Do You Know It All?
I recently completed working on some Male Health commercials for Family Planning of Northeast Ohio. I did much of the writing on the spots, did the animation, and produced them. The expert voice-over is by the phenomenally talented Roger Price, and production work by Fraser Video.
There are four commercials in this series, two :30 spots and two :15 spots. I'll post one them every day or so from here on out.
The animation is simple, but effective. They work pretty well, and form a nice, unified message. The campaign is designed to work in a couple different formats, including giveaway coasters.
It was nice to work in video/television again. Maybe I'll make working in that arena one of my New Year's resolutions this coming year.
They Get No Respect
I went to the Post Office yesterday to drop fifty-some packages chock full of the Love and Capes wedding issue to the guests on the cover. (Check out my box o' envelopes here.) There were a couple of difficulty factors in play: Each envelope was 13x18, so it was a large size, and they all weighed different amounts, since they contained different numbers of books.
It took a little under fifteen minutes to get through the line. That's not too bad, I think, especially for the Christmas season. Then it took thirty minutes to get through the shipping process. That's not bad either. So thanks, Post Office, for being so good.
The only thing I wish is that there were an easier way to do it. They used to have Postal Stores as part of the facility that handled the simple stuff, like stamp buying. If there were a special line or place for Clients of a Difficult Nature, I would have been glad to go there instead, and spare all the poor souls stuck in line behind me.
Thankfully, I'm not running for office this year.
Then, when I got home, I heard that yesterday was the Biggest Shipping Day of the Year. Glad to help, I guess.
And There Shall Come… a Ninth!
I don't know why, but after a burst of incredible productivity, I hit page nine and everything just stopped. This page languished on my drawing board for a week before I finished it.
Sometimes pages are hurdles and sometimes they're sprints. Either way, you have to keep going.
Also notice that on the back wall are copies of Tony Isabella's 1000 Comics You Must Read. A book which, I have it on good authority, mentions a certain a certain book with the initials L and C.
"War of the Supermen"? What About "LOVE of the Supermen-types?"
All right, if DC can let their cat out of the bag, I figure it's okay to announce my cat, too. Love and Capes #13. Free Comic Book Day. Be there.
Oh, you want more? Well, it's no secret that Mark and Abby get married in issue twelve (or do they…?) and issue thirteen picks up where that one leaves off. I'm eight pages into working on the book so far, and I have to say, it includes one of the funniest pages I've ever done.
After that, we have much to discuss. Diamond minimums and new plans and things like that. But, let's just say that while issue thirteen isn't continued, it coulda been if that's the way we'd wanted it.
And, just to cap it off, here's a scene that may or may not appear in the new issue.
The Dark Bite Returns!
Solicited in the Previews catalog this very month is Weekly World News #2,published by IDW. (Hey, don't they publish some critically acclaimed superhero romantic comedy, too?) When I was in San Diego, I met Chris and professed my love for The Weekly World News and Bat Boy.
Pause. True story: One of the best Christmas presents I ever gave was getting my brother a subscription to said Weekly World News. It became the gift that kept on giving, as Mike would bring it over to my grandparents' house and it would make the rounds from Grandpa to Uncle Jim to Dad and so on. I think it became more popular than the Sunday Comics. And resume.
Chris was kind enough to let me do one of the alternate covers for WWN. We batted (hah!) some suggestions back and forth, and then I suggested this parody cover of The Dark Knight Returns. I think it turned out spectacularly and look forward to seeing it when it comes out in a couple of months.
Issue Twelve
If you're on the cover of Love and Capes #12, you should receive an e-mail from me today about ordering additional copies if you need them. I'm just putting this message out on all my frequencies to make sure that everyone sees it.
They're Coming Around the Mountain
I picked up my inital copies of Love and Capes #12 today. More boxes will come later, and the books will ship out to Diamond later this week. I'm not sure when they'll arrive in stores because of that Diamond skip week and all. Hopefully, they'll be there by the end of the year.
I'm taking my copies to Alter Ego in Lima, Ohio this weekend where I'll be doing a special advance signing.
And, if you're one of the guests on the cover, your copies will be going out tomorrow along with information about getting extra copies if you need them.
A Mocha of Victory may be in order.
Have Yourself an Amusing Little Christmas
One of my astute readers noticed that the PayPal links in my post about selling previous year's Christmas Card designs wasn't working. I took a look and fixed it, so now the buttons all work right, and I'm reposting it so that if you tried to order and couldn't, well, now you can.
Every year I do a custom Christmas card, and every year I print more than I use. So, I'm making the previous year's cards available for purchase. The cards are still pretty funny, and they're definitely different from anything else you'd be sending. Each card has a cartoon on the front, and a smaller folllow-up cartoon on the back.
"REALITY" Christmas Card
This Christmas card takes aim at the reality show trend. The inside reads "Hope you have a REAL good holiday."
Cards measure 4.25" x 5.5" and fit into a standard invitation envelope. Click on the card to see the full art and back of the card.
25 cards for $15.00.
"BAILOUT" Christmas Card
Everybody gets a bailout, including Frosty, on this card. The inside reads "Hope your Holiday Season is crisis-free."
Cards measure 4.25" x 5.5" and fit into a standard invitation envelope. Click on the card to see the full art and back of the card.
25 cards for $15.00.
"SECOND CHRISTMAS" Christmas Card
Everybody gets a bailout, including Frosty, on this card. The inside reads "May THIS be your best Christmas yet.
Cards measure 4.25" x 5.5" and fit into a standard invitation envelope. Click on the card to see the full art and back of the card.
25 cards for $15.00.
"SECURITY" Christmas Card
Border security becomes an issue for old St. Nick on this Christmas card. The inside reads "Hope your holiday joy isn't hard to find."
Cards measure 5.5" x 4.25" and fit into a standard invitation envelope. Click on the card to see the full art and back of the card.
25 cards for $15.00.
The Quiet Times Aren't All That Quiet
I haven't posted anything in a few days, I know. There have been things keeping me busy, and announcements I can't yet make. But here, have some art from something I'm working on.
Read into that what you will.
The Proof is in the Oven
Yup, I just signed off and sent the books to the printer. I should have them in-hand next week, and then out to you shortly thereafter.
Also, there was a random review of Love and Capes #11 over at Hero Sandwich. It's pretty favorable, and I always dig that.