Today's Haul

Today's artwork sampling: I'm back on the Wacom, as I'm coloring more Buzzboy.

I've also gotten the complete shipment of Love and Capes now. It'll be in stores soon. I spent a chunk of the day sending out review copies, so hopefully it will be showing up on some comics sites and magazines, too. I also sent out the big Mark and Abby display to my booth in San Diego, so as of now, I think everything is either in California or in transit, with the exception of myself and things that I'm bringing myself.

I've got a goodish weird feeling about this San Diego Comic-con. Let's hope I'm right.

Get Them While They're Hot!

Guess what I got today, hot off the printer? (Activities Press, by the way. They do a phenomenal job!) That's right, Love and Capes #5! They look beautiful, and should be in stores in a couple of weeks, and then available on the website a couple of weeks after that.

That's a Big Couch

I meant to post this a little while back. It's a photo of me and Loonette and Molly from The Big Comfy Couch taken at the Licensing Expo in New York last month. I did some artwork for the Couchies through the fine people at Weekly Reader magazine. When I saw them there, I had to drop by and say "hi". Much like the previous Star Trek photo I posted, their company had a photo shoot area set up.

I'm still not sure how the Show went for me. I think it's still too early for things to shake out and come back from the event. I think by the end of the year I'll have a better idea.

Phoenixes Other Than Jean Grey

I saw Harry Potter and The Order of the Phoenix last night. I won't spoil anything, although I really think that anyone who cares has probably already read the fifth book.

Order of the Phoenix is my least favorite of the series so far. For the most part, it was a bunch of characters who should be talking to each other not doing so. They also tended to act to advance the plot, more than acting in character. The book also ends with one of the longest bits of exposition I've read in a while.

And I understand and appreciate what Rowling was doing. Harry's a teenager and one who's had a ton of bad happen to him. He deserves to become petulant and sullen at some point. But appreciating the attempt and thinking that it works are two different things.

(I want to take a moment hear to plug like crazy Creative Screenwriting magazine's podcasts. They're a how do and how come of how movie scripts come together and how they come to film. They did a podcast on Pirates of the Carribean: Dead Men's Chest, which while I liked okay, it just didn't click for me after I saw it. When I heard the podcast from the writers, I had a new appreciation for what they did, or at least tried to do. I still don't think it succeeded, but that's okay. It's always better to attempt to reach too far rather than not far enough.)

So, having said that, I really liked the movie of Order of the Phoenix. Paring down the script as much as they needed to make it a two hour film helped get rid of the characters-not-talking issue I had. There's a lot of story that got lost or just a brief nod, admittedly, but it holds together nicely. And, I have to say, I think the music really stepped up a notch, being the first one since the John Williams score to stay with me after we left. The military-esque march as they're flying over London sounds great, and heralds the beginning of a war, too.

I think the Potter films leave a fair amount of room for the director, too. The first Chris Columbus film was pretty well just shooting the book, and with the warm gold fill light and loving pans, and worked pretty well. The second got a little too Chris Columbus-y (how many shots of kids screaming at the camera can we have?). But the third felt like a Potter story and yet Alfonso Cuaron brought a new flavor to it. The fifth one had the same "still Potter, but with different seasoning" to it.

The fourth movie? It felt like it was just going through the motions (…walking through the part…) and had no character to it. It was kind of stale. So I was glad to find I liked the fifth as much as I did.

Being the fifth movie in a series, I probably don't need to recommend it much. Either you're on board or you're not. But, if you are a fan, I think the fifth installment will do right by you.

Comic-Con? Connnnnnnnn!

With a little over a week before the huge San Diego Hollywood Shillorama and Comic Convention, I thought I'd take a moment to describe the funness that will be happening at the Maerkle Press booth.

First off, we're at Booth #2000 at Hall C in the Independent Publishers Pavillion. I'll be sharing my booth with my fellow co-conspirator Paul Merolle and Toon Tumblers. I can't recommend Paul's glasses highly enough. They're almost all I drink out of. (In fact, I'm currently enjoying a Diet Lemon Snapple out of a Colossus glass.) Paul will have some new glasses there, all of which were designed by me. Please, buy them and help subsidize my salary.

So what will I have at the booth?

Giveaways
The Love and Capes buttons are back! There'll be a limited number of the previous "pink" Love and Capes button design, and the new "blue" design, too.

And, there's a new set of Love and Capes bookmarks, each featuring a four panel sequence from some of your favorite moments from Love and Capes #2-3. Thanks to the kind people at Wizard Graphics, Inc. who supplied these for me.

Premieres
There will be an extremely limited number of Love and Capes Glasses available, thanks to the aforementioned Toon Tumblers. I don't have the exact pricing, but they should be between $10-12 each.

And, as mentioned so many other places, I'll have the Love and Capes T-shirts. The red shirts are available for a donation, any donation, to The Hero Initiative. And I'll have the standard black ones available for $20.

Depending on shipping schedules, too, there might, just might, be the fifth issue in a certain heroically super situation comedy there as well.

Contests
The deadline for the "Who Wants to Create a Superhero" contest is coming to a close soon, but you'll still be able to get entry forms and enter at the show.

I'll also be raffling off an appearance in Love and Capes #6. Just sign up at the booth

And Everything Else
The complete run of Love and Capes will be available for purchase. I'll have a limited number of Raider: A Cold Day in Heaven and Raider: Dead Men's Tales.

Whew! That's enough, isn't it?

Dribble Drabble

More weblog reviews are rolling in on Love and Capes #4…

"The laughs are authentic and realistic as, despite the superhero backdrop, the relationships among the characters remind us of people, couples, and friends we’ve known. This realism has helped The Crusader receive more character development in four issues than Superman has received in 75 years.

Zahler doesn’t just give us an enchanting view into the private life of a superhero and his girlfriend; it delivers Zahler’s sharp, crisp art. His panels are as dynamic as they are comedic, and that makes Love and Capes a delight to look at.

Imagine the 1992-1999 television series Mad about You, it’s charm and humor, but with Paul Buchman being a superhero, not an aspiring film director, and you’ve got Love and Capes. Buy the books, and check out some of the original online strips at the Love and Capes website. You’ll enjoy it."

I have to say, I really appreciate the comparison to "Mad About You." Occasionally, I have referred to it as "Mad About You if Paul had super-powers." Read the full review here.

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

Another compliment about the art. I can't express how cool that is. When I was at Kubert, I was definitely one of the mid-level artists and I always thought of myself as a journeyman illustrator. It seems like I may have found my wheel house with Love and Capes. Check out the full review here.

Last Chance for Love and Capes Shirts!

It's your last chance to make sure to get your Love and Capes t-shirts. If you enjoy the book, please order one. Shirts are available in the red ($10 plus shipping) and black ($20). A portion of red shirt sales go to benefit The Hero Initative. The rest of all shirt sales go to benefit me, and keep me producing Love and Capes.

Click here to be taken to the order page. All orders must be received by July 14th.

Calm Before the Next Storm

Love and Capes #5 is at the printer, right now. It'll be in stores the end of July/beginning of August, depending on when they leave the printer. And, there might, just might, be some copies in San Diego.

It's a weird feeling when a book is done. There's joy and elation, and then a sense of emptiness. For three months the book has been a weight on my shoulders and while I love working on it, there's always that feeling of "I'll be glad when it's done." But then when it's done, I lose that sense of purpose and feel a little rudderless. I don't relax well, I guess.

Still, I'm giving myself a holiday from the book until August, when I start on #6, the last book before I take a longer hiatus from the series.

Last One of the First Batch

This is the last of the first batch of four Buzzboy pages. I finally get to color the rest of Buzzboy's gang. And with this done, I'm just waiting for more pages to get my hands and digital crayons on.

Buzzboy, Page Three

Here's the third of the first set of four pages of Buzzboy. In this one, giant walker things attack the city, and yet, the book avoids the stench of Spielberg's War of the Worlds remake.