Gibbs-smacked!
Here, on page nineteen of the first IDW issue of Love and Capes, we get to see an old lady Gibbs-smack Paul LaCroix (Darkblade.). Yep, octegenearians beating up superheroes. Comedy gold!
Gibbs-smack, for those of you not in the know, refers to Mark Harmon's trademark whack-to-the-back-of-the-head move from NCIS. Usually Michael Weatherly's character gets the brunt of them. It's one of the endearing little touches to NCIS.
At since I've brought it up, I find NCIS and Donald Bellasario shows pretty interesting. He's worked on some popular ones Quantum Leap, Magnum PI, JAG, and even on the one-season wonder Tales of the Gold Monkey. I'm pretty sure he worked with Stephen J. Cannell, who's another favorite of mine, and it's interesting how he writes television shows. Most of them start off kind of rocky in the first season. I certainly didn't care for the first season of NCIS, I just watched because Mark Harmon is so likeable and because a friend of mine was watching it, too, but in the second season, things really pulled together. I think he figures out how to write for the actors he's hired after that first season.
He also seems to lose a character in the first season (Kate from NCIS, Harm's first partner on JAG, Dom from NCIS: Los Angeles) as well as introduce a minor character who goes to regular status after the first year (Tim on NCIS, Bud on JAG). And it can't be underestimated how he finds some really good actors to carry a show. Mark Harmon's my favorite, and if I ever grow up and can't be William Shatner, Mark Harmon's a good second. He's good in almost everything. I dug Reasonable Doubts, which I'm pretty sure I was one of the ten people who watched it, and his turn on West Wing as Agent Donovan was just brilliant. His target shooting scene still sticks in my head as both engaging acting and sparkling Aaron Sorkin dialogue. "I can fire a gun without falling down, if that's what you mean." I'd cast him as Jesse Colt in Raider, if that ever became a movie.
But David James Elliot really carried JAG, and I think Chris O'Donnell's built for TV. He's one of that class of actors that I just like everytime he's on screen.
NCIS certainly isn't the greatest show ever, and NCIS: Los Angeles is still in its growing pains season. But they're consistently good and there's a lot to be said about solid bat in your lineup.
Fighting for Screen Time
I haven't been posting a lot of Love and Capes art here lately. Part of it is that I was crazy busy with getting the Captains comic done, and then all the traveling that followed. Also, I knew that I was going to be able to say, at long last, that the mysterious pages 
I was working on were from Love and Capes: Ever After #1, the first IDW-published issue of my superhero romantic comedy series. It was hard not saying anything about that.
So, I'll be more regular about it, I promise. Here's a panel from the new issue.
I wish I could tell you that the joke was completely made up. Sadly, I can't. Charlotte really does only appear in one panel in this issue. It pains me as much as it does you. In a lot of ways, Charlotte's my favorite character. But she didn't fit into the story, and there was a lot of story to tell. Don't worry, I'm not in any way writing her out. In fact, her arc will take her in a really surprising direction. Don't worry, though, you'll like it.
And don't worry, it does not, in any way involve a refrigerator. That kind of stuff doesn't happen in my books.
Yesterday was my Birthday
I posted this on Facebook, but it bears reposting here: Thank you one and all for the kind birthday wishes. I had a wonderful day… weekend, actually. Got to spend time with my friends and family, had some cake and other good food, saw some movies, and celebrated another year of being fortunate enough to wake up every day and draw silly things and tell stories…plus I had the top down every day. Here's to making next year even better with all of you along for the ride.
And, because I had a really good day and felt happy, I thought I'd share this, which also makes me feel happy:
The Opposite of Mass Confusion
It's no secret I love my iPhone, but there's an application I've been begging for someone to create, and then someone did. I've wanted a Catholic Mass Finder. And turns out there is one, the Catholic Mass Times Church Directory.
And it works well. I was staying in Burbank for Free Comic Book Day. I'm not normally in LA over a Sunday, so I don't know where the local churches are, let alone when they have Mass. But this app found where I was, where the closest church was (St. Charles Borromeo, in this case) and when Masses were. So I was able to fulfill my Sunday obligations pretty easily. Win!
The Church was even having a bake sale that morning, so I was able to bring dessert to my previously-mentioned lunch at the Baileys. Double-win!
A Slew of Reviews
Along the way, I did check and saw some reviews on Love and Capes #13. I have to say, they were so good that its remarkable that I don't have a bigger ego. Here's a random smattering of reviews, along with links where applicable.
It's like what "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" would have been like if it took place in 2010 and ruled.
Comics AllianceTo say the book is funny, smart, and rendered with an incredibly loving touch would be to repeat myself, but it would also be very true. Out of every book I’ve ever discovered thanks to FCBD (and, in this case, thanks to Erin), this is the one that has become one of the true loves of my comic-reading life.
Blake Petit, Comixtreme.comThe story is great, the art is superb and it's REALLY addicting. I'm adding it to my hold the next time I see my comic guy. You should, too.
Jamie Winston, Salt Lake Magazine“Love and Capes” is an incredibly fun comic, and it was fantastic to get it for free. Heck, I think there’s a pretty good chance that this was the best comic produced for this year’s Free Comic Book Day.
Hero SandwichIt’s the fourth FCBD edition of the title, and having it show up every year is a welcome high point to the holiday for me.
Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading
On top of that, reports from the Lake County Captains were that the special FCBD issues that I did for them went over well, too. I've gotten an inquiry or two about doing them for other places, and I'm going to use them as a proof-of-concept that they can work. Hopefully, I'll be doing a few more of these.
Free Comic Book Day Recap
Yeah, I know Free Comic Book Day was last week. I've been busy, okay?
I landed in LA and picked up my rental dar. I was clever enough to borrow my brother's TomTom GPS unit and sweet mother of God how did I not have one of these before? Despite the manufacturer's insistence in spelling Tom without the proper "h", this thing was great. I've never gotten round California so well or so easily.
I navigated to Burbank to meet up with my friend and host for the trip, Amy Wolfram. Have you read her Teen Titans: Year One? Or watched Teen Titans or Legion of Super-Heroes? If not, go rectify that immediately! She got me in to Cartoon Network to sit in on a couple of screenings for Cartoons I Can't Mention, including one that will be on At Some Indeterminate Point in the Future.
Also, there was chocolate cake! Yeah, it may not seem that important to you, but I hadn't eaten since North Carolina, so it was great for me.
Saturday was FCBD, and the TomTom navigated me perfectly to Rancho Cucamonga, a name I can now type without spellchecking it, and Chris Brady's Four Color Fantasies store. They even had a parking space for me. Man, I could get used to being treated this way.
Chris's FCBD event was great. It had a mix of street fair and party. There was a huge crazy line of people, which is always good to see. There was indeed a bouncy house, but I wasn't able to get in it. I spent the day meeting fans and comic readers, doing a couple of sketches, signing a ton of books, and talking with a bunch of friends, new and old. I sat between Mark Waid and Adam Beechen, and had a great time talking to both of them. Also there was the aformentioned Amy Wolfram, Dwayne McDuffie, Charlotte Fullerton, Eugene Son, and more that I'm missing.
His videographer was even wearing a Love and Capes t-shirt. I think that was just awesome!
I'm just disappointed I didn't get a chance to talk to Whilce Portacio. I've been a fan of his work for a while, and it would have been nice to say "howdy."
Chris has a great store, too. It's bright, airy and colorful, and doesn't have that poster-covered way-too-busy look that some shops have. It's the kind of place that regulars can feel welcome at, and newbies and those not in the hobby but shopping for someone who is would feel comfortable at. His staff seems top-notch, too.
Then I went out to dinner with Dwayne, Charlotte and Eugene. We went to the nearby IHOP, which was delightfully unbusy, allowing us to have a very leisurely dinner and talk and talk. I know all three of them fairly well, and see them at Comic-Con and the ritual post-con LA trip. But, things are always so busy at the show, and then the week after can get busy after being "off" for a week, so having such a relaxed evening was really special.
Sunday, I got to have lunch with Chris Bailey and his family. Chris is the animation director on the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies, as well as having worked on Kim Possible and X-Men 2. That awesome Nightcrawler scene? Thank him.
Chris has a beautiful house and great kids. Also, he mixes a wonderful Mai-Tai. Much like dinner the night before, it was nice to get to just sit and hang and talk away from the hustle and bustle of a show. Also, Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa, how did I not know about that?
From there, it was a last dinner with Amy and a trip to Pinkberry, which I have to say was pretty awesome. I had the chocolate frozen yogurt with strawberries in case you were wondering. And then it another morning getting up at stupid o'clock to catch a flight home. I was glad that I left myself an hour-and-a-half to try to make it through security, because the line was out the concourse and down the sidewalk. It was so long, I thought they were giving away comic books.
It was a great trip. Maybe one of the best times I've had out in LA. Hope you all had a great Free Comic Book Day!
Free Comic Book Day Plans!
I'm writing this while on my flight to LA. Yes, I'm living in the future, baby! US Air apparently has WiFi on their flights, and there's a free promotion for first time users like me. Given that I have four some hours in the air, I figured it'd be worth it to try it out.
Gotta say, I like it so far.
Anyway, there were a couple things happening and happened that I needed to mention.
First, tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day. That means it's times for you to get yourself to a comic shop and pick up some of the over forty free titles. Yeah, Love and Capes #13 is certainly one of those freebies, and I wouldn't mind if you tried it. And, if your shop runs out, first gently chastise your shop owner for not ordering more of an obviously stellar book, letting him know that the series picks up at IDW in a few months, and then check the Love and Capes website on Monday or Tuesday, when the retail version of the FCBD issue will be available for purchase.
And, hey, be sure to buy something at that shop while you're there. The books are free to you, but the shops do pay for those books that they're giving out. We publishers provide them at a greatly reduced rate, but that man free books do add up.
Second, I will be at Four Color Fantasies in Rancho Cucamonga, California that day, doing signings and sketches and all sorts of fun stuff. There's even a bouncey house, but I'm going to guess a I'm a little big for it. If not, look for photos of me and Mark Waid reenacting scenes from Superman 2.
Third, if you're in the Lake County area and are a baseball fan, why don't you check out the Lake County Captains game at Classic Ballpark in Eastlake, Ohio? Not only will you see some future Indians, but you'll get a free Captains Comic written and drawn by me! Aliens challenge the Captains to a baseball game, and hilarity ensues.
In fact, if you like seeing photos and interviews with me, you can check out The News-Herald and read a article explaining more.
That's all for now. I'll try to update the blog this weekend, but no promises since this California Dreamin' weekend promises to be busy. But I do promise to try to keep up the Twitter updates and maybe even the occasional Love and Capes Facebook page update.
And who knows? Maybe I'll be tempted to get the free wifi on the way back and write more.
They Keep Pulling Me Back In
I did an interview with the lovely and talented Tim O'Shea over at Robot 6 about Love and Capes where I got to drop the news: Love and Capes is moving to IDW.
The new series, Love and Capes: Ever After, is a five-issue mini. The plan is to take a break after that last issue, because I've been going gangbusters on LNC for the last two years, almost non-stop. And before I sound like one of those whiny cartoonists who feel that publishing a book every three months is really hard, I'm doing it while working for a ton of other clients. If I could work on just Love and Capes, I could knock those issues out a lot easier.
In fact, that's one of the changes at IDW. The book is going to be monthly. Which is why the first issue doesn't come out until the end of the year. I need to get some runway behind me.
This is also the Love and Capes project that I've been alluding to but not talking about. In my head, it's kind of issue fourteen, and it's still how I'm numbering things in my internal files. But it's pretty cool to have a number one again.
I'm thrilled that IDW is partnering with me on this. And it's great to be able to keep going with the series. Now, you guys just need to keep reading.