Cover Story

So I'm doing a cover for someone. I've got the all-clear to reveal what it is, but I'm still a little gunshy about it. I just can't believe I get to work on this. So, for now, I'll tease you with part of the cover image.

I will tell you that it's for IDW, and it's a licensed property. And I'm just so jazzed I get to do it.

If this one gets approved, I may be doing many more, too.

Storin' and Growin'

For those of you who missed it, Love and Capes #7 (both the retail and FCBD versions) are available for sale in the Love and Capes store. Be fruitful and purchasify!

In Stores This Week, Maybe Even Today

It's the special "Mighty" version of Love and Capes #7. Fair warning, Major Might does not appear inside the issue. He should be in #8 for a bit, though. Maybe he was flying so fast that he showed up an issue early.

Numero Ocho

I decided to take a crack at the cover for Love and Capes #8 today. It's Memorial Day, so things are a little slower than normal, but that's cool. It gives me the chance to do some stuff that I wouldn't have the uninterrupted time to do otherwise. And this cover will be due in a couple of weeks anyway.

I was thinking of what to do for a cover. There's always Mark and Abby. And I know what happens in the story, so I could have done something on that. But then it occured to me that this will be the eighth cover (tenth if you count the two alternate Free Comic Book Day covers) and Darkblade hadn't appeared on a one. Amazonia, the Arachnerd, Major Might and Steel Worker all had. So I started thinking of things that would include him.

My first idea was to have Darkblade coming out of a shower on the phone, calling me saying "Zahler? When will I get a cover? What do you mean 'what am I doing right now'?"

I didn't like the idea of Darkblade not looking heroic, though. And worse yet, something that wouldn't put him in costume. It's a bit of a risk to not put Mark and Abby on the cover. It's why Abby appears in that heart shaped balloon on #6... I couldn't have her missing from the cover of the final issue of the first arc. So I needed to have some typical hero trappings to make it work.

Then, in the shower today, I got an epiphany. What if Darkblade was threatening a thug? And what if I was the thug?

So I did a rough. Darkblade was on camera left, and I was on camera right, and he was holding me straight. I scanned it and dropped it into the Love and Capes template that I designed and it didn't work at all. But that's why you scan the rough. I started to see that if I reversed the positions that I had more room for the dialogue. And if I had Darkblade lifting me up, the diagonal making it more interesting and creating more dialogue space.

There's a trend in covers to not put any words on it. I figure, if it works, do it. And here the dialogue is definitely needed.

I've also been accused of making Mark look like me. I honestly don't see the resemblance. We've both got brown hair. I use myself as a model, but I model for all the characters, so I don't see why he should be any different. So now we can see what I'd look like as a Love and Capes character. And I even worked Abby and Mark into my shirt. A shirt which is available for sale, in fact.

Nothing like a little merchandise plug every now and then.

It's an Honor to Be Next to those Nominated

Like last year, Maerkle Press/Love and Capes will be part of the Saturn Awards gift bags. They'll be celebrated on Tuesday, June 24th at Universal City in California. Some good films, TV, and actors are up there. Cloverfield, Stardust, Enchanted, John Cusack, Johnny Depp, Amy Adams, Alan Rickman, Lena Headey, Brad Bird, the Cohen Brothers and more.

On of my favorite quotes from SportsNight is "show up and see what happens." The deal being, if you never show up, nothing will happen. That's why I do things like this, to get my wares out in front of people who can take it to the next level. It can't hurt, and can, in fact, only help. Maybe Sam Raimi is looking to produce a sitcom. You never know.

Today's the Day!

Go out and get your books. If you're in Dallas near Cape, come by and say "Heidily-Ho!" I'll post my adventures if I get a chance.

Blind, But Now I See

My good friend, the very observant Jesse Jackson, has noted that the Love and Capes: Do You Want To Know a Secret trade is available for pre-order on Amazon.com. Thanks for pointing it out. The link is on the sidebars of the blog and the Love and Capes page, but here it is for those of you on the RSS feed.

IDW and Love and Capes... Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter

Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall has made the official announcement on his blog. I am humbled by the nice things he said, and as most of you know, that takes a LOT. Here's the official press release...

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

The romance continues for Love and Capes Creator Thom Zahler’s super-romantic comic book gets its first trade paperback release from IDW Publishing

San Diego, CA (April 24, 2008)—In many superhero titles, the action comes first and the relationship between the hero and their significant other can be pushed to the sidelines. But not so in creator Thom Zahler’s Love and Capes, a heroically romantic situation comedy in comic book form. The six-part series, in which Zahler handled story and art to critical acclaim and fan adoration, will be collected for the first time in a trade paperback to be released by IDW Publishing this November.

The series has been praised by Harlan Ellison and reviewer Tony Isabella, as well as Salon.com, which awarded an A- grade to the title, calling it “a surprisingly charming tale about a hardworking superhero and his girlfriend. Thomas F. Zahler’s boldly cartoony artwork recalls The Incredibles, and so does his wry, smart dialogue.”

The trade paperback, 152-page collection of the first six issues, will be adorned by a new cover from Zahler. And the story continues on, too. Fans who are curious about the title can read an all-new adventure in the Love and Capes Free Comic Book Day edition that Zahler is releasing on May 3, 2008.

In Love and Capes, Abby and Mark are a typical couple. At least, that's what Abby thinks. Unknown to her, her boyfriend is not just an accountant, but also the super-powered crime-fighter, the Crusader. See Mark tell Abby he's The Crusader. Find out how Abby deals with some of his super-ex-girlfriends. And learn the difference between a weakness and an allergy. Experience their first Christmas and beyond!

“When a writer of Harlan Ellison’s pedigree calls and gushes about a comic book, like he did with Love and Capes,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, “I tend to listen. I really love the sweetness and humor of Thom’s comic—maybe only Tom Beland is writing comics that have as much heart as this book—and was all too happy to put out the first LNC collection under the IDW banner.”

“ I’m thrilled to be working with IDW and doing this collection,” said Thom Zahler. “It’ll be great for the current fans, who have often requested this, and will hopefully expose the series to a whole new audience.”

Love and Capes, a $19.99, 152-page trade paperback (ISBN: 978-1-60010-275-2) will be released in November 2008. For more information on the comic can be found at www.loveandcapes.com.

About IDW: IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, Calif. As a leader in the horror, action, and sci-fi genres, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry including: television's #1 prime time series CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Paramount's Star Trek; Fox's Angel; Hasbro's The Transformers, and the BBC's Doctor Who. IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. In April 2008, IDW released Michael Recycle, the first title from its new children’s book imprint, Worthwhile Books. More information about the company can be found at http://www.idwpublishing.com.

About Thom Zahler Thom Zahler is a writer and cartoonist living in northeast Ohio. He has won several awards for his work, including a 2006 Cleveland Press Club award for his work for Scene Magazine. He is a graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and has worked for the Cleveland Indians, the Colorado Rockies, Marvel Comics and Warner International Publishing. His work has been seen across the country on the national 2004 Prilosec advertising campaign. Recently, he co-authored a Star Trek: The Next Generation short story (with Bob Ingersoll) published in Pocket Books’ Star Trek: The Sky’s the Limit collection. More information about him can be found at http://www.thomz.com

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CAPE and Crusading

This time next week, I'll be winging my way down to Big D (that's Dallas for all you Yankees) for CAPE! Cape is the annual Comic and Pop Culture Expo and the largest Free Comic Book Day event on the planet. I'll be there, Love and Capes #1-6 in tow. And I think I read somewhere that issue #7 is part of FCBD and you can pick that up for free. Yes, now that I think about it, that does sound familar.

I'm really looking forward to the event, and FCBD in general. I'm thrilled to participate and it really is one of my favorite days of the year.

New York Comic Con Day Two: The One With Pictures

It's been another busy and very long day. But, I denied you pictures yesterday, so I'll supply a couple today, along with a quick hit of my day. I'll write more, and hopefully better and more cogently, when I get back in on Monday.

The show was much more crowded today, which was great. Great for the selling, not so much for the moving around. Still, if I have to pick between the two, I pick the selling. Books sold well, and I did a pretty good number of commissions, which is always fun. So far, I've done Mera, She-Hulk, Rogue, Power Girl, Jade and Wonder Woman.

I met a lot of people today. Too many to remember clearly. I got to see Amy Wolfram, absurdly talented write of the Teen Titans Year One series. I chatted with J.M. DeMatties, who seemed mildly impressed that I remembered specifics of his time writing on the SuperboyTV series.

I also talked to another couple of potential clients. I love doing that. The only thing I like more is making them actual clients.

Random con story: They've got a booth for the remake of The Andromeda Strain here. What swag are they giving out? Hand santizer. How perfect is that? There's a photo here but I'm afraid I couldn't get my camera to focus on the right part. Trust me, it says "Andromeda Strain."

Tonight I went out to dinner with Bob Ingersoll, Dwayne McDuffie, Charlotte Fullerton, Josephine Cashman, and a couple of people not in the industry so I won't name check them here. But, if you were to guess Pope Benedict... well, you'd be way wrong. We went to a southern/cajun place called Acme, which strangely did not sell giant rocket skates and jetpacks. Fortunately, the food was great. Sweet potato fries... mmmmmm.*

(* Homer Simpson drooling sound.)

All right, I'm pretty shot, and I've got another day of the con and a drive home ahead of me yet. Sleep now, more later,