September 8th, 2011

Wow! It's been too long since we've posted here, and my mother is really on my back to write a new post - so here it is! So much exciting comic stuff has been keeping us busy in the last couple months - end of Summer comic movies, DC Universe relaunch and some store upgrades to make you like us even more.

The biggest news in comic books this year, hands down, is the all-new DC universe and relaunch of their entire line of superhero comics. We've seen two weeks of these comics and can say already that this effort has been a massive success! We've seen so many new faces and signed up so many new subscribers who are really excited for this new line of comics. Our hopes were high that DC's efforts would bring new readers into our hobby, and it appears to be working so far. Comics excitement in any form is a great thing, so hats off to DC for generating this much buzz.

Our favorite comics of this launch, so far, have been Justice League, Action Comics and Animal Man. Lee and Johns on Justice League feels like a great Summer superhero movie. Grant Morrison made Superman a folk hero and Sweet Tooth's Jeff Lemeire showed why he is one of the most talented new writers of the last five years. Great stuff. One of the books we're most excited for in the coming weeks is Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo's Batman. You might know Snyder from American Vampire and his awesome run on Detective Comics. Greg Capullo's art has never looked better, this combo is going to make for one awesome Bat-Book!

We've added a lot of really great new product lines over the last few months to resounding approval from you guys. Marvel Frenzies have been a smash hit, you can't resist the cute. I Heart Guts and Yo Gabba Gabba plush have sold out and been re-stocked. The Marvel and DC Comics plushies are great, we're almost out of the Star Wars deformed plush. We're glad you guys are digging this stuff and we'll keep bringing you comic related merch until we die.

A lot of you have asked about our annual Halloween Bash, and we're happy to announce that the Third Annual Local Heroes Halloween Bash will be held on Friday, October 29th from 8-11ish in the evening. Stop by the store for an invite!

We've missed a couple months worth of Books of the Month, but we did want to remind you about the books we chose and why, but we'll make it quick so we can get on to this month's picks.

Astonishing Spider-Man/Wolverine: Jason Aaron writes really fun superheroes.

Incognito: Bad Influences: Bruabaker and Phillips on more Incognito? Yes please.

Life With Mr. Dangerous: Cringe-inducing and voyeuristic look at an awkward love life.

B.P.R.D. Plague of Frogs HC: This amazing series, in a handsome hardcover? We'll take two.

And that brings us up to date and onto September's books of the month! A lot of quality reads this month, but Jonathan Hickman's first FF collection and Green River Killer from Dark Horse are the clear winners.

We were pretty sad to see Steve Epting leave his legendary run on Captain America, but knew Marvel would put him to good use, and quickly. Teaming him with Jonathan Hickman on the Fantastic Four was a great fit, and his art here might be even better than his Cap work. FF takes over where the Fantastic Four ended, with the team dealing with the death of Johnny and still trying to be superheroes. Hickman's work on FF has already cemented its place in history, and this version seems like a fresh start. More family oriented, funny at times when Spidey gets in the mix and some genuinely shocking plot twists make this a really fun comic. Hickman and Epting are both at the top of their game, and this is an easy jumping-on point for those of you who might've never read the Fantastic Four.

True Crime from Dark Horse is something we can really get behind, and something they don't do often enough. While we generally prefer our Crime Fiction to be, well, fictional, this one grabbed us and we burned through it in a few hours. Washington's Green River Killer is one of the most famous serial killers of all time, believed to have killed over 70 women. The book is written by Jeff Jensen, whose father, Tom Jensen, was the lead detective on the Green River case. In 2003, after the capture of Gary Ridgeway, Tom Jensen spent 188 days interviewing Ridgeway. Jeff's novel follows his fathers career, work on the case over 15 years and subsequent dealings with the Green River Killer, after his capture. Illustrated in glorious black and white by Jonathan Case, whose art reminds me a little of Chris Samnee. Creepy and engrossing, Green River Killer is a fantastic graphic novel.

That's all we have for now, but don't forget, we're here to make Local Heroes your favorite comic store, so let us know if you ever need anything at all.

Thanks Guys!

-LH (Greg)