My Virtual Refrigerator

I think I mentioned here, and definitely mentioned in my Twitter feed, that I'll be the subject of a News-Herald article coming this Friday. It's set to tie in with a book signing I'll be doing on this coming Sunday at Barnes and Noble in Mentor. The interview was fun to do, and it's very flattering to be the focus of such a thing. I have't seen the article, and I'm hoping that I didn't say anything stupid in it. I was able to recall exactly how many houses I had, as well as not pushing anything off as being "above my pay grade", so I think I did okay.

The reporter asked that I provide some artwork for the piece, so I had to dig through some old files. I found some fun stuff. I decided to try to dig up an old Schooltones strip from my tenure as the cartoonist for the Lake Catholic High School Lake Line newspaper. I couldn't find any. (I'm sure I have them, still. Probably upstairs in some bankers' box, I'd bet.) I was able to find some pieces from my "portfolio", circa 1983. By portfolio, I mean a red Trapper Keeper folder with several marker and crayon drawings that I brought to my very first convention, the Creation Comic Convention at the old Stouffer's Inn in Downtown Cleveland.

I remember being proud of it, and showing it to Bob Wiacek, who was generally complementary. I don't expect that Bob was geniunely impressed by a 12-year old's scribblings, but he was positive enough in a "keep at it kid, you're on a decent path" kind of way. That kind of support is priceless in a young artist's journey. Gil Kane was also there, whom I knew from his Star Hawks strip and other similar work. Gil's art didn't appeal to me then, and much like Kirby or even Simonson (whom at that show I mentioned disliking, since he made the grevious error of not being Paul Smith on the X-Men) I didn't start to appreciate and even like until later in my life. I kind of regret that. It would have been nice to talk to him a little more.

So, presented here are two drawings from that portfolio. One is of Laser Raider, a character I created for my grade school newspaper and was heaviy influenced by Dynamite Magazine's Dynamite Duo (later drawn by students of the Kubert School that I would even later attend myself). The other is Firestorm, proving my fascination with the character started at an early age. I remember being a young kid and drawing characters whose limbs looked like sausage links, since I didn't understand musculature, as well as not being able to draw noses or feet. With that in mind, I'm a little surprised at how inoffensive these drawings are. They aren't great, to be sure, but they hold up just a little better than I thought.

I also notice that I was using a signature different from my "family" signature. The now-familiar elongated ZAHLER with the united H and L and curved R going to the year was on all my Dad's and Aunt's paintings. I think I was somehow rebelling against it, although later I'd come to embrace it and I like the continuity that comes with having the family signature. I did change it a little, elimiating the vertical line in the E. Every generation adds something, I guess.

The Love and Capes bookplate revealed!

I got my first order for the Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? collection a couple of days ago. Given that the item was posted for all of a day before I got an order, I think that's pretty good.

The trade paperback comes with a custom bookplate, which I'm sharing with you here. I've pixelated the purchaser's last name, just to be safe. If you order one, I promise that your surname will be clear as can be. Joel requested that I do a sketch of the Crusader, which you can see here. This bookplate measures 4x6 and comes on the inside cover of the book.

Click on the bookplate here to biggemize it so you can see it larger.

FCBD Advertising

Since Free Comic Book Day is looming on the horizon, I wanted to mention advertising. For the FCBD issue, I take advertising. You can download a PDF that explains the ad rates here. Almost 20,000 copies of LNC were in circulation last year, and I expect even better things this year. If you're in the market for a comic-based ad, this is a great place to be.

FCBD09 Plans

I've teased this before, but I got the official okay to talk about it a couple days ago: For Free Comic Book Day 2009, I'll be at Rogues Gallery Comics in Austin, Texas. I've known owner Randy Lander for some time now, and am a huge fan of his Comics Pants podcast (along with the rest of the panteon). I've never been to Austin, but have heard nothing but good about it. I'm looking forward to being there for my third FCBD.

Half Hour Wasted? I Think Not!

I did a few interviews at Wizard World Dallas, including this one for Half Hour Wasted episode #96. I appear near the end of the podcast, but the whole thing is worth your time. It's a live broadcast from various parts of Wizard World, and it does a pretty good job of capturing the flavor of the convention.

And when they mention that Cheetah Lady… sheesh. I saw her too and be glad that you didn't.

Remember When I Said…

Yeah, I thought the Love and Capes trade was coming out this week. Turns out it's coming out next week. But it will be out then for sure! It's in the "Comics Shipping the Week of November 19th" list from Diamond.

Gamers People Play

Look at who's the lead story on Busy Gamer today. That link is to their beta WordPress site. You can see their main site at www.busygamer.com.

In Stores NOW!

The long-awaited (at least by me) Love and Capes: Do You Want To Know a Secret collection is in comic book shops today! You can get it at your local comic shop, or at Amazon, Barnes and Noble, or Khepri.com. All good places to get what, I hope, is a good book.

I have to say, it looks great. There were a couple of issues of the book that didn't quite match the coolness what I saw on my monitor. With this trade, that's all been fixed. The black lines are crisp, and the colors capture the subtlety that I intended. Really, it's just a joy to see.

On top of that, there's an introduction by Mark Waid, six pages of behind-the-scenes stuff, and a reprint of the "how a page is made" feature. Along with the required biography, all of it adds up to make a pretty great package. Perfect as a present. Now if only there were some big gift-giving holiday coming up next month...

Certified Cool, baby! It's official.

It's Diamond time again, and look what's in it: Love and Capes #9. And guess what, it's "certified cool" by Diamond Comics. Certified. It's official and everything.

Here's the actual cover to issue #9. Since #8 is out, I figure I can show it for realz now. I didn't want to spoil the "My Two Marks" aspect of the ninth issue until people had actually read the eighth issue. Yeah, I made one continued. Don't hate the player, hate the game.

The Certified Cool is always a pleasant surprise. Love and Capes #9 is being mentioned in the same breath with some really fine books, like DC Comics Gen 13 and Haunted Tank, Marvel's Scourge of the Gods, and IDW's Complete Terry and the Pirates. It also gives the book a little extra pop in the Previews section, which is always a good thing, especially given the volume of product in the catalog.

So, it's order code NOV084203. Order big. Free Comic Book Day is next!

Mid-Ohio-Con Charity Auction

When I was at Mid-Ohio-Con this past year, I participated in a charity auction. Many of the guests got together and drew something to benefit Make-a-Wish and The Hero Initiative. Well, the auction is live now. And, if you feel a burning desire to buy some Thom Zahler artwork, you can go directly to the Amazonia sketch.