Love and Capes
Robot 6 Holiday Gift-Giving Guide, Part 4
And a partridge in a pear tree … we wrap up our Holiday Gift-Giving Guide today with even more gift suggestions from comic pros. Like the previous days, we asked them:
1. What comic-related gift or gifts would you recommend giving this year, and why?
2. What gift (comic or otherwise) is at the top of your personal wish list, and why?
Ho-ho-hopefully you’ve gotten the chance to check out the previous three installments. If not, it isn’t too late:
Part 1: Jim McCann, Matt Kindt, Daryl Gregory, Jim “Zub” Zubkavich, Jamie S. Rich, Ryan Cody
Part 2: Jeff Parker, Tim Seeley, Ross Campbell, Kody Chamberlain, Ian Brill, Jamaica Dyer
Part 3: Mike Carey, Kelly Sue DeConnick, Kagan McLeod, Kevin Colden, Thom Zahler, Van Jensen
And here is today’s round-up …
Joey Weiser
1. For the kids (or kids-at-heart): Okie Dokie Donuts by Chris “Elio” Eliopoulos – One of my favorite books of the year. Each page is crammed to the brim with kinetic artwork and fun comics!
For the art lover: “Behold! The Dinosaurs!” print by Dustin Harbin – Absolutely gorgeous print featuring one of my favorite subjects: Dinosaurs!
For the comic strip enthusiast: Mickey Mouse by Floyd Gottfredson – Super engaging strips that are full of life and very funny. I’m very glad that Fantagraphics is publishing these.
For the manga reader: Cross Game by Mitsuru Adachi – A recent series that I’ve been infatuated with after having it recommended to me by several friends. A manga with a very welcoming atmosphere and tons of heart.
For the indie-minded: A few comics from Blank Slate Books: Dinopopolous by Nick Edwards and The Survivalist by Box Brown – Two great-looking books from a publisher that might be off some folks’ radars at the moment. I haven’t even read these yet, and I feel confident recommending them!
2. Well, my dad has a long-standing tradition of giving me a volume of the Complete Peanuts collections for birthdays and holidays, so I’ve got that covered. Let’s see…
I suppose there are a few Japanese imported books that would make the top of my list of things I’ve had my eye on, but haven’t had the chance/extra cash to buy for myself. These fall under the category of “Things That I’m Not Likely to Stumble Across In-Person and Say, ‘Oh yeah, I’ve been meaning to get that!’” Two that come to mind are One Piece Green, a “databook” which contains a treasure-trove of sketches and notes from Eiichiro Oda from the years leading up to and during his epic manga series One Piece. I’ve also been eyeing some Shigeru Mizuki (Gegege No Kitaro, Onward Towards Our Noble Death) yokai encyclopedias that pop up on eBay. Those look Beautiful with a capital B!
Joey Weiser is the creator of Cavemen in Space, Monster Isle, The Ride Home and Mermin. He also writes the Spongebob Squarepants comic.
- December 1, 2011 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
SDCC ’11 | Because every hero (and villain) needs to eat
While riding the bus back to my hotel yesterday, we passed the world famous Kansas City Barbeque, where several heroes and one villain had just finished dining.
Kansas City Barbeque is well known as the setting for the famous bar scene in the 1980s Tom Cruise movie Top Gun, but as you’ll see in the image below, it’s also the favorite BBQ joint of super heroes from every publisher — including Crusader and Darkblade from Love and Capes, who are on the poster behind Cap:
- July 23, 2011 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Space Warped
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy at our local comic shop based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList, and tell us what you’re getting in our comments field.
Brigid Alverson
If I had $15:
I’d surround myself with good-humored, good-natured comics. Sometimes you just gotta do that. My stack would include Veronica #207 ($2.99), which launches the new Kevin Keller miniseries; Donald Duck #367 ($3.99), with a rework of a classic Carl Barks story; Space Warped ($3.99), kaboom’s new Star Wars parody comic (I probably won’t get half the jokes, but it looks like it’s worth checking out); and Love and Capes Ever After #5 ($3.99), just because Love and Capes is such a charming comic. I may be poor, but at least I’ll be happy.
- June 7, 2011 @ 01:25 PM by JK Parkin
Food or Comics? | This week’s comics on a budget
Flashpoint #1
Welcome to Food or Comics?, where every week we talk about what comics we’d buy on Wednesday based on certain spending limits — $15 and $30 — as well as what we’d get if we had extra money or a gift card to spend on a “Splurge” item.
Check out Diamond’s release list or ComicList if you’d like to play along in our comments section.
Graeme McMillan
If I had $15 this week, I’d immediately go for Flashpoint #1 (DC Comics, $3.99) – I am very, very unsure about the number of tie-ins DC are pushing out for the new crossover event, but with Geoff Johns in charge, I’m suspecting that the main book will be worth a look at least. I’d also grab the relaunched GI Joe #1 (IDW, $3.99), if only to follow up on the “Cobra Civil War” storyline that I admit has completely caught my attention unexpectedly. Curiosity would also get me to pick up both Moriarty #1 (Image, $2.99) and Total Recall #1 (Dynamite, $1.99), two new launches that will hopefully take familiar ideas and characters in directions I wouldn’t expect…
- May 10, 2011 @ 03:00 PM by JK Parkin
Darwyn Cooke covers Love and Capes
Love and Capes cover by Darwyn Cooke
I’m looking forward to the return of Thom Zahler’s Love and Capes next February, when IDW will begin publishing the previously self-published comic. And I guess one of the advantages to moving to a bigger publisher is that you have stable mates like Darwyn Cooke, who provides the cover to issue #3 of the new mini-series, Love and Capes: Ever After. IDW Publsiher Chris Ryall posted the cover on his blog, and notes that Tom Beland and Chris Bailey will provide covers for the five-issue series as well.
- December 3, 2010 @ 10:00 AM by JK Parkin
Talking Comics with Tim: Thom Zahler
Love and Capes 13
No matter how long I cover the comic book industry, there are always one or two moments in the year when I am reminded how incredibly hard it is to be an independent creator. My email interview with Love and Capes creator Thom Zahler is the latest reminder. As tough as it is, Zahler’s hard work is paying off. This week he’s doubling up his participation in Free Comic Book Day with both Love and Capes #13 (Maerkle Press) and Captains Comics: Baseball Beyond The Stars (1,000 copies to be distributed at a Lake County Captains baseball game [as detailed by Robot 6 a couple of weeks back]). But in even better news, as revealed exclusively in this interview, Love and Capes is moving to IDW at the end of 2010. Read the interview to find out the details. My thanks to Zahler for his time and congrats to the move to IDW.
- April 26, 2010 @ 02:10 PM by Tim O'Shea
Second Love and Capes trade coming this summer, plus a Twitter contest
Love and Capes
Here are a couple of follow-up items to something we published this weekend … as you saw on Saturday, Love and Capes creator Thom Zahler said that IDW will publish the second Love and Capes trade later this year. Yesterday IDW publisher Chris Ryall followed up on his blog with some additional details on the trade — he posted the cover to it, which you’ll see to the right, and he said the trade would come out in the summer.
Also in the interview, Thom talked about the possibility of holding a contest on Twitter related to a song he had in his head when he drew one of the pages in issue #12. He’s followed through on that; you can find the details here, and you can follow Thom on Twitter here.
- January 4, 2010 @ 09:00 AM by JK Parkin
Thom Zahler talks romance, weddings and the future of Love and Capes
Love and Capes #13
Thom Zahler kicked off his self-published series Love and Capes almost four years ago, and since then has published 12 issues, participated in two Free Comic Book Days, had a trade paperback released by IDW Publishing and married off his two lead characters. With the recent publication of the wedding issue and the announcement that he’ll again be a part of FCBD, I spoke with Thom about the series and his future plans for it.
Also check out the first five pages from issue #13, which you’ll be able to pick up for free on May 1.
JK: So real quick, in case folks are reading who aren’t familiar with your work … what is Love and Capes?
Thom: Love and Capes is a romantic comedy sitcom-ish comic book about the world’s most powerful hero, the Crusader, and his normal girlfriend Abby. It’s the conflict between the heroic life and the mundane life that drives the series and the humor.
So there are things like “What do you get your girlfriend for Christmas when she knows you can crush coal into diamonds?” and “Is there ever a good time to tell your girlfriend you have X-Ray Vision?”
If I’m doing it right, it’s funny and sweet and you’ll like it a lot.
- January 2, 2010 @ 09:27 AM by JK Parkin
Robot Love | Q&A with Love and Capes creator Thom Zahler
Love and Capes Valentine
Since 2006 Thom Zahler has been chronicling the romance of Mark and Abby, a.k.a. The Crusader and, um, Abby in the self-published book Love and Capes. As a part of Robot Love week here at Robot 6, Zahler shares a little bit about the couple, romance, the future of the book and a special promotion for fans that ties into the couple’s big day.
JK: What I love about Love and Capes is that the relationship between Abby and Mark is the kind everyone wants, the kind to root for. What kind of relationship advice do you think Mark and Abby would offer somebody less lucky at love than they’ve been?
Thom: Abby would say that you have to kiss a lot of frogs. She was a little unsure of dating Mark when they first met. She took a chance on him after a lot of bad dates with other guys, and wound up being surprised with this quiet guy. We’ll see how, too, because in an upcoming issue, we’ll see their first date.
She’d tell you to be confident, too. Your vision of yourself and how you really are don’t always mesh. Abby dating a superhero is very much like a grade-school teacher dating a rock star. You do kind of look and say “What does the rock star see in that little common person when they hang out with supermodels and actors all the time.” What the other person is looking for is something only they know, so don’t be surprised when they find it in you.
Abby’s very much Mark’s rock in a way Amazonia never could be. Some people think, “Oh, she’d NEVER go for me” or “I’m not good enough for her.” You’ve got to trust that the other person knows what they want.
And she’d also say, “Watch out for the ex.”
- February 13, 2009 @ 12:40 PM by JK Parkin
NYCC | Whedon, Futurama and more
With the New York Comic Con coming up Feb. 6-8, we’re posting information on the various things fanscan do and see at the show. If you’re a publisher, creator, retailer or otherwise exhibiting at the show, feel free to drop me an email with your plans for the show.
General information: Ticket info | Panels | Autographs | 2009 ICv2 Graphic Novel Conference | Blog
• The NYCC blog Medium at Large has more details on the Joss Whedon/Dollhouse preview panel, set for Sunday at 12:45 p.m. ET, which is currently being advertised on the CBR home page. They’ve also announced they’ll be showing the next Futurama movie, Into the Wild Green Yonder.
• Love and Capes creator Thom Zahler is bringing Valentines to the show:
Love and Capes
I will be at NYCC next weekend with tons of Love and Capes stuff. I’ll have new Valentines featuring Mark and Abby. Kind of like Ralph Wiggum’s “I Choo-Choo-Choose You” one. I’ll be selling the complete run of LNC, the trade, sketchbooks, t-shirts and pins. And I’ll be doing commissions all weekend, too! If you come by the booth, too, you may see a glimpse of the new promotion I’ll be doing for Mark and Abby’s upcoming wedding.
If people aren’t going to be able to attend, they can still go to my site and print out the LNC Valentine and give it to their Special Someone. While there, they can enter the Love and Capes Valentine’s Day contest. You can win some books, a set of matching t-shirts, and even some chocolate. That contest ends February 2nd, so time is running out. (But that way you’ll get the goodies before Valentine’s Day.)
For more info, visit www.loveandcapes.com or http://www.loveandcapes.com/love-and-capes-valentine.html for the contest info.
- January 27, 2009 @ 11:24 AM by JK Parkin