If it's Wednesday, it must be the day the Love and Capes 6-pack is in stores today! So get yourself to your local comic shop and get one. Every pack comes with the first six issues of Love and Capes, an original sketch and a bonus bookmark!
Bumped
Well, I was supposed to be a guest on the Bob Frantz show, and was even there in the studio, but there was breaking news with the Bobby Cutts verdict coming down. So I got bumped. We're going to try to reschedule and see if I can get on later.
On the Radio Right Now (I Hope)
Barring any Breaking News or a traffic tie-up, I should be on the WTAM-1100 right about now. (Posted through the miracle of time-delayed blog posts.)
Thom on TAM, WTAM that is...
I'll be a guest on the Bob Frantz show on WTAM-1100 here in Cleveland on Friday, February 15. I'll be on in the 11:00am hour as part of the Stump the Panel feature. I was a guest on this panel back on Free Comic Book Day as of last year. The reason is a Bob Frantz-related announcement that I don't want to spoil here, but tune in and see what it is. You can listen on the web if you're out of the Cleveland area.
Hokey Smokes! I Can't Believe I Forgot This!
There's a special 6-pack of Love and Capes available through Previews this very month. You get six comics for the price of four, and a free sketch by, well, me. It's order code: JAN08 3783. Tell your retailer... nay, DEMAND your retailer get it for you!
I would have mentioned it sooner but, you know, holidays, Vegas, saving the world. Busy couple of weeks.
Free Comic Book Day Advertising Opportunities!
* * * * *
Last year’s Free Comic Book Day was a huge success, and Maerkle Press and Love and Capes is doing it again. This year’s FCBD will be May 3rd, 2008, tied into the release of the Iron Man movie. It’s going to be huge, and we’d like you to be a part of it by advertising with us this year.
Love and Capes #7 will be a FCBD issue, with a special retail version relased one month later, giving your ad two separate opportunities to be seen. Between the two printings, almost 15,000 copies were bought and distributed nationwide.
You can download a PDF of the advertising information here:
http://www.loveandcapes.com/fcbd08.pdf
Text version follows.
BACK COVER • $1000
Full color, full bleed, 6 5/8" x 10 3/16" trim size.
INTERIOR BACK COVER • $725
Full color, full bleed, 6 5/8" x 10 3/16" trim size.
INTERIOR FRONT COVER • $850
Full color, full bleed, 6 5/8" x 10 3/16" trim size.
INTERIOR AD • $400
Full color, full bleed, 6" x 9 1/2"
5 Available
SPACE RESERVATION DEADLINE: January 31, 2008
AD DEADLINE: February 11, 2008
Need help designing your ad? Give us a call and we'll be glad to help you out.
Ads are accepted in PDF, EPS, TIF or JPG format. 300 DPI minimum.
Make all checks payable to MAERKLE PRESS or THOM ZAHLER ART STUDIOS. PayPal accepted at tz(at)thomz.com.
Thanks for your support!
All the Joys of a Con Over the Internets
Okay, let's try this! Recently, I've started doing convention sketches, and having a blast doing it. I think the success of Love and Capes and its style is why people are interested in having me draw their favorite characters. And I'm having so much fun, I want to keep doing it.
I'd like to put together a book of con-style commissions, something like 101 Super Women or something like that. Now, I can pick out 101 characters myself, but why not open it up to all of you?
So here's the deal: For $40.00, you'll get an 8.5x11 black and white original commission featuring one character, and a same sized color print of the commission. (I color on computer, so the b/w original will be untouched.) Pick any character you want, even if I've already drawn them. A lot of these characters open themselves up to multiple interpretations. Let me know what version of the character you want, too. Supergirl in her animated series outfit? Mary Marvel Murderess in black? Backgrounds will be simple, if at all. And no nudity.
I'll entertain two-character commissions for $75, but it'll be my call if I take them. If you're interested in that, e-mail me here and put COMMISSION in the title. I'm definitely going to do a Harley and Ivy, and have already done a Wonder Woman and Wonder Girl image.
Click here to be taken to the main commission page. Or click on the button at the top of the rightmost sidebar.
Borders Guards
I went to Starbucks sometime over the last week or so (several times, actually, but that's neither here nor there) and saw that they were offering custom gift cards. I'm always looking for a cool corporate gift idea, and thought this might be cool to take an image from Love and Capes, especially since tall the characters are heavy coffee drinkers, and plop them on a card. Unfortunately, Starbucks vision of customization is to choose from a finite number of elements.
Welcome back! So I mentioned to the aforementioned PDS that it'd be cool to be able to place your own image or photo on a gift card. Then, lo and behold, he found out that Borders was doing that very thing! I've now designed my first Love and Capes gift card, to be given to some of my corporate clients.
I also figured "Why keep this to myself?" So, I'm making the image available for download here. You can place this image on the Borders card site and send them out to your friends. (It's sized for the gift card, not the greeting card, by the way.)
Abby, everyone's favorite bookstore owner, would be very happy with this.
Caught in the Crossfire
Of course, I'll blog during the show if I can, but no promises.
Anyway, over on his truly-excellent blog, Mark Evanier has announced that he's done a new Crossfire story. I knew this months ago, of course, mostly because Mark was kind (or desperate) enough to ask me to letter it. It was cool getting to work with Mark for the first time. He's a good guy and a better friend. The story came out darn fine, and you can read more about it here.
Something to be Thankful For
Love and Capes #6 is in stores now! It's pretty darn cool, if I do say so myself. And, since it's in stores, it's in the LNC Store. If your comic shop doesn't carry it, or if a throng of rabid fans have bought all of them, then you've got a way to get your Heroically Super Situation Comedy fix. And, if you've been waiting for #6 to buy the set, there are multi-issue deals in the store, too.