One of our customers has started a local comic art drawing meetup, and the first meeting is January 20th. I’m posting his email about it here, with his permission.

Chapel Hill Comics is not officially involved in  this meetup, but like Jan says, we do have copies of Drawing Words and Writing Pictures by Matt Madden and Jessica Abel, which he’ll be using in the group.  Here is his announcement:

We are starting a comics group that will focus on practicing and honing the skills involved in creating comics.

1st and 3rd Wednesdays the first one would be on January 20th at 6:30.
We will meet twice a month for a couple of hours each session. The group will do exercises from the book “Drawing Words & Writing Pictures” by Jessica Abel and Matt Madden. We will also look at and talk about our homework from the previous meeting.

The lessons focus on different aspects of comics such as single panel, strip, and longer stories; penciling and inking; narrative arcs and characters; and layout design. This group is for anyone who likes comics and telling stories, you don’t have to be confident in your drawing skills. We will have space for some kids but they will have to be comfortable hanging with a bunch of adults and taking care of themselves.

If you do decide to do it you would get more out of it if you buy yourself a copy of the book. Chapel Hill Comics said they could order them for us.

If you are interested contact janthehero@juno.com. we are hoping to get together a eager group of between 5-10 people. thanks - looking forward to it- Jan Burger

Thanks,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics
316 W Franklin St
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Rory Root died Monday. He was the owner of Comic Relief in Berkeley, one of the most revered comic shops in the country. I talked to him on comic book professional message boards, via email a few times, on the phone once or twice, and at the annual meetings of ComicsPRO.  I didn’t know Rory all that well, but over the hours since I learned of his death, I’ve remembered several times that he helped me out with advice in the first couple of years that I owned the shop.

Our last communication was in the comments of this post at the blog at Newsarama, in which we were two of the four retailers interviewed about getting indy comics into comic shops. It was a tiny but positive comment (”Good add Andrew.”), and I’m glad for it now.

Rory and me. Photo by Anna Warren.

Thanks,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics
412 W Franklin St
(Soon to be 316 W Franklin St)
Chapel Hill, NC 27516

Dateline, Chapel Hill: The city trembles in anticipation of comic writer Jeff Parker.

Jeff Parker is the writer of many books from Marvel, including:

• X-Men: First Class
• Spider-Man / Fantastic Four
• Marvel Adventures Fantastic Four
• Marvel Adventures Avengers

These Marvel Adventures books are great, fun self-contained all-ages books. Anyone can read and enjoy them. Signed Marvel Adventures books would make a great gift for kids who love Spider-Man, the Avengers, Fantastic Four, or any of Marvel’s other characters!

Jeff is also the writer of Walk-In from Virgin, and the writer and artist of The Interman, from Octopus! We’re pleased to announce that he’ll be appearing at Chapel Hill Comics from 4pm until 6pm on Thursday, December, 13. Please stop by after school with your comic-loving kids, let them meet the writer of some of their favorite comics, pick up some books, and get them signed!

To learn more about Jeff’s Marvel Comics, Click Here!

Thanks,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics

Another Halloween has come and gone at Chapel Hill Comics! We were visited by Too Much Coffee Man, Green Lantern, Starman, Death, and even the front page of Wikipedia! Check out the photos! Everyone who came by in costume walked away with free Halloween comics!

Also, Click Here to see pictures from Halloween 2006!

Thanks to everyone who participated!
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics

Also, Click Here to see pictures from Halloween 2006!

First of all, here’s the link to our previous post on our friend Mike Wieringo.

We will be collecting money starting today at the store to make donations to the ASPCA and the Hero Initiative as requested by Mike Wieringo’s brother Matt. If you’ve got an extra buck or two when you come in, throw it in the box, and we’ll send it along in Mike’s name.

I just remembered that we still had copies available of the following Mike Wieringo comic: the DF Premiere Tellos Prologue. We will be giving away copies with any donation while supplies last. We started the day with 60 or 70 copies, so who knows how long they’ll last. The comic includes a 10 page Tellos comic by Todd Dezago and Mike Wieringo, and 12 pages of sketches and interviews. It’s a great introduction to the world of Tellos, if you’ve never read it. Please consider donating any amount at the store to receive one of these fine comics.
If you’d rather donate individually, their websites are:

http://www.aspca.org
http://www.heroinitiative.org

Thanks,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics

I learned earlier today that my friend Mike Wieringo died this weekend. Lots of folks who shop with us know Mike’s work. Over the years he was the penciller on lots of great comics, from the Flash, to Superman, to the Fantastic Four, to his and Todd Dezago’s creator owned fantasy series Tellos.

I can’t claim to have been as close a friend as others who have posted elsewhere online, but I wanted to share my thoughts of Mike, just to let folks know that we haven’t just lost a great comic artist, we’ve lost a truly kind, gentle, and wonderful man.

I met Mike when I was 19 or 20; I was working for Dan Breen, back when he owned the business and it was called the Second Foundation Bookstore. Mike came in with some of his studiomates, picked out some books, and came to the register. I noticed his name on his credit card, and was dumbstruck: Mike Wieringo was my favorite comic book artist, and I had no idea he was local! I introduced myself and stated that I loved his work, and played it pretty cool. I didn’t want to seem like too much of a fanboy.

Mike Wieringo with a fan at Free Comic Book Day in 2003.

Mike was great. He was kind, humble, and very appreciative of the fact that I was a fan. Having seen him interact with lots of people over the years, I know now that he would have been just as nice to me if I had gushed at him about his work.

Over the years, Mike was a consistent customer in the store, and I was a consistent fixture behind the register. Over the course of the fifteen years that I went from a part time summer clerk to the owner of the store, I always enjoyed talking to Mike every time I saw him in the store. Even if I was completely bogged down in orders or bookkeeping in the office, I always made a point to come out to see Mike if I heard his voice.

At some point I started to think of Mike more as a friend than a customer or colleague in the industry.

Mike reading a comic by Claude, one of our regular customers.

He was always fun to talk to: sometimes he’d hang out in the store for 45 minutes or an hour before mentioning that he needed to get back to his work. We talked about my plans for the store, his upcoming projects, our cats, the last season of Deadwood, all kinds of stuff.

He was very generous with his time: He did a couple of signings in the store despite his frequently crushing work schedule, and each time stayed longer than scheduled to meet the demand of fans who wanted signatures and sketches. We have a lot of customers who are young kids, and lots of them brought their own comics for Mike to read at the last signing we had. He read them all and was very encouraging and complementary to the kids who drew them.

He loved comics: Mike was maybe the most omnivorous comic reader I’ve ever encountered. We shared interests in several artists, and would both gush over them when a new book came out. Despite the fact that Mike was a comics professional, he never stopped being a fan.

He loved animals: If you looked at Mike’s personal work, you’d know this without ever speaking to him. He considered his cat Charlie his best friend. He was a vegetarian, and while his health was certainly a concern, part of the reason was that he simply loved animals too much to eat them.

He was the kindest, most gentle person I knew: I don’t know what more to say about this; it’s hard to pick an example because his kindness and friendliness were present in every single conversation I ever had with him.

I miss Mike.

Links (The high traffic volume is causing database errors at Newsarama and seems to have affected Mike’s site too, so try back later if you can’t get through now):

Newsarama Story: Mike Wieringo Passes Away.

Mike’s brother Matt will be posting updates at Mike’s website: MikeWieringo.com

Remembrance by Mike’s friends:
Mark Waid, Todd Dezago, and Karl Kesel
Scott Kurtz
Jeff Parker
Jamar Nicholas
A lot of folks loved Mike, so I’m sure I’m missing people here.

Mike and me.

Thanks,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics

Chapel Hill Comics, the triangle’s oldest comic book and graphic novel store, is proud to announce Giants and Dragons, an art show which highlights the art of 11-year old artistic sensation Tristan Mead.  Mead has exhibited his art twice before in Chapel Hill Comics as part of our annual Kids’ Art Show.

Tristan’s art is colorful, detailed, and large, and features giants, dragons, and other mythological creatures.  We were so impressed with his art and with the response it got from our customers that we asked Tristan if he’d like to do a solo show!

Giants and Dragons: the Art of Tristan Mead will open Friday, May 11, 2007, with a reception from 6pm until 9pm at which you can meet the artist.  The exhibit will be up until June 8, 2007.
Please check out some of his art from the show below!

Thank you,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics

Basic Schedule information:
Giants and Dragons: The Art of Tristan Mead
May 11 - June 8, 2007
Reception: 6-9pm, May 11, 2007
Chapel Hill Comics
412 W Franklin St
Chapel Hill, NC 27516
(919) 967-4439

Every year, our local weekly newspaper, the Independent, gives awards to businesses in the triangle based on readers’ votes. This year, for the first time, they have included a “Best Comic Book Store Category.”

We’re very excited that they have decided to include this category, and would like to ask all of who think we’re the best store in the Triangle to vote for us! We’re very proud of our staff, selection,and atmosphere, and will be voting for ourselves in just a moment.

If you’d like to vote for us too, here’s how. Click here to jump directly to the poll, then enter your email address, name, and zip code. After that, you’ll be taken to the poll form where you can fill in the names of your favorite local businesses, events, and personalities!

You’ll need to vote in at least 27 of the 108 categories for your vote to be counted; considering how many fantastic shops and restaurants we have on our block of Franklin Street alone, you shouldn’t have a problem!

Here’s the link again:
Best of The Triangle 2007 Voting
Independent Weekly Webpage

WHO: Tommy Lee Edwards, artist of Marvel’s new series Bullet Points and cover artist of Daredevil!

WHAT: Bullet Points #1 Signing!

WHEN: Wednesday, November 15, from 1pm until 3pm!

WHERE: It’s gotta be at Chapel Hill Comics: 412 W Franklin St, Chapel Hill, NC 27516!

WHY: Because we love you!

This Wednesday, November 8, we will be receiving our copies of Bullet Points #1, by J. Michael Straczynski and Tommy Lee Edwards. What is Bullet Points about? Well, here’s Marvel’s solicitation text:

THE STORY:
World War II. America needs a super soldier. Only one man possesses the formula to create the perfect fighting machine from volunteer Steve Rogers. But when a deadly bullet kills Dr. Erskine along with his bodyguard, M.P. Ben Parker, Steve’s destiny—and that of the Marvel Universe—is changed forever.
32 PGS./Rated T+ …$2.99

Sound like something you want to read? Come by and pick up a copy of Bullet Points #1 next Wednesday, and have it signed on the 15th. Or just wait until the 15th week and have Tommy sign the book when you buy it! Let’s have those essential details again:

Tommy Lee Edwards will be signing Bullet Points #1 at Chapel Hill Comics on Wednesday, November 15, 2006, from 1pm until 3 pm! Come and check it out!

Thanks,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics

Here we see Comedians of Comedy Patton Oswalt and Brian Posehn, who clearly has excellent taste in Comic Shops!  We highly recommend seeing these guys live if you ever have the opportunity!  This picture was taken from Patton’s Myspace Page.

Thanks,
Andrew Neal
Chapel Hill Comics