All Star FUBAR!

There's a new volume of FUBAR coming your way soon! All Star FUBAR is scheduled to arrive in comic shops around the end of the month. Did you know this series made it on the New York Times bestsellers list? Have I mentioned that before? I will bring it up until I die, I imagine. Until I die and come back as a terrifying zombie, still talking about that NY Times mention.

This new volume features a knockout cover by Matt Smith, as you can see above. I'm happy to once again be the story editor on this 200-page collection.

In addition to lettering a handful of the stories in this book, I got to write one about Gilgamesh, which is the oldest known surviving story on the planet. The original story has threads in it about the search for life after death, so it wasn't too much of a stretch to add a little horror to the concept. This story has some art from Kurt Belcher.

The volume also publishes a few stories that haven't been collected before, including one of my favorites, "Takin' Care of Business", with art by Rob Croonenborghs.

It also collects, for the first time, "Eat It", my "Weird Al" Yankovic tribute, with art by Jim McMunn and Jeff McComsey.

All Star FUBAR brings back a lot of the creators you've come to expect under McComsey's wing, such as Eric Esquivel, Jennie Wood, Shawn Aldridge, plus some new contributors like fellow Tick friends Benito Cereno and Tony Sedani. You can find copies at your local comic shop starting April 25th, and soon after online directly from Alterna here:

https://www.alternacomics.com/product-page/fubar-all-star

...and from Amazon here:

https://www.amazon.com/FUBAR-All-Star-Jeff-McComsey/dp/1945762144

Pictures from the 2017 Comic-Con International, part 4: Friday, 7/21

Let's look at some more Comic-Con pictures! These are all from Friday, July 21st.

Friday was a big day for The Tick at Comic-Con. I got to the convention center a little bit early to line up for autograph tickets. Like the last few years, the weather in San Diego was a little warm, but luckily it was pretty mild and overcast this morning. The line to get into the Sails Pavilion snaked outside of the building and all over the place.

There's still plenty to see in line, I guess. This was one of my favorite costumes from the show, from the new Doom Patrol series! As in previous years, once the line started moving, I was able to get through it pretty quickly and get the tickets I was hoping to get. Most people were trying get tickets to a Justice League cast signing, so it was mostly smooth sailing for everyone else.

After leaving the Sails Pavilion, it was back to the show floor. This Dr. Fate costume was probably the best of the show. I love the light-up eyes.

Here's Marge Simpson at the Bongo Comics booth!

And that's a Frank Miller sighting.

The day before, I got tickets to the Gerard Way/Gabriel Ba signing at the Dark Horse booth. Way is the lead singer of My Chemical Romance as well as a comic book writer, so there were lots of weepy fans crowding around. They were signing posters for the new Umbrella Academy series that's coming to Netflix soon.

Here's a very flattering picture of both of us.

This is Marceline from Adventure Time, right? I'm going with it.

Lego Flash has an interesting codpiece.

Here's the ubiquitous comic convention Chewbacca appearance. Great costume!

I'm not sure if this Han Solo was specifically modeled after Freddy Mercury, but I really enjoyed it.

It's been said that Elvis designed one of his 1970s jumpsuits after Captain Marvel Jr., so it was awesome to see this mashup.

Beetlejuice doesn't really seem that out of place with Skeletor and Evil-Lyn.

I wasn't crazy about the Watchmen movie, but these costumes are great.

In the early afternoon, it was time to head back to the Sails Pavilion for the Tick autograph signing. This guy was rocking this great Tick mask.

Obviously, getting to talk with the people behind The Tick was a big highlight of the show for me. This was my first time meeting a number of these folks.

Everyone in line got a poster. Griffin has been practicing that Arthur artwork, I can tell.

Right after getting out of the Tick line, I hopped a few rows down and got into an autograph line for Milo Murphy's Law, the Disney cartoon starring "Weird Al" Yankovic, who was there with two of the show's creators. This was announced at the last minute, so I think this flew under the radar for a lot of people.

While I was in line, Samm Levine from "Freaks and Geeks" and "Wet Hot American Summer" showed up!

I didn't expect to see Al at the show, so it was a nice surprise. I got to give him and the show creators some UHF enamel pins that I had made for the convention. It must be weird seeing your face on fan-made items, but Al is always a friendly, easy-going guy. I hope he liked it.

After I got out of THAT line, I ran straight to the Tick panel. I unintentionally snuck into an exit door for the room. I was by myself at this point, so I was able to find a single seat right up in front. The panel started about five minutes after I arrived. I cut a lot of things close this day, but it all worked out, which was a relief.

The second episode of the Amazon show streamed at the panel, about a month before anyone else got to see it, and the cast followed it up with a Q&A. The room was packed by the time it all started.

There were a lot number of Tick family members in the audience as well. I saw Jackson Publick after the panel ended!

Team Tick members must have had some free time later in the day on Friday, because I saw a number of them on the convention floor before the show ended. I gotta get me one of those shirts!

The show ended about an hour after the panel let out, so I walked the floor for the rest of the day. Friday was a great day for costumes. This Luke Cage is classic. The guy really sells it.

Here's a scandalous super-family.

You don't see many J Jonah Jameson costumes out there. Kudos to him with the prop.

I think the new Spider-Man costume is pretty good. Nothing beats the original, but I like it.

Here's The Tick and Arthur, once again! These guys are really dedicated to the property. They show up in these costumes every year.

And that is it for Friday! It was a VERY busy day. Lots of fun! More to come.

"Weird Al" Yankovic in "Eat It", a FUBAR comic by McClelland, McMunn and McComsey

Read the story for free here!

I've been involved with FUBAR for about five years now, and there are a lot of stories that I'm proud of and enjoyed working on. A while ago, I wrote a story featuring Elvis Presley and the many conspiracies surrounding his death. It ran much longer than I had planned, so it was eventually decided that it could support its own single-issue book, which soon grew to a full 32-page issue to be filled out with a few backups. These backups would all focus on musical artists. I almost made the biggest mistake of my life (possibly) by not putting two and two together and writing one of the stories about "Weird Al" Yankovic. But soon enough I came to the obvious conclusion and the eight-page short "Eat It" was born.

The story itself might just be the easiest thing I've ever written in my entire life, as the inspiration was of course there. I tried to add in as many references as I could and sent the script off. Jeff McComsey provided the pencil roughs before sending it off to Jim McMunn for the finished art. I lettered the final product, which I'm very happy to see completed. McComsey and I decided to show the entire "Eat It" story online, and you can read the whole dang thing for free here: http://imgur.com/gallery/17maB/new

The entire issue, titled "All the King's Corpses" and featuring an Elvis cover by Danny Cruz and Paul Little, while be solicited in Previews soon. In addition to the Elvis and Weird Al stories by me, there's a Jim Morrison story by Michael McDermott and Will Perkins, a Waylon Jennings tale by your friend (and mine) Larry Franks and Kelly Williams, and a new Combat Quiz by Jennie Wood and Williams.

When I was at the Baltimore Comic-Con a few months ago, Jeff McComsey surprised me with the eight pencil roughs, all framed up and looking great. I was really taken back. This is hanging up right behind my computer, actually, so I'm looking right at it as I type this.

Not only that, but soon after, Jim McMunn was kind enough to send me the original page art for the story. Here are a few images of that.

Jim finished all of the artwork digitally, so the physical pages are in different states of completion. They look just fantastic and I'm absolutely thrilled to have them in my possession. This was a passion project that will hopefully have some appeal for others as well. I'm so glad that I finally got to write a Weird Al story. I'm even more grateful that some friends helped out and that it turned out as good as it did. I hope you all enjoy it as well!

Addendum: Sometimes I think, "what can I title this post that might make it show up earlier in search results?" Or, "if someone sees an image from this post on a Google search, how can I try to make sure he or she knows that I had something to do with this?" (this usually occurs when I am shouting into the void). And then, a title like the one at the top of this post is born. Carry on.

FUBAR press release: FUBAR Press becomes an official imprint of Alterna Comics

Some exciting FUBAR news came down the pipe recently.  Below, in its entirety, is the official press release from Alterna Comics:

FUBAR PRESS now an official imprint of ALTERNA

We are excited to announce the Jeff McComsey's "FUBAR PRESS" has joined forces with Alterna Comics as an official imprint.  FUBAR PRESS will follow in the creator-owned mentality that Alterna is known for an will be headed by President and Publisher Jeff McComsey, Art Director Steve Becker, and Story Editor Jeff McClelland. The imprint will operate under the Alterna Comics banner as it always has but will have their own submissions, story ideas, and creative teams centering around a mash-up of historical-horror fiction.

Branching out with the MOTHER RUSSIA mini-series by Jeff McComsey (debuting issue #1 in stores today), the brand is set to build on the unique story-telling and phenomenal artwork that readers have been enjoying since 2010.  McComsey speaks about his experience with Alterna and the future of FUBAR, "I've worked with Alterna Comics on just about everything I have published since I started making comics in 2007.  From my first series, AMERICAN TERROR to when Steve Becker and I published volume one of FUBAR five years ago, Peter Simeti has been a publisher I can count on.  I'm very proud to finally make FUBAR PRESS an official imprint of Alterna.  While we'll continue to publish FUBAR PRESS books on all platforms available, we will be focusing a large portion of our time and resources on engaging retailers and showing them why we deserve a spot on the shelf in 2015."

For more information on ALTERNA and FUBAR PRESS titles, please visit http://www.alternacomics.com

That's all pretty great!  I'm happy to be involved with the project and I hope it continues for years to come.  I'm currently working on a few upcoming projects, such as a backup story for Mother Russia #3 with Jeff McComsey and Christine Larsen.  I'm reading Don Quixote, the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes for the first time, so the time seemed right (400 years later) for a FUBAR Quixote story.  Christine really did a fantastic job with it, as we should all be used to by now.

I also just finished lettering a full-length FUBAR tale featuring these two figures pictured above.  This comes out in the music issue, on shelves pretty soon!  Lots of great things going to press in 2015.

Support the FUBAR: By the Sword Kickstarter! (please)

This has been a few years in the making.  The FUBAR: By the Sword trade is finally ready to print.  Kickstarter has been kind to us in the past and we're offering a number of rewards that will hopefully make this version a successful one.  FUBAR: BTS contains stories from the individual issues (including the "Guts and Glory" one shot) along with some all new material from a few dozen independent creators.

The campaign went live a few weeks ago and it proved to be a poplar one from the start.  I took a screenshot of when it reached the magical 2099 mark:

Now we're into stretch goals as we wind down the campaign.  They include some bookmarks, book plates, and trading cards so far, and the one I'm most excited about is an all-new 32-page issue that features musicians titled "All the King's Corpses".  Here's the cover, by Danny Cruz and Paul Little:

The lead story, drawn by Rob Croonenborghs, features Elvis Presley and Richard Nixon as they team up to take on the zombie menace.  I'm kind of enamored by Elvis's more mythological features, so I had a lot of fun writing it.  The book also has stories about the Doors, Waylon Jennings (written by Larry Franks) and another entry by me with art by head honcho Jeff McComsey and featuring "Weird Al" Yankovic.  I hope that it's received well.

If you feel like contributing to the campaign, here's the direct link: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/fubar-by-the-sword

It ends in just over a week.  Get some new FUBAR while you can!

Pictures from the 2013 Comic-Con International, part 8: The Epilogue (Pop Culture Paradise in Tempe, Phoenix Art Museum and more!)

Comic-Con International closed on July 21st at 5:00 pm, and what a sad time it was.  I feel that the event is, save for a couple hours on Sunday, as long as it can be.  I mean, Comic-Con could last an entire week, from Sunday through Sunday, and it'd be just lovely, but most people do have jobs and other commitments that would probably keep them from spending eight days at the event.  Such is life.  At any rate, I am already looking forward to next year and what is certain to be an even greater event.  I left San Diego on Sunday tired but filled with the satisfaction of a convention well traversed.

As wonderful as Comic-Con is, it seems that every second spend there revolved around the show; there isn't time for anything beyond what's connected to the convention.  Just as I did last year, I took a few days afterwards and did some sightseeing in a nearby city.  Last year took me to San Francisco with stopovers in Los Angeles and Oakland, and this year I drove east out to Yuma and Phoenix, Arizona.  There were some pretty cool things to see there, and I thought that I'd wrap up these Comic-Con pictures by posting some of the post-convention photos, most of which have at least something to do with comics.  Oh, and cactuses, too.

Did someone say cactuses?  The word that is just as acceptable as "cacti"?  Well, it is well known that I have a great love for the spiny desert plants.  And boy, were there some specimens to see as we drove east.  The above picture is from Yuma, right across the border from California.  It was amazing to see the scenery change so quickly after we left San Diego - it wasn't an hour before the climate changed from breezy and temperate to hot and arid.

Hey, it's another, absolutely gigantic cactus!  I'm in this picture to give it some scale, and because I like to have my picture taken.

In between Yuma and Scottsdale was the Painted Rock Petroglyph Site.  There were a lot of prehistoric paintings just out in the open.  I thought that the one of the left of the above picture looks quite a bit like Dr. Zoidberg...

Once in Scottsdale, I stopped at the much-cooler-than-it-sounds Musical Instrument Museum, where I found this tribute to "Weird Al" Yankovic (I'm assuming, anyway)...

...and Elvis Presley.

You might have thought that coming right from Comic-Con, I might have been able to skip a trip to a local comic shop, but no, once Wednesday rolled around, I drove to Pop Culture Paradise in Tempe.  I took a couple copies of Teddy and the Yeti and the Tick to leave with them.  It was over 110 degrees Fahrenheit this day.

The shop was pretty big with lots of different displays.  There were more than a few people walking around when I showed up.  They had all of their new comics lined up on a wall, and had a small back issue section as well.  I picked up a few comics and browsed.

I find that I've taken pictures of a number of comic shops for the blog in the past, and I always feel like at one point someone's going to catch me doing it and think I'm some corporate spy or something.  Not this time, I guess.

The shop had a really nice action figure section with both new and vintage toys.

There were even some video games and snacks!  This is a great store for events and killing time.  It's not just a place to buy comics and leave.  A large section of the store is devoted to gaming, too.

This was the most...interesting?...piece in the store.  "Hey, kid, you want a terrifying bust of Harrison Ford as Han Solo?"

There were a number of high-end items as well, such as this super Thundercats statue.  It was a fun store!  I'm glad that I got to stop in to pick up my weekly comics.

On the way to my hotel, I saw this Dukes of Hazzard-themed saloon, which I'm sure made Larry extra jealous.

On one of the last nights I spent in the area before flying back to Pittsburgh, I went to the Phoenix Art Museum, which coincidentally, had a gallery on video game art!  The whole museum was very cool, but one of the really neat things was the arcade they set up in the museum, with working games that you could play for free.

The video games all came in custom-painted cabinets, pained by local artists and re-imagining the original cabinet design.  There were all kinds of classic games, from Mario Bros. to Pac Man to Gunsmoke to Rampage to Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles to this X-Men game, which seemed especially popular.

Hey, there's Colossus doing that weird thing that he does in the video game that has no basis on his actual powers at all!

And, for some reason, here's original Cyclops.  He and Professor X look like they are taken from some John Byrne artwork, though I couldn't say exactly where.

The TMNT cabinet looks pretty cool, until you get down to April O'Neal, who is apparently...being molested?

Here's a high-angle shot of the exhibit floor with video game systems from all over, old and new.

There are always some great pictures to be had at Comic-Con, and I hope that you've enjoyed all of the ones I've posted from this year's trip.  Here's some good news - I've already been approved for a professional badge for the 2014 show, so as long as I manage to claim one in time, I'll be going back for another round next July.  And, yes...I'll take pictures.  Lots and lots of pictures.