June 1st, 2011

Wow! So much great stuff going on at Local Heroes and in the comic world this month. We've been super busy with Free Comic Book Day and our Jonathan Hickman appearance that we haven't had time for much else. Speaking of Hickman - he'll be here on the 18th - wow! We can't believe how fortunate we are to have a creator of his caliber in Norfolk to meet the fans, what a guy! Be sure to make it for the event on Saturday, the 18th!

Big news from DC Comics this week, as I'm sure most of you have already heard. They're relaunching every single one of their superhero books with new creative teams and updated characters, in an attempt to get new readers into their comics. A lot of you have asked my thoughts on this, and I'll tell you again, I think it can only be a good thing. The first time I walked into a comic shop and purchased a comic, it was a first issue. People like to start from the beginning, and most of these characters haven't been updated in 20 years or more. Anything that gets more people reading comics is a good thing, I think we can all agree on that. My hope for the DC relaunch is that they make fun comics, plain and simple. Fun comics are why we come back every week, so fingers crossed for nothing but good things from DC.

Free Comics Book Day was our biggest event ever, and a big thanks to everyone who made it out. It got a little crazy at times, but we gave away a metric ton of free comics and we hope you all had a blast - see you again next May!

A great summer for comic movies - we thought Thor and X-Men were awesome! Don't forget that Local Heroes will be at MacArthur for the midnight premier of Green Lantern, with tons of Green Lantern swag and free comics to give away - stay up late with us!

A lot of you have noticed that we've also added a lot of plush, novelties, movies, wallets and other super cool stuff to our inventory as of late. It's all been selling really well and we appreciate it. Don't forget to check the t-shirt board from time-to-time as well, as we get new shirts in every week! Our focus will always be on comics and graphic novels, but a little diversity makes the store that much more fun.

Books of the month were pretty easy for us this month, as two of our favorite authors had new work released. We'll get to those in a minute, but first, we never got to talk about our books of the month for May. We picked Uncanny X-Force from Rick Remender and SHIELD from the, Local Heroes appearing, Jonathan Hickman. Remender and Jerome Opena are writing the best X-Men book on the stands right now - hands down. Fun, beautifully illustrated, action packed and full of "oh shit" moments. Marvel let Hickman run wild with his totally original re-imagining of SHIELD as an organization with a secret history, dating back to Da Vinci and a battle with Galactus? Great stuff on both accounts - check them out!

Onto this month, we chose Chester Brown's Paying For it and Mystique from Brian K. Vaughan (finally collected in one volume).

Paying For It is Chester Brown's memoir about being a John. It might be the most honest and thought-provoking graphic novel I've ever read, as it covers topics from romantic love to the legalization of prostitution to how society views not only prostitutes, but the men who use their services. Brown is a fine cartoonist (Lois Reil, I Never Liked You) but I think he took a huge risk here, as this book will turn a lot of people off. Paying For it is funny at times and depressing at others, but engaging form start to finish. There is also a great appendix full of commentary from other creators, characters in the book, and extensive notes on prostitution from Brown, a great book.

Anyone who knows me knows that I love all things Brian K. Vaughan. From Y: the Last man to Pride of Baghdad to Ex Machina, the guy has never written a bad comic as far as I'm concerned. Mystique was some of his earlier Marvel work, and it holds up as well as any of the other books he's done. I think the appeal of Vaughan's work is that there so damn easy to get into, and Mystique is no exception. He takes a second tier X-Men villain, fleshes her out and makes her fun to read. Mystique needs protection from her enemies, and agrees to go to work for Charles Xavier, but not as an X-Man. She becomes one of Xavier's secret agents, for more politically sensitive assignments. The art in this volume can be a little rough at times, but it never detracts from the story, which is fantastic.

Once again, thanks for reading and even bigger thanks for keeping the doors open here, it means more than you'll ever know!

ntil next time...

-LH (Greg)