Double Your Fun

The commissions are pouring in now. My friend Jesse Jackson asked me if I could do a Duo Damsel for him. Ah, Duo Damsel. The walking Penthouse letter, and she married Bouncing Boy, giving hope to pudgy guys all across comics.

It seemed obvious to do something digital with her, duplicating her and changing the colors to be her other self, but since all the purchased commissions come with an inked original, I couldn't do that. I wound up sketching out the right figure, flopping it, and inking both of them on the original. The costume was also a hard call, since Jesse and I are big fans of the Cockrum/Grell era, but she barely appeared in that run. I managed to find a couple of shots of this uniform, and the only modification I made at his request was to give her her current hairstyle.

This one was a lot of fun!

LNC for Free!

Yes that's right, Love and Capes for free, and I'm not talking about Free Comic Book Day this time. The first three issues of Love and Capes are now available for digital download from Wowio. So if you want to check out comicsdom's favorite superhero romantic comedy (said safely since I believe I'm the only one) check them out online.

And, as time goes on, I'll probably post the Raider series, "Long Distance", maybe even "Women Do and Say..."

What Better Way to Say "I Love You?"

A couple weeks before Valentine's Day I was contacted by a lady I met last year at the always-excellent Baltimore Comicon about doing a commission. Here's the thing, it wasn't for her, it was for her husband as a VD Day present. I just think that was so sweet. She asked for Batgirl, and I was glad to provide it.

Better yet, I received an e-mail from her that not only did he love it, but it's now on a wall with a Kubert (still trying to find out if it's Adam, Andy or Joe) and Adam Hughes sketch. (Edit: I'm told it's an Adam sketch.) Wow, that's heady company. The only pictures that he has any higher are those of their kids.

(Stupid DNA always getting in my way!)

And, just as a reminder, you can order your very own commission here.

Far Out, Man

The art director of the Fort Worth Weekly sent up the ThomSignal and let me know that he needed a cover for this week. The story was about a scientist and musician who has ALS, and they wanted to have a cover of nature kind of "reclaiming" him. It gave me an opportunity to try something in a very different style. Something kind of trippy.

My first attempt tripped a little too far, so I reigned it in and did a second, which went over pretty well. It'll be printing this week.

I've posted both of them here so you can see the original version and the final.

The Maid of Might

One of the great things about this gig and this blog is the people I get to meet. One of them runs the excellent Say It Backwards blog, which focuses on Superman. Thomas, the Guy in Charge of it, asked me to do a commission of Supergirl circa her first appearance. Taking that literally, I drew her waving with a bouquet of flowers, just like she did when her presence on Earth was revealed by her cousin. In original history, at least.

Anyway, I think this captures the colorfulness and the innocence of the original Maid of Might.

Incidentally, you can get a Thom Zahler commission of your own by clicking here.

Hey Kids, Comics... TODAY!

If it's Wednesday, it must be the day the Love and Capes 6-pack is in stores today! So get yourself to your local comic shop and get one. Every pack comes with the first six issues of Love and Capes, an original sketch and a bonus bookmark!

The Mr. Bill Show

I was contacted by Mr. Bill's Roadhouse Tattoo to design a new logo for them that would also be used on their t-shirts. They wanted something in tht "Big Johnson" style, and it was fun to play with a new look. Most of the design and even the colors were their direction. This went through quite a few revisions along the way, but I think it turned out pretty well.

Love and Capes is "Must See TV"

The comics site Comic Related has a review of Love and Capes up on their site, by reviewer Chuck Moore. It's another good one. I'm starting to believe that this series really is as good as I think. Here's a sample.

I found Zahler's series instantly comfortable, funny and refreshing. It was heartwarming and cute and had a lot of qualities I honestly enjoyed. From the retro look of the character to the care put into weaving the comic references to the situational comedy, this book is well worth checking out. It's humor is adult and all ages at the same time and well done start to finish. The title bills itself as :A Heroically Super Situation Comedy" and were it a televised situation comedy, I would classify it as must see tv.

Your mouth to God's ear, Chuck.

Read the full review here.

Bumped

Well, I was supposed to be a guest on the Bob Frantz show, and was even there in the studio, but there was breaking news with the Bobby Cutts verdict coming down. So I got bumped. We're going to try to reschedule and see if I can get on later.

On the Radio Right Now (I Hope)

Barring any Breaking News or a traffic tie-up, I should be on the WTAM-1100 right about now. (Posted through the miracle of time-delayed blog posts.)