small Press Expo)

Greeting, Gentle Readers.  Long time no blog for me.  To be honest, writing has become a struggle for me lately.  Luckily, SPX comes along next month to give me something to be excited about and hopefully kick me out of this writer's funk.  

Last year was my first SPX and I found it to be a great convention for exploring independent comics.  You'll find some of the smaller (in size, but not awesomeness) publishers like Adhouse Books and Top Shelf Comics, but most of the rows of table occupying the ballroom of the Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center are self published artists and writers. 

SPX is where I was first introduced to excellent Pittsburgh talents, Pat Lewis and Ed Piskor.  Pat won me over with his adorable cartoon style and Ed won me over with his love of Public Enemy.  (On a sad note, it appears they will not be at SPX this year according to the current list.  Neither will the fabulous J. Chris Campbell.  I will miss him so very much on the road to Bethesda.)  SPX is a wonderful con to interact with creators a more personal level.  Sure, they're still behind a table, but there's a more relaxed vibe to this smaller setting.   

I'm also really excited about the Ignatz Awards this year which are being hosted by Charlotte's very own, Dustin Harbin.  The Ignatz Awards honor comics from graphic novels to web comics as well as new talent and outstanding artists.  The nominees are also voted on by those who attend SPX.  I'm sure Dusty will bring his very own special flair to the awards show as he has to HeroesCon auctions in the past.  Is it wrong to hope for costume changes and maybe a little Dharbin Drag?

While I will be sad about some of last year's artists missing in action this year, I am excited about picking up some new books from some old favorites.  I'm looking forward to picking up some more adventures of Ms. Sassypants, the guinea pig who is also a P.I., by Colleen AF Venable and Stephanie Yue.  Joey Weiser will be debuting a Monster Isle mini comic, Big Monster Stuff, that looks absolutely adorable.  I read all of his published Mermin after Fluke and just loved it.  Rob Ullman will have his Animal Alphabet sketchbook which collects all his animal sketches from A-Z.  I really enjoyed all the Animal Alphabet sketches and hope more of the artist who participated collect their works.  I'll also be picking up Remake Special by Lamar Abrams.  There are a lot of great debuts planned and SPX has done us a great benefit by listing them all for those of us who plan their purchases. 

On the debut list is Stargazing Dog by Takashi Murakami, which is Japanese manga book being released in the US by NBM.  I've never read any manga, but I am drawn to the cover of a small white dog surrounded by yellow flowers.  The story sounds like something I would like as well-a man down on his luck drives away from his life with only his dog.  Who doesn't feel like that sometimes?

I'm also planning to pick up Don't Mess with the Pink Voo-Doo Bunny by Jim8ball and Messed Up Fairy Tales 3 (I hope they have the first two as this book sure does look fun) by the Draw Sucka! artists.  I'm sure I'll see even more mini-comic goodness while there that will draw me in.  I started hoarding cash for SPX a few weeks ago.  Last year, I learned a lot of about my buying habits (cute animals draw me in).  When buying comics from a previously unknown person, I tend to gravitate towards the pleasant and engaging people.  Desperation and aggression send me the other way.  I was also surprised by the off-putting attitude by a few of the exhibitors last year.  A smile goes a long way in making a sale.

We'll be road-tripping to this one with the Dollar Bin.  If this results in any recordings, I'll be sure to link them here.  I'm hoping we'll make what should become an annual side trip to 7-11.  We don't have these down in NC anymore and it's fun to pick up the slurpee of the month.  

SPX is September 10-11 at:

Marriott Bethesda North Hotel & Conference Center
5701 Marinelli Road.
North Bethesda, MD 20852
Hope to see you there!

Upcoming Event: Loose Ends #1 Release Party at Heroes Aren't Hard To Find.

This Wednesday, July 13, 2011, Heroes Aren't Hard To Find in Charlotte, NC is hosting not one, but two Release Parties for Loose Ends #1 by some of my favorite people in comics: Chris Brunner, Jason Latour, and Rico Renzi.  On Wednesday from noon to 2pm and again from 5pm to 8pm, all three will be on hand for signing copies of the first issue of their Southern Crime Romance mini-series.  If that's not enough to entice you, there will be a Limited Edition Silk Screen Print with purchase of this issue (while supplies last). 

I'm super excited to see the first issue on the stands and to have a copy of my very own to read. 

In fact, we've decided to declare this "Loose Ends Week" here on Exile on Plain Street.  On Wednesday, we'll have an artist spotlight on all three and on Friday, a review of Issue #1. 

Get yourself to Heroes Aren't Hard To Find on Wednesday and share in the excitement!

Come Find Us at HeroesCon 2011!

  Tomorrow is the first day of HeroesCon! Can you believe it's here already? We'll be busy with set-up today at the Charlotte Convention Center and we're realy looking forward to the start of the con.  There's a lot to do, so other than maybe a short post tomorrow, this will be our stand-in for our regularly scheduled Friday post.

There's so much to choose from at this year's HeroesCon from Artist Alley to Indie Island to panels and vendors, we thought it would be nice to give you a head's up where you can find some of our favorites this year! Look at that awesome map showing Sketch Charlotte members!



AdHouse Books: AA-536

Wide Awake Press: AA-438 (Well, this is J. Chris Campbell's number, but he's the heart of WAP and will point you to all other Wappies.)

Andy Runton: AA-444

Roger Langridge: AA-518

Henry Eudy: AA-336

Chris Brunner: AA-612

Jason Latour: AA-611

Irwin Hasen will be in The Comic Strip-5.  This is the area set up for all the wonderful strip artists. If you are unfamiliar with Irwin, you owe it to yourself to go meet a living piece of comics history.  Irwin will be 95 this year and while I hope he lives to be 195, chances to meet him again grow less and less each year, so go see Irwin and take the time to hear some his glorious stories of Wonder Woman, Dondi, and his life in general.  Pick up a copy of his auto-biography, Lover Boy.  It might be your best experience at HeroesCon this year.

In addition to the fine folks mentioned before, Seth is particularly excited about talking with:

Darwyn Cooke: AA-508

Stephanie Buscema: AA-519

Becky Cloonan: AA-632

Geof Darrow: AA-716

Andrew Robinson: AA-618

Ryan Sook: AA-510

along with Joe Staton, Mark Texiera, Chris Pitzer, Cliff Chiang, Chris Schweizer, Skottie Young, and many more!

     Seth and I will be moderating a panel on Sunday with our friends from Sketch Charlotte.  Here are the details:

3:00 PM

SKETCH CHARLOTTE
Room 203B
Who are SKETCH Charlotte and what are they doing loitering in Showmars every Thursday evening? Find out as we wind down on Sunday afternoon as we are invited to eaves drop on a special meeting of the Queen City artists as they discuss Comics in general and HeroesCon 2011 in the specific. What a great way to end a memorable weekend.



If you're looking for one of us, Seth will be in the Heroes Store Booth or roaming the con floor to keep everyone smiling and I will be the Info Booth with a smile and plenty of information! We hope to see you there!

Upcoming Event: HeroesCon 2011

Is HeroesCon really a month away? Wow, how time flies.  HeroesCon will be the biggest show for both of us this year.  You will find Seth either at the Heroes Store Booth or on the convention floor.  He'll be hard at work both places! You will find me at the Information Booth just chock full of all kinds of information. 

As HeroesCon is such a big event (three days packed full of comic goodness), we'll be doing a series of posts, including, but not limited to a Top Ten List of Things to Do by both of us, and a Where to Eat at Heroes Con.  If there are any other HeroesCon topics you would like to see a post on, just let us on know in the comments below. 

There's so many great things to highlight about HeroesCon, it's hard to know where to start, but let's jump in with Indie Island.  Indie Island is a wonderful part of HeroesCon that groups all these amazing independent artists together on one part of the con floor.  There's way too many people to be able to list here, but I will mention some of my personal favorites:

• Wide Awake Press has a large contingent with Duane Ballenger, J. Chris Campbell, Jason Horn, Josh Latta, Brad McGinty, Shannon Smith and Rob Ullman.
• Sketch Charlotte will be represented by Rich Barrett
• Topshelf Comics will have Andy Runton and Rob Venditti
• Chris Schweizer will also be there with a gaggle of SCAD students in tow
• Also in attendance Pennsylvania's own Pat Lewis and Ed Piskor. 
• This will also be Dustin Harbin's first year strictly behind the table.  Did you know he's a Bronze Level Wappie?
• I'll also point out new favorites from FLUKE: Patrick Dean and Joey Weiser. 

While it seems like Indie Island is big enough to be its very own con, the Guest List outside of Indie Island is crazy full of artists and writers.  Again, there's way too many to list, but I will hit my highlights:

• Charlotte's own, Chris Brunner, Jason Latour, and Chrissie Zullo
• Two-thirds of the team that brought us one of my personal comic favorites, Thor the Mighty Avenger: Roger Langridge (that's Roger's Muppet Heroes above) and Matt Wilson (Chris Samnee, unfortunately had to cancel, but I hope he makes it next year.)
• One of my favorite comics couples, Adam Hughes and Allison Sohn (I'm just sad their sweet sheepdogs, Luna and Tonks won't be at the con). 
• Skottie Young, whose Oz art I adore, but I love his daily sketches on his art blog with Scott Morse even more.  I am disappointed that other commitments will keep Morse from attending this year.

From the publishing end of comics, Chris Pitzer from AdHouse Books will be in attendance as well as several of the artists under the AdHouse roof.  Top Shelf will also be there as mentioned above. 

In addition to all the wonderful guests and publishers, there will be exciting panels to attend, the Quick Draw Contests, the Art Auction, a great Small Press section and much, much more! There's a ton to cover so check back in the weeks leading up to HeroesCon for new posts. 

Upcoming Event: Fanaticon

On May 21, 2011, in Asheville, North Carolina, Fanaticon will be hosting their second convention.  I've only heard wonderful things about this event and I'm really looking forward to not only a weekend in Asheville before HeroesCon, but to all comic goodness this event promises. 

Fanaticon is a free event hosted at the Asheville Art Museum nestled in the lovely downtown area.  Fanaticon features a number of vendors, including Charlotte's own Heroes Aren't Hard to Find and lots of great artists, including some of my personal favorites, Sketch Charlotte members: Tom Davidson, Henry Eudy, and Eraklis "Herc" Petmezas as well as the gang from Wide Awake Press.  I hope there will be Huggles (shiny coins to be redeemed for cuddly bear hugs from WAP's own J. Chris Campbell-seriously, he gives some of the best hugs ever).  There will also be fan clubs in attendance, both of the Star Wars and Star Trek varieties.  Is it wrong of me to hope for some Fanboy type clashes between the two?

This year, a very special guest will be headlining Fanaticon, Gail Simone.  Simone is probably best known for her writing on Wonder Woman, and has also done runs of Birds of Prey and Secret Six.  She's a big score for such a new convention.

Fanaticon also does trading cards featuring art from those attending like our friend, Herc, as featured above.  There are ten cards which are available free at various locations in Asheville.  WAP will also be one of the trading card artists and we can't wait to see what their card looks like when it's released.

Fanaticon takes place at the Asheville Art Museum located at 2 South Park Square from 10:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. 

Upcoming: Free Comic Book Day

Do you like comics? Do you like sketches by wonderful artists? Do you like getting both of those for free? If you answered yes, then you should check out your Local Comics Stores on May 7.

I will be spending my FCBD at Heroes Aren't Hard to Find. On the schedule for appearances at Heroes from 2:00 pm to 5:00 pm doing free sketches are:

-Chris Brunner

-Ian Flynn

-Sanford Green

-Cully Hammer

-Jason Latour

-Jackie Lewis

-Eraklis Petmezas

-Budd Root

-Bridgit Scheide

-Chris Schweizer

-Andy Smith

-Brian Stelfreeze

-Laura Martin

-Matt Wilson

There is a possibility that more artists will be appearing for your sketching pleasure. We will update as more artists are confirmed.

The titles for FCBD have been announced and there's a lot of great material to choose from this year. Here are a few of the titles I'm looking forward to:

1. Loose Ends from 12 Gauge: Sharing a book with another 12 Gauge title, ICE, Loose Ends is a Southern crime story from three great guys currently residing in Charlotte, North Carolina: Jason Latour, Chris Brunner, and Rico Renzi.
2. Captain America & Thor from Marvel: It's no secret that I loved the team of Roger Langridge and Chris Samnee on Thor the Mighty Avenger and I can't wait to see their latest effort. Loki has traveled to King Arthur's to cause problems for Merlin by stealing his magic. Merlin is able to trick Loki into giving some back and summons Captain America and Thor to help out.
3. Top Shelf's Kids Club 2011: Top Shelf teams up a number of artists, including Owly's Andy Runton, to give us six all ages stories in one adorable book. The cover alone is bursting with cuteness!
4. Darkwing Duck/Chip 'n Dale Rescue Rangers from Boom! Studios: Missed either of these awesome books the first time around, no worries! Boom! is republishing the first issues of both series in one great free book.
5. Kung Fu Panda & Richie Rich from Ape Entertainment: A new animated favorite of mine combined with a childhood animated favorite plus a preview of an upcoming Strawberry Shortcake series! How do they fit some much greatness into one little book.
6. Heroes Bonus Pick: Sketch Charlotte's FCBD Anthology: This anthology features contributions of original stories from a wide selection of Sketch Charlotte members including Eraklis Petmezas, Bridgit Scheide, Henry Eudy, Brandon Padgett, Chrissie Zullo, Jonathan Rosenbaum, Rich Barrett, Tom Davidson, John DaCosta, Jerry Stanford, and Julian Blake. Chrissie Zullo is pulling double duty with an original story and the cover! Sketch members Eraklis Petmezas and Bridgit Scheide will also be on hand for signings and sketches! And as proud members of Sketch Charlotte ourselves, Seth and I were happy to co-write the anthology's introduction.

In addition to the free books and sketches, you will find Seth out front with an awesomely jam-packed sale of discounted books and trades. His stocks have become legendary in recent years, so come raid them for great deals!

Heroes Aren't Hard to Find is located at 1957 E. 7th Street in Charlotte, North Carolina. The doors open at 10:00 am and free comics are available on a first come, first serve basis.

Upcoming Event: Fluke

On April 23, you will find us along with the Dollar Bin Crew at Fluke, a Mini-Comics Festival in Athens, Georgia. This year is Fluke's Tenth Anniversary, but as this will be my first year attending I checked in with some friends about why they like Fluke.

First up is J. Chris Campbell. J. Chris is not only an awesome individual, but also the creator of Neatobots and other fabulous comic characters. He's quite the character himself. He was kind enough to share why he's been attending and setting up at Fluke from almost the beginning:

Wide Awake Press has been attending and helping with FLUKE almost since the first year. I probably would have been there, had I heard about it. It's unlike any other comic show you'll ever go to because it is almost completely made up of independent comic and zine creators. You'd be hard pressed to find any representation of a major Super Hero character in the room except maybe underground-satirical-favorite MODOK.

Top Shelf has been a supporter for many of the shows and they've had a presence there but other than them the majority of the stuff there is self published and created by hand. So it's a perfect place to find one of a kind comic books and hand made art objects that explore areas of sequential art that publishers can't. The atmosphere is really laid back and you're just hanging in a bar where everyone just happens to have stuff they've been working on. There is a lot of love for unique Comics and Zines in the room and you can really feel it. I'm jazzed about this year's 10th anniversary of FLUKE and the new location at Athen's famous 40 Watt. It's going to be rocking!!

Another one of my favorite characters, Charlotte by way of Concord's own, Henry Eudy, who I have the pleasure of hanging out with almost every week at Sketch Charlotte, was also down with sharing what he likes about Fluke:

This year will mark my third consecutive trek down to Athens, GA for the FLUKE Minicomics Festival. I unabashedly tell anyone who asks and, generally, even those who don’t care, that FLUKE is my favorite comics show of the entire year. There are a lot of reasons why I love FLUKE, I’ll try to boil them down to a few points but I’ll primarily state that FLUKE is for The People, yo, and it’s The People that make it great.

Firstly, FLUKE exists as a true celebration of minicomics. Minicomics are fascinating, they are often as bizarre and idiosyncratic as the people that make them. When you read a person’s minicomic, you let a little bit of that person into yourself. When you pick up a stranger’s mini, something they’ve labored over, drawn every line in , penciled every letter, folded each sheet of paper and pounded in all the little staples one after another, you almost can’t help but catch a little of their mojo coming off the page. Minicomics are all about the contact highs. There’s something about a handmade object, even if it’s just one about farts and duckies, that mesmerizes me in a way that corporately produced, professionally printed offerings rarely do.

Well, FLUKE is wall to wall to wall minicomics and it’s incredible how many weirdos there are out there who just want the opportunity to show you on paper just how weird they are. These people are out there in the underbrush and the tall weeds, hidden from the bloated eye of popular culture, making tons of dumb and beautiful comics each hour. Sadly, many of these comics rarely get read by anyone not also crouched down in those self same bushes because there are so few venues available to the minicomicist in the larger society of straight up comics shows. FLUKE cuts through that bullshit like a laser mounted on a rabid tiger. FLUKE says, “If you got $8, you got a table, son.” FLUKE allows no big banners or ridiculous signage that I see at so many larger cons where people try to get you to read their webcomic using the same tactics water purifier salesmen use at state fairs. FLUKE is a level playing field, the art school trained next big thing can get a table right next to the recently released and under medicated schizophrenic. All they need is $8, some boxes drawn on paper and a desire to sit in one place for eight hours. It’s democracy at work, goddammit.

And because FLUKE is such a mixed bag of people and comics, it is a beautiful thing. You can buy superhero comics at one table and dirty drawings of American presidents as represented by negligee clad rabbits at the next. You see laboriously rendered screen printed covers next to sloppy line drawings run off a dying Xerox machine in the back of a Foot Locker. You can see professional or near professional cartoonists like Drew Weing, Eleanor Davis, David Mack, Matt Wiegle, Josh Latta, Joey Weiser, and Chris Schweizer peppered in amongst a crowd of SCAD students and other weirdos who might be exhibiting their first ever effort at making a comic. It’s kind of thrilling that way, to see the whole evolutionary sweep of comics and cartooning lined up against the walls of a single large room.

I always buy a huge amount of stuff at FLUKE because I know I may never get a chance to read and experience many of the cornucopia of comics spread out before me ever again. FLUKE is a rare and precious thing to a minicomic reader; it’s a festival dedicated to the elusive and the finite. The thing that you only see slivers of as you dig through backroom shelves the rest of the year is suddenly in abundance and manifest in more varieties than you though imaginable. FLUKE is freewheeling and fun and it’s for The People, The Comics Making and Comics Loving People. Long may it reign.

Building on the Charlotte contingent traveling to Athens is Dustin Harbin, formerly of Heroes fame, now making it out in the world on his own, who had this to say about Fluke, "The best part of FLUKE is the laid-back social vibe, it's just a little chummy party."

Wow, I couldn't have said it better myself! Thanks to all of you for your awesome endorsements of what looks to be a great event!

Fluke is at the The 40 Watt Club located at 285 West Washington Street in Athens and is open from 11:00 am to 6:00 pm. We hope to see you there.