Friday, September 12, 2008

HEROESCON 09 :: Initial Guest List Now Up!

HEROES CONVENTION 2009: June 19-21, 2009!

Very exciting news: now up on our website is the very first version of the HeroesCon 09 Guest List! It looks a little spindly right now in its infancy, compared to the vastness it will grow to by the time of the show; but just look at those names! If this is any indication, this year's HeroesCon will be the largest convention we've ever held.

While BRIAN MICHAEL BENDIS has been to HeroesCon before, the last time it was to promote his series Jinx, to give you an idea of how long it's been. This time it will be to promote the five million comics he writes now, from New Avengers, Ultimate Spider-Man, and Powers to the current Marvel event Secret Invasion. Phew!

ED BRUBAKER is almost a returning guest--he was forced to cancel his appearance at our 2008 show at the very last minute. But Ed will take a little time off from writing Captain America, Uncanny X-Men, and Criminal to return to his very first HeroesCon next summer!

Speaking of Uncanny X-Men, Brubaker's frequent collaborator MATT FRACTION will also be returning next summer, for I think his fourth consecutive HeroesCon. Matt's turning into one of the biggest and most prolific writers in comics, currently also writing Invincible Iron Man, Punisher War Journal, and a bajillion others, including his own Casanova.

MICHAEL GOLDEN is also turning into a perennial guest of the show. An inspiration to an entire generation of artists with work on The Nam, Avengers, and tons of others, Michael is a favorite not only of fans, but of many of our guests as well.

Another first-timer at HeroesCon next year will be STEVE MCNIVEN, the super-popular artist behind Civil War, Wolverine, Amazing Spider-Man and many others. Steve is known for his incredible covers as well, and is sure to be a must on many peoples' sketch lists.

Returning to HeroesCon for the first time since 2006, GEORGE PEREZ is one of our oldest friends, not to mention a guest at the very first HeroesCon, way back in 1982! I'm not sure if George is old enough to be a "living legend", but good gravy--it's hard to imagine an artist with a more recognizable style, who's closely identified with such acclaimed titles like Crisis On Infinite Earths, New Teen Titans, Avengers, Fantastic Four, Avengers Vs JLA, etc., etc.

Another high profile returnee this summer is JEFF SMITH, the cartoonist behind the MAMMOTH hit Bone, which has over 2 million copies in print worldwide. Jeff is also currently at work on Rasl, and earlier this year had his DC series Shazam: The Monster Society Of Evil collected in a fancy hardcover. We're all huge fans of Jeff's, so we're CRAZY excited to have him back this year.

Last but not least is another first-timer: BEN TEMPLESMITH is the enormously prolific and popular artist behind 30 Days of Night, Fell, and Hatter M, not to mention the artist and writer of Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse and the new Welcome to Hoxford. The Australian artist will be making his first ever HeroesCon appearance next year, so be sure and make him feel welcome!

Whew! More announcements to come, including a closer focus on the Indie Island Guest List (already up), as well as some additions and more! Stay tuned!

4 comments:

Neil said...

I'm psyched about Ben being there. It should be a good time.

Only nine more months. Yay!

Vee ! said...

Oh, oh! You still have this Jim Mahfood Indie Island shirts in stock!? Hold one for me (in a girls' medium), por favor?

Kris Black said...

Holy Mother of God! Next year is going to kick-ass!

Adam Frazier said...

I'm psyched about Stephen King's The Stand - but I'll probably wait for the TPB. I'm deep in the Dark Tower books right now, then I plan on reading that comic series. That's a lotta Stevie.