St. Patrick's Day Specials
Just because I feel like it, and because I'm particularly proud to be an Irishman on this day, I've posted a page of special deals from the Love and Capes and Thomz.com store. The specials will last until tomorrow for sure, maybe even longer. But when they're gone, they're gone.
Coming in July! Order it in May!
I just sent out the solicitation for Love and Capes #11. Here's the official description:
Abby and Amazonia... FRIENDS?! It’s the most shocking issue of Love and Capes ever. What could cause these two women to suddenly become BFFs? Plus, Abby’s Quest for her Dress continues, and their parents finally meet! Don’t miss the last issue before the big wedding in LNC#12!
Ah, the Crisis. Good Times, Good Times.
Shag over at the oh-so-fun Firestorm blog had me do a commission of Firestorm's sometimes lady love, Firehawk. This was a blast to do, being a Firestorm fan myself. Have I mentioned that before? I'm sure I have once or twice.
If you'd like to see the piece, click here or on the image to be taken to the Firestorm blog to see the image and a lot of kind words.
And as a reminder, I've got sixteen spaces left for the next edition of Powerful Women. I'd like to have it done for Charlotte, so start sending in your orders for who I should draw next.
Sweet Baby James
I am a unabashed James Taylor fan. I just love the guy's music. His voice has gotten better over the years, and he gives a fantastic concert. I saw him for the first time at the Paramount Theatre in New York City in 1991 and he blew my doors off. I was a fan before, but after that, I don't miss a concert if I can help it.
Today's the man's birthday. So Happy Birthday, James!
If you're interested in trying out any of his music, I've got a couple of suggestions. I'm not normally a fan of live albums, but his two-disc James Taylor Live is just amazing. He reinterpreted a lot of his songs, and in a lot of ways are now my vision of the definitive versions of his songs. And New Moon Shine is probably my favorite single album of his.
I'm also using this to try out some linking tools to Amazon. So you should see links to those albums below. They're also available on iTunes, but in the interest of full disclosure, I get a little bit of a kickback if you buy from Amazon. And every little bit helps.
Trying to Win Some Equipment
I'm a big fan of the MacBreakWeekly gang, and certainly anything by Andy Ihnatko. Andy's a Geek Like Us, and regularly references comics and Big Bang Theory on the show. Now they've got a new site and coming podcast about Managing Your Digital Life. It's about backups and libraries and stuff like that. Ever since the Big Crash of 2005, I've been a big advocate of backing up, so I'm looking forward to the show.
I tell you all this because they're good people doing things that are good for you to know. But I also tell you because they're giving away a Drobo to people who link to their site. What's a Drobo? It's an awesomely awesome backup system that I covet greatly. So, if you click over to the Managing Your Digital Life site, I get entered to win this gotta-have-it-system. So, if you want to help a guy out, make with the clickety-click.
Another Kind of Mad Man
I've always thought Jon Hamm was cool, and a great actor. Now I've got a little more respect for him. Check it out.
Torpedoes Away
I just uploaded the print files for Love and Capes #10 to the FTP site of the book's printer. Yay!
It's probably about time to start the next one.
Stop a Bullet Cold, Fight a War With Love
While I was sitting at my table at MegaCon, I did a couple of warm-up/sample commissions. At the very least, these help me fill out the next edition of Powerful Women, which I hope will be out for my trip to Heroes Con.
I haven't done a proper Wonder Woman image in any of the books. There's one with her and Wonder Girl, and another with her and Power Girl, but I wanted one that was her by herself. This is still a little different, compositionally, than most of my other pieces, but I think it works well.
All Along the Watchmen
Last night I guess some movie called Watchmen came out. You would have thought there would have been a couple of ads for it or something.
Anyway, all the way in Dallas, my good friend Jesse Jackson (no, not that one) attended a special premiere thrown by Keith's Comics. Keith does giveaways, and at Jesse's suggestion, I donated a bunch of copies of Love and Capes #8. (Gosh, the continued issue. What was I thinking? Heh heh.) In a bit of Karmic justice, Jesse won a copy of Watching the Watchmen that he and I were discussing just a couple of hours before. It's a great book, by the way. I have it myself.
Jesse was kind enough to send some snaps from the movie night. Click on any to embiggen.
I haven't seen the big movie myself, yet. Scheduling with the Usual Gang didn't work out, and while I seriously considered going to the midnight show alone and not saying anything, but it's always better to experience it with your friends. And so I wait.
But, just to publicly announce it to them, I can wait until Saturday tops to see the new Star Trek film when it comes out. There's a new trailer out, and hokey smokes do I want to see that.
New Review
There's a really nice review of the Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? collection on Blake Petit's "Evertime Realms" site:
Reading this book, it’s very clear that Zahler both has a true love for superhero stories and a genuine understanding of the human heart. Mark and Abby as as realistic and well-developed a couple as I have ever read in a comic book. The Crusader and his pals — Darkblade, Arachnerd, Amazonia — all perfectly fit different superhero archetypes while still managing to have an individuality to make them Zahler’s own. It’s a nearly flawless story.
You can read the whole review here. Thanks, Blake!