Thom-e-o Killed the Radio Star

The Free Comic Book Day madness continues. On Friday, I'll be appearing on a few radio shows. First, in the 8:00am hour, I'll be on the Mud, Mihalik and Mike show on Cleveland's WNCX 98.5FM . I'll be talking a little bit about Free Comic Book Day in general, and the Lake County Captains Love and Capes giveaway. You can listen live here.

Then, I'll most likely be doing a quick shout-out at the close of the WMJI 105.7FM Lanigan and Malone morning show around 10:00am. Normally, they would have me on, but they were booked wall-to-wall that day. I'm grateful for any promotion they can give me, so I am in no way complaining. You can listen to them here.

This will all wrap-up with an appearance as a guest panelist on "Stump the Panel" on WTAM-1100AM's Bob Frantz show. I'll be the comic book expert so they can take some Spider-Man 3 related questions. That'll be in the 11:00am hour, and you can listen live here.

All this, and I'll be appearing at Alter-Ego Comics 10am-4pm the next day (May 5th). Come by to beautiful Lima, Ohio, and I'll talk to you, sign stuff, even draw stuff. How cool is that

Trek Check

Bob and I did our final revisions on “’Til Death,” our Star Trek: The Next Generation story. It was a good, but a little bit of an odd, experience. Working on Raider and Love and Capes, I don’t have an editor other than myself. On this story, we did, so we got a marked-up copy of the manuscript and had a couple of really minor edits to make. And, the check arrived, too. My first paid for and (soon-to-be) published prose story. It’s a good day.

The Book So Nice I Made It Twice

The special Secret Identity version of Love and Capes #4 is in this month's Previews. Inside, it's exactly the same as the Free Comic Book Day issue that will be in stores next week. It's order code MAY073608.

So why did I, someone who suffered through the chromium-foil-embossed-scratch-and-sniff covers of the Nineties, do an alternate cover version? Because for as much as Free Comic Book Day is promoted, there are people who may not get a copy. Maybe the store foolishly under-ordered it, maybe my throngs of fans will grab all the copies, or maybe they'll be in a post-Spider-Man 3 coma and unable to get to a shop. If you miss the FCBD edition, get the secret identity version.

Do I expect you to buy a copy if you've gotten the free one? Well, I'm certainly not going to discourage you from doing that, but, honestly, you don't have to. You certainly could, though. I mean, you do want a complete set of Love and Capes, right?

FCBD Review

Johanna Draper Carlson has some nice things to say about the Free Comic Book Day issue of Love and Capes at Comics Worth Reading.

Love and Capes (Maerkle Press) is my favorite superhero series. Since the issues are normally $4 (and worth it!), getting one for free is a great deal. How apropos that this issue (#4) opens with the Crusader (in his civilian identity) and Abby (his girlfriend) going to see the new Arachnerd movie. Picking on a spider-character is timely and a good choice to demonstrate the series’ humor. The book also explores how a superhero in his secret identity puts up with his girlfriend’s family picnic and follows Abby to a theater audition. Aside from the funny, I love the way the two leads seem like they have a real, loving relationship.

A Little Housekeeping

I've added a new feature to my website, on that might strike you initially as strange or a nuisance: A Challenge Feature in the blog.Here's what's happening... I am getting a TON of spam on the comments section. So, in an effort to squelch it, I've added the Challenge Plug-in, so now you'll be asked a question to verify that you're a real person, and not a SpamBot. The question, by the way, is pathetically easy. It is What is the odd way I spell my first name?

Press Release: Lake County Captains Celebrate Free Comic Book Day with Local Cartoonist

On Saturday May 5th, Thom Zahler Art Studios will team up with the Lake County Captains to bring Free Comic Book Day to the ballpark. Free Comic Book Day is a national outreach program that promotes the comic book art form by encouraging the public to stop by their local comic book specialty store and receive a free comic book.

"Since my newest issue of Love and Capes is being exclusively distributed nationwide in comic shops on May 5th as part of Free Comic Book Day, I thought it might be fun to extend the idea to baseball fans right here in my home town.", said cartoonist Thom Zahler. With the support of the Lake County Captains and Comic Heaven in Willoughby, all fans attending the 1:05pm Captains vs. Blue Claws game at Classic Park will receive a free random copy of Love and Capes, issues #2 and #3. The newest issue, #4 is only available at comic book specialty stores that same day.

Love and Capes is the ongoing story of Abby and Mark. She's a bookstore owner. He's an accountant who also happens to be the city's top super powered crime fighter, The Crusader. This situation offers some hilarious and offbeat challenges to their romantic relationship. Love and Capes is written and drawn by Thom Zahler, an award-winning cartoonist and illustrator, based out of Timberlake, Ohio. Zahler has worked in the comics field for over ten years, and his artwork has appeared all over the world.

The Lake County Captains are the single-A farm club for the Cleveland Indians, based in Eastlake, Ohio. Their website is www.captainsbaseball.com. For more information regarding Free Comic Book Day and to find a comic book shop near you, visit www.freecomicbookday.com. Love and Capes can be found on-line at www.loveandcapes.com and www.myspace.com/loveandcapes. 

To schedule an interview with Thom Zahler call 440-269-8653 or email tz@thomz.com.

COVER #2
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc02cvr_print.jpg
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc02cvr_web.jpg

COVER #3
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc03cvr_print.jpg
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc03cvr_web.jpg

COVER #4
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc04cvr_print.jpg
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc04cvr_small.gif

INTERIOR IMAGES
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc02_03int_print.jpg
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc02_03int_web.jpg
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc03_05int_print.jpg
http://www.loveandcapes.com/pr/lnc03_05int_web.jpg

Like a Trip to the Dentist

I'd hoped to have eight pages of issue five done this month. I'll be lucky to have six. For some reason, they're coming slowly. It'll pick up, I know it will. It always does. And I know I'll bring it in on deadline. But for now, it's like pulling teeth.

So, here's a panel from page four. Yeah, they go to a tiki bar. Can't say as I've been to one before, but they always looked cool to me, and besides, I've become a big fan of TikiBarTV. Using a tiki bar as a backdrop is a cool visual, and once I thought of the name for the place, I was hooked. The name? The Riki Tiki Tavern.

Okay, I'm off to bed, to hopefully figure out page five as I drift to sleep.

The Kindness of Strangers

I have to give a big shout-out to Comic Heaven in nearby Willoughby. They are graciously donating bags and boards for the Lake County Captains Free Comic Book Day promotion. So, if it rains (and please, God, let it not rain that day) the books will be safe. Also, the bags will allow me to add an advertising insert, and that's not a bad thing either.

Take Me Out to the Ball Game

I’ve had my Secret Meeting and it went well. Well enough that I can talk about it.

I’ll hit you with an official press release in the next couple of days, but for you, the loyal readers of my blog, I can announce that I’ll be participating in a Free Comic Book Day promotion with the Lake County Captains, the Cleveland Indians’ farm team in nearby Eastlake.

People attending the May 5th (hey, that’s Free Comic Book Day) Lake County Captains game against the Lakewood BlueClaws.will receive a random copy of Love and Capes, either issue #1, #2, or #3.

Why not #4? Because that’s the Free Comic Book Day issue, and I don’t want to compete with the local comic shops. If you want that, you’ll have to visit one. Since the game is a day game, I’m hopefully going to be able to work something out with my local shop to donate some bags and boards in return for an advertising insert driving people to their store.

It should be a great way to get LNC into the hands of people who wouldn’t have otherwise seen it, and get some good coverage for the book.

Back on the Horse Again

After my brief sojourn to the city of Lost Wages, I came back and had to battle with the Dreaded Vacation Malaise. I just didn't want to do anything, probably exacerbated by the sinus infection that I'm fighting. Thanks to my steely determination, and the medicinal magic of my doctor, I think I'm through the worst of it, and I am back working at my normal clip.

So, here's your token panel from Love and Capes #5. The malaise was pretty bad… this page has been on my drawing table for almost a week. I couldn't figure out what I wanted Charlotte to wear for the longest time, or how to stage the scene or the jokes. The real breakthrough came Sunday, where I finally found my vibe and finished the page at 1:00am. Hmmmm, I also had my first cup of homemade (non-Starbucks) coffee since Lenth last night, too. Coincidence? I think not.

To further tweak your interest, today I have a Secret Meeting about a new promotion for Love and Capes. Hopefully, it'll go well and I can tell you about it soon. In the meantime, feel free to pray to whatever God, or Gods if you're a member of the Battlestar Galactica, that the meeting goes well.