This weekend I'll be at C2E2 in Chicago. I'll be in Small Press, booth SP-06, with copies of all the issues of Love and Capes to date, as well as both trades. And I'll be taking commissions all show long. So come on by and see me.
The Obligatory Pre-Con T-Shirt Post
As a reminder for those of you going to the Chicago C2E2 exposition, I'll be therear table SP-06. I'll have all sorts of Love and Capes stuff. But I won't have any shirts or hoodies… unless you order them ahead of time here! Yup, it's the shirt pre-sale.
I'm doing the same thing for MegaCon, too. If you're going to be there, be sure to pre-order for that, too.
Seattle Con Report
I’m back from Seattle and my first Emerald City Comicon! How was it? Long story short, I’ve already signed up for next year.
Here’s the long story.
I flew out the day before the show. I managed to start the trip forgetting my banner stand, but on the upside that saved me a bag charge. There’s got to be a better way to get those things out to my conventions. I’d have brought it as carry-on if I hadn’t maxed out my two items already.
Ben Thompson, writer of Badassand the soon-to-be-released Badass: Birth of a Legendpicked me up at the airport. He and his wife Andrea were nice enough to put me up for the show, and then I was spending some extra time in Seattle with relatives. Being able to save on hotel costs and rental car costs made doing a new show a lot easier, so thanks to everyone on that!
Ben and I wandered into Seattle early so that I could do some sightseeing. We rode the Monorail (insert your favorite Simpsons joke here, Lord knows I did) and went to the Science Fiction Museum. Most of the exhibit was closed so that they could put in the new Avatar exhibit, which I can only assume is a lot of green screens and motion capture suits.
But, there was a Battlestar Galactica special exhibit that we could get into. And it was the last day for it! Timing power for the win.
Ben and I spent the time taking pictures of ourselves with the Vipers and Cylon Raiders, dramatically looking for Earth, and being on Adama’s phone. “This is Zahler Actual.” 
There was even a place where you could stand and find out if you were a Cylon. How did you determine this? If you were a Cyclon, you could hear the music. I’m no frakkin’ Cylon, so I certainly didn’t hear anything. Why would you say that? Maybe you’re a Cylon. And the music certainly wasn’t All Along the Watchtower.
Ben and I then traipsed over to the show. I’d gotten a show fastpass to get in, which was the closest I’ll get to having slightly psychic paper. I flashed that thing and I swear I didn’t have to break stride before I was badged up.
It didn’t take us long to set up, and I swear Emerald City has the most spacious artist alley I’ve seen. There was plenty of room between me and the people behind me for us to store boxes, and there were several breaks in the tables so we could exit. Good job, guys!
Sales were decent. Normally, I sell as many copies of the first trade as the second. It’s almost just as easy to sell two books as one. At this show, I sold far more copies of the first than the second. There are a couple of things that could account for this. It’s possible that the higher gas prices had people buying cautiously. It’s also possible that, despite being 
distributed nationally, that I didn’t quite have market penetration into the northwest and this was the first time people saw the book. It wasn’t bad, just odd.
Also, I have to give a shout out to my Square credit card reader. I took purchases for both myself and Ben, and between us we sold almost $300 that we would have lost if we didn’t have the card reader. Emerald City had fine AT&T cell coverage for most of the show. Saturday afternoon, probably the busiest time, had a little bit of a slowdown, but it was manageable. So, if you’re doing shows the way I do, I can’t recommend it highly enough.
It was great to see everyone there. The fans were great and I’m continually surprised how many people really do read the book and like it. And hopefully I managed to get some new fans, too.
I also got to spend some time with some comic friends that I don’t see outside of the show circuit. Emerald City is that perfect size where it gets great guests and a sizable number of attendees, but yet the hotel bar’s not too crowded and you can see and talk to people rather than just have sightings.
Well, unless you’re like me and miss meeting both Wil Wheaton and Jonathan Frakes. But don’t worry, I’ve taken steps to fix that.
Also cool about the show is that they do a charity art book called Monsters and Dames. I think this is the fifth year for it, but don’t hold me to that. Show attendees provide artwork on that theme that are then collected into this beautiful BrandPress book. It’s really a gorgeous piece. 
I was glad to do it. I donated my original art for the charity auction, and I don’t know what it sold for, so I’m going to assume it was for One Million Dollars! I’m sticking by that until I’m proved different.
It’s also brilliant marketing, because it generates booth traffic as people want to get each page signed by the attending artist. Hopefully, they’ll let me be part of it next year. There’s some amazing art in there, and I hope I didn’t bring down the curve.
I also got to spend time with relatives while I was out there, which was great. I stayed in their cabin on Mt. Rainer which was just awesome. It’s an amazing place and Mt. Rainier was amazing. We went up the mountain, about 6000 feet or so. It’s weird to be walking around on 250 inches of snow. But man, I want to go back. Hopefully the next time I’ll get to try skiing.
I also got to spend some time wandering around Seattle. Ben Thompson recommended the Bill Spiedel’s Underground Tour, which explores some of Seattle’s underground city. The city was built up to get it out of the flood zone on Puget Sound. It’s really an amazing story, so if you get a chance, take the tour or buy the book.
Me, I did both.
I lucked out and got a great tour guide, too. Sadly, I’ve forgotten his name, but I did remember it long enough to get a discount on the book at the gift shop. A lot of these tours rest on the ability of the tour guide. I took a Duck Boat tour of Boston back in 2000 and “The Professor” (as he liked to be called) is a huge part of why it was so amazing.
I drifted through some shops and went back to the Pike Place Market which I’d seen with Ben but had time to wander around. I went to the Kells restaurant where the owner, from Northern Ireland, and I tried to out-charm each other.
She won, by the way.
And, yes, I did go to Starbucks Prime, the very first Starbucks store. Tuesday was also Fat Tuesday, the last day before Lent. I’ve taken to giving up coffee rather than chocolate for this forty-six day period (yes, I count Sundays) and I figured this was the place to have my last cup of that sweet elixir that men call “Joe.”
Totally worth it.
So, I get it, okay, Seattle? I see why so many people come out for the show and wind up moving out there. It’s a great city. I’m not planning on leaving the Buckeye State anytime soon. 
Hey, we’re getting the Avengers movie after all, and if Scarlett Johnanssen can make the bad decision to date Sean Penn, then she’s perfectly capable of making just as big a mistake with me. Besides, I like it here.
But I’ll be back next year. Better have some coffee on.
Shirts and Seattle, oh my!
Love and Capes: Ever After #2 is in stores tomorrow! And, I'm going to be at the Emerald City Comicon this weekend. As I've done since last year, I'm only bringing shirts and hoodies for pre-orders. What? You don't know where to go to preorder? Why, right here.
I finished Love and Capes: Ever After #4 a couple of days ago. This is one of my favorite panels from the book. There's actually no dialogue in it when the scene appears. Here, Mark and Abby are just being together, having a good time and telling stories.
This is the second time I've drawn Mark telling a story to someone in pantomime. The first time is in Love and Capes: Ever After #2. Every time I do it, I just imagine him doing the Tom Cruise/Anthony Edwards scene from Top Gun. "We were inverted."
And, on a more serious note, thank you one and all for your kind words of support and love over the last week. I appreciate it more than I can say.
Operation: Omaha!
So, there was on Facebook, not minding my own business at all. The oft-talked about Love and Capes: Ever After was cleverly coming out for Valentine's Day, and I didn't have a signing scheduled. 
That seemed, as the wise Ralph Wiggum once said, unpossible. So I mentioned this on the Love and Capes Facebook Fan Page.
Then I got a response from one of my fans, Chris.We'll cut the boring e-mails and flight info, but next thing you know, I'm waking up at 4:30 a.m.to catch a flight to Omaha.
Don and Lee brought me to Ground Zero Comics and took care of me something fierce. I had two tables that I filled with my Love and Capesishness: t-shirts, posters, trades and books. A pretty steady stream of people
came in and bought stuff. Honestly, I've had conventions where I didn't sell as much I moved enough product that out of the bags I brought, I managed to condense one down and fly back a bag lighter.
Also, I took two orders on my Square, which worked perfectly. Man, I love that thing.
I did commissions, as well. I did one of Number Six from Battlestar Galactica, one of Gwen Stacy for a guy who's cute little daughter is named Gwen, anda two-person Spider-Man and Venom piece for The Coolest 
Woman in the World.
I say this because, she came to the store for her husband. He wanted to come by, but work prevented it, so she went. And then she for the commission as a Valentine's Day Present. Okay, that's just awesome. But she's supportive of his comic bookness, and that's not always the case. I hope he's doing something equally as 
awesome for her.
(Also, if anyone was following me on the Twitters, this is the story that made me delay this post. I didn't want to ruin the surprise.
My friend Tom, whom I met years ago when we were contestants on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire lives here in Omaha, so he came by with his son. It was great to see him again, trade stories and catch up, and meet his son, too.
Afterwards, Chris and I went out to dinner and talked some more comics. Then I went back to the hotel and wrote some postcards for the godkids and nieces and nephews, and passed right out.
I have to put in another plug for the Catholic Directory app, too. 
Thanks to it, the hotel shuttle and a kind Ohio State fan, I got to Mass and back to the hotel. This little app has made fulfilling my Catholic obligations so much easier.
This signing was a lot of fun. I'd love to do more like this, and to return to Omaha again, too.
Where Will I Be This Year (Con Schedule)-Updated
Honestly, the answer is where won't I be this year. Here's my 2011 Convention Schedule (so far)…
Emerald City Comicon • Seattle
March 4-6
C2E2 • Chicago
March 18-20
MegaCon • Orlando
March 25-27
Boston Comic Con • Boston
April 30-May 1
Lake Effect Con • Mentor, Ohio
May 22
Heroes Con • Charlotte
June 3-5
Kids Read Comics • Detroit
June 18-19
Comic-Con International • San Diego
July 20-24
Baltimore Comic-Con • Baltimore
August 20-21
FaxExpo Canada • Toronto
August 26-28
Dragon*Con• Atlanta
September 2-4
Cincinnati Comic Expo• Cincinnati
September17
Detroit Fanfare • Detroit
September 24-25
New York Comic Con • New York City
October 14-16
Wizard World Mid-Ohio • Columbus
October 22-23
Mid-Ohio-Con 2010
At some indeterminate point today, I'll be leaving for Columbus and the awesomely awesome Mid-Ohio-Con. I'll be there signing and selling at Booth 334. Come by and say "hello".
In Which I Re-enact Castle
It's no secret that I love Castle. So, when I was visiting New York City for the New York Comic-Con, I couldn't help reenacting this scene from the introduction.
I'm also in the post-con work rush, so no great updates right now. I will share one of my favorite moments of the show, though.
I went to the Guardian Project panel, promoting the Stan Lee/National Hockey League superhero project, a project which I'll be letterifying. At the panel, Stan was directed off the stage to sit in the front row to watch a new promotional video.
At the end of the video, Stan retook the stage. But The Man couldn't be bothered by stairs. No, the eighty-seven year old leapt up the front of the stage to take his seat again. I heard someone say "I'm 42 and I couldn't do that."
There's growing old gracefully, and then there's punching old in the face.
Start Spreading the News
I'm leaving tomorrow for the New York Comic-Con. I'll be in Small Press, booth 552. I'll have the complete run of Love and Capes for sale as well as taking commissions. Of course, the best part is meeting friends and fans. And the bagels. There's something about a New York bagel.
So, if you're in The City, I hope you stop by and see me. And remember, there are still a few hours left to order a Love and Capes t-shirt or hoodie for me to bring out to the show for you.
Cincinnati: The one with the comics and the beer
I was at the inaugural Cincinnati Comic Expo this past weekend. You're never sure what to expect from a first year show, but this one exceeded my expectations. Big kudos to Andrew and Matt for putting on such a great show!
And, as usual, I've returned to Art Studio Zee with a ton of stuff to do and a well-scrambled brain, so I'm going to do this stream-of-consiousness factoid style, with some commissions I did scattered about. 
The full-color Superman piece was for the auction, and bought by a former classmate of mine at Kubert.
You know how to click and embiggen, right?
The best part of the show is the new people I get to meet. I've known Lora and Mike Innes for a couple of years now, but we were stationed next to each other and got to have some long-form conversations and even brunch. That was all kids of awesome. I met legends Murphy and Helen Anderson, Russ Heath and Al and Roz Bellman. That was a treat. Mark Waid is right, too, Murphy Anderson has the best voice in comics, a honey-dipped baritone. 
And, you know, killer drawing chops and a fantastic ink line. I also got to meet SteveScott, a crazily-talented artist whom I've been sadly unaware of up to this point. We had some great discussions way too late into the night at the hotel bar. I also got to meet Michael and David Uslan. Great people and David is spearheading Graphic.ly where Love and Capesand The Dreamerwill be showing up really soon. Maybe even some other stuff, but I can't talk about that now.
Sales were pretty good at the show, too. Cincy seemed fairly starved for a good comic show, and now I think they have one. With a show with no track record, you're always worried about who, if anyone, will show up. Attendance was good, and people were buying. Maybe it's that without a second day of the show, 
everyone has a little more impetus to make decisions. Lora and my panel were really well attended, too.
Bonus fun came because the Cincinnati Oktoberfest was right outside the con hotel. This was great for all my cheesy macaroni and apple strudel needs (the beer lines were a little too long for me) and it was fun to have somewhere to go and wander after show hours. It made driving back to the hotel a little difficult from the closed roads, though. I was particularly disappointed that after going to morning Mass, God didn't see fit to part the orange barrels for me. Perhaps I should have prayed harder.
I even mananged to plot out 
the next page or two of Love and Capes and really lock things down for the end of the book. Now, all I have to do is actually draw the thing. Hey, that's what the night's for, right? Well, that and the How I Met Your Mother premiere.
And I'll definitely see you next year in Cincinnati!