Next Up: Stingray...

Behold, the power of Love and Capes.

Just a scant year and a half ago, in Love and Capes #2, I made a reference to the Sci-Fi Channel series The Invisible Man only being on DVD in the United Kingdom. I was a fan of the show, and for that and other reasons I really wanted to get it on DVD here in America. It's part of the reason I bought a region-free DVD player. I didn't buy the UK version, though, more out of inertia more than anything else, and now I don't have to! The I-Man is coming to America!

Explaining the reference in the comics: part of Doctor Karma's shtick is that he can't use his powers directly for his own benefit. I figured he was a powerful magic user and needed some sort of limit. Plus, it gives him a unique reason for being a hero: he actually can't be selfish with his own powers. So, when the Crusader needs something from the good doctor, the Doc asks Crusader to bring him something. Doc Karma couldn't actually teleport to England and buy his own copy.

I, of course, plan on taking full credit for this. I mean, what else could it be? Now if only they'd kept the cool UK packaging.

Maintenance

I'll be working on a new version of my main website for the next couple of days. You'll see a couple of weird posts, but that's because the new site is very much blog based. You'll understand when you see it, and I'll post when it's ready.

Inevitable, I Suppose

If you’re going to do a bunch of female comic book and sci-fi characters, eventually you’re going to come around to Princess Leia in the slave girl costume. So much has been said and written about it so I’m not going to add much.

Well, except to share this story. Remember that episode of Friends where Rachel dresses us in the Slave Leia costume? Yeah, my first thought wasn’t “Wow Jennifer Aniston in the Slave Leia costume” it was “Hey, why does she have the hairstyle from Star Wars and not the one from Jedi?”

Yeah, I know. I’m pathetic.

Bunnies, Bunnies It Must Be Bunnies!

This is another tracing paper recreation of a MegaCon sketch. I think it's got a lot of great energy to it. I was looking for a place to put it, and what celebrates the resurrection of our Lord better than Victor Von Doom? Okay, not really, but I love writing that Doom dialogue.

Click on the image to see it embiggened. And today's blog title comes from... anyone, anyone... the Buffy episode "Once More With Feeling."

The Neverending Battle

Wait! Don't buy a sketchbook yet!

Do I have your attention? Good. Then read on.

Through teh internets, I've gotten to know Thomas, who not only has a fine first name, but runs the truly excellent Say It Backwards blog, devoted to most things Superman. His nephew is a superhero in his own right, as he's been fighting and beating childhood cancer. Thomas has turned this into a cause and is running an auction to support the Candlelighters organization. The Candlelighters are a group fighting childhood cancer and helping those it attacks and their families. The Candlelighters helped him, and now he's helping them with the auction.

I was asked to contribute a piece, and I was more than happy to do so. If you really need some Thom Zahler art, and want to support a worthy cause, you can bid when it goes online. So, here's what I'm donating:

• Original Supergirl Commission (seen here). There's the black and white original, and the digitally colored high-quality print.
• Full set of Love and Capes.
• Love and Capes t-shirt.

Read more about the Candlelighters here. Read Say It Backwards here. And have a great Easter wherever your here is.

Bedazzled

Few characters are so entrenched in the Seventies (and early Eighties) as the disco queen Dazzler. She could make light from sound, and somehow she had a series that ran for years. And she fought the Enchantress and freakin' Galactus. I never really read her adventures, but I always always aware of her because my cousin who shares a first name with Dazzler used to buy her comics. I knew her from her appearances in X-Men and elsewhere in the Marvel Universe.

I actually think it'd be fun to do a Dazzler series now. Maybe treat her like Britney Spears, a character hunted by the press because of her fame and her mutant abilities. Not that I think Marvel's looking to bring her back or have me write it, but still, it's fun to imagine.

Incidentally, with this piece I've got eight original pieces for the next Powerful Women sketchbook. So if sixteen of you each buy one commission, I can get another sketchbook out. Come on, you know you want to.

Buttons, Pins and Other Things to Wear

I've been using the fine people at Affordable Buttons to do my giveaway buttons for a couple of years now. They do a bang-up job, and their turnaround is insanely good. I swear sometimes I get the order before I place it. So, I've got a thousand of them in this little Ziploc bag. Be one of the first thousand or so to come up to me at New York Comic-Con and get yours.

Speaking of pins, I should mention, too, that with Pop Culture Trading Pins, there will be some high-quality Love and Capes trading pins. Metal, custom cut, just like the ones at Disney but better... because they feature my characters, and because Pop Culture Trading Pins really know what they're doing. I don't know when I'll have them for sale yet, but it should be soon. Those, however, will not be free. But, when you see them, you'll want to give me money for them.

The Proof is in the Pudding

My proofs for Love and Capes #7 arrived from Lebonfon today. There were a couple issues, but nothing major. This will be the second FCBD issue they've printed for me, and I think this one will look even better. There were a couple of needly things that needed to be corrected, as there always are with such a project. The proofs have been made and it should be on press soon.

Also, I've had a couple of corrected orders for LNC#7. Orders have been going up. The last correction was upwards of another thousand. Final numbers are locked in tomorrow, so hopefully they'll even go up a little more.

Is This What Wagner Had in Mind?

In the comments threads, blog reader Dan mentioned some characters he'd like to see me take a stab at. Or is that "at which he'd like me to take a stab?" Anyway, he mentioned Valkyrie, and that stuck in my head.

I was a DC boy, but knew the Marvels okay. Mostly because they had more cartoons, I suppose, with Fantastic Four (and yes, I knew HERBIE wasn't a real member), Spider-Woman, Hulk and Spider-Man and his Amazing Friends. Well, and the Thing cartoon where he became a teenager and had the thing ring. More odd was that Franklin Richards became a girl as I remember, yet Reed wasn't trying to fix that. Maybe he always wanted a girl.

Anyway, while I didn't read many Marvels, there was one that kept cropping up: The Defenders. I don't know why. I think my brother John got it. And I remember winning a copy at the Timberlake Family Day picnic, back when comics were on newsstands and they could comp out their returnable inventory. And I still have one of those Giant Size Treasury Editions of it. So, more than the rest of the Marvel Universe, I knew Nighthawk, Hellcat, and Valkyrie and whoever else was part of that non-team at the time.

So, I did a run a Valkyrie. I liked her classic costume and not that metallic body suit. I always liked that she was a warrior, but had hair drape over one eye because, darn it, she was such a good warrior that depth perception was completely unnecessary. And she fought in sandals. I think it works pretty well.
 
 Dan also suggested that I send him the piece when it was done and bill Prilosec. That's a great idea, if I still had their billing info. Unfortunately, they replaced my artwork with some guy named Brett Favre in their ads. Maybe with him retiring they'll bring my art out of mothballs, but I'm going to guess not. So, unless that happens, Dan, you'll have to buy it off the Commissions page. Sorry.

Push the Button, Frank!

It's time to announce a New York Comic-Con exclusive, this time for me. I've had these one-inch buttons available at shows for years now. I've done a couple of Love and Capes designs featuring Mark and Abby. For 2008, I've decided to focus on Amazonia. So here's the new design.

These buttons are absolutely free at my table. I'll have a limited number, so I can't promise I won't run out by the end of the show. So come to booth 2446 and check them out as soon as you can.