INDIE ISLAND :: T-Shirt Sneak Peek!

Another late-night post! Oops, actually early-morning now. Poor Indie Island has not gotten much attention from me this year, which is sad because I love it so. But it will still be incredibly awesome--besides the regular awesomeness, this year we've fortified it with 100% more Jeff Smith (Bone, Rasl), David Petersen (Mouse Guard), and Jason Lutes (Berlin).



Plus a little secret weapon I like to call Joe Lambert, who did the endpapers for the monstrously well-received and lauded Best American Comics 2008, is a mainstay and studbolt on the minicomics scene, and is working on a big secret book currently for a big book publisher. AND he did this year's Indie Island shirt, which is even now at the printer being printified on some fly American Apparel and regular-old shirts for you to look fly in. Because you're up so late with me, I thought I'd share a peek at the image. I love it! Keep your eyes on Joe, because he's for real, and he's nationwide, suckas!

HEROESCON :: Sunday Guest List Update!

Guest List updates on a Sunday? Well, we're in that time of year when we're working pretty much nonstop on the convention. In fact, we're so swamped, I don't have the time I'd like to spend talking about each one of these awesome creators like I normally do, so I hope none of them will feel slighted. Half of them are old buddies (Keron, pictured above, Randy Green, J. Chris Campbell and Rob Ullman), and some are brand new (Ian Sattler, Jonathan Gray). But I'm in crunch time, so for the full rundown visit the HeroesCon 09 Guest List where you can find links to their individual sites and sate your curiosity like crazy!

New today are:

DUANE BALLENGER (EATS, Wide Awake 666)
J. CHRIS CAMPBELL (Ancient Age, Wide Awake 666, Zigzag)
BRIAN CUNNINGHAM (DC Comics editor)
KERON GRANT (Son of Vulcan, Iron Man)
JONATHAN GRAY (Sonic the Hedgehog, Walt Disney's Comics & Stories)
RANDY GREEN (Fathom, Teen Titans, Tomb Raider)
NATE LOVETT (Xombie: Reanimated, Sketch Magazine)
BILL NEVILLE (Explorers, The Tick)
IAN SATTLER (DC Comics Senior Story Editor)
ROB ULLMAN (Traffic & Weather, Atom Bomb Bikini)

Good gravy! Okay, more to come, plus a couple of big announcements for tomorrow!

HEROESCON :: Marvel Comics, Talent Scouts, Strip Cartoonists!

WHOA check out that big bright logo! Hot on the heels of last week's announcement of DC Comics return to HeroesCon, today we added Marvel Comics to the list as well. Oh yes that's right! They'll be bringing editors, doing portfolio reviews, and be set up in force at this year's HeroesCon 09! And coming with them is the first name on the list of guests we added today--check it out:

C.B. CEBULSKI is pretty much Marvel's top talent-scout and occasionally an editor, AND he's a writer on books like X-Men Fairy Tales, War of Kings: Darkhawk, and his own Wonderlost. Eat that, Renaissance Men!

SEAN FORD is an alumnus of the esteemed Center for Cartoon Studies, the creator of Only Skin, and one of the editors of the Sundays Anthology.

SANFORD GREENE is one of our good buddies, and a sweet dude. On top of that, he's pencilled books including Marvel Adventures: Spider-Man, Marvel Adventures: Superheroes, Wonder Girl, Legion of Super Heroes, and last year's Methodman graphic novel.

STEVE SAFFEL is not just a friend of ours, but we work him to death every year helping out as well. It's not like he hasn't got enough to do--Steve was the editor of last year's Spider-Man: The Icon book, and the brand new Best of Simon & Kirby volume, both from Titan Books!

RICHARD THOMPSON is the creator of the incredibly acclaimed Cul de Sac, which just failed to win this year's Reuben Award from the National Cartoonists Society. Oops! Richard is also the proprietor of Richard's Poor Almanack, which runs in the Washington Post on Sundays!

CHRISSIE ZULLO is a Charlotte resident AND the cover artist on a forthcoming super-secret Fables limited series. If you want to know more you're gonna have to show up at the convention and ask her yourself--she won't even tell US!

Whew! Okay, all those announcements that I referred to last week are pretty much happening today and tomorrow, so buckle up everybody! Tomorrow there's a HUGE guest who hasn't been to HeroesCon in a bajillion years, plus more super-studs.. phew! I'm running out of exclamation points. Oh wait--and are you wondering about the HeroesCon host hotel rate? Tomorrow! I PROMISE!

CHECK IT :: Surrogates Trailer

SURROGATES trailer in HD


Oh yes! HeroesCon guest Rob Venditti is blowing up! The Surrogates film, adapted from Rob and Brett Weldele's graphic novel, comes out this fall! While we're not really into the whole Hollywood-at-comics-conventions kind of thing, we're happy to do it this way, and it couldn't happen to a nicer guy than Rob!

HEROESCON :: Comic Book Tattoo Designers, Andy Kuhn, Langridge Art

Oh yes! New to the HeroesCon 09 Guest List today are Rantz Hoseley, the editor of the recent hit Comic Book Tattoo book from Image, AND Jason Levesque, the cover artist! While I believe Jason was at the show last year (although in stealth mode due to a last-minute appearance), this is he and Rantz's FIRST "official" appearance at HeroesCon, and I hope you'll welcome them with all the pomp and foofah that HeroesCon is known for.

Also new today is our man Andy Kuhn, who has worked all over the place during his career, most recently on the hit book Firebreather. He's also been penciller on Marvel Team-Up and IDW's The Easy Way. Welcome back, Andy!

Oh, and last thing--check out the image Roger Langridge did for our Art Auction! Fans of Doctor Who and The Muppets will go into paroxysms when they see this badboy--I've already had one request from a fan in the U.K. to be able to lodge a proxy bid at the auction!

INDIE ISLAND :: Top Shelf Joins Indie Island List!

Another week of HeroesCon 2009 Guest List updates begins! This week we start out with near-to-my-heart Indie Island, welcoming back Top Shelf Productions to HeroesCon! Top Shelf has been a central part of Indie Island since long before its creation in 2005, and in many ways laid the groundwork and made it possible! That's why it's particularly pleasurable for me to announce the addition of four of their biggest creators to our Indie Island list:

MATT KINDT is the award-winning creator of the Superspy book, as well as its predecessors, 2 Sisters and Pistolwhip! He's got another book coming out later in the year from Dark Horse, but I'm not entirely sure it's okay to announce it yet, so you'll have to ask him about it at the show!

ANDY RUNTON is certainly no stranger to HeroesCon, one of our most regular and well-loved guests. Especially well-loved by fans of Owly, the extra cute, extra popular all ages book he writes and draws!

Speaking of cute and popular, CHRISTIAN SLADE is the creator of the Korgi series from Top Shelf, and is making his first ever appearance at HeroesCon this year. Be sure to welcome this prolific illustrator and now cartoonist to Charlotte!

And lastly but leastly: while ROB VENDITTI is only half as cute as Andy Runton, he's twice as popular lately--Rob wrote the graphic novel The Surrogates, which is being made into a movie starring Bruce Willis and Ving Rhames, set for release later this year. Seriously, if you've ever met Rob, you know it couldn't happen to a sweeter guy. In the next couple of weeks or so I'll be sitting down to interview Rob, so we'll see what HE has to say about it then.

But for now, welcome to these Top Shelfers! And of course, there are a ton more announcements on the way--tomorrow, more of our HeroesCon "family", as well as another publisher!

HEROESCON :: Paul Maybury, Joey Weiser Join Indie Island List!

Another Indie Island update today, as I continue my struggle to push through the dozens of people clamoring to join our HeroesCon 09 Guest List! Plus now that Small Press Tables are sold out, space is even dearer than ever! It's going to be some kind of crowded this summer at HeroesCon! But back to today's announcement:

New to the Indie Island list today is PAUL MAYBURY, artist and co-writer of the hit Aqua Leung graphic novel, as well as his ACT-I-VATE webcomic Party Bear! Paul is a returning guest to Indie Island, and we're excited to have him back!

Also returning this year is JOEY WEISER, the creator of the all-ages friendly The Ride Home, as well as Tales of Unusual Circumstance. His latest mini-comics is The Late-Night Gang.

And lastly but not leastly is newcomer STEPHEN FLOYD, another Center For Cartoon Studies alumnus, and co-founder of the esteemed One Percent Press! Vermont will be well-represented at this year's HeroesCon!

Okay--look for another announcement later in the week, this one centering around a certain group of Georgians we're partial to... see you then!

INDIE ISLAND :: Debuts, Mini-Comics, Publisher, CCS!

I've referred often to the massive stack of announcements I'm trying to work my way through--I'd say more than half of them are for Indie Island! Every time I'm about to announce some new indie studs, someone like Frank Cho or Guy Davis will confirm and I have to rev up our mighty publicity engine. Not that Frank and Guy are more important than my indie guys--but maybe I feel like the indie guys are my guys, and I don't want to favor them too much? Who cares! The important thing is I have a ton of guys to add to the HeroesCon 09 Guest List still, including:

LAMAR ABRAMS, who's attending his very first HeroesCon this year. His new book REMAKE is coming out this summer, maybe even in time for HeroesCon, and looks like it's pretty awesome. I read the whole preview, and I never read those things.

CHUCK "MCBUCK" FORSMAN is the creator of the double-Ignatz winning Snake Oil, as well as one of the creators of the Sundays anthology, as well as one of the crop of recent Center for Cartoon Studies alums who seem poised to reinvent comics over the next few years. I love this guy.

JOE LAMBERT is not lucky enough to have a middle name with quotes, like Chuck. Maybe that's why everyone likes Chuck better--Joe didn't win any Ignatz's last year. But he DID do the endpapers to the 2008 Best American Comics, as well as his own Turtle Keep It Steady, numerous anthology stories, and also CCS alum-hood.

ALEC LONGSTRETH doesn't need any quotes to have everyone love him. He's the super-popular creator of the Phase 7 series, as well as having comics featured all over in books like Papercutter and the Awesome Anthology series. He also has a beard that would make Bin Laden blush.

Speaking of Papercutter, it ALSO won a bunch of Ignatz's last year (the Ignatz is kind of like the indie version of the Eisners). It's edited and published by last-but-not-least guest GREG MEANS, who runs Tugboat Press and occasionally makes his own minicomics.

Woo! Okay, I still have about 12-15 people to get to--if you're a confirmed guest and haven't shown up yet, I'm getting to you! See you next week!

Fred Chao, Jim Ottaviani, and More Join Indie Island!

Oh yes! Just added to our HeroesCon 09 Guest List, as part of Indie Island, is a star-studded indie cavalcade of ingenious independent impresarios. That may be overstating it a little bit, but hey--this is the Internet, after all. But enough of this blather: witness!

LIZ BAILLIE is totally awesome, believe you me. She's the author of the My Brain Hurts series, as well as the new Sing Along Forever, and is a regular contributor to indie anthologies like the AWESOME Anthology!

FRED CHAO is just as awesome as Liz, but a little taller. He's also the cartoonist behind Johnny Hiro from AdHouse Books--I believe a collected edition might be coming out later in the year. EXCITEMENT!

RACHEL FREIRE is a relative newcomer, but HER new book FCHS from AdHouse looks kind of amazing. It's also written by our old chum Vito Delsante, who is also kind of amazing. So are you!

CARLA SPEED MCNEIL is returning triumphantly to HeroesCon after like... jeez, I can't even remember when she was here last. It might have been LAST MILLENIUM!! Either way, she's been producing her acclaimed self-published series Finder since the latter days of the 20th century--it's already classic!

JIM OTTAVIANI is so friendly it reminds you of how you wished you were more nicer to people. Not you of course, but other, less nice people. When he's not saving puppies from burning orphanages, he's the writer behind the science-inflected Bone Sharps, Cowboys, and Thunder Lizards, and Suspended In Language!

MK REED is know both far and wide for her excellent writing, especially on her Ignatz-winning story in Papercutter #8, not to mention Cross Country and I Will Feast On Your Whore Heart. Whoa, MK, language!

Whew! Okay, still more to come as I work my way through this stack of forms, but I'm starting to, if not catch up, at least get into a rhythm. Signs point to TWO updates to our Guest List next week! See you then!

HEROESCON 09 :: Indie Island Initial List!

As we did last week in announcing the beginnings of the 2009 HeroesCon Guest List, I wanted to shed a brief ray of light on the Indie Indie side of the list, here in its formative, gestative form. Gross!

This year will be the FIFTH Indie Island, which is I suppose somewhat auspicious. For those of you who have never had the distinct and oft-referred-to pleasure of attending Indie Island or its great big sugar-daddy HeroesCon, basically the Island is around 5,000 square feet located at the middle of the hall for maximum exposure. As HeroesCon very famously is a "comics-first" show, with historically an enormous number of "mainstream" comics readers making up the attendees, show owner Shelton Drum had the idea of placing an indie section in the middle of things, rather ghetto-ized off in some corner or in a room or underground or whatever. Kind of a forward-thinking idea, especially for a mainstream con organizer, and I for one think he deserves a lot of credit for it.

Slowly, as Indie Island grows up, the idea is paying off: last year saw the biggest Indie Island guest list (by far!) ever, with artists and publishers traveling from all over the country to exhibit. Next year's show should be even bigger, and we'll be pushing it all year long to try and bring as many people as possible into the convention center next June.

So, some of the "early adopters" for next year's Indie Island include (there are already a few people waiting to be announced, but I'll leave them for next week so I can give them some special attention):

ADHOUSE BOOKS: Who doesn't love Chris Pitzer? Chris has been an integral, if not central, part of each Indie Island thus far, since the first one in 2005, when he appeared with fellow guest James Jean to promote his new art book PROCESS: RECESS.

DANIELLE CORSETTO: So scrappy, with her giant moustachioed cactus thing--Danielle is the head of a growing online empire centered around her webstrip Girls With Slingshots.

CHRIS SCHWEIZER: Besides Chris' extensive credits producing his own minicomics, he's about to have his very first graphic novel (Crogan's Vengeance) published by Oni Press. Literally, any day now.

JEFF SMITH: It's hard to call anyone with 2,000,000 copies of his Bone in print "indie", but just because Jeff's super successful doesn't mean he has to give up his indie cred. Plus his new Rasl series is occasionally racy, if that helps. Two MILLION copies--that's like early 90's numbers (think Spawn #1 twice) except BOOKS! And so good, too...

BEN TEMPLESMITH: The only first-timer on this list, Ben Templesmith is so prolific that only the INTERNET provides me with enough space to list his credits. Which I will not do, but here are just a few of the many: 30 Days of Night, Fell, and his own Wormwood: Gentleman Corpse and Welcome to Hoxford.

BEN TOWLE: This occasional educator, constant cartoonist, and former Charlottean is currently cornering the market on historical graphic novels, with his past Midnight Sun and future works focusing on Amelia Earhart. I myself would like to see Ben do a fight-comic featuring Abe Lincoln and Stephen Douglas beating the tar out of each other, but he's probably too busy.

OKAY! More next week, including some returning New Yorkers and more! But for now, Indie Island ho!

HEROESCON BUDDIES :: Jim Mahfood and Scott Campbell Tipsy In Gallery!

Shocking insider video! Reputations ruined! A legion of teenaged fans disillusioned forever!


'i am 8-bit' art show opening 2008
by pennyman

Our buddies Jim Mahfood and Scott Campbell profiled in a video at the recent I Am 8 Bit gallery show in (I think) California somewhere. Probably Los Angeles? I think Los Angeles takes up most of California anyway, so that's a safe bet. Anyway, there's a bunch of cool pieces, some of which you can see on Scott and Jim's blogs. Check it out!

HEROESCON :: Announcing: Indie Island Shirt Redux!

Aw yeah! Remember all those sweet Indie Island shirts I had planned? Well, I haven't forgotten them--in fact, we're doing up this sweet Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer art as our first ever OFFICIAL Indie Island con shirt! Oh yes, it's true! I just got this art today from Sarah, and as we speak it's wending its way to our awesome screenprinters, and will be available for sale to one and all at HeroesCon!

Now, I know you're thinking--wait, weren't there supposed to be an ambitious SIX Indie Island shirts? I know, I know--I haven't forgotten. But it was ambitious, wasn't it? Well, I'm working on it--you should concentrate on just how great you're going to feel wearing this shirt, available in a MULTITUDE of different sizes, and in some non-American Apparel styles too. I know, I know--my mistake. But I'm making good on it!

I'd write more but I've got to go sleepy-bye, so I can wake up early and get back to work on the greatest HeroesCon of all time! I just got back from a pre-show staff meeting, and it looks like we're really firing on all cylinders. We'll be bringing our "A" game this year, so you'd better bring a real high level game as well. At LEAST "B" level, I'm thinking. B+ would probably be better.

INDIE ISLAND :: Big-Time Editor PLUS Mini-Comic Maker

In what is likely the LAST of the Indie Island additions--heck, where could we put anyone else?--we give you an idea of the scope of this year's Indie Island group of guests.

First up is Chris Duffy, the cartoon editor of Nick Magazine. What does Nick Magazine have to do with Indie Island? Oh, you silly--Nick Magazine keeps a TON of indie cartoonists able to pay some bills--practically all their cartoonists are indie guys, with an impressive list including Craig Thompson, Evan Dorkin, Michael Kupperman, James Kochalka, Drew Weing, and a gajillion others. Plus Chris is a cartoonist himself, as you can see on his ever-so-slow-to-load (that's your warning) cartoon site. He'll be doing a couple of portfolio reviews at HeroesCon for indie up-and-comers at the show, as well as a big star-studded Nick Mag presentation for kids, with guests including Stuart & Kathryn Immonen and Brian Ralph! Very exciting!

Also new to the Indie Island list is mini-comicker and blogger Shannon Smith. While he might not be an editor at a big-time New York magazine, he's no less loved--Shannon has been a big supporter (and attendee!) of HeroesCon for years, and we're super-jazzed to be welcoming him to his first HeroesCon as a guest! Besides reviewing comics under his many blogs, including File Under Other, Shannon is also the man behind mini-comics including Small Bible, Brush & Pen, and Phillip Henry!

Welcome to both of our new adds, and stay tuned for more newsy-wewsies! Oh, before I forget--I was interviewed in the most recent Indie Spinner Rack episode, which you may listen to at their site, should you choose.

INDIE ISLAND :: CCS Students Join Fray, Pass Notes

I know I already announced that the Center for Cartoon Studies (CCS) is setting up at their very first HeroesCon this year, but yesterday I was listening to the Indie Spinner Rack podcast, where they mentioned the recipient of the money they've been raising for a scholarship.

Let me back up and hit some key points really quick, just so we're all on the same page: first, Indie Spinner Rack is a great podcast, maybe my favorite one (although those Dollar Bin guys sure are friendly). Last year they published the Awesome Anthology, the proceeds of which they had solemnly vowed to give to a deserving student at CCS. The book itself is sold out from Diamond, although hopefully I can get Charlito and Mr. Phil (the show's giggling hosts) to sell us some for the store. It's pretty great, too, with TONS of good work from people you've never heard of, and some people you have heard of.

So I'm listening to the new ISR podcast yesterday, and after some very nice words about Indie Island, they get into the meat of the podcast, which is to actually call up the recipient of the award and inform them that they've won. Apparently they put together a nominating committee of school faculty and others, and then they all talked about it and chose... Chuck Forsman!

Wait, who?

Which is what reminded me that I forgot to ever announce the addition of three CCS students (including one newly minted scholarship winner) to the Indie Island roster. Ladies and gentlemen, I sincerely hope you'll warmly welcome Chuck Forsman (Snake Oil, Sundays anthology), Alex Joon Kim (Walled City, The Bird & The Bear), and Sean Ford (Only Skin) to their very first Heroes Convention! They'll be joining Joseph Lambert on the list, whose minicomics we still have a few of in our little minicomics rack.

CCS is becoming THE premiere school for budding cartoonists of the do-it-yourself self-publishing school. It includes faculty and special guests including James Kochalka, Steve Bissette, James Sturm, and a ton more, and is turning out some of the most accomplished creators publishing new work today. I'm personally really excited to be welcoming these guys to Charlotte, and hope that you are too!

INDIE ISLAND :: Oni Press, Ninjas, and More!

More updates! Including a very cool one that we've been working on for a while: Oni Press! Increasing the shocking number of publishers and creators attending Indie Island from the Pacific Northwest this year, Oni Press joins the ranks for their very first HeroesCon! They'll be in good company, too, as half of their biggest creators will be here, including Bryan Lee O'Malley, Hope Larson, and Greg Rucka! Super news for us--Indie Island was always conceived as a collection of really awesome elements wrapped around nodes of indie publishers, and it's nice to see that contingent growing as our profile expands on the "scene."

But that's not all: also brand new on the list today is Marc Arsenault, an old hand on the indie scene, having worked as an art director for Tundra and Fantagraphics, with books including Robert Williams' Malicious Resplendence on his resume. His more recent venture is Wow Cool, a publisher and distributor, producing books, DVD's, and records.

ALSO new today are Shane Heron and Joel Buxton, the creative team behind the Awesome Marcus Ninja webcomic. Which, I should say, is pretty funny. I've been meaning to add these guys for over a month, and keep forgetting. They contacted us a few months ago, and Todd and I went and checked out the strip, and ending up reading nearly all of them. I can't explain it, but there's something about it that's really funny, almost every time. Very strange and cool. But hey--don't listen to me--go check it out yourself!

HEROESCON :: Now With Even More Paypal!

Just to let you peeps know right quick--I've just added those two Indie Island promo shirts, which I just can't quit talking about, to our Promotional page, along with handy Paypal links that allow you to avoid talking to us completely!

This is not only to make it easier for you to buy the shirts--although that helps; we really want as much of your money as we can get, honestly--but as a beta test for future potential use. We've got a lot of old promo stuff lying around--Shelton hasn't thrown away anything with a HeroesCon logo on it since--well, ever. So if any of you guys out in Blogtasia use those Paypal links, please let me know how it works, if there are any problems, etc.: dharbin[at]heroesonline[dot]com. For serious! And in the meantime, enjoy the shirts!

HEROESCON | Indie Island Guest List Additions

I'm going to make this a lot faster than these creators deserve, but I should already be home and I'm worried I might be getting sick, which SUCKS because I made it through the entire staff getting the flu one after the other, remaining unscathed. Oh well.

But that's not what I called you all here to announce! Let us forget the waves of ersatz sympathy you are no doubt flooded with currently--forget them! We shall focus instead on a super-awesome group of additions to our Indie Island guest list: just added are Liz Baillie, the SVA grad behind My Brain Hurts and up-and-comer on the indie scene; Mike Dawson, whose book Freddie and Me (upcoming) describes what it's like to grow up as a huge Queen fan (I have to assume it's awesome, right?); and most of the Partyka group of artists. These guys not only put out some really WICKED (nice!) minicomics, but they're regularly getting exposure in big-name venues like Giant Robot. Partyka members attending HeroesCon include Shawn Cheng (The Would-Be Bridegrooms, The Monkey & The Crab, AND the awesome image above I stole from his site); Matt Wiegle (No Fear Shakespeare Illustrated, Elfworld), and guest Partyker John Mejias, who also does the sweet Paping zine.

While I love all my Indie Island guests the same, I'm particularly excited about this group of names, not because they're all giant "draws" or anything, but because they all add a really sweet diversity to the party--Indie Island is going to be less like a little indie section this year, and more like a bazaar, which all sorts of different stuff going on. I'm really looking forward to using my 3 days of influence and sway to score a bunch of free stuff off of all these peeps. You hear me, peeps?

UPDATE!
First of all, I'm not sick, for those of you who are worried. I bought some pomegranate/blueberry juice on special at the grocery store, and it was so thick and nasty that it scared any sickness away. But enough about me! I was so wrapped in self-pity when I posted yesterday that I forgot to mention Jason Horn, the up-and-comer behind the webstrip Ninjasaur, who is also brand new to the Indie Island list. Jason's been to the convention plenty of times over the years, but this will be his very first OFFICIAL appearance as a guest! Welcome, brother!

HEROESCON | Nick Gurewitch Interview Listed In Schedule!

We're putting more effort into building an amazing schedule this year than ever before--by the time of the show, there are going to be so many must-see events that the schedule will end up being as much of an attraction as the guests and exhibitors!

To that end: just added to our 2008 Event Schedule is "The Nicholas Gurewitch Fellowship", an interview with the crazy-famous creator of The Perry Bible Fellowship. I had a chance to hang out with Nick a little bit at last year's SPX, and he was awesome, so put together with my own awesomeness, this promises to be an AWESOME(squared) interview. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'd be doing the interviewing--fortunately, this will be one of the only events that I'm running, leaving the bulk of any thinking and erudition to people much more qualified.

The interview is scheduled for 2.00 pm on Saturday, June 21, but NOTE! all times and locations are subject to change with nearly no notice. You can check out the current up-to-date schedule right here!

HEROESCON | Indie Island Guest Update!

We've been hinting around about this forever, but finally it's official! Just added to the Indie Island guest list are "power couple" Hope Larson and Bryan Lee O'Malley! You may have met Bryan at the store signing he did here last fall, right after Scott Pilgrim 4 came out, but if not, now you'll be able to meet him with a few thousand other people in the background. This will be Hope's first time doing anything Heroes-related, except for meeting me a couple of times at different conventions both hither and thither. And she's still coming! Her star is on the rise like CRAZY lately, not just for her Gray Horses and Salamander Dream books, but also a forthcoming title from Simon & Shuster, and who knows what else after that. Phew!

Regardless, this will be the first HeroesCon for both halves of this husband/wife comics machine--which advances our plan to have all of comics' famous couples in attendance. Why just off the top of my head I can name Bryan and Hope, Stuart & Kathryn Immonen, Matt Fraction and Kelly Sue DeConnick, Evan Dorkin and Sarah Dyer... I know there are a bunch more, but my brain stopped working.

But wait, there's more! Also attending their very first HeroesCon/Indie Island this summer are indie up-and-comers Matt Bernier and Hilary Florido! We just today got a box full of Matt's sweet mini- (actually maxi--they're kind of big for minicomics) comics in the mail, including Out of Water and Potato Autopsy. He's also had work in the Awesome! Indie Spinner Rack Anthology and Critical Citadel. Hilary's books include The True Heart, The Girl's Guide To Stuff, and Ofuro.

Be sure and welcome all four of these guys to their first HeroesCon! Which, fortunately, is going to be the best one ever, which should make a good impression. Another guest list update this Friday!

HEROESCON | Sneak Peek At Indie Island Shirts!

Man, who is this goober? But boy, those shirts look great! These are the only two we got, just to proof, and I quickly snatched them for myself. It looks like we'll have them available for sale Thursday or Friday, so mark your calendars! The top shirt is by Jim Mahfood, and the bottom (modeled by me in true "Dre Day" style) is by Alec Longstreth, who I'm sure really loves early 90's gangsta rap. You're welcome, Alec!

Both shirts look AMAZING, even better than I thought they would. Hats off to our friends at Contagious Graphics, who really do first-rate work, and were extra helpful throughout the process of getting these set up.

If you're seeing these for the first time, a quick review: they're the first two of a planned series of 6 total shirts, each featuring the art of a different Indie Island guest. Once we have them in hand, they'll sell for $20 apiece, plus $5 if you need it shipped within the continental U.S. These are very limited, so if I were you I'd get yours as soon as possible! If you like, I am keeping a little waiting list for when they show up, so feel free to post that you'd like one, especially if we actually know you, which will give your place on the waiting list a little more weight should fights break out.