Recap Later, Rest Now

Reviews are starting to come in over the transom. I’ll post them where and when I can, and try to make a master list in a week or so. The book is getting good reviews nearly everywhere, which means more than I can say. I think issue #7 is a good issue, but it’s one of those ones where I felt tone-deaf. Sometimes that happens to me as a writer where I can’t tell if I’m doing good or bad. So I barrel on, trusting my instincts, and hoping that things come together. It seems like they have, and I’m thrilled about that.

I’ll also address some questions and theories about FCBD. For example, in the review from Craig Reade from Comixtreme.com, he mentions that he’s surprised that I had such a pivotal part of the Love and Capes storyline as a giveaway issue. There are reasons for that, but I'm still fairly fried from a fantastic and packed weekend, so I'll wait until I'm a little more coherent.

Second Review!

So, the second review is in, this time from Douglas Wolk at Salon.com. And it's another good one. An A-minus in fact. Cooler still is that they've got an image on their home page, with a montage of some of the Free Comic Book Day books. There's Superman, and Spider-Man, and Hellboy, and…Mark and Abby? Man, that's sweet.

Here's Doug's review, but check out the full review on Salon's site, too.

Love and Capes #7 • A neat little romantic comedy in superhero drag: The Crusader wants to find exactly the right moment to propose to his girlfriend, but family issues, holidays and occasional spates of crime fighting are getting in the way. It's an airy, self-contained coda to the recent miniseries, and artist Thomas F. Zahler makes visual ideas from contemporary animation work on the page. A-

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.

Pin and Win!

I've been working with Pop Culture Trading Pins for a few months now. I've designed some Archie pins and designs, and we're even doing some Love and Capes pins. The initial set will be Crusader and Abby, Darkblade, and Amazonia. Here, you can see everyone's favorite Nuclear Man with the prototype for the Darkblade pin. As soon as they're available for sale, I'll let you know.

Until then, check out the Pop Culture Trading Pins site here.

Look Who's On teh Internets

My "Del's Folks" interview is up on YouTube. This is my favorite interview that I've done, and it's a pretty good piece all around. I don't know if I'm going to be as huge as the DC vs. Marvel spots, the finest live action superhero show ever, or even this ever popular one but you never know.

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.

Queen and Country

Here's my last holdover from the New York Comic-Con. A lovely lady asked me to draw Mera. She liked the Mera image that I had on display, but wanted something "more regal." I messed around with it a little at the show, but it was a color commission so I knew I needed to do it at home anyway, so I didn't get too far.

It's a good thing I waited, too. Originally, I was drawing Aquaman's queen walking, trying to get that royal vibe, and then it hit me: Put her on the throne. And then another thought: Make the throne a sea shell. I think this one works really well.

Go! Mighty Orbots!

So I was sitting there, innocently minding my own business at my table at the New York Comic-Con when someone comes up and says "Can you draw The Mighty Orbots?"

When I was a kid I loved The Mighty Orbots. It was the first Japanese animated cartoon that I can remember on Saturday mornings. And it was the first (again, that I recall) written for America. Battle of the Planets and Star Blazers were in syndication, but they were translated from the original country. Orbots featured writers like Michael Reaves, who worked with the studio on the show, and Marc Scott Zicree, both of whom would later work on Batman: The Animated Series. The resulting blend was a cartoon that mixed Japanese animation style with American writing sensibilites. It gave it a very different and very cool energy.

Having said that, I couldn't draw the Orbots cold. The series has never been released on DVD, and man, that's a crime. Of course some people have released bootlegs of the series. I wouldn't know anything about that. But, I was able to draw the requested characters (Bo and Boo, the sister robots) once I got home. Make of that what you will.

One of the things I love about doing con sketches is the great selection of characters other people come up with. As much as I loved Orbots, I never would have thought to draw them. I'm glad my purchaser suggested it, though.

Goin' Rogue

There were a couple of commissions from New York that I had to take home. I do offer to color the pieces (for an extra fee, of course), and I need my computer rig to do that. One of those was this piece of Rogue from the X-Men. I did the black-and-white inked piece at the show and showed it to the soon-to-be owner, who liked it. Then I brought it home and colored it.

I've got two more of these to go. I'm glad that these commissions have become part of my con experience. They're so much fun to do.

Men of Iron

I do a couple covers a month for HGR Industrial Surplus. Each cover features photos of their employees in various cartoon situations. This month, their buyers get to pop into an Iron Man cover, to tie in with the new movie. (What? An Iron Man movie? Why haven't I seen this anywhere?)

This one was a lot of fun to do, especially getting to add a couple of the villains. I took some liberties with Iron Monger and War Machine, both of whom wear mostly black armor and wouldn't be as bright or colorful as is proper for this cover. It was cool getting to put in a MODOK and Cleveland's own Blacklash in the art.

I'm hoping to do a Batman one when Dark Knight comes out later this summer.