No mortal man can win this day

Let's break a rule or two tonight. This is actually a fourth panel, which I don't usually post. I thought that the other panels on the page revealed too much. I especially wanted to mention the super villain that appears, but that would give everything away. I will tell you this: I designed him years and years ago as part of a "Design the next Masters of the Universe figure" that I entered as a kid. The character wasn't selected, but a version of him (new name, same powers) will appear in Love and Capes #8.

I've also blurred out the text. The dialogue's not really funny without the set-up, but I choose to play it safe.

Two pages left to go. It may be done this week. I just have some other things competing for my time and efforts this week, too. It's nice to be wanted, though.

Why are there so many songs about rainbows?

Love and Capes is officially hitting obsession stage. I finished page 21 today. There's a good chance I'll have the remaining three done this week. That's a lot.

I don't do a lot of panels with empty backgrounds, but they're nice to spice things up, especially when it calls for it. Here, Major Might and the Crusader are floating in the air. The empty BG just seemed to really get that sense of space.

Bizarre trivia: The second dialogue balloon originally belonged to Crusader. I couldn't think of a reason why Major Might wouldn't say it, though, so I figured I'd give him a little more to do.

Turning and returning to some secret place to hide

The pages are coming even faster now. Okay, I was waiting on a script to letter and had the day free. Plus, by this time in the book, I'm not creating new environments and I can use a lot of the existing ones from my Love and Capes library. Like this one in the Spencer household, reusing the backgrounds I created for the previous issue. The Christmas tree from #7, though, is gone.

Four left to go, plus the bio and recap sections, as well as the cover for #9. That should go pretty well. I've got about two work weeks before San Diego, and in that time I'd like to finish the book, as well as letter a book for another client, and do a cover for a major comics publisher that, for once, is not Maerkle Press.

What's the cover? Who's it for? I'll tell you as soon as I can.

We weren't meant to be, at least not in this lifetime

With page nineteen now done, we're down to the Final Five. What will they be? Who will they be? Why is Sci-Fi Channel making us wait so long to find out? Wait, again, that's Battlestar Galactica.

It's Amazonia and Crusader in the background, and Windstar and Arachnerd in the foreground. Windstar's not actually a member of the Liberty League, but maybe I'll have to change that with as often as he's appearing. I needed seven little superheroes (to reference one of the best episodes of Spider-Man and His Amazing Friends) for this sequence, and Doctor Karma was way too powerful to bring in, and I still haven't designed Mermantis. I needed a couple of filler characters, so Windstar and Major Might pop in.

Windstar is one of my childhood creations, along with Raider. It's fun to pop him into these scenes, just to see him in print.

It's also Independence Day today, so have a happy one.

Cool and Refreshing

As I was working on page eighteen last night, I had myself a little Diet Coke out of my super-nifty DC Superheroes Toon Tumbler. (The first of many.) Doesn't it look pretty?

I'm so tired of being here

I have to say, this page has one of my favorite panels, shown here. Our heroes are thrown onto an alien planet. And, when they appear, Darkblade just has to say "Crusader--?" and Mark already knows what he's asking and, better yet, has anticipated his request.

It's a little thing, but it really gets that Super-Duo friendship thing down. It's the kind of thing Kirk and Spock would do, or Luke and Han, or, once upon a time, Superman and Batman.

Six pages left. It's just gonna fly from here on in.

And by the way, Alpha Tauri, or Aldeberan, really is 65 light-years from Earth. I does my research.

Blub Blub

Now that I have one of my own, I can post a larger picture of the first Bobble Fish, Buster Bluegill. Here, the King of the Seven Seas attempts to communicate with the Bobble Fish.

Captain's Log

Saturday night was the signing at the Lake County Captains' game. It was a lot of fun, but it didn't go off without a hitch.

It rained on Saturday. On and off, soft and hard. Very hard. It stopped raining a couple hours before the game, but the field was so soaked that they had to really work to make it game-ready. So the game was pushed off to 7:30, then 8:00, and finally 8:30. The game went until 11:30 or so, and then there were fireworks, too. It was a late night.

Of course, years of being an artist have steeled me for such late nights.

The bobblefish just flew that day, too. I maybe signed for half an hour, because that's about how long it took for them to run out of the fish. After everyone dispersed, there wasn't too much doubling back. Still, it was worth it. I got a lot of compliments and met some great people. I even got to autograph one, and then later sign a card for, some lady having a birthday.

The bobble fish even made it onto the scoreboard before the game. That was pretty sweet.

But, best of all, a lot of my family and friends showed up for the game. It's nice sharing such a time with then.

I won't be at the July signing, as matters of state (well, Comic-Con International) will keep me away. But I'll be back at the August one. Let's all hope for nothing but clear skies.

Oh, and click on any photo to embiggen.

Storin' and Growin'

For those of you who missed it, Love and Capes #7 (both the retail and FCBD versions) are available for sale in the Love and Capes store. Be fruitful and purchasify!

Middle Eight Song Lyrics

Another eight down, another eight song titles.

9. Except a scene or two erased by sweet red wine
Callin' Baton Rogue by Garth Brooks

10. She ain’t into wine and roses, beer just makes her turn up her nose
Whiskey Girl by Toby Keith

11. More laughs than a stack of comic books, a wild imagination, a college education
Daddy's Money by Ricochet

12. I wake up, and tear drops, they fall down like rain
These Days by Rascal Flatts

13. And it turns out that he was a missing person who nobody missed at all
Goodbye Earl by the Dixie Chicks

14. What’s meant to be will always find a way
She's in Love with the Boy by Trisha Yearwood

15. Got two homes, car loans, in debt, and his third divorce ain’t even final yet
When it All Goes South by Alabama

16. Riding up and down Broadway on my old stud Leroy
Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy by Big and Rich

I had a lot of good guesses on theme, including songs with liquor and songs with city names. The guesses were so much better than what I planned that I almost switched my song list. But, ultimately, I stayed with the theme: country music.

Stay tuned for the back eight, coming soon. I like the theme thing, and I'll have to do another one. Something a little more complicated.