Fifteen Years Ago

Today's a big day for me. No, not the voting thing. Though, yeah, that's important. But fifteen years ago today, I left my job at the Markell Company, an ad agency that had been home for years, and jumped into the world of full freelance. I'd never really wanted that, but in January of 2001, a switch in my brain flipped and I realized that it was time to go.

It's been a weird, wonderful ride. I've done a ton of work, travelled more than I ever thought I would, met a lot of great people, made some wonderful friends and every day I get to get up and do the thing that I know is the reason I am on this earth.

I've done things I never thought I would. As of today, I've written two animated TV shows (Ultimate Spider-Man and none-of-your-buisness yet), three short films (with Jon Monson-Foon) and I created three comic series: Love and Capes, Long Distance, and Raider (as well as a 24-Hour Comic Day book, Haunted). I did caricatures for a national commercial. I work on the My Little Pony comic (and a new issue comes out this month!). And that's just what I've done so far. I've got another new series coming out next year and hopefully much more.

I proudly call myself a cartoonist.

It hasn't all been smooth. There have been a few rocky times to be sure. But that's okay, it's a wave. Good times, bad times, you prepare for them and keep going. Nothing's knocked me down for the count yet and I'm going to do everything I can to make sure nothing ever does.

I wouldn't do anything else. I don't know that I could.

To everyone who's come along with me on this ride, thank you! Here's to another fifteen years, and beyond!

My #NYCC 2016 Schedule

I'll be at New York Comic Con this week. I'll be at C12 in Artist Alley the whole show, excepting… Thursday 3:00-4:00pm: Signing at the IDW booth

Friday 12:30-1:30pm: I’m doing a teaching workshop  Family HQ – 1E16

Also, my "Captain Kirk and His Ladies" piece will be auctioned at the NYCC charity auction. The original and a giclee print (24x6, full color) are a package. This is the only place you can get the green wrap shirt Kirk.

I'll have two giclee prints with gold shirt Kirk for $75 at my table. And then a more in the smaller 18x5 size, the same as my Doctors Who print at the table for $15.

Also at the table I'll have Love and Capes, Long Distance, My Little Pony and more, including original art, sketchcards and more. I'll be sketching all weekend long, and being a mildly amusing conversationalist, too!

My One-Act Play

So, almost a year ago, I entered a one-act play competition at the Fine Arts Association here in town. (Spoiler: I didn't win.) It had to be a ten-page script, set in one location that you could do on a tight budget. With those things in mind, and probably some others, I went up to Panera, my preferred writing spot, and knocked out a play. Over lunch. Is it the greatest thing in the world? I'm sure it's not. But looking back, it's still fun. I really want to write something Sorkin-esque, and this certainly does pay some homages there. I love sparkling dialogue. Since it won't be produced, I think it's about time it gets out to the world at large. So, if you want to read it, download it here.

And while it didn't win, the script and my story of writing it as I ate a Turkey Cranberry Flatbread did lead to my association with Brian Ward and Team Slushpile for the 48-Hour Film Competitions. So I definitely won something out of it!

My SDCC Schedule

My SDCC schedule:

 

THURSDAY

3:00-4:00 MY LITTLE PONY SIGNING

IDW Booth

 

FRIDAY

MODERN ROMANCE COMICS

2:00-3:00 Room 32AB

Once a staple of the Golden Age, romance comics have faded into the background in recent years, but now they're making a comeback and tackling a wider variety of love stories than ever before! Carrie Sessarego (Smart Bitches, Trashy Books), Janelle Asselin (Rosy Press publisher), Sarah Kuhn (Heroine Complex, Fresh Romance), Thom Zahler Cartooning (Love and Capes, Long Distance), and Cecil Castellucci (Shade the Changing Girl, The Plain Janes) discuss both classic and new romance comics, some of comics' most enduring love stories, and the challenges and joys unique to creating romantic stories in comics!

 

SUNDAY

2:00-3:00 MY LITTLE PONY SIGNING

IDW Booth

 

EVERY OTHER DARN MOMENT OF THE SHOW

Booth 2000

Space City Wrap-Up

I did the Space City Comic-Con this past weekend in lovely Houston, Texas. You may have heard about the show on the internets. Here was my experience. All of the show volunteers and workers that I had occasion to interact with were amazing. In particular, Cheryl did an amazing job and made sure I was taken care of as best she could. That's important, because there are always problems, but what's more important is what's done about those problems when they arise.

There were certainly communication issues from the start. I had to remind them to give me my hotel information, for instance. And the shuttle situation from the hotel to the show was glitchy at best. But, I managed most of those and the biggest problem I had was the Act of God storm that wiped out power and water to my hotel on Friday night. Thankfully, it was made right before I had to head to the show.

With the abrupt change in management, I imagine there will be other glitches, but I also think the show that comes out of this will be much better than the one before.

Most importantly, I had a great time. I'm fortunate that I have so many friends in Texas and they make the effort to come see me and make me feel welcome. I've got a decent fanbase and more than a few regular customers thanks to Fiesta Equestria and Comicpalooza (which, because of it's later date this year I can't do), so I couldn't love going there more. That was all fantastic.

A couple random highlights:

I got to watch Game of Thrones with my friends and Lancel Lannister himself, Eugene Simon. That was a treat and a half.

And the show arranged a VIP tour of Johnson Space Center, which is just amazing. We got to see everything except the buoyancy pool (which is still on my list) and have a wonderful experience. Sadly, no one took me up on my "Artist in Space" idea. I mean, why should teachers get all the fun?

My Pal, Darwyn

Lots of people are going to write things about Darwyn. They should. Someone who gave us so many great stories deserves more than a few himself. Here’s mine. I came to Darwyn’s work through The New Frontier. It’s still one of my favorite comics ever. I had it next to me when I started Love and Capes. In a lot of ways, it was my bible. Just having it next to me made me try harder. It was that good.

When Love and Capes moved to IDW full-time, Chris Ryall wanted the book to have variant covers and he asked who I’d like to have do one. I laughed and wrote “You’ve got Darwyn Cooke doing the Parker books. How about him? Hah hah!”

To my surprise, Chris asked him. And Darwyn wrote back: “Thom’s a good kid. I’d love to.”

I don’t think Darwyn knew me well. And this isn’t one of those stupid remembrance of “Let me tell you how cool person X was by telling you this time person X liked me.” It’s the opposite of that. Knowing me as little as he did, he still took the time from his schedule to draw a cover for my book. I never found out if he charged for that cover. I know he gave me the cover as a gift.

Gave, not sold. Believe me, I would have paid for that cover. I certainly offered to. But nope, Darwyn just gave it to me. It’s hanging on my wall in my studio just to the right of where I’m typing this. It’s never coming down. It’s the physical embodiment of an act of kindness that I can’t imagine what I did to deserve.

Darwyn and I weren’t close. But we’d see each other at conventions and talk and smile and exchange a firm handshake. It was always a highlight when I got to see him. I shared a few drinks with him in Cincinnati last year and I’m so glad I got that chance now. It was a very Darwyn conversation: sometimes fiesty, sometimes prickly, but always energetic and smart and with a smile.

Darwyn and his work both had a charisma that was uniquely him and impossible not to feel. A friend of mine says that he was our generation’s Alex Toth, and he was definitely that. But he’s also my Frank Sinatra: a great combination of craft and skill, complexity and charm. He’s what I’m trying to be.

Darwyn was, as he wrote on that cover, “my pal.” And I’m going to miss the hell out of my pal.

[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/darwyn.jpg" align="left" border="image_border" link="#" alt="" title="Goodbye, Darwyn" lightbox="false" ]

Crazy Ideas on How Castle Can Work Without Beckett

ABC's Castle is one of my favorite shows. It was a show that was almost custom-built to appeal to me. It starred Nathan Fillion (like John Cusack, he exudes that "Wouldn't you like to be me" vibe) as a cocky successful writer (more things I'd like to be) who uses his writing skills to solve murders (how cool is that?) with New York's best detective, the stunning Kate Beckett. Nathan Fillion and Stana Katic had an easy chemistry that was addictive to watch. I still want to write something as spot-on and perfect as Kate's line "I like you pulling my pigtails, Castle." He also had a great relationship with his daughter, and a fun-to-watch one with his mother.

And now, as it's ending it's eighth season, the show isn't what it once was. It's become a comfortable sweatshirt, a little ragged and not what it once was, but still comfortable. Rick's no longer the competent speed-reading researcher who could really help the NYPD. They've come up with some dumb reasons to keep the characters apart, and I'm not even going to mention the horror that was Pi. But, even as it's calcified, I still enjoy it.

But now they've announced that Stana Katic won't be returning next year. (Tamala Jones, too, who I'll miss a lot but isn't quite as essential.) Castle without Beckett is like Mad About You without Jamie, like Supernatural without Sammy. It's just not right.

Now, depending on how they get to this point, I'll at least check out the new season. I feel like after eight seasons of enjoying the show, I feel like I owe them the chance to prove the new setup may work. The characters got married and the show didn't really falter, that's impressive.

But I have to admit, I'm not hopeful.

So, in the spirit of Rick's crazy theories of how crimes can be committed, here are my three off-the-wall ideas of how the show could still work:

1. Kate gets trapped in the totally-plausible Invisibility Suit from a couple years ago. Hey, the show has also established that you can wipe out memories with clinical precision, so what's an invisibility suit. Rick and his invisible wife then solve crimes for the rest of the season, with Kate's voice being performed by a sound-alike.
2. Kate gets injured at the end of this season and is in a coma. But, once they attach the not-quite-Amazon Echo that Rick's been playing with all season to her EEG, they find that Kate can speak through the computer! She helps Rick solve crimes by consulting and searching the web for him.
3. Rick and Kate take that bike ride that Kate's always wanted to take across the country. The show then follows the adventures of Alexis Castle, running her dad's detective agency. Occasionally, Nathan Fillion can literally phone in his appearance, always explaining that Kate is still sleeping, taking a shower, or whatever. And then we ease into the Alexis Castle spinoff…

I'd like to see Castle end well. After eight seasons, it kind of deserves to call it's shot and end on it's own terms. Hopefully they'll pull out some great writing, or maybe change their minds and get Stana back. Stranger things have happened.

My C2E2 Auction Piece

C2E2 does a charity auction every year and I'm always glad to participate. Here's my piece this year, showing my favorite scene from this year's Supergirl TV show, Supergirl and the Martian Manhunter just flying together. It was the most comic booky thing I've seen on TV and it was glorious. The auction includes the original and a giclee print. Melissa Benoist will be at the show, too. Maybe whoever gets it might be able to get it signed.

Morning Warm-Up: Space Ranger

Rick Starr, Space Ranger was mentioned on the last episode of DC'S Legends of Tomorrow, so I thought he'd be a good morning warm up. The piece was done in Manga Studio, flatted in Photoshop with shading added in Painter. These experiments not only get my brain up to operating temperature but let me mess around with new techniques that I can try on new projects. Like the new unannounced project I have, but hey, I just drew page three of it yesterday. More news when I can!

Arkham Sessions T-Shirt

My friends Andrea Letamendi and Brian Ward do the excellent The Arkham Sessions podcast, reviewing Batman villains from a psychological point of view. They're going to be part of the new Imzy community, a new social media platform, centered on a positive community, in beta now.[image src="http://thomz.com/blogall/wp-content/uploads/2016/03/arkham_tshirt.png" align="right" border="none" link="#" alt="Arkham Sessions t-shirt" title="Arkham Sessions t-shirt" lightbox="false" ] To promote the site, and because I designed the header for their podcast site, they asked me to design a t-shirt to promote it. The design will be available as a shirt and a sticker (the sticker being able to be in full color).

More details as they become available, but follow @imzyhq on Twitter for more updates.