Do I Get a Letter Grade?

Todd Klein is a great letterer and an even nicer person. I used to chat with him on some AOL lettering chats when I was just getting started and now we still keep in touch. He does regular reviews on his website, and he's reviewed the first seven issues of Love and Capes. He says some nice things, too, so go check it out.

First Eight Song Lyrics

The first eight pages are done, so let's run down the song lyrics.

1. I hear it's better the second time/I hear you get to do the weird stuff
Perfect Story (So They Say) from the awesomely awesome Dr. Horrible's Sing Along Blog. A musical so powerful that I've sung a line or two on podcasts and throughout Mid-Ohio-Con.

2. The devil will drag you under, by the sharp lapels of your checkered coat
Sit Down You're Rocking the Boat from Guys and Dolls. It's hard to pick a favorite anything, but whenever I think of musicals, I think of this one. It may not be the greatest, but it may be the most quintessential.

3. Life's more painless, for the brainless
Dancing Through Life from Wicked. Call me a heretic, but I like the musical far more than the book. My brother Mike and I saw it on a trip to NYC, and it was fantastic.

4. And now we can go straight into the middle eight
The Song That Goes Like This from Spamalot. Coincidentally, the other musical I saw on the NYC trip. It's just fun from beginning to end, and I can't recommend it enough.

5. I'm obnoxious and disliked, you know that, sir
But Mr. Adams from 1776. If you haven't seen 1776, you're missing out. It's one of the smartest, best written musicals out there.

6. Beautfiul girls, wearing nothing but pearls
I Wanna Be a Producer from The Producers. I was lucky enough to see this with the original cast. It was far superior to the film. The biggest thing the film was missing was Cady Huffman's performance as Ulla. Uma Thurman was good, but nowhere near the singer Cady is.

7. God, the tension is high, not to mention the smell
The Heat is on in Saigon from Miss Siagon. It's another musical I saw on a New York trip, this one for New Year's Eve, and it was a lot better than I would have thought for a musical with a helicopter. It was surprisingly powerful.

8. Take me to a park that's covered with trees
Tell Me on a Sunday from, well, Tell Me on a Sunday. I've never seen it, but I heard Michael Crawford sing it at a Blossom concert and it was heartbreaking.

Obviously the theme is musicals. I'll try to make the next set more challenging, too.

Take Me to a Park That's Covered With Trees

I didn't expect to get this page done last night, but I did. I finished drawing it, at least. I dialogued it this morning. I was stuck on the joke for panel eight, and eventually it just clicked in my head.

With this, I'm one-third of the the way through issue nine, and now I'm where I should have been at the beginning of this month. Yeah, I'm running a little behind, but I can make it up. Worry not. And the next few pages are pretty well plotted out, so it's just a matter of drawing them.

Yeah, "just."

For now, enjoy this exciting panel of two women discussing the weather.

Like "American Idol" But Everyone Loses

Last night I was a guest on the ReadComics.org podcast. They had me on for the entire show, so it's almost an hour of Thom Zahler babbling. Actually, it went pretty well. I think I was occasionally amusing and... they even got me to sing a little. Damn this blog and my clever stories about The War of Joss Whedon's Musical Words that occured at Mid-Ohio-Con.

So, big thanks to Marty and Jason and Florence. I had a great time. Go check it out.

Devil May Care

Here's another recreation of a commission from Mid-Ohio-Con. Someone came up and wanted a "devil girl." No particular character, just something with that as a theme. That was pretty cool, to have that kind of free reign to create and design a character.

It required a fair amount of tracing paper to make it work, as there were a lot more overlapping shapes than I'm comfortable working out directly on a piece of bristol. I think it came out nicely, and looks even better colored.

God, the tension is high, not to mention the smell

It's another done-in-one-day page. I must be butter because I'm on a roll.

Not that you can tell from this panel, but there are some cool art things happening. Actually, this panel with an open border is one of those things, so maybe you can tell. The empty space really gives you a feeling for the large airy area that Abby's about to fall to her death in.

Whoops. Did I say "fall to her death"? I meant "Ghandi." Or something else innocuous.

As Sledge Hammer used to say: Trust me, I know what I'm doing.

Keys to the Kingdom

Some of you may remember that when I'm not being a cartoonist or writer, I'm also a Councilman here in the great Village of Timberlake. Well, today and tomorrow, both our Mayor and Council President are out of town, for so the interim, I'm the Mayor.

Who would'a thought?

Reviews Keep A'Coming

Comics Pants has some nice things to say about the new Love and Capes:

Thom Zahler’s romance superhero book, think Mad About You with Lois and Clark, never disappoints. It comes out a little infrequently, but the humanity and heart that always shines through makes it worth the wait. That and his cartooning skills, which are subtle and skillful, keep getting better and better.

Read this, and other reviews, here.

Beautiful girls wearing nothing but pearls

Now this is more like it.

Yeah, page six only has five panels, and largely reuses the backgrounds I created for the last page, but still… cranking out a page in a morning is a good thing.

As far as what's happening, is this the end for comicdom's favorite super couple? You'll have to read the book to find out now, won't you?

Wherever Cooler Comics are Sold

What? In stores now? Awesome!