It's Like Chocolate and Peanut Butter, I Think
If there's two things that go together, it's Love and Capes and the Punisher.
The guys at Comixtreme.com have done another podcast, this one focusing on Frank Castle and his war on crime. But, in their picks of the week is a book of my acquaintence, Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? Blake says some very kind things about it, and I'm very appreciative of them.
What, you want to check out the podcast? Well, make with the clickety-click here.
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.
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.
A One and a Two
I'm a little burned out on the lyrics contest, so I'm going to take a few pages off and just post some panels. Here's page one (which you can embiggen) and a panel from page two (which you can't). Abby goes to see Doctor Carmody,
This issue should be a fun one. I'm looking forward to working on it.
The Love and Capes bookplate revealed!
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.
Thumpety-thump-thump
In case you missed it in the papers and on TV, it's Christmas Season again. It means that it's also time for me to do my annual Christmas card. Waaaaaay back in 1993, I decided to design my own Christmas cards with a little cartoon on them. They were just simple photocopied and cut cards that went out to fifty people or so. Since that time, they've changed to become full-color cards and go out to much more than just those original fifty people. They're an advertising piece as well as a Holiday wish.
The hardest part as usual is coming up with the joke. My first
This year's? Well, they haven't gone out yet, so you don't get to see them until they do. Here's a preview of the art for the card, though, featuring a certain snowman who's been the subject of a song and a couple Rankin-Bass specials.
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.
The First Thanksgiving Without
It’s Thanksgiving and it feels kind of wrong. Oh, it’ll be a good day. And I’ve got a ton to be thankful for. Great family, great friends, good health, and the good fortune to be making a living the thing I know without question that I was put on this earth to do.
But this year, my arms aren’t sticky. And that’s wrong.
For the last thirteen years or so, I’ve some of Thanksgiving getting ready for Roger Price’s Mid-Ohio-Con. Five years ago in particular a new tradition emerged. I always put together those large foam core signs, but in 2003 I did that in my newly purchased house. There was something about spray mounting giant cardstock signs onto foam core as I was watching The West Wing marathon that was just special. And sticky. The spray mount always hung in the air and got on my arms.
It’s how I’ve spent every Thanksgiving morning since. Heck, I’ve actually never been at my house on Thanksgiving weekend. Until this weekend, of course.
The Henry Brothers have taken over the big MOC reigns, and they’re doing a fantastic job. This year’s show was great. But Roger’s show was, well, Roger’s. It was a magical combination of the start of the holiday season and snow and that unique blend of big name guests and approachable fans.
It was my first major convention. The first show I exhibited at. The first show I ever made a profit at. I made friends at that showthat hve become among my closest. Some of my best memories (Karaoke nights, anyone?) and some of my worst (let’s not mention Brown and the Program Books, shall we?) come from that show. The new show’s great, but the old show will be missed.
I’ve got a bunch of MOC memories in the Con Reports section if you want to relive my time in Columbus at the Adam’s Mark, the Hyatt, and, my favorite, Easton.
I’ve got a lot to be thankful for, like I said. I’m thankful that had Mid-Ohio-Con, and that it still continues.
Hope you have a lot to be thankful for too, and that you have a great Thanksgiving.
The One Where I Relentlessly Shill
So you want to buy the Love and Capes: Do You Want to Know a Secret? collection. I can't blame you. I have them here, and they're just so pretty. IDW did a bang-up job with them.
I'm offering a premium edition here at the Love and Capes website. For $25.00, you can get the collected edition, including a special customized Love and Capes sketch bookplate. The bookplate will be autographed, include a sketch of one of the characters, and be personalized From the library of (your name).You can even request a specific Love and Capes character.
Some of you may have correctly guessed that I do make more money off of issues sold directly. And I know that there's a mindset of "let me give the money directly to the artist". I do the same thing. It's how I got my first two Gaelic Storm CDs, among many other things.
But, while the money's great, it doesn't translate into trackable sales. I can tell a comic shop, "I sell X number off of my website", but what's important to them is how many they sell at their store. They order from Diamond, and Diamond tracks the numbers. Diamond also requires a minimum number of sales to continue carrying the book. Similarly, bookstore and online bookstore sales are tracked, too. If Abby's Books and Coffee sells a lot of copies, she's going to order more of the next one, too. And having good sales figures allows me to keep publishing the book.
I also try not to compete directly with comic shops and stores. That's why the books on my site are generally a little more expensive, especially once shipping is included, here on the site and never go on sale early. Retailers are the front line of my sales, and I want them to have every advantage. Now, I want you to get the book, too. So if for some reason a shop can't reorder an issue, or if you live somewhere without a retailer or whatever, I want to make sure you have a channel to get it.
So, here's the upshot: order it wherever works best for you. If there's a good deal at Amazon, get it. Got a gift certificate to Barnes and Noble? Use it. Have a local retailer? Buy it from them. Want to buy it from me? You go right ahead. It's not about me, it's about you.
You can order online from Amazon, Barnes and Noble, Borders and Khepri. And you can find your local retailer here. Whatever you do, feel free to leave some commentary or reviews up on the Amazon site. And thanks for your support.