IDW and Love and Capes... Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter
Editor-in-Chief Chris Ryall has made the official announcement on his blog. I am humbled by the nice things he said, and as most of you know, that takes a LOT. Here's the official press release...
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
The romance continues for Love and Capes Creator Thom Zahler’s super-romantic comic book gets its first trade paperback release from IDW Publishing
San Diego, CA (April 24, 2008)—In many superhero titles, the action comes first and the relationship between the hero and their significant other can be pushed to the sidelines. But not so in creator Thom Zahler’s Love and Capes, a heroically romantic situation comedy in comic book form. The six-part series, in which Zahler handled story and art to critical acclaim and fan adoration, will be collected for the first time in a trade paperback to be released by IDW Publishing this November.
The series has been praised by Harlan Ellison and reviewer Tony Isabella, as well as Salon.com, which awarded an A- grade to the title, calling it “a surprisingly charming tale about a hardworking superhero and his girlfriend. Thomas F. Zahler’s boldly cartoony artwork recalls The Incredibles, and so does his wry, smart dialogue.”
The trade paperback, 152-page collection of the first six issues, will be adorned by a new cover from Zahler. And the story continues on, too. Fans who are curious about the title can read an all-new adventure in the Love and Capes Free Comic Book Day edition that Zahler is releasing on May 3, 2008.
In Love and Capes, Abby and Mark are a typical couple. At least, that's what Abby thinks. Unknown to her, her boyfriend is not just an accountant, but also the super-powered crime-fighter, the Crusader. See Mark tell Abby he's The Crusader. Find out how Abby deals with some of his super-ex-girlfriends. And learn the difference between a weakness and an allergy. Experience their first Christmas and beyond!
“When a writer of Harlan Ellison’s pedigree calls and gushes about a comic book, like he did with Love and Capes,” said Chris Ryall, IDW’s Publisher/Editor-in-Chief, “I tend to listen. I really love the sweetness and humor of Thom’s comic—maybe only Tom Beland is writing comics that have as much heart as this book—and was all too happy to put out the first LNC collection under the IDW banner.”
“ I’m thrilled to be working with IDW and doing this collection,” said Thom Zahler. “It’ll be great for the current fans, who have often requested this, and will hopefully expose the series to a whole new audience.”
Love and Capes, a $19.99, 152-page trade paperback (ISBN: 978-1-60010-275-2) will be released in November 2008. For more information on the comic can be found at www.loveandcapes.com.
About IDW: IDW is an award-winning publisher of comic books, graphic novels and trade paperbacks, based in San Diego, Calif. As a leader in the horror, action, and sci-fi genres, IDW publishes some of the most successful and popular titles in the industry including: television's #1 prime time series CBS’ CSI: Crime Scene Investigation; Paramount's Star Trek; Fox's Angel; Hasbro's The Transformers, and the BBC's Doctor Who. IDW’s original horror series, 30 Days of Night, was launched as a major motion picture in October 2007 by Sony Pictures and was the #1 film in its first week of release. In April 2008, IDW released Michael Recycle, the first title from its new children’s book imprint, Worthwhile Books. More information about the company can be found at http://www.idwpublishing.com.
About Thom Zahler Thom Zahler is a writer and cartoonist living in northeast Ohio. He has won several awards for his work, including a 2006 Cleveland Press Club award for his work for Scene Magazine. He is a graduate of the Joe Kubert School of Cartoon and has worked for the Cleveland Indians, the Colorado Rockies, Marvel Comics and Warner International Publishing. His work has been seen across the country on the national 2004 Prilosec advertising campaign. Recently, he co-authored a Star Trek: The Next Generation short story (with Bob Ingersoll) published in Pocket Books’ Star Trek: The Sky’s the Limit collection. More information about him can be found at http://www.thomz.com
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CAPE and Crusading
This time next week, I'll be winging my way down to Big D (that's Dallas for all you Yankees) for CAPE! Cape is the annual 
I'm really looking forward to the event, and FCBD in general. I'm thrilled to participate and it really is one of my favorite days of the year.
You're Something Special When You've Been Selected for Del's Folks
(That's how the theme goes, it's not just a rampaging ego... this time.)
Four years ago I was the feature of Del's Folks, a weekly interesting-people segment on Cleveland's WKYC-TV3. Obviously Del had run out of fascinating people and came to my name in the alphabet. We chatted about my work with the Indians, how I got started in art, all of that kind of stuff.
I've been on the news and radio a few times in my career, and the Del's Folks spot is still probably my favorite. And Del's a great guy. I watched him and Tom Haley on Today in Cleveland every morning before catching the bus for high school. He's retired now, but he's still on TV every week. That's my kind of retirement.
Del may move a little slower than he used to, but he's still sharp as ever. When he called asking me about re-running the segment, he left a message on my voice mail at 1:00pm saying "I know you cartoonists sleep all day, so I guess I called too early."
If I have to get older, I want to get older like him.
Anyway, the segment will rerun during Channel Three News Saturday, on from 9:00-10:30 on Saturday, April 26.
Yes! It's the Love and Capes Trade!
I've been hinting at this for a while, but I can finally announce it now... the Love and Capes trade paperback.
Maerkle Press will be partnering with IDW, publishers of such fine stuff as Star Trek and Angel and Transformers, who will be publishing this collection of the first six issues of Love and Capes. The complete stories will be released, as well as a reprint of the "How a Page is Created" special from #4, and a six-page
This has been a long time in coming, I know. I have to especially call-out Harlan Ellison (yes, that Harlan Ellison) who got this ball rolling. Chris Ryall, editor at IDW will be releasing an official press release soon, but I thought I'd mention it here, too.
Love and Capes: Do You Want To Know a Secret? will be coming out in November, just in time for Christmas. It's 168 pages, ISBN 978-1-60010-275-2. And, it will be solicited in both hardcover and softcover, so for those of you libraries that want to order a hardcover, you can (and please do). I'll link to the official press release as soon as I get it.
Maerkle Press will continue publishing the "floppy" issues of Love and Capes. Issue #7 will be the Free Comic Book Day issue, and I'm still lining up when issue #8 will come out. With issue #8, I'll be back on a regular publishing schedule for the second "season". I just had to make sure there was a FCBD issue, because it's such a great promotion, especially since I can now announce the trade. Yay!
Seven Days and other cancelled UPN shows
This time next week I'll be at the first day of the New York Comic-Con. I'll be there, taking commissions, selling Love and Capes #1-6 and Powerful Women sketchbooks. And seeing those way-cool Iron Man Toon Tumblers fly off the shelves. Man, that glass looks sweet if I do say so myself.
Hope to see you all there. And I'll be posting my full convention schedule for 2008 shortly.
It'll Be Here Before You Know It
I received my advance copies of Love and Capes #7 from the printer today. I got both the Free Comic Book Day and the retail version (available in July). I am so looking forward to this FCBD. I didn't know what I was in for last year. This year I do, and I think it's gonna rock!
Raise Your Glasses!
Yes, I understand the irony (pun intended) of an Iron Man pint glass. Doesn't mean it's not cool.
Actually, out of all the Toon Tumblers except maybe the Love and Capes glass, this may be my favorite. A lot of them are recreations of a cover or a panel. This one required a lot more design work and tasked my meager knowledge of the Golden Avenger. It features the Classic Bronze Age Iron Man in color, and then a lot of images of his previous armors, from the original clunky tin can look to the Ohio State-themed scarlet and white of the eighties. Finding and recreating the images was fun, even if a lot more work.
It'll be available at the New York Comic-Con, and oh my goodness, I'll be there too at booth 2446!
Bobble Fish
The Lake County Captains are the single-A franchise of the Cleveland Indians, and their ballpark is maybe five minutes away from Fortress Zahler. I finally made contact with them last year when Comic Heaven and I provided them books for Free Comic Book Day. Since then, we've spoken of a
The Captains have a fish race, featuring Buster Bluegill, Pauley Perch and Willy Walleye. It's the same as the sausage races or condiment races at other parks. Now these three characters will get to live in three-dimensional form, designed by me.
The fish in question are costumes that are more giant masks than full costumes that the runners wear. I had to translate this format into a more cartoony fish figure. I like to call them Bobble Fish, as a little nod to Douglas Adams' Hitchhikers' Guide to the Galaxy. They share a common form and will each sport unique colors.
Click on the fish to the left to see the complete style guide sheet.
They'll be given away on Saturday June 28, Saturday July 26, Saturday August 23. We're working out details so I can hopefully do a signing of the bobble fish one of those days.
And thanks to Comic Heaven, copies the FCBD version of Love and Capes will be given away this Free Comic Book Day, too!
Youthful Indiscretions
A long time ago, or at least it feels that way, I did the illustrations and designed a book called Women Do and Say the Dumbest Things. I did this for Jimmy and Chip on WMJI, Cleveland's number one (and certainly my favorite) Lanigan and Malone Morning Show. The good-natured book did okay, but despite our best efforts all around, it wasn't the runaway hit we'd all hoped for.
Artistically, though, it was a watershed for me. It's here that I first used what would evolve into my Love and Capes style. I broke out of some of the traditional superhero stuff and did some cartooning that opened up a much larger world.
Now, thanks to Wowio, you can read this book for free. There are about 100 stories, all submitted by listeners to WMJI, as well as one submitted by me. It's a short, fun little book.
Jimmy, Chip and I always promised to do a sequel, Men Do and Say the Dumbest Things. "Buy this one and we'll do another," we said. We didn't get enough to do that, but here's a second chance for all of us. Download the book and if it does well enough, maybe you'll see another. And you can submit your stories at the book's website.
Like a Zombie or Vampire... but GOOD!
Mid-Ohio-Con's coming back! Here's the press release:
Mid-Ohio-Con Acquired By GCX Holdings
Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 Scheduled For October 4th-5th
R.A.P. Promotions, Inc. announced that it has reached an agreement to sell Mid-Ohio-Con to GCX Holdings LLC. Now entering its 28th consecutive year, Mid-Ohio-Con is one of America's longest running and most successful pop culture conventions. Every year, Mid-Ohio-Con brings fans of all ages together with leading comic book writers and artists, film and television creators and stars, as well as publishers and retailers from across the nation.“I am delighted to have reached an agreement to sell Mid-Ohio-Con to GCX Holdings”, said Roger A. Price, President of R.A.P. Promotions and founder of Mid-Ohio-Con. “I know that the GCX team is excited about the opportunity to continue the tradition of Mid-Ohio-Con and I’m looking forward to working with them as we get underway with the planning and execution of the 2008 event. We have selected the weekend of October 4th–5th for Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 and we will be reaching out to invite guests, exhibitors and sponsors shortly.”
“Mid-Ohio-Con is a fantastic event with a unique heritage and a loyal base of fans that have enjoyed this convention year after year,” said James H. Henry, Managing Director of GCX Holdings. “We are committed to staying true to the things that have made Mid-Ohio-Con successful in the past while looking for opportunities to further grow the event over time. We are particularly pleased that Rog has agreed to stay on to work with us since his insight, knowledge and relationships are second to none and will be invaluable to us in the future.”
Mid-Ohio-Con 2008 will be held at the Greater Columbus Convention Center at 400 North High Street in Columbus, OH. The event will be held in Exhibit Hall E and several adjoining panel rooms which will offer more than 70,000 sq. ft. of space for exhibitors, panels and other activities. As the winner of multiple Prime Site and Inner Circle Awards, this state-of-the art facility has become one of North America’s most popular sites for local, state, regional and national groups and organizations.
Contacts:
James H. Henry
GCX Holdings LLC
jhenry(at)gcxholdings.comRoger A. Price
R.A.P. Promotions, Inc.
conman(at)midohiocon.com
In the past, I've had a pretty tight relationship with Roger and Mid-Ohio-Con. Roger's a great friend and that will never change, unless he turns out to be a Skrull, which seems to be the rage these days. As far as the show proper, that's up to the new owners. Everything's still in the start-up process, so things are still being figured out.
Regardless, I'm thrilled the show lives on, and you can plan on me bringing the Love and Capes Magical Mystery Tour to Columbus that weekend. Yay!