I'm A Rockstar!
But, I did get the tight roughs done for my Scene cover. Here's a snippet. Yes, it's heavily photo referenced, and the final style will be kind of familiar to most of you. I'll post it when they print it.
It's an Honor to Be Next to those Nominated
Like last year, Maerkle Press/Love and Capes will be part of the Saturn Awards gift bags.
On of my favorite quotes from SportsNight is "show up and see what happens." The deal being, if you never show up, nothing will happen. That's why I do things like this, to get my wares out in front of people who can take it to the next level. It can't hurt, and can, in fact, only help. Maybe Sam Raimi is looking to produce a sitcom. You never know.
32 wants to do things to you that'll make you blush
One of the things I like about working on a comic book, as opposed to a graphic novel, is the instant sense of accomplishment. This is page four, so I'm already one sixth of the way through the book. Two pages from now, I'll be one-quarter done.
There's a scene in Maverick (the Mel Gibson version) where he draws an ace just by trusting that he could. I think the creative arts are kind of like that. Sometimes you have a good hand, and sometimes you have to play and trust you'll draw an ace later on. Now, I'm not so arrogant to say that this page ends with an ace, but hopefully I at least pulled a face card.
Set Your TiVos!
I'll be on Good Morning Cleveland here on WEWS-TV5 on Wednesday. It should be between 6:00 and 8:00. I'll be talking about Love and Capes and the whole cartooning thing. It should be fun, aside from having to wake up at 4:30am to get ready for the show. I did GMC once before, and really liked it.
I told my friend Mike about it, and his response? "You know, there was a time where I would have set a tape." He's right. I seem to be on TV a lot.
You Say It Was My Birthday?
This past weekend was my birthday. I got to spend time with my loved ones, which is always the best present. But this giant Shogun Warrior (Dragun, for those of you in the know) from my cousin Jamie is certainly the most photogenic for the blog. He's two feet of giant robot, and he is vastly cool. I'm sure this won't be his last appearance in this digital forum.
Thanks to everyone who was part of celebrating, as my friend Rog says, one more successful trip around the sun.
Secret Societies
I've made reference a few times to "The Secret Society of Super Reviewers", a gaggle of friends who set each page of Love and Capes as I finish it.
Recently, I did a page of Love and Capes (page two, for those of you keeping score at home) where I was told I needed to fix something. It's a complicated scene, with five characters in it. That's a lot of juggling. So, to keep things fresh, I put Abby and Mark in a colored silhouette. They're not important to the panel, so I figured it would work.
It didn't, and boy did I hear about it.
So I went back in and fixed it. You can see the difference in the Before and After to the left. I drew a new Mark and Abby and placed them in, further following the suggestions and desaturating and darkening the characters so they recede into the background. I hate it when I have to do something twice, but the SSSR were right, and the panel is better for it.
It's a Rave!
Well, it doesn't say "daughter" but his daughter's name, but you get the idea.
Still care about your hair and the car you drive
Here's page three, in which I make the second
Enough of that, though. Here's some funny stuff: You can see part of the Deco City Airport through the windows in the corridor here. The basic layout of the airport is based on the Fisher-Price Airport I had when I was a kid. There's a center round cylinder, and the gates spread out from there. No helicopter pad, though.
Three down, twenty-one to go.
And I Think It's Gonna Be a Long Long Time
Yesterday, I had the pleasure of being the featured speaker at Kensington Middle School as part of Right to Read week. I'll write about that later,
I know I mentioned my personal favorite, a bowling rhinos illustration for Scene that I did back in 2004. I'd forgotten about this recent addition to the Wall of Weird: a karaoke singing octopus. This was a sketch for Christopher Brimmage who's got an entire website devoted to the characater and artist sketches. You can check it out here.
You'd think that my first thought of what to have an octopus karaoke would be Mandy because of my affiliation with Angel. But, after further thought, I thought something a little more... Shatneresque.
It's Been One Week...
..since Free Comic Book Day. I mentioned that Love and Capes #7 got a ton of good reviews. I'm posting links and excerpts of them here, along with links to their websites, presented in no particular order. Really, I'm amazed and heartened by all this online acclaim. Stuff like this makes it easier to begin the long process of doing the next book.
"If your friendly neighborhood comics shop limits you to just but one free comic on Free Comic Book Day, that free comic should be my pal Thom Zahler’s Love and Capes #7 [Maerkle Press]. This issue of "the heroically super situation comedy" marks a major development in the lives of book-store owner Abby and her boyfriend Mark, who is also the Crusader, the most powerful super-hero on the planet. In 24 filled pages, we get holiday fun with the families, heartwarming moments, incredible gifts, dialogue so clever that I literally laughed out loud on at least three occasions while reading the issue, some of the most likeable characters in comics, and some of the most inviting art as well. Issue after issue, this is one of the best comics published today."
"Love and Capes #7 • A neat little romantic comedy in superhero drag: The Crusader wants to find exactly the right moment to propose to his girlfriend, but family issues, holidays and occasional spates of crime fighting are getting in the way. It’s an airy, self-contained coda to the recent miniseries, and artist Thomas F. Zahler makes visual ideas from contemporary animation work on the page. A-"
"…there's one I really like, Love and Capes, which is a sort of romantic comedy superhero sitcom about a superhero and his normal girlfriend. The cartoon style is similar to newspaper cartoons, and it's sweet and funny."
Shanna's Adventures in Publishing (and life)
"I found this an amusing comic, which makes creative use of its pastiches of Clark Kent, Bruce Wayne (here an African-American billionaire who in his heroic alter-ego is the best friend of the Superman-type hero), Ma and Pa Kent, etc."
"… an extremely important issue of the series, in which The Crusdader struggles with proposing to his girlfriend Abby. It is a pretty touching issue, and extremely well done. Clearly it is a critical moment in the overall series, so much of one that I am honestly surprised they are giving it away for free. High marks all around - this one was definitely good enough to pay for." (Four and a half smacks)
"Maerkle Press is publishing a neat little romance book called "Love and Capes," which is essentially a light-hearted romance between a Superman-pastiche named Crusader and a bookstore proprietor named Abigail. It sounds cheesy and passe, I know, but I read the free issue and I've got to say, it warmed the cockles of my heart. "
"Love and Capes issues always make me go “eeeeeee” with happiness after reading them. They’re terrific with their blend of romance, superheroes, and comedy."
Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading
"Thomas Zahler bills his series as "The Heroically Super Situation Comedy" and indeed, the focus of this book is more on gentle, tongue-in-cheek parody and screwball comedy than the never-ending battle of the costumed set…Zahler injects a defining sense of humanity to his characters that helps them rise above the too-obvious parallels. Mark and Abby come across as a realistic and likeable couple (one member of whom just happens to be able to fly and crush coal into diamond). Abby’s sister Charlotte provides humorous outsider commentary on the superhero world while struggling with real world issues of her own. The shadowy Darkblade is a more down-to-earth and supportive best friend than Bruce Wayne’s alter ego ever was. This earnest approach combined with Zahler’s humorous dialogue and appealing cartoonist style makes Love and Capes an engaging read."
Eric Lindberg, Broken Frontier
"Think to yourself: What would Superman be like if it were a romantic sitcom à la Mad About You or Friends? Well Love and Capes is the answer with an often hilarious look at a superhero trying to please his bookstore owning girlfriend while saving the world and ducking his ex, an Amazonian princess. Sound familiar? Honestly, this has some sharp writing and really great, light-hearted art work."
Adam A. Donaldson, Lucid Forge
"As I understand it, one of the missions of Free Comic Book Day is to introduce people to comics they haven’t tried previously in the hopes of convincing them to purchase said comics in the future. Mission accomplished, Free Comic Book Day…Just about each page is a romantic-comedy beat with its own punch line, moving the story forward but standing on its own. (It’s kind of like For Better or Worse without the icky gender and relationship dynamics.) The characters are sturdy and likeable enough to keep the rhythms from becoming repetitive…It’s a charming, easygoing book about sympathetic people in weird circumstances. It uses those circumstances for comedy and contrast, but it doesn’t let them overwhelm the core charms of the story."