Playing Hooky
Today's Opening Day for the Cleveland Indians and I have a lousy cold. Or do I? I mean, am I pretending to have a cold so that I can tell my boss I can't work and spend it on the couch watching the Tribe (and a couple episodes of the Battlestar Galactica marathon) play the White Sox?
Hmmm. My mind is a twisty, turny thing, isn't it?
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!
Frak Yeah!
If, four years ago, you would have asked me what my favorite TV show would be, there's no way I would have said Battlestar Galactica. I like sci-fi, and was looking forward to the miniseries, but Galactica, really?
The mini-series had that languid mini-series pacing and that turned me off a little bit. I wasn't sold on Starbuck being female, and there were other things that left me cool to the project. Still, there were two scenes that stand out that were so cool that I knew I'd give it a chance if it became a series. One was that, in a scene where the Colonial anthem needed to be played, that anthem was the original series theme song. That was a nice nod to the fans of the original show. The other was in the first couple of minutes, the Cylon now known as Number Six was examining a little baby and, in doing so, 
Then the first episode aired, and I was blown away. There was something about doing one hour instead of two that tightened everything. And it's never looked back since.
Battlestar Galactica is just a perfectly executed piece of entertainment. Actors, writers, special effects all work so seamlessly that there's no weak link. It's one of the few shows that have inspired blind trust in me. If Ronald Moore and David Eick said "For the next season, we're going to do BSG as a three-camera sitcom, shot on tape with a laugh track, and bring in Norman Fell as Cylon Number One" I'd have to say "Okay, I'll check it out." That's the kind of trust they've engendered.
The last season of Battlestar starts this Friday. It had dropped of my radar (or DRAIS as we BSG peeps would say) thanks to Sci-Fi's odd "whenever we feel like it" scheduling. But it's back now, and I'm going to enjoy every last minute of it. And, with Galactica on my mind, I've done an illo of the sexy Cylon, Number Six.
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!
Lantern's Light
While I was in Orlando for MegaCon, I met a Green Lantern fan who wanted a sketch done. We wound up doing it through the mail for reasons which don't need exploring at this juncture. He asked which member of the GL Corps I wanted to draw and I gave him three choices: Arisa (I am
The customer wanted everything done on green paper, which is all kinds of appropriate for Green Lantern stuff, hence the emerald hue to the illo.
Next Up: Stingray...
Behold, the power of Love and Capes.
Just a scant year and a half ago,
Explaining the reference in the comics: part of Doctor Karma's shtick is that he can't use his powers directly for his own benefit. I figured he was a powerful magic user and needed some sort of limit. Plus, it gives him a unique reason for being a hero: he actually can't be selfish with his own powers. So, when the Crusader needs something from the good doctor, the Doc asks Crusader to bring him something. Doc Karma couldn't actually teleport to England and buy his own copy.
I, of course, plan on taking full credit for this. I mean, what else could it be? Now if only they'd kept the cool UK packaging.
This Old Website
Wow, five years. I hadn't redesigned the main Thomz website in five years. In art terms, that's an eternity. So, I figured it was time to slap on a fresh coat of paint.
The first thing you might notice is that the site is much more blog-driven. I use the great WordPress engine to run my main weblog, and I've folded some of that in. So, when I post something on my blog that has to do with my caricature work, that post will appear on my caricature page on the main site, too. It'll serve to generate new content with very little work, and I'm all about that.
It also means that some of the pages have one generic post on them right now, but that will change soon. And I'm making this post appear in all the newer pages, too.
The portfolios have been changed around, too, so there's new content there. The calendar has been updated in all locations to go to my iCal page. So, if you're looking to book me for an event, you can find my schedule there. The phenomenally successful Commissions page has been linked to the main site, which it wasn't earlier. The Con Reports section, which hadn't been changed in four years, now grabs the blog feed as well.
Also gone is the little Thom Zahler cartoon from the main page. I didn't want him to overstay his welcome, but the main viewer on the home page is swappable, so maybe he, or some of his cartoon brothers, will reappear some time. The idea is to show a representation of what I do, but also have a plank I can swap out, maybe even make rotate again, so I can highlight a particular project or event on the main page. And, the shape of said plank lets me have a lot more freedom to do so. That's a little inside baseball, but I thought I'd share.
So, sit and stay a spell. Walk around these digital corridors and see what there is to see. And let me know how you like it.