The Sweet Elixir of Life that Men Call "Joe"
While you're waiting for the big t-shirt announcement, I thought you might like to see a panel from the new page of Love and Capes #5. It's a bit of a benchmark, as page six means that I'm 25% done with the book. (I think it's a statement of my general attitude, too. 
The optimist says "25% done" and the pessimist says "75% yet to go".) Even with the Secret Society of Super Reviewers looking over pages as they get done, there's still that three month period where I'm laboring in seclusion and that can be difficult. I'm looking forward to everyone seeing this issue when it's done.
Ironically, though, I broke the carafe on my coffee maker as I was working on this page. Not because I was working on the page, just during as I was trying to make some fine Lofsberg Lila coffee to take me through the night and I broke it. And worse yet, After-Prom season is upon me, and I'm definitely going to need some.
Ah, the trials of being a cartoonist.
Just a reminder, too, that the Saturn Awards are tonight, where they'll be giving out copies of Love and Capes. I've asked my contact there to see if he can get me a picture of the gift bags, preferably with Tricia Helfer in the shot, so if I get some photos, I'll post them here.
Video Jukebox
Okay, that should be it for the Thom Zahler Media Onslaught, Free Comic Book Day edition. Until next year… bwah-hah-hah-hah!
Radio Roundup
I managed to get MP3 files of two of my radio appearances. Click the links below to download them.Lanigan and Malone/WMJI105.7FM(6:01) Bob Frantz Show/WTAM1100AM (25:07) Unfortunately, none from my appearance on WNCX 98.5. At least not yet. I'm still trying to edit down the video from my "Kickin' it With Kenny" appearance, too.
Spider-Day
One of the big events on my summer schedule was the premiere of Spider-Man 3. (And, yes, I know that May is technically spring.) I really liked the first one and loved the second one, so I had high hopes for the third installment.
I've got a great group of friends and family. And for stuff like this, we all get together. I've seen every Spider-Man movie on opening night with them. (And every Star Trek, Star Wars and a few others.) As they've gotten married and had kids, and I've become more entwined with my career, it's a little tougher to pull these things off. Sometimes it's like planning the Normandy invasion, but it's worth it.
Going with friends is insulation. The esteemed cabal got together for Batman and Robin, a movie which has been called (in a cleaned-up version) “a sodomizing of my childhood.†It was horrible. When the movie ended, I thought “Man, things can't get any worse†and ran right into an ex-girlfriend.
That is, incidentally, why I never tempt “worse†anymore.
But, for as bad as Batman and Robin was, is, and always will be, the night was great. I was with my friends having fun.
No matter how bad the movie is, if I'm with them, everything will be okay.
So, did I need that insulation? Some of the reviews of the third Spider-Man movie were pretty cold. “Too longâ€, “too many characters†and so on. So…
Hey, I liked it.
It's not as good as the second film, but I like it better than the first. I'll try to do a quick, spoiler-free review, but I might mention a minor plot point or two, so be warned.
I think a lot of the negative reviews from comic book fans involve missed opportunities. I wasn't a fan of putting Venom in the movies. I think he's got way too complicated a backstory to make him work. Peter has to get the costume, think it's okay, use it, start to realize something is up, get rid of it, and then have Eddie Brock get it and become Venom. And, in a movie which also introduces Gwen Stacy, her father, and the Sandman, that's a lot of ground to cover.
I was surprised at how well everything worked. Heck, I was surprised by a lot of things, and that's saying something (and please don't read this paragraph thinking I'm arrogant). I'm a comics fan, and I know the source material. I remember avoiding all the reviews of the first film, lest I spoil anything. Then I realized that there wasn't much to spoil.
Hey, when Uncle Ben shows up, you know he's not making it out of the first reel.
Now, some of the better comic book movies can still surprise. There are a couple of moments in Batman Begins, especially involving the identity of Ra's Al Ghul, that still snuck up on me. Spider-Man 3 has some of these moments in it.
The action is great, the story is solid, and I enjoyed every minute of it.
Now, it's not perfect. I think a great movie can overcome its imperfections by getting you so into it, you don't notice things until you leave the theatre. In the second Spider-Man film, Doc Ock throws a car through a window that would have killed Peter, but needs him alive to find Spider-Man. Yeah, it doesn't make any sense, but I didn't notice it at the time.
Here, the movie has a couple of those “what?†moments that don't work as well. Here's an example from the first ten minutes, so it may be a spoiler, but it isn't a bad one.
The movie doesn't establish how much time passed between this one and the last one. At the end of the last one, Harry knows Peter is Spider-Man, and blames him for Harry's father's death. We don't touch on this until they run into each other at MJ's play.
Some of this may be the comic book fan in me. I know Harry's a threat, so I needed something to show that Peter determined that Harry was or wasn't dangerous? How was Peter so admittedly happy with someone who hated him and knew his identity hanging out there?
Worse yet, Mary Jane asks Peter “What happened between you two?†Did he never tell her? They've been dating long enough for him to consider marrying her, but he never told her about that? It seems kind of odd, especially coming from the guy who worried that Spider-Man could be attacked through his loved ones, not to tell his loved one about someone who actually knows his secret and, at least once, tried to kill him?
Now, Peter could be trying to respect Norman's wish not to tell Harry and decided to keep everything quiet. Maybe he didn't want to sully the memory of a dead man. But, I needed some explanation to cover that ground.
So there are a couple of moments like that. But's it's still a fine film.
What I always find weird, too, is that for as much as I am a Superman fan, I really relate to the Spider-Man films. I saw the first one the same day I was chastised by a friend for not being around much as I was desperately trying to finish up the first Raider graphic novel. So the “I have to take care of this†moments resonate to me.
And, if you've seen it, yes, I am perfectly aware of the irony of me saying I relate to a movie in which Peter makes everything about himself. (In fact, I've had that whole conversation before. And I'm trying to take it to heart.)
But that's one of the things a lot of people miss about comics, and some of the Marvel movies in particular: they're about something. It's not just superheroes being super, but themes of forgiveness, responsibility and more.
The more I think about Spider-Man 3, the more I'm impressed with the threads that run through it. There's more than one symbiotic relationship in the film. The forgiveness theme plays well throughout it. And even some of the plot points are introduced well. Notice that in the first ten minutes, Peter has a conversation with MJ that introduces his knowledge of acoustics. True Spider-Fans will know why that's important.
Okay, I've taken enough of your time. If you've got an inkling to see the movie, go ahead and see it. You won't regret it.
You Noticed Me, You Really Noticed Me
Free Comic Book Day has brought a little more exposure to Love and Capes, and you know how much I hate that. Not.
What never occurred to me is how noticeable the book would be. I've had several fantastic online comic sites and bloggers review the book. But I have to say, it's a little overwhelming to have Salon.com on the online arm of Entertainment Weekly have you on their radar. Here's what they had to say:
Love and Capes (Maerkle Press)
"A surprisingly charming tale about a hardworking superhero and his girlfriend -- he's frustrated by all the attention the upstart 'Arachnerd' is getting. Thomas F. Zahler's boldly cartoony artwork recalls "The Incredibles," and so does his wry, smart dialogue. A-"
"BREEZIEST SUPERHERO READING: 
Love and Capes (Maerkle Press)
These mundane episodes in the domestic life of a superhero — some more amusing than others — exude just enough charm."
Nisha Gopalan
Entertainment Weekly
And, so I keep my indy cred, a great blog review:
Love and Capes #4: Thomas Zahler's super-hero romance comic is cute and unpretentious, and liberally littered with in-jokes for super-hero fans. He has a unique art-style and a good ear for snappy dialogue… This particular issue's story, about a Superman-type hero's jealousy of a Spider-Man type's popular film is especially fitting given the timing of this year's FCBD.
Get it
Was everybody so glowing? No. I found one blog so far that wasn't impressed, but then again, they didn't hate it either. That's fine though, not everything is for everybody. And it's probably good to keep me humble. Or at least have something try to do so.
Rings of Saturn!
I was contacted by a representative of The Saturn Awards a couple days ago. The Saturn Awards are run by the Academy of Science Fiction, Fantasy and Horror Films. They cover TV and movies, and honor genre film making.
So they got in touch with me, unfortunately not to tell me that I was nominated for something (not that they have a comics category) but to ask if I could part with some copies of Love and Capes for the coveted gift bags.
As an advertising promotion, it's pretty good. The Awards are well-attended, and actor, producers and writers from such shows and films like Battlestar Galactica, Lost, Smallville, Superman Returns and Casino Royale are nominated. And, no, I'm not quite sure how a Bond film qualifies, but it's not my awards show.
Obviously, I'm hoping that Gough and Millar from Smallville check out Love and Capes and say "Hey, I like the cut of this guy's jib. Let's see if we can get him to write an episode of the 'Ville." Or that Evangeline Lilly sees a book and says "This is the kind of sensitive artist I've been looking for, I must break things off with that Hobbit I'm engaged to."
Yeah, it's all the stuff that dreams are made of, but you never know what will happen when you put stuff out into the universe. It's like one of my favorite quotes from the late, lamented SportsNight. "I'm using Napoleon's battle plan: show up and see what happens." Because if you don't show up, nothing will happen.
When I was talking to the Saturn Awards' representative, he mentioned how writers and a fair number of actors come to the event. There was a pause as he knew I was going to ask if someone was going to be there. He probably thought I was going to ask about Tricia Helfer or Erica Durance or something. Instead, I said, "Say, you don't know if Paul Haggis will be there, do you?"
Paul Haggis is nominated for the screenplay to Casino Royale. He also wrote and created several of my favorite and mostly cancelled shows, including Due South, EZ Streets, and most recently The Black Donnellys.
Man, I can be such a geek.
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
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
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 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
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.
Man, I Totally Forgot About This
Love and Capes #4 comes out for FCBD tomorrow, but you can see an unbelieveably cool preview, with animated page flipping, here.
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
Oh My Goodness, It's Post #200!
Today's page is another scene set in the Riki Tiki Tavern after the first night of Abby's play. Mark and Abby are discussing how they haven't seen each other in a week.
I've got page six planned out now, and it's always nice to finish a page and know exactly what you're doing next. Plus, I've finally figured out how to structure the ending of the book (I always know how a story is going to end, but I have worked out how it's going to play) so that's two more pages plotted. That means I have sixteen pages left to write.
It's like being 1/3 done!