Blub, Blub

My friend Thomas who runs the excellent Say it Backwards blog has started a new one, the Underwater Jiu Jitsu blog, devoted to Aquaman. I love SIB, and while Aquaman isn't on my short list of top characters, I look forward to seeing the Sea King through Thomas' unique prism of humor and insight.

Oddly, as I was battling the Vulcan Death Cold yesterday, watching the Indians trying desperately to lose their opening game, I started thinking about the next sketchbook piece. I'd decided to do Mera, Aquaman's wife. I don't know if she's dead anymore, of if they're married anymore or, well, anything. Man, Arthur has been messed up but good. And Mera's been messed up worse.

Heck, Aquaman killed her when she went insane. Well, he threw her onto a sharp piece of wood by accident, impaling her. It didn't take, as she got out of her casket the next day saying "I'm an alien from another dimension. Did you think my anatomy was the same as yours?" Well, you two did have a kid together, so it was a safe assumption that you kept your vital organs in your stomach cavity, but that's beside the point. Then she screamed at him some more and disappeared into a wormhole. Or something.

Anyway, in honor of the new Underwater Jiu Jitsu blog, and just because, here's my Mera illustration. If you really like it, you can buy it here.

Oh, and I think I'm winning the battle with the cold. Hopefully I'll be back to normal in a day or two.

Raise Your Glasses!

Yes, I understand the irony (pun intended) of an Iron Man pint glass. Doesn't mean it's not cool.

Actually, out of all the Toon Tumblers except maybe the Love and Capes glass, this may be my favorite. A lot of them are recreations of a cover or a panel. This one required a lot more design work and tasked my meager knowledge of the Golden Avenger. It features the Classic Bronze Age Iron Man in color, and then a lot of images of his previous armors, from the original clunky tin can look to the Ohio State-themed scarlet and white of the eighties. Finding and recreating the images was fun, even if a lot more work.

It'll be available at the New York Comic-Con, and oh my goodness, I'll be there too at booth 2446!

Frak Yeah!

If, four years ago, you would have asked me what my favorite TV show would be, there's no way I would have said Battlestar Galactica. I like sci-fi, and was looking forward to the miniseries, but Galactica, really?

The mini-series had that languid mini-series pacing and that turned me off a little bit. I wasn't sold on Starbuck being female, and there were other things that left me cool to the project. Still, there were two scenes that stand out that were so cool that I knew I'd give it a chance if it became a series. One was that, in a scene where the Colonial anthem needed to be played, that anthem was the original series theme song. That was a nice nod to the fans of the original show. The other was in the first couple of minutes, the Cylon now known as Number Six was examining a little baby and, in doing so, snapped it's neck. It's not that I'm in favor of infantcide, but it's a brave storytelling choice, and one that really established the Cylons as a cold, calculating threat.

Then the first episode aired, and I was blown away. There was something about doing one hour instead of two that tightened everything. And it's never looked back since.

Battlestar Galactica is just a perfectly executed piece of entertainment. Actors, writers, special effects all work so seamlessly that there's no weak link. It's one of the few shows that have inspired blind trust in me. If Ronald Moore and David Eick said "For the next season, we're going to do BSG as a three-camera sitcom, shot on tape with a laugh track, and bring in Norman Fell as Cylon Number One" I'd have to say "Okay, I'll check it out." That's the kind of trust they've engendered.

The last season of Battlestar starts this Friday. It had dropped of my radar (or DRAIS as we BSG peeps would say) thanks to Sci-Fi's odd "whenever we feel like it" scheduling. But it's back now, and I'm going to enjoy every last minute of it. And, with Galactica on my mind, I've done an illo of the sexy Cylon, Number Six.

Bobble Fish

The Lake County Captains are the single-A franchise of the Cleveland Indians, and their ballpark is maybe five minutes away from Fortress Zahler. I finally made contact with them last year when Comic Heaven and I provided them books for Free Comic Book Day. Since then, we've spoken of a couple of further projects. The first one to come to fruition is this, a Fish Race bobblehead series giveaway.

The Captains have a fish race, featuring Buster Bluegill, Pauley Perch and Willy Walleye. It's the same as the sausage races or condiment races at other parks. Now these three characters will get to live in three-dimensional form, designed by me.

The fish in question are costumes that are more giant masks than full costumes that the runners wear. I had to translate this format into a more cartoony fish figure. I like to call them Bobble Fish, as a little nod to Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. They share a common form and will each sport unique colors.

Click on the fish to the left to see the complete style guide sheet.

They'll be given away on Saturday June 28, Saturday July 26, Saturday August 23. We're working out details so I can hopefully do a signing of the bobble fish one of those days.

And thanks to Comic Heaven, copies the FCBD version of Love and Capes will be given away this Free Comic Book Day, too!

Youthful Indiscretions

A long time ago, or at least it feels that way, I did the illustrations and designed a book called Women Do and Say the Dumbest Things. I did this for Jimmy and Chip on WMJI, Cleveland's number one (and certainly my favorite) Lanigan and Malone Morning Show. The good-natured book did okay, but despite our best efforts all around, it wasn't the runaway hit we'd all hoped for.

Artistically, though, it was a watershed for me. It's here that I first used what would evolve into my Love and Capes style. I broke out of some of the traditional superhero stuff and did some cartooning that opened up a much larger world.

Now, thanks to Wowio, you can read this book for free. There are about 100 stories, all submitted by listeners to WMJI, as well as one submitted by me. It's a short, fun little book.

Jimmy, Chip and I always promised to do a sequel, Men Do and Say the Dumbest Things. "Buy this one and we'll do another," we said. We didn't get enough to do that, but here's a second chance for all of us. Download the book and if it does well enough, maybe you'll see another. And you can submit your stories at the book's website.

Lantern's Light

While I was in Orlando for MegaCon, I met a Green Lantern fan who wanted a sketch done. We wound up doing it through the mail for reasons which don't need exploring at this juncture. He asked which member of the GL Corps I wanted to draw and I gave him three choices: Arisa (I am looking for new pieces for the second sketchbook), Tomar-Re (the example I use for what cool action figures you can get now as opposed to when I was a kid) and a Guardian (the Guardians may have been modeled after Irwin Hasen, who taught me at Kubert). He chose the Guardian Ganthet, so I put this one together.

The customer wanted everything done on green paper, which is all kinds of appropriate for Green Lantern stuff, hence the emerald hue to the illo.

Inevitable, I Suppose

If you’re going to do a bunch of female comic book and sci-fi characters, eventually you’re going to come around to Princess Leia in the slave girl costume. So much has been said and written about it so I’m not going to add much.

Well, except to share this story. Remember that episode of Friends where Rachel dresses us in the Slave Leia costume? Yeah, my first thought wasn’t “Wow Jennifer Aniston in the Slave Leia costume” it was “Hey, why does she have the hairstyle from Star Wars and not the one from Jedi?”

Yeah, I know. I’m pathetic.

Bunnies, Bunnies It Must Be Bunnies!

This is another tracing paper recreation of a MegaCon sketch. I think it's got a lot of great energy to it. I was looking for a place to put it, and what celebrates the resurrection of our Lord better than Victor Von Doom? Okay, not really, but I love writing that Doom dialogue.

Click on the image to see it embiggened. And today's blog title comes from... anyone, anyone... the Buffy episode "Once More With Feeling."

The Neverending Battle

Wait! Don't buy a sketchbook yet!

Do I have your attention? Good. Then read on.

Through teh internets, I've gotten to know Thomas, who not only has a fine first name, but runs the truly excellent Say It Backwards blog, devoted to most things Superman. His nephew is a superhero in his own right, as he's been fighting and beating childhood cancer. Thomas has turned this into a cause and is running an auction to support the Candlelighters organization. The Candlelighters are a group fighting childhood cancer and helping those it attacks and their families. The Candlelighters helped him, and now he's helping them with the auction.

I was asked to contribute a piece, and I was more than happy to do so. If you really need some Thom Zahler art, and want to support a worthy cause, you can bid when it goes online. So, here's what I'm donating:

• Original Supergirl Commission (seen here). There's the black and white original, and the digitally colored high-quality print.
• Full set of Love and Capes.
• Love and Capes t-shirt.

Read more about the Candlelighters here. Read Say It Backwards here. And have a great Easter wherever your here is.

Bedazzled

Few characters are so entrenched in the Seventies (and early Eighties) as the disco queen Dazzler. She could make light from sound, and somehow she had a series that ran for years. And she fought the Enchantress and freakin' Galactus. I never really read her adventures, but I always always aware of her because my cousin who shares a first name with Dazzler used to buy her comics. I knew her from her appearances in X-Men and elsewhere in the Marvel Universe.

I actually think it'd be fun to do a Dazzler series now. Maybe treat her like Britney Spears, a character hunted by the press because of her fame and her mutant abilities. Not that I think Marvel's looking to bring her back or have me write it, but still, it's fun to imagine.

Incidentally, with this piece I've got eight original pieces for the next Powerful Women sketchbook. So if sixteen of you each buy one commission, I can get another sketchbook out. Come on, you know you want to.