A Slew of Reviews
Along the way, I did check and saw some reviews on Love and Capes #13. I have to say, they were so good that its remarkable that I don't have a bigger ego. Here's a random smattering of reviews, along with links where applicable.
It's like what "Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman" would have been like if it took place in 2010 and ruled.
Comics AllianceTo say the book is funny, smart, and rendered with an incredibly loving touch would be to repeat myself, but it would also be very true. Out of every book I’ve ever discovered thanks to FCBD (and, in this case, thanks to Erin), this is the one that has become one of the true loves of my comic-reading life.
Blake Petit, Comixtreme.comThe story is great, the art is superb and it's REALLY addicting. I'm adding it to my hold the next time I see my comic guy. You should, too.
Jamie Winston, Salt Lake Magazine“Love and Capes” is an incredibly fun comic, and it was fantastic to get it for free. Heck, I think there’s a pretty good chance that this was the best comic produced for this year’s Free Comic Book Day.
Hero SandwichIt’s the fourth FCBD edition of the title, and having it show up every year is a welcome high point to the holiday for me.
Johanna Draper Carlson, Comics Worth Reading
On top of that, reports from the Lake County Captains were that the special FCBD issues that I did for them went over well, too. I've gotten an inquiry or two about doing them for other places, and I'm going to use them as a proof-of-concept that they can work. Hopefully, I'll be doing a few more of these.
Free Comic Book Day Recap
Yeah, I know Free Comic Book Day was last week. I've been busy, okay?
I landed in LA and picked up my rental dar. I was clever enough to borrow my brother's TomTom GPS unit and sweet mother of God how did I not have one of these before? Despite the manufacturer's insistence in spelling Tom without the proper "h", this thing was great. I've never gotten round California so well or so easily.
I navigated to Burbank to meet up with my friend and host for the trip, Amy Wolfram. Have you read her Teen Titans: Year One? Or watched Teen Titans or Legion of Super-Heroes? If not, go rectify that immediately! She got me in to Cartoon Network to sit in on a couple of screenings for Cartoons I Can't Mention, including one that will be on At Some Indeterminate Point in the Future.
Also, there was chocolate cake! Yeah, it may not seem that important to you, but I hadn't eaten since North Carolina, so it was great for me.
Saturday was FCBD, and the TomTom navigated me perfectly to Rancho Cucamonga, a name I can now type without spellchecking it, and Chris Brady's Four Color Fantasies store. They even had a parking space for me. Man, I could get used to being treated this way.
Chris's FCBD event was great. It had a mix of street fair and party. There was a huge crazy line of people, which is always good to see. There was indeed a bouncy house, but I wasn't able to get in it. I spent the day meeting fans and comic readers, doing a couple of sketches, signing a ton of books, and talking with a bunch of friends, new and old. I sat between Mark Waid and Adam Beechen, and had a great time talking to both of them. Also there was the aformentioned Amy Wolfram, Dwayne McDuffie, Charlotte Fullerton, Eugene Son, and more that I'm missing.
His videographer was even wearing a Love and Capes t-shirt. I think that was just awesome!
I'm just disappointed I didn't get a chance to talk to Whilce Portacio. I've been a fan of his work for a while, and it would have been nice to say "howdy."
Chris has a great store, too. It's bright, airy and colorful, and doesn't have that poster-covered way-too-busy look that some shops have. It's the kind of place that regulars can feel welcome at, and newbies and those not in the hobby but shopping for someone who is would feel comfortable at. His staff seems top-notch, too.
Then I went out to dinner with Dwayne, Charlotte and Eugene. We went to the nearby IHOP, which was delightfully unbusy, allowing us to have a very leisurely dinner and talk and talk. I know all three of them fairly well, and see them at Comic-Con and the ritual post-con LA trip. But, things are always so busy at the show, and then the week after can get busy after being "off" for a week, so having such a relaxed evening was really special.
Sunday, I got to have lunch with Chris Bailey and his family. Chris is the animation director on the Alvin and the Chipmunks movies, as well as having worked on Kim Possible and X-Men 2. That awesome Nightcrawler scene? Thank him.
Chris has a beautiful house and great kids. Also, he mixes a wonderful Mai-Tai. Much like dinner the night before, it was nice to get to just sit and hang and talk away from the hustle and bustle of a show. Also, Trader Joe's Pineapple Salsa, how did I not know about that?
From there, it was a last dinner with Amy and a trip to Pinkberry, which I have to say was pretty awesome. I had the chocolate frozen yogurt with strawberries in case you were wondering. And then it another morning getting up at stupid o'clock to catch a flight home. I was glad that I left myself an hour-and-a-half to try to make it through security, because the line was out the concourse and down the sidewalk. It was so long, I thought they were giving away comic books.
It was a great trip. Maybe one of the best times I've had out in LA. Hope you all had a great Free Comic Book Day!
Free Comic Book Day Plans!
I'm writing this while on my flight to LA. Yes, I'm living in the future, baby! US Air apparently has WiFi on their flights, and there's a free promotion for first time users like me. Given that I have four some hours in the air, I figured it'd be worth it to try it out.
Gotta say, I like it so far.
Anyway, there were a couple things happening and happened that I needed to mention.
First, tomorrow is Free Comic Book Day. That means it's times for you to get yourself to a comic shop and pick up some of the over forty free titles. Yeah, Love and Capes #13 is certainly one of those freebies, and I wouldn't mind if you tried it. And, if your shop runs out, first gently chastise your shop owner for not ordering more of an obviously stellar book, letting him know that the series picks up at IDW in a few months, and then check the Love and Capes website on Monday or Tuesday, when the retail version of the FCBD issue will be available for purchase.
And, hey, be sure to buy something at that shop while you're there. The books are free to you, but the shops do pay for those books that they're giving out. We publishers provide them at a greatly reduced rate, but that man free books do add up.
Second, I will be at Four Color Fantasies in Rancho Cucamonga, California that day, doing signings and sketches and all sorts of fun stuff. There's even a bouncey house, but I'm going to guess a I'm a little big for it. If not, look for photos of me and Mark Waid reenacting scenes from Superman 2.
Third, if you're in the Lake County area and are a baseball fan, why don't you check out the Lake County Captains game at Classic Ballpark in Eastlake, Ohio? Not only will you see some future Indians, but you'll get a free Captains Comic written and drawn by me! Aliens challenge the Captains to a baseball game, and hilarity ensues.
In fact, if you like seeing photos and interviews with me, you can check out The News-Herald and read a article explaining more.
That's all for now. I'll try to update the blog this weekend, but no promises since this California Dreamin' weekend promises to be busy. But I do promise to try to keep up the Twitter updates and maybe even the occasional Love and Capes Facebook page update.
And who knows? Maybe I'll be tempted to get the free wifi on the way back and write more.
Four Days Until Free Comic Book Day!
Only four days left until Free Comic Book Day! I've mentioned before that I'll be at Four Color Fantasies in Rancho Cucamonga, California at the big signing event. Owner Chris Brady has an auction for the Hero Initiative, and I'm donating this Mary Marvel sketch to it. Minus the FCBD countdown balloon, of course.
Woo-hoo! Free Comic Book Day! It's gonna be great!
Hey, Look What's Arrived!
Yup, it's Love and Capes #13, available in both Free Comic Book Day and Retail flavors. The book will be out in 23 short days, and I will be out in Rancho Cucamonga that day doing Four Color Fantasies' event. All sorts of fun will be had.
After the first of May, the book will be available on the Love and Capes store as well.
Promoting Baseball, Captains Style
I'm partnering with the Lake County Captains once again this year. I'll be doing three promotions for them.
1. In previous years, I've arranged to have my Free Comic Book Day issue of Love and Capes available at Classic Park on FCBD. 
This year, I'll be doing an original eight-page Lake County Captains comic.
I've already committed to be at Four Color Fantasies in Rancho Cucamonga that day, so I won't be there for the giveaway. But it'll be a great time, regardless!
And I'll be posting some art and the cover soon.
Free Comic Book Day: May 1, 2010.
2. I've designed a Skipper "Bobble Belly"with Skipper as a rockin' guitar player to celebrate Cleveland and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Skipper's playing a specially designed Fender Stratocaster.
Rock-n-Roll Nght: July 3, 2010.
3. And, to tie in with Cleveland and the A Christmas Story connection, we're going to be doing a Skipper Leg Lamp. Yup, you read that right. Hot electric baseball action that will look great on your desk. (It's not full size.)
Christmas in July, July 25 2010.
Click on either to see them embiggenated!
With Friends Like These
My proofs for the Free Comic Book Day issue of Love and Capes came today. I'm checking it out now, but it looks good. You can see for yourself on May 1st!
Love and Capes Covers, FCBD and Retail
I'm about to send the 2010 Free Comic Book Day issue of Love and Capes to the printer. As such, I've put together the alternate cover for the retail version, which I now debut here. Click on either to see them embiggened.
I'm looking forward to Free Comic Book Day this year. I should be doing a signing that hopefully I can officially announce soon. I'll let you know as soon as I can.
Page Sixteen
I saw Avatar. In IMAX 3-D, in fact. Visually, it's stunning. What I love about James Cameron's work is how he makes technology part of the process, rather than stopping it. I know the whole film is an effects shot, but they never have that "Wow, look at me, I'm a cool effects shot" feel. It feels organic.
The script, however, is a little less spectacular. In fact, it's average, which is a little disappointing. In Titanic I thought he managed to tell a standard love story in such a way to make it feel epic. In Avatar, he tells a standard "invading European" story and make it feel, well, very standard. Nothing was really a surprise in it.
Ultimately, it's kind of like someone saying "I'm going to sing you Happy Birthday" and then they go ahead and sing one of the best versions you've ever heard. Nothing's a surprise, but you can certainly appreciate it.
Cameron also brings in the term Unobtainium, which is just a little too on the nose for me. I've heard that the term can refer to the ever-moving "last" element of the Periodic Table, and if that's what he had in mind, he should have sacrificed reality for verisimilitude and come up with something else.
Still, I can't resist poking fun at it. In Love and Capes #13, in fact this very page, we'll find out that one of the characters has something made out of Unobtanium. I was going to call it Infinitium, and still could go back to it. I just needed a replacement for Adamantium, which now that Marvel's lawyers are Disney's lawyers, I won't be doing at all. I like the shirt that's on my back just fine.