Muncie? More like FUNcie!

This past weekend was My Little Pony Day at Aw Yeah Comics in Muncie. Christy Blanch and her gang were kind enough to invite me as well as Andy Price and Katie Cook to come and do their first Sunday signing ever. The store is as fun as you’d expect, and the staff was amazing. I can’t remember the last time I was taken care of so well. I’d tell you to go into comics just so you could hopefully be treated so well yourself, but comics is competitive and I don’t need the competition.

Plus, I got there on Doctor Who day, and they had Jammie Dodgers.

Muncie is a small town, but it’s got its charm. And like a lot of places, it’s got some great restaurants if you know where to look. Fortunately, Aw Yeah did. They took us to Barn Brasserie and Casa Del Sol and they were both freakin’ amazing. Barn Brasserie had comic books as decorations on the walls of the bathrooms. (Admittedly, I only saw the mens’ room). The owner insisted that Andy and I add our signatures to the wall with so many other artists.

And they had beignets.

The signing went really well. A nice steady crowd, but not too many. There were lots of great people, and lots of kids, which is always nice to see. It was just the right mix.

And they made sure that we took some comics home with us, too, which I appreciate. You can see my haul in the photos. And they took us to see The Man From UNCLE which I appreciated a lot, too.

Kyle and Sy from the shop were great. By the end of the weekend we were trading jokes like a well oiled sitcom. (I, of course, am the Chandler.) And Christy, well, Christy’s just awesome. I swear she’s a bigger fan of Long Distance than I am. She certainly has sold more than me.

Icing on the cake was getting to log some serious convertible time. Nice and sunny on the way out. The most common comment at the signing was “I love Long Distance,” but the second was “You drove with the top down, didn’t you?” Yes, I did. And then a nice night drive on the way back, too.

It was a great weekend. Go to Aw Yeah Muncie if you’re ever in the area. Get the Sesame Chicken at Barn Brasserie and the margarita at Casa Del Sol, too.

My SDCC 2015 Appearance Schedule

Thursday • IDW Booth 2714 • 11:00am-12:00pm A My Little Pony signing at the IDW booth. The first issue of Tony Fleecs’ and my Attack of the Living Apples starring Flutterbat has an SDCC variant, so be sure to pick that up as well. I’ll be signing with Agnes Garbowska, Tony Fleecs, Jeremy Whitley, and Bobby Curnow.

I also designed the cover of the exclusive Friendship is Magic trade (featuring the art of Amy Mebberson), too.

Saturday • IDW Booth 2714 • 10:00am-11:00am

Long Distance #2 will be at the show, and Lora Innes (who did the awesome variant cover for #1, and also does the super-awesome The Dreamer) and I will be signing then.

Trivia: The Dreamer is often seen on sale at Abby’s bookstore in Love and Capes.

Saturday • Room 24ABC ª 7:30pm-8:30pm

Dr. Andrea Letamendi (The Arkham Sessions) and Dr. Ali Mattu (The Psych Show) step into the pop culture ring to debate the psychology of teamwork, rebellion, and galactic war. Panelists include Robert Meyer Burnett (Free Enterprise), Thom Zahler (Love and Capes), Consetta Parker (Rancho Obi-Wan), and Amy Ratcliffe (Star Wars Insider). Join a side, but remember: phasers and lightsabers are no match for this battle of wits! Refereed by Brian Ward (Comics, Assembled!)

I'm gonna bust 'em up.

Sunday • Room 24ABC • 1:00pm-2:00pm

All-ages comics are important now more than ever in helping to bring in new and lapsed readers, from practically every demographic. BOOM! Studios associate editor Whitney Leopard leads a discussion on the significance of all-ages comics, from what they have achieved thus far to what lies ahead, with creators Mairghread Scott (Transformers: Windblade), Thom Zahler (My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic), Cecil Castellucci (Odd Duck), Ian McGinty (Munchkin), and Dave Roman (Astronaut Academy).

And, of course, all the rest of the time, I’ll be at Booth 2000 signing and selling next to the irritatingly-talented Andy Price.

Awesome Con DC Wrap-up

This past weekend I was a guest at AwesomeCon DC. It was my first time at the show, and it was a lot of fun. I did a couple of panels on Saturday, including a great My Little Pony panel, an interesting Comics in Libraries panel and then on Sunday a fantastic What Inspired You panel hosted by my friend Bob Greenberger. I also got to see and spend time with some friends, which is always the best part of these shows. It was great to see Lora Innes, John Gallagher, Jamar Nicholas, Tony Fleecs, Robert Deans and Steve Conley along with the host of others I'm sure I'm forgetting.

More than some other shows, I got to walk around the city a lot, too. Getting to see new places is one of the best things about doing conventions. I haven't been to DC in fifteen years, so a lot had changed.

But, just in case you hear any rumors that I and some people stole the Declaration of Independence because there was a treasure map on the back, well, I can't talk about that. Sorry.

Comicpalooza 2015!

I'm back from Comicpalooza in Houston! I had such a good time, and need to thank Jesse Jackson, Bill Williams and Alex Johnson (who makes it all possible) for being such a big part of that. I think Houston may have the second most "regulars" for me, eclipsed just a bit by Baltimore, and that makes the show special. It's hospitality, Texas-style, and it's awesome. I even got to go to a bourbon tasting at the Yellow Rose Distillery.

I participated in the art auction again, this year drawing a Wonder Woman piece, and that was fun as always. I also did two panels: one on working for yourself vs. collaborating, which was lightly attended but very interesting, and one of lettering which was surprisingly well-attended. And Jesse commissioned a few sketches from me to get signed by some of his favorite actors. It's really cool when Summer Glau or Donal Logue sends back a compliment on your work.

And, I got my picture with both the car from Supernatural and the Mach Five from Speed Racer. 

If they'll have me again, I'll definitely be back. And in the meantime, I'll be at AwesomeCon DC this weekend, because I live my life like the Brothers Winchester, always on the road, selling projects and killing deadlines.

My Free Comic Book Day 2015 at Hazel's Heroes Comics

This past weekend I was a guest at Hazel's Heroes Comics in North Canton, Ohio. Their Free Comic Book Day festivities ran from 9:00-600 and it was a full day of fun! There was a line out front before the store even opened, and a steady stream of customers flowed in the entire day. I spent the day selling books and doing commissions. I even got to add to the ceiling tile art gallery with a Wonder Woman piece (because female heroes were dreadfully underrepresented… so I fixed it).

I had a great time and encourage you all to visit their shop!

I'm looking forward to next year's FCBD, too. Who knows where I'll be next time?

How to Order Long Distance

My new romantic comedy comic Long Distance will be in stores soon, and it's in Previews now. Pre-ordering is essential for the success of books like these, and while I'm sure you can navigate the Diamond system just fine, I'm trying to make it a little easier for everyone. There are two covers for the book, so two order codes. The one by me is APR150443 and the one by Lora Innes is APR150444.

But I'm not going to stop there. I've made a handy printable graphic for you to give your comic shop owner, so that they can place the order for you.

And because I'm still not done, I've even made an iPhone sized one that you can just show to your retailer to order it and save a tree!

I'm excited about this new series and I hope you are, too. The first issue comes out in June, but please pre-order it now.

Wizard Cleveland Wrap Up

Wow, I had such a good time at Wizard Cleveland this past weekend. Seeing the crowds, looking at the sales and the energy, you could tell that Cleveland has been hungry for this kind of show. It was really interesting to do this local a show. There are other Ohio shows, but this one is in my backyard. I ran into all sorts of people I knew, from old jobs, relatives, people from high school and even from grade school. It's nice to see those people and know that they're doing well. It's like Facebook, but in 3-D.

I did two panels at the show. The first was Danny Fingeroth's writing panel, where Tom DeFalco, Jai Nitz, Marc Sumerak and I all discussed our process. That was a lot of fun. And the second was saturday's Breaking in and Staying In with Marc Sumerak and myself. We got a lot of good questions there. I think we dispensed some good information there.

I sold a ton of Pony books, moved some prints and sketch cards, sold Love and Capes, and did more than a few sketches. I was drawing almost all day on Saturday! That's crazy in the best way.

Cleveland has a bad reputation for coming out to support shows. So I want to say how much I appreciate people coming out through the snow and cold and poorly plowed roads to make it to the show. (And great move on Wizard's part to extend Saturday-only admissions to Sunday as well for those who didn't brave the snow.) Wizard has already announced they're coming back next year, so you have made it a success.

And I also want to thank Cleveland for not shooting itself in the foot. I was worried about $20 special event parking rates, or extra police ticketing activity, or any of the other things that can be done to strangle an event. None of that happened. There was even a ribbon cutting ceremony with the Mayor. And it was nice to see so many restaurants open even on Sunday night, so there were places to enjoy in the city after the show.

It was nice to see the show take advantage of what our area has to offer, as well. NASA Glenn had a presentation or two, both the Cleveland and Cuyahoga Libraries were out in force, as well as lots of local radio and TV. Wizard did a great job advertising the show. (And thankfully, with genre shows being so big these days, it's easy to know what to advertise on, isn't it?)

Special thanks to people who made this show so great for me: Marc Sumerak, Jai Nitz, Sean Gunn, Tony Isabella, Bob Ingersoll and Danny Fingeroth.

It was a great time and a successful show. I hope to see you there next year!

Morning Warm-Up: Aquaman

Everyone's talking about the release of the first image of Jason Momoa as Aquaman. He looks impressive and I've liked Momoa from his days on Stargate Atlantis. I had to look at the photo a couple of times to make sure it wasn't black and white, so apparently they're going with the super-muted color scheme that's permeated so much of the DC movie stuff. I liked it okay in Man of Steel, and it certainly works for Batman, but I miss color in my superhero characters. The Marvel Cinematic Universe certainly does that better, though the DC characters don't seem to need to constantly apologize for wearing costumes, so they've at least got that going for them.

All of which is by way of saying "Hey, I drew Aquaman today!" Hope you dig it!

Amazing Arizona Wrap Up

I'm back from Phoenix! I had such a good time at the Amazing Arizona Comic Con. Jimmy runs such a good show. His staff is professional and attentive, and they really take care of their guests. It's my first time doing one of their shows, but I hope it won't be the last.

I met so many My Little Pony fans there, and thats one of the best parts of doing these shows. Drawing and talking to kids about something they like so much is just such a treat. On Sunday we did the "My Little Pony Power Hour" where I did more Pony sketches than I would have thought possible. And then I left that to go to the My Little Pony metope, where I took questions and talked about my work and the Ponyverse. I'd only intended to do that for half an hour, but I went almost twice that because it was so much fun.

I also got to hang out and chat with some comics creators, including Mat Nastos of Phineas and Ferb and also a fellow Kubie, which I did not know. We talked teachers and the school and careers and I wish I had been able to spend more time with him. I also got to talk with Herb Trimpe and his wife. Such a nice guy, and such a fun conversation. It's so weird to me when people I grew up reading are now people who treat me as a peer.

And big thanks to Robert Deans for making sure some cookies from Flying Pork Productions made it to me, too. I can't tell you how much I needed those!

Below are some photos from the fun that was the show. It was a great start to my 2015 convention season. And take notice, All The Other Shows, the bar has been raised.

My Brave and the Bold Spec Script

It's Valentine's Day, which is usually when I promote the heck out of Love and Capes. (Have you heard of it? Check it out here if you haven't.) But today I want to share something different. It's one of the animation spec scripts I did that helped lead to my upcoming Ultimate Spider-Man episode. I wrote a spec for Brave and the Bold, featuring Batman and Wonder Woman. The show's off the air, sadly, so I figure I might as well share it here.

And this story has Batman being called upon to fill in for Cupid, the God of love. Perfect for Valentine,s Day, right?

My friend Dwayne McDuffie helped me on this. He saw my first spec and thought it was all right and spent a couple hours on the phone telling me what was wrong and right, but he challenged me to do "A Thom Zahler" script. He'd felt the one I wrote was generic, and he wanted to see the one that would be the one that only I could write.

So I did. Sadly, I never got a chance to show it to him as he passed away before I finished it.Dwayne not only made me a better writer, he made me want to be a better writer. That continues to this day.

So, here's a PDF of my spec. Check it out if you'd like.