Mid-Ohio-Con Charity Auction

When I was at Mid-Ohio-Con this past year, I participated in a charity auction. Many of the guests got together and drew something to benefit Make-a-Wish and The Hero Initiative. Well, the auction is live now. And, if you feel a burning desire to buy some Thom Zahler artwork, you can go directly to the Amazonia sketch.

Every different nation, Spanish, Hatian, Indian, Jamaican

I'm getting silly about this now. I finished this page late last night, technically early this morning, and then I plopped in front of the couch to watch Life on Mars. I got to bed pretty late, but the page got done, and I got my 1973 fix.

Here's my panel from page thirteen, which features someone you've never seen… well, you have, you just don't know it… screaming about wanting some peanut butter and jelly. It's not the best panel on the page, to be sure, but everything else reveals something about the upcoming issue that's too spoilerish to post. So here you get a guy in a Star Trek-style cell.

After I clear page twelve, things seem to speed to the finish. With eleven pages left to draw, there are three pages already written, so just eight blank pages left. That's not bad.

(And, to any new readers, especially from the aformentioned Mental Floss readers, I post a panel from every page as I get it done, and every post has a song lyric for a title. There's a theme tying them together. See if you can guess it!)

Mental Flossing

A month or two ago, I posted a link to the always-excellent Mental Floss magazine, which was having a Tuition Giveaway contest. I did this because it was a good cause, and the promise of a link back. Well, said link back has been posted, so I expect to be flooded with a bunch o' new readers. So welcome, fellow Mental Flossers. Sit down, stay a while, and be sure to check out the Love and Capes stuff.

But my city was gone

Here's a panel from page twelve. I'm halfway home on #9. Yay, me!

Heavily borrowing on the foundation of the 1980s, I've co-opted the idea that the Liberty League works via a UN charter. For an international law-enforcement agency, you'd need to have such a structure. It also helps me get around some due process issues that would occur with the ending to this sequence.

By the way, I messed up on the song lyric contest. The "Deep greens and blues for the colors I choose" actually doesn't work for the theme I was going for. So, let's use this one instead: I go for younger women, lived with several awhile.

And you thought it was all James Taylor lyrics, didn't you?

Then it's me and my machine for the rest of the morning

I had a light client day today, mostly sending clients roughs and waiting for replies. As a result, I managed to bang out another page of LNC today. Here, we get a scene of domestic bliss aboard the Liberty League Satellite.

Two more pages in this sequence and then the story will break off in another direction.

I go for younger women, lived with several awhile

Things are really cranking along now, helped along by a couple of panels of really simple backgrounds. Here's a panel from page ten, where Mark is shaking off a hangover.

Okay, not really.

And Another One

Another review, from Comics Worth Reading:

I was laughing from the cover, where Darkblade shakes down the artist to get featured on the cover. As the issue opens, Abby is having a hard time letting her sister Charlotte go study in Paris. Abby’s got her own concerns, though, as she’s planning her wedding to Mark, aka the Crusader… though, the appeal for me is how realistic Abby and Mark’s relationship is. They act like two adults deeply in love and figuring out how to make their lives work together, with friends and family and occupations. I love it.

Read the full review here.

Branch water and tomato wine

Just finished page nine, a little earlier than I thought. I like it when the pages come easily.

I don't know if anyone will notice, but the device that Darkblade is pulling out is based on the Neutralizer that Rom the Spaceknight used. It's not a point-for-point duplicate, but it's clearly based on it. To me at least.

With page nine comes a new lyrics contest. This one will be harder that the previous ones, so bring your A-game.

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.