So How Was My Free Comic Book Day?

I got a speeding ticket and cracked the face of my Razr phone.

It was fantastic.

Yeah, I did get tagged for driving a little over the speed limit on my way to the signing in Lima. And I dropped my phone putting a couple of spider web (ironic, no?) fractures in the plastic plate in front of the display. And with that being said, it was still fantastic.

I did three radio appearances the day before, and spent most of the day in perpetual motion. I managed to get most of my client work done and be off to see Spider-Man 3. I’ll write more about that i another post.

Anyway, Marc at Alter-Ego in Lima, Ohio invited me to his store to participate in a Free Comic Book Day event. He treated me like I was a far bigger name than I am. Got me a hotel, covered my meals, and everything else I could want. He sent someone to the hotel to pick me up. Heck, I bet you that if I asked him to have a Starbucks’ skim no-whip mocha waiting for me at the signing table, it would have been there with a cardboard sleeve around it.

I got there a little before the store opened at 10:00 and there was already a line. A line, in front of a comic shop. It was a glorious site.

I set up, people came into the store, and I started signing and doing free sketches at 10:00am.

Then it was 4:00pm.

Seriously, it was that quick. Six hours of drawing and talking and signing. Six hours with one two minute bathroom break and occasional bites of the Cupie’s burger in my left hand as I drew with my right. Six. Hours.

And I never felt tired.

I do caricature gigs all the time. After four hours of that, I start to fade a bit. Six hours is close to insane. Yet not this time.

I think it was the people. Shortly after I got there, a camera crew from the NBC affiliate came in and asked me some on camera questions. One of them was “How does it make you feel to see all these people?”

“Scared. Thats a lot of people.”

I shouldn’t have been. To a person, they were all great to talk to and to draw for. I met kids and adults. People interested in becoming artists and people who didn’t really read comics. My friend Sarah surprised me and came by for the event, and I thanked her by letting her work my table so I could draw more.

And boy did I draw. Venom was the most popular, followed by Spider-Man and Catwoman. I drew a couple Things, a few Batmans, and a couple of Abby and Marks. One person asked for my favorite character, so I hope he likes his picture of Firestorm. No one wanted Aquaman, though.

I signed a couple hundred issues of Love and Capes, I figure. And I chatted constantly, I gave people advice on becoming cartoonists, my theories on women, and even singing songs from the Buffy musical. Seriously. It was just six of the best hours evet.

Now, I fully realize they weren’t all there to see me. Very few of them were. They were there for the Art Monkey, the guy who did drawings, not the creator of Love and Capes. I’m fine with that and it was still a blast.

Some of them must have liked the free book though, because I sold a good number of issues #1-3, and even a couple Raider trades.

I haven’t had a chance to check in with Comic Heaven or the Lake County Captains to see how their respective events went. As soon as I find that out, I’ll let you know.

Wow, it's a trilogy!

I was set up with Toon Tumblers, but being out of the comics section, sales were not brisk. I didn’t want to bring the books back with me, so I wrote a number of them off as advertising and passed them out to people waiting in line. My feeling is, somebody gets #2, they might buy #1 and #3.

I also passed them out to some creators who were particular inspirations to me, like Kyle Baker, and friends of mine, and to Podcast Alley.

We’ll get to the podcasters in a minute. I happen to know Feedback from “Who Wants to be a Superhero.” I met him at Mid-Ohio-Con, and we’ve been friendly since. He liked Love and Capes and I wanted to bring him the new issue. I was politely waiting in line for him to get done talking to his fans, when one of his boothmates, Nitro-G, also from “Superhero” saw me and my books and shouted “Hey, are you the guy who does Love and Capes?!” Turns out, he’s a fan. That was nice to hear. And, I don’t usually get yanked out of line to talk to the guests.

(Although that did happen when I saw James C. Leary from “Buffy” signing at his booth. But still, not that common.)

Anyway, podcasting…

One of the neat things that the New York show has done is embraced podcasting. They produce a series of podcasts to help promote the show and interview some creators, and that’s cool. They also have a section of booths specifically for other podcasters.

If you stop by the blog often, you know I’m a crazy Podcast fan. Comic Pants is one of my favorites, but Raging Bullets and Comic Geek Speak are climbing the charts.

So I passed out some books to the podcasters, hoping to score a mention or two. Any publicity is good publicity. So I went to one table and did my pitch and they said: “You’re Thom Zahler?”

Puzzled, I said “Yes...”

“The guys on Raging Bullets talk about you all the time. They love Love and Capes. You have to go see them.”

No fool I, I went over there. Turns out, there are big fans of my work. They’ve got the Love and Capes webstrip on their site. They even love Raider. One of them did the Wayne’s World “We’re not worthy” thing. Man, stuff like that keeps me going sometimes.

And, while I was passing out Love and Capes, I was surprised at how many people have heard of it, or have read it. I was talking to a colorist from England, and mentioned “Oh, I do this little book called ‘Love and Capes’ and…”

She cut me off. “Love and Capes? I know this book. I saw it in San Diego.” So, the word is getting out there, I just need to capitalize on it. And not screw up.

There’s this scene in the tragically-unwatched “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip” that haunts me. Matt (Matthew Perry) has a countdown clock in his office, letting him know how long he’s got to write the next episode of his weekly sketch comedy show. After writing his first show, and having it go over well, he walks back into his office, and the camera whip pans to the countdown clock, starting over. Sometimes that what Love and Capes feels like. It’s a hungry monster, waiting for me to misstep.

But getting the support I did from the people who have read the book, that’s a pretty nice crutch to lean on.

So it was a great show, and one I’ll do again next year. A lot of fun, and a great crowd to be sure.

It beat me up, too. I did a lot of walking, more than I can remember since Vegas, and probably much more than that. I think I need better tennis shoes, as I got a few blisters on my feet from the walking. By the end of the weekend, I was pretty much in pain from the waist down.

Then, beaten and batterd but optimistic from a good show, we went home around 4pm. It was Sunday night. Perhaps you heard about the snowstorm? Well, Paul and I drove through it.

New York to Timberlake should take around eight, maybe nine hours. Well, we hit some snow. Bad snow. At times, I was driving at 25 miles per hour. It wasn’t scary, as there weren’t a lot of other cars or trucks on the road, and blessedly, there weren’t many bad drivers among them, but still it was thick.

I gave up coffee this year for Lent, but deciided that Sundays didn’t count. (It’s a Catholic thing. Check it out.) That was good, as I made sure to have a couple of cups along the way home. And Paul was great. We had several heated discussions about writing and comics and all sorts of stuff. He stayed up the whole time, and honestly, as tense as the driving was, I was never really tired thanks to the conversation.

Around 3:30am, we pulled back into Casa de Zahler. (For those of you doing the math, that’s closer to eleven hours.)

I decided to skip kickboxing in the morning. I think you can understand why.

New York Comic Con, the show so nice I'm blogging it twice

So here’s my specific show fun. Paul Storrie, talented writer guy and good friend, drove from Michigan to Zahlerdu and we drove out together, and shared a room. This made so many things so much nicer. I didn’t have to fly and could bring more stuff easily, and could split driving costs with Paul. The Ohio-to-New York drive is one have done so many times that, should I ever have kids, they will be able to find their way there just by genetic imprinting. So why did I make it so many times? I went to art school just outside of NYC in Dover, New Jersey, at the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and Graphic Art.

I haven’t driven to The City So Nice They Named It Twice since my 2002 taping of “Who Wants to be a Millionaire.” And I haven’t been to my old stomping grounds at Kubert since even before then. So, having enough time, I stopped at the Kubert School.

Or what was left of it.

The Kubert School is undergoing some renovations. Minor ones, that involved tearing the entire building apart. One does question why they waited until the school year to start these, but I know that regardless, these renovations were desperately needed. The school was old, and a little decrepit. The rooms were freezing cold during the winter, except the life drawing rooms, which were kept in the “bake” mode so that the barely-clothed models could be comfortable.

I can already see new windows on the school, so that’s a step in the right direction.

Kubert’s a special time in my life. The memories of that time will be with me forever, and I met some of my best friends there. The place itself, though, was boot camps for artists, and often just as pleasant. Sometimes I don’t know how I made it through, but I’m glad I did. I wouldn’t be able to do half the things I can do now, both in art and in life, if I hadn’t gone there.

Since I registered too late for Artists Alley space, I was homeless at the show. Fortunately my friend and client, Paul Merolle, who owns Toon Tumblers was exhibiting at the show. You’ve seen me post pictures of these glasses, which I consider my good china here at the house. I love these things.

I helped Paul set up and run his booth, along with his sister and a friend of Paul’s. Paul has over thirty different glass designs, and had an incredible volume of product with him. As you can see in the pictures, there were several towers of glass cases that took up most of the booth. I was frequently behind the booth, looking for a buried case of Punisher glasses or somesuch. It was thick at times, but it was a lot of fun.

Plus, it gave me a base of operations. I managed to run into a bunch of people that were just wandering by, and that presence helped me a lot. I managed to talk to a producer at Comedy Central (I am SO trying to get Colbert to appear in “Love and Capes #5”), my account rep at Diamond, a couple of clients and advertisers for LnC, and all sorts of people. Too many to mention here.

Paul also bought lunch every day, and he knew some good places in town. There was an Italian Deli that made some great pizza and sandwiches.

And, while I’m on the subject of New York, I dont know how they do it, there’s something about a New York bagel. Don’t know what, but man, they’re good.

Back to the show in a minute.

Paul and I stayed at the Hotel Pennyslvania. It was nice in the lobby, and a bit spartan on the inside. It not a fancy place, to be sure, but they gave us a decent room for an incredible price, so I can’t complain too much...

...except, of course, for their lack of internet in the rooms. They had WebTV, but no way to get your own computer online. There was a phone, but neither Paul or I could get our computers on line through dialup.

This is why I want an iPhone.

You see, I am Thom Zahler Art Studios. There’s no one to handle things while I’m gone. Staying in touch is a necessity. And, well, let’s say that I have one client that can be high-maintenance.

I can get e-mail on my phone, but it’s limited and generally a pain. I checked my e-mail and saw that the aforementioned client had e-mailed saying they needed something new at the last minute. Sure, I saw it coming, but it didn’t make it better. It was something I only needed an internet connection to fix, but I did need an internet connection.

So where could I get an internet connection? Then I remembered: The Apple Store. New York has an Apple Store that is open twenty-four-freakin’-hours-a-day!

(I told the GF about this. “It’s open 24 hours! Do you know how many times I’ve needed an Airport Extreme at 3am?” “No how many?” “None! But if I did, I could go there.” Sometimes it’s a wonder she sticks with me.)

So Paul and I trekked down Fifth Avenue almost to Central Park, where the Apple Store resides. I gotta say, it’s pretty impressive as stores go. And, I was able to get my client taken care of. To show you how advertising work compares to some comics, those e-mails I sent probably paid for my trip.

And next is the wrap up of my New York Comicon experience. Here, my ego gets even bigger thans to some well-meaning people, and Paul and I drive through the Casket of Ancient Blizzards. Curse you Walt Simonson...!

New York Comic-con, Part One

I love New York. But not in a copyright infinging “We own the I HEART NY” kind of way.

Last year, New York got a real comic convention back. I was courted by them to attend the show, but it was the same weekend as MegaCon in Florida. I’m an Ohio boy, and I love my snow, but if you give me a chance to spend a week in the middle of February in either New York City or Orlando, I will pick Orlando every time.

This year, they were a week apart. I had to cancel one of the shows, because I was on such a Love and Capes deadline. I cancelled my appearance MegaCon, despite that meaning I wouldn’t be able to see my friends down there (shout out to Barb, Jodi and Sandi!), and did NYC. I had committments there, especially working the Toon Tumblers booth, that made that the show to do.

I’d heard great things about the show and I’ll be darned if most of them weren’t true.

New York Comic-Con is clearly already the number two show in the country, bested only by San Diego. Chicago was the former #2, and while it’s been a while since I’ve done that show, the last time I went in 2005, you could tell it was starting to fade. It’s not a comic book show anymore, not how it was the year I went previously in 2003. And yeah, San Diego is so not a comic show anymore, but a Hollywood and pop culture extravaganza, but it’s still the place to be if you’re in comics.

In contrast, New York is actually a comic book show. There were media guests and pop culture booths and all the other non-comic trappings, but comics were still the focus. That’s nice to see.

And, it’s pretty well run. Last year, they had so many people the fire marshalls had to lock down the show on Saturday. This year they were better prepared for it. They stopped selling walk-up tickets on Friday morning, something not even San Diego has had to do. I know people had problems with parts of the show, everyone does, but here are the things I liked and had to call out:

1. Small press wasn’t ghetto-ized, as it frequently is. They were on the main floor. Small press space is more expensive than in San Diego, but given the placement, it’s worth it. They’re near the major comic companies, and not in a corner or special room, as so many places are.

2. Imagine the letter T. Now, fill in the vertical bar with Artist’s Alley. On the top bar, put in gaming and media guests (like the gang from Buffy and Gary Coleman, and Feedback, Fat Momma and Nitro-G from “Who Wants to be a Superhero?”). What this did is caused people to have to walk through Artists Alley to get to the media guests. Foot traffic is an important thing to notice at a convention, and that was a good thing.

3. Friday started with an actual professional show. At other shows, the show opens early for professionals and guests who pay enough. Maybe NY handles it the same way, but it didn’t seem like that. I got to talk to a bunch of professionals and retailers and people I needed to talk to that would have been harder if the masses were there.

4. They had the show office open as of Friday to buy space. Seeing and liking the show, I decided to take advantage of this. Here’s what amazed me, having dealt with San Diego: They took credit cards. They took a deposit. They gave me a receipt and proof of payment. And they gave me a space.

Compare this to a certain other show that I’ve had problems with, that wants payment in full by cash or check, no credit cards, on the last day of the show to reserve a space for next year, and to get the early bird discounts. They don’t offer any proof of receipt of the check, so if they lose it, you’re out of luck. They then hold on said check for eight months before cashing it, miss their deadline for when they say they’ll confirm booth space, as they take until the week before the con hotels go on sale to let you know if you’ve gotten a space.

Now, the only thing that was similar was that if you wanted Artists Alley, you had to go on the waiting list, as that was already filled or spoken for. Some places do first-come, first served. Others do first refusal. I can see both sides, so I can’t complain about that.

Now, NY wasn’t perfect, and here are some places they can make some improvements:

1. In the Artist Alley, there were a couple people there who were selling product, not artists or writers. There was one art dealer who had three or four full booths to sell original artwork. Now, the Alley is the place to sell artwork, but I’d rather he be sent to the main floor and those eight (two to a space) artist spaces be opened up to other creators.

2. Remember how I said how I liked that you had to go through Artists Alley to get to the media guests? The media guest area was clearly marked as GAMING AREA. I didn’t find it until Saturday by accident. Better signage would have helped.

3. Security was often gruff and unfriendly. Now, they have a difficult job to do, but a lot of their complaining was based on people not using the right entrance and exit locations. Again, if they would have been labeled, maybe I would have known which was which.

Next, he second of three, count 'em three, blogs about my time at New York Comiccon. Here I cover the devastation that was wrought upon the Kubert School but the Constructicons, and a late-night trip to the Apple Store from Krypton.

On the Floor!

I received word from Rod at Comic-Con International yesterday that I do have a space at the 2007 show! It's good to get that out of the way. No booth number as of yet, but I'll be in the comics section. Make sure to come on by and see me! By that time, I'll have five, count 'em five issues of Love and Capes, as well as the first three Raider graphic novels and Long Distance. I'm working on other things to make this my best show yet, so keep checking back and see what I come up with.