Yalta!

I recently wrote a one-page story tentatively titled "Yalta!" (that's all I'm going to say about it at this point), and yesterday Argentinean artist Leonardo Pietro agreed to put the pictures to my words.  The above artwork isn't from that story, but it's an example of Leonardo's work, and I think you'll agree that regardless of the script, Yalta! should certainly look pretty.  He has a unique style that I think really stands out.

I look forward to working with Leo - and perhaps one day I'll add the rest of the Ninja Turtles to my artistic companions.  Really, Jeff - a Turtle joke?  I'm sure he's never heard that one before.

Dr. Horrible and other notes

If you're a self-respecting Firefly fan (and who isn't?) and you live in or reasonably close to Wilmington, North Carolina, you've got to check out the Brown Coat Pub & Theatre.  It's a Firefly/Serentiy themed bar/restaurant that also puts on plays and musicals.  This month's play just happens to be another Joss Whedon brainchild, Dr. Horrible's Sing-A-Long Blog, which is just like combining chocolate and peanut butter.

I took the show in last week and it was a lot of fun - and unbeknownst to me, the role of Penny is being performed by my friend June Bunce, so that's even more reason to go...I guess.  This is the last weekend for Dr. Horrible at the Brown Coat, so if you're able, check it out!

- June Gilbank of PlanetJune wrote about the crochet Yeti doll she made at my behest on her website, and soon a thousand or so other sites picked up on it.  Apparently amigurumi yetis are big news on the Internet(s).  News of the crochet pattern soon sprung up on Facebook, Amazon, a bunch of blogs, and my favorite, a website titled "Bigfoot Lunch Club".

In addition to the Yeti, June also created a crochet Sasquatch, which, really, makes a lot of sense (and also looks adorable).  She's working on the book The Complete Idiot's Guide to Amigurumi, due out in October, and if she really twists my arm about including the Yeti in the book...I suppose I'd have to let her.  And by that I mean hoooooly crap would that be awesome.

- Fanboy Comics recently held a drawing for free Avengers stuff as a promotion for the new Avengers series (not to be confused with the new New Avengers series that will also be out soon).  Fanboy does a lot of great things to advertise their store, but I've never won anything from them...until now.  My name got picked and I got this nifty-looking Mighty Avengers: Assemble hardcover that you can see below:

To this, I say..."hey-ooo!"  I look forward to reading it, as I didn't pick up all of the individual issues when this series launched a few years ago.  I wonder if it'll seem better because it was free.

- Who else wasted hours of their lives by playing Google's Pac-Man from last weekend?  Okay, "wasted" isn't accurate - I enjoyed the heck out of it.  And, wonder upon wonders, Google has left it online at www.google.com/pacman.

Did you know that if you hit the "insert coin" button twice, you can play a two-player game with Ms. Pac-Man?  Her controls are the WASD buttons.

- Lastly, as always, here's a new episode of Franks and Beans.  This one is titled "Kill Switch", and I think you'll like it.  If you don't, you might just be a communist.

instant reactions, nine years later

I remember picking up DC Comics' "9-11: Artists Respond" paperback soon after it was published in early 2002 (the turnaround time, looking back, was pretty amazing).  It featured short stories portraying many creators' reactions to the New York terrorist attacks, some of which were told using DC's popular super heroes.  One such story stands out in my mind, though it's been almost nine years since I read it, where Superman laments that he's just a fictional character and thus can't do anything to stop the suffering in the real world.

Regardless of the story, what really sticks with me was how raw the book was from an emotional standpoint.  Whereas comics, especially from the likes of Marvel and DC, usually have a very "safe", calculated message to portray ("don't do drugs, kids!"), a lot of the stories included in DC's 9-11 book were the comic book equivalent of an instantaneous reaction.  Not all of it was hopeful and positive, either - you could feel the anger, the despair that others felt by reading their stories.

DC's paperback was listed as volume two, and while there was a big ad for the first volume on the back cover of the book, I never took the time to seek it out.  A few months ago, though, I found it on sale at nearby Fanboy Comics for only five bucks, so I jumped at the chance to pick it up.

I'm sure that one of the reasons I bought the DC version, complete with Superman and Krypto on the cover, each in awe over "real life" heroes such as doctors, police officers, etc., and not the first volume was the fact that I wasn't nearly as willing to read independent comics in 2002 as I am today.  That's not saying the majority of the comics I buy aren't Marvel and DC, but my reading stack's much more diverse now than it's ever been before.  Volume one was published jointly by Dark Horse, Chaos!, and Image, and featured mostly independent creators, many of them still not familiar to me.

I just finished reading this particular volume, and I'm as astounded as I was in 2002 when I read the second volume of short stories - not just by the impeccable quality, but again by the raw, unfettered emotion that obviously stemmed from witnessing such a horrific event.  Reading these stories took me back to that unseasonably warm fall day in September, and there were a few times that I had to put the book down and clear the lump in my throat before continuing.

It's difficult to reconcile that so much time has passed since the event, and it's distressing to realize how cynicism and distrustfulness have taken over so much of our social and political landscape; it's disheartening to realize how we've pushed the immediate aftermath, one of such good will and hope, to the back of our minds once more.  I was in college in 2001, and now I teach college; most of my students this past semester were all of nine years old on the date in question.  How long before the students I'm teaching, legally capable of making major decisions such as joining the military, have no recollection of the 9-11 attacks?  As I said, it's all hard to reconcile.

There are dozens of stories and pinups in this collection, and each of them tells a unique story.  Most of them, I'd imagine, would look much different if DC or Dark Horse or Image were to put the book together today - I think it would lose some of the immediacy that makes it great.  Frank Miller's "I'm sick of flags, I'm sick of God" might be the angriest comic I've ever read, and it's all of three panels.  Dave Cooper's "9/12" puts the shock of the events into perspective.  Anthony Johnston and Mike Norton's "Sunday Mourning" is heartbreaking.  Marc Rosenthal's "If", when looked at through the lens of 2010, makes me think of what could have been.

It may seem counterproductive to bemoan the September, 2001 attacks nearly nine years after the fact.  The world has, in many cases, moved on and new tragedies have arisen to take our attentions.  Reading this book, however, brought the immediacy of all the emotions I felt as I wandered around campus (hopelessness, fear, despair, uncertainty) flooding back.  In an few more years, when we all have just a little more perspective, these two comic book collections would be tremendous as texts in a history or English class that focused on the subject.  If someone wanted to recreate or remember the atmosphere of the days just following September 11th, all they'd have to do is read a few stories from these collections.  It's brilliant, chilling material that deserves to be recognized for it's significance.

Crochet, anyone?

I just received this image of a crocheted Yeti (capital "Y") in my inbox from none other than June Gilbank of PlanetJune.  I commissioned June to create the likeness of the Yeti character after seeing some of the other work she's completed - yes, pretty much everything she's done is adorable.  JUST LOOK AT THIS MONKEY:

I'm pretty thrilled with the way things turned out, and just as thrilled that June will be selling the pattern on her website (in case you want to make your own) with a link and a reference to the Teddy and the Yeti website/comic...so now I have an inroad with the crochet crowd...yes!

I will also be selling this Yeti - but the completed figure as opposed to the pattern.  That is, I will be doing that once I either learn how to crochet or find someone who is capable.  Uh, Mom?  I've never seen you crochet before in my life, but I'll bet you're able with your magic mom powers.  We'll see.  This is just one step in the process, but it's a big one.  Look for this to show up in the online store once we get up and running with the needlework.  If nothing else, I'll be sure to have a basketful on hand for the New York Comic-Con.

This is a separate entity from the Yeti doll crafted by codename: Punkvixen from the Etsy website.  Those are still on their way and are about twice the size of this crochet version, and I plan on having both available (for the discriminating consumer) at some point.  Just look at it this way: my ancillary potential Yeti merchandise just increased by 100%. The world is now a better place.

Jeff vs. Jeff: this time, it's personal

One of my favorite things about attending the Pittsburgh Comicon this past April was getting to meet fellow creator and fellow Jeff McSomething, Jeff McComsey, much beleaguered on this blog for nothing else than having a name very similar to my own.  I even intimated that Jeff and I might fight at the show, and as you can see by the picture at top, not only did things come to blows, but we apparently decided to battle it out in the style of 1910 prizefighters.  Great form, McClelland.

In any case, Jeff McComsey turned out to be a man of great talent with a predilection for drawing historical figures as zombies, both of which I can admire.  At the show I picked up a few of his books, "American Terror" and the mini comic "Sgt. Killroy", pictured below:

Both were very enjoyable reads: McComsey's fluid style lends itself to the futuristic noir-ishness of "American Terror" and the classic feel of "Sgt. Killroy"; to me, it felt like a mix between Sgt. Rock and the Evil Dead movies...both works of art in their own right.  Jeff was even kind enough to do some sketches for me, including one of the WWII-era Japanese Emperor Hirohito:

The flag in the background is a nice touch, though I might be more a fan of the militaristic "Rising Sun" variety.

Jeff's working on a new book featuring Sgt. Killroy and other WWII-era zombified tales in "FUBAR", which sounds like tons of fun.  I'll post a page from his blog below.  You can find out more about FUBAR (the acronym which first originated in WWII times, as a matter of fact), American Terror and other McComseyisms at the following sites: http://mccomseycomix.wordpress.com/ and http://zombiefubar.wordpress.com/.  Check 'em out!

anti-marketing

I'd like to think that I have a pretty good sense of humor, and I'm always looking to make a joke when the situation calls for it.  This inclination has gotten me in some trouble before, because what I mean to say isn't always what ends up coming out of my mouth; whether it's a lack on context or just the wrong thing at the wrong time, I've wound up saying inappropriate things a few times when I'd have been better off keeping my mouth shut.  I'd like to think that I learn from my mistakes and don't do it as often as I used to (read: there are times when I actually think before I speak), but there are still instances where a well-meaning joke comes out all wrong.

For the latest example of why I really shouldn't just say the first thing that comes into my head, we have to go back a few weeks to the Pittsburgh Comicon.  Overall, the show was great and I think I did a good job presenting Teddy and the Yeti to a comic reading public that was often unaware that it even existed.  I was friendly, talking to passers by and just generally putting on a happy face for the show (not that there was any reason not to do so - it was a fun show).

I really screwed up in talking to one potential fan to the point where I doubt he'll ever pick up Teddy and the Yeti, even if I announced that the new creative team was Alan Moore and Jack Kirby (it's not, by the way).  On the odd chance that he actually reads this posting, though - dude, I'm sorry.  Holy crap, I'm sorry.

You see, a gentleman walked up to the ol' Wagon Wheel Comics booth and started flipping through one of the issues, and I attempted to strike up a conversation with him as he browsed.  He was wearing a Superman shirt, which of course wasn't anything out of the ordinary, as we were at a comic book convention.  The bottom of this shirt, though, was tucked into his pants, and you could see the image of Superman's belt and red shorts printed on the shirt before it disappeared under his jeans.  This isn't something you usually see - most "classic" Superman shirts are simply solid blue with the "S" logo printed on the chest.  The shorts were something new, so I wanted to ask if he was wearing MORE than just a shirt - I wanted to know if he had on the whole Superman costume.

So, in short, what I WANTED to say was "are you wearing an entire Superman costume under your clothes?"  Which would have been a perfectly legitimate question, and if he was, he probably would have been happy that someone noticed.  In reality, though, what I ACTUALLY said was "is that a onesie you're wearing?"

Yes, I asked a grown man if he was wearing clothing for babies, perhaps complete with a snapping butt flap in the back.  You can see how this might be somewhat offensive.  The man looked at me, put his copy of Teddy and the Yeti back on the table, and walked away.

I realize that I'll never be able to apologize to this guy - I've scared him away forever, like I said.  But OH MAN, that is not what I meant, and I'm embarrassed to have insulted him in such a manner.  Sigh.  I'm sorry, man, I'M SORRY!!!

Obsession for Men

Everyone has a hobby, and I'm convinced that everyone has something they're obsessed with to different degrees.  How we control that urge to collect is what separates a fan from a collector from a hoarder, and we all have our limits on what constitutes as "too much".

For me, it's comics, obviously, and in drawing up plans for my future house (that's right...a house in the FUTURE) I've included a room specifically designed for permanently storing my comics that currently reside in dozens of long boxes ("permanent" is relative, of course.  After I'm dead, I doubt I'll care how my comics are stored).  As long as I stick to one obsession and don't branch out into others, I think I'll be okay, but there are always leaks in the dam, so to speak.  My DVD collection grows month by month, I've managed to snag every figure in Toynami's Futurama line, and I'm slowly procuring all of "Weird Al" Yankovic's singles on both vinyl and CD.

For my friend Larry, co star on the increasingly popular (really!) Internet show Franks and Beans, it's the Dukes of Hazzard.  Not coincidentally, that's how I got the lovely picture of John Schneider holding up a copy of Teddy and the Yeti #2.  Every collector has his or her limits, though.  I try to buy all of the books with the Thing in them, but I don't have a shelf full of Fantastic Four trade paperbacks - I stick to the individual issues.  So when I picked up a copy of Deadpool #22 and saw the above image, I asked myself, "is Larry gonna feel the need to buy this, too?"  It's a genuine reference, but it's a little out of the norm with the usual 1/44 scale models and the like.  Then I turned a few pages and saw this:

The THEME SONG, even!  So it comes down to the type of obsession one has regarding these things.  What's it gonna be, Larry?  What do you choose?

A Mile High salute and other notes

- Mile High Comics placed an order last week for copies of Teddy and the Yeti #3, meaning that the online retailer (they also have physical locations, most notably in Denver, Colorado) now has all three issues in stock.  Other online stores have ordered copies of certain issues of T&Y, but Mile High is, as of now, the only store to order all three.  My thanks go out to William Moulton and all the rest at MHC for their continued support of the book.  I'm really not sure how to ask about the coincidence of a guy named William Moulton working in the comic book business (the creator of Wonder Woman was William Moulton Marston) - perhaps it's a nickname and other people working there take the pseudonyms "Joe Shuster" and "Jacob Kurtzberg".

You can click here to see Mile High's Teddy and the Yeti page - the first two issues are listed, and the third will be added soon.

- I've made some looooong overdue updates to the main website.  The main page no longer says something ridiculous like "preview the upcoming second issue!".  I've also update the store page, so you can buy both the first and second issues - I even made sure that combined shipping stays in effect if you purchase different issues.  The third issue isn't up for sale yet for two reasons: one, I'm a jerk, and two, I don't have any copies on hand right now.  Once I get ahold of some, I'll make sure that's there as well.

This blog page (...the one you're looking at right now) also got a minor update - along with listing online retailers that carry Teddy and the Yeti, I've compiled a list of physical comic stores that sell issues of the book as well.  For stores like Olympic Cards & Comics in Lacey, Washington and Evil Genius Comics in California, PA that have websites, I linked directly to those.  For stores without websites like Impossible Dreams in Bridgeville, PA and Gary's Comics & More in Morgantown, WV, I linked to at least the address on a map.  The list is over on the right somewhere...check it out.

- The website The Grouchy Gastronome has published another one of my blogs on food: the most recent one is titled "Hell Sandwich", which I think was a great naming decision on the part of she who runs the site.  Apparently I like to cheat places out of sandwich giveaways, and I finally stopped to think about some of the more lasting consequences.

- Finally, because this has become a regular feature here apparently, here's the latest episode of the popular Internet show Franks and Beans, "Rip Off".  I'm quite proud of it.

the new art mystery

Hey, look!  It's new art featuring Teddy and the Yeti!  Keen observers will note that these pencils are done by none other than Alan Gallo, the artist for the New Dimension Comics exclusive cover of Teddy and the Yeti #1.  No, Duane hasn't left the book - this is a one-page story that I don't want to get into too many details about right now.  But everyone appreciates new art, right?  Right.  So I wanted to post this - a clip, anyway - for all to see.

And hey, check out the Yeti's sleek new wristwatch!  Shiny.

Specs

Every major comic book company will keep on file character sheets, which are, basically, front, back and sometimes profile shots of their major characters.  They do this because, at big companies like Marvel and DC, a number of different artists will be drawing the same character at any given time, and the companies want to keep their characters looking as consistent as possible.  Gone are the days when a company had a "house style" - at least on the surface, it seems, companies are much more open to an artist's interpretation of a given character.

My inbox was delighted (yes, that's right - an event so wonderful happened that my inbox felt emotion) to receive the above and below character specs for Teddy and the Yeti - and I think you'll agree that they look utterly fabulous.  It's easy to see that Duane took his time and was meticulous with the detail...and why not?  These are now the definitive images of the two characters.

These images serve a dual purpose, though - these might, I don't know, work as pretty good models if we were to try to have some action figures made.  Now, don't read too much into that, as there are no plans in this area right now.  But I am talking with one of my friends who runs Urban Rascal, a designer toy website, and we've at least started talking to see if there might be any interest in a line in one form or another.  We will see where that takes us, but I imagine that any news would be pretty far off.  I'm trying to be optimistic in this regard.

All I know is that if this does happen, my friend Larry will kill me if I don't make one of him at some point, which is one of the reasons I designed the character "Many Man" from an upcoming story to look like him.  Hold on to that hope, buddy.

Dinner and a (Slide) Show

Monday's Free Comic Book Day-inspired comic book panel went off, if I do say, without a hitch.  There were comics, presentations, door prizes and - oh yeah! - free chicken nuggets.  I'm not sure what more you could have asked for.  I suppose that last statement was hyperbolic.

There ended up being around 75 people, not including comic store workers or comic creators, at the New Hanover County public library for the two-hour presentation.  A lot of that time was spent listening to illustrator Tom Fleming recount his career, which was really interesting.  Tom's really had a varied career, designing paint cans, costumes for World Wresting Federation characters, comic book playing cards and Cracked magazine covers, to name a few.  The stories he told went beyond just a list of what he's done - I think everyone there was interested in hearing more.

I gave a 15-minute presentation after Tom was finished, and I talked about writing for comics and questions I hear every so often - a lot of it was based on an article I recently wrote for the Brownsville Telegraph - and I think that it went over well.  A few of my jokes (okay, most of them) fell flat, which was actually pretty funny in itself, but I heard good things about it afterwards, so I imagine that at least a few people took something from it.

After the presentations, those there from Fanboy Comics - sponsor for the event - held a raffle to benefit the creation of a graphic novel section in the library, and then chicken...glorious, delicious chicken.  If you haven't been to a Chick-Fil-A yet, do yourself a favor and go (RIGHT NOW)!  They had chicken nuggets and chicken salad sandwiches, and I had...let's say more than my share.  Delicious.

The event ended with several local creators selling and signing books.  I sold a few issues of Teddy and the Yeti - someone even came by to buy a whole set - and talked with a number of people about T&Y and comics in general.  In the picture above, you can see me talking to a young comic fan and his mom.  She looked at the books and said "Wow!  [Young child], would you like me to buy you one of these books?" very enthusiastically.  The kid hung his head, frowned and said "NO!"  Oh well, maybe next time, fella.

In my opinion, the turnout was great, and I can't thank the folks at Fanboy Comics enough for sponsoring the event.  Certainly, it was nice to make people aware of Teddy and the Yeti (which I mentioned during my presentation more than a few times), but in general it was just nice to get to talk comics with a few dozen fans like myself.  I even had a couple friends show up unexpectedly to hear my talk, which I appreciate to no end.  There was talk of putting together a comic creating workshop for some of the area kids, which would be lots of fun.  I'm sure it'd go off without a hitch - "hey kids, who here likes Teddy and the Yeti?"  Kids: "BOOOO!"  Me: "What the hell is wrong with you?!?"  Good times, good times.

Come and see my magical comic book presentation.

No - the title isn't a sly euphemism.  I'm really going to be speaking as part of a presentation on comics TONIGHT! at the Northeast branch of the New Hanover County public library.  I wrote about this a few weeks ago and mentioned that this is being sponsored by Wilmington's Fanboy Comics as part of their extended Free Comic Book Day celebration.  It takes place from 6:00-8:00 pm, which means that I should still be able to catch most of the Penguins hockey game...because clearly, that is the most pressing thing going on for me this evening.

The program will highlight the comic book career of local artist Tom Fleming and will include a Q&A session with Tom and other local creators (I'll try to use as little sarcasm as possible when answering questions).  Chick-Fil-A will be providing sandwiches - like manna from Heaven - for all attendees free of charge, as well!  Did I ever mention that I met the Chick-Fil-A cow?  Well, I did, and it was very sweet.  Oh, and I guess I'll sign some comics or something if anyone is interested.

This is all a rather auspicious moment for me, and I'm looking forward to being a part of the program.  I spoke with Tom when we met at the Pittsburgh Comicon, and he suggested I put some information together on how writers approach the comic book creation process...so I did, and I'll be talking about that tonight for a few minutes.  I've even put together a PowerPoint and everything (and posted a damn picture of it, of all things)!  Here's hoping that I do a better job at presenting than my students do in the public speaking class I teach...because those are usually pretty terrible.  On the other hand, if watching people fail miserably brings joy to your life, show up and watch, because there's always the chance!

If you'd like to show up, here's the address:

1241 Military Cutoff Road
Wilmington, NC 28405

Remember, it's not the main branch - it's the Northeast branch.  If I hadn't just done a search for the address, I would have honestly gone to the main branch and thus missed the entire thing.  That would have been bad.  See you there!

Spoiler alert: Iron Man 2 features a rocket that farts. REALLY.

Let me start off by saying that the first Iron Man movie really exceeded my expectations.  The action, the humor, the casting, the characterizations...they got almost everything right, highlighting Tony Stark and how his self-destructive personality would come into conflict with his natural genius and his genuine desire to help people live better lives.

Very rarely do I venture out to see a movie on its opening weekend - a crowded movie theater full of obnoxious people is one of my pet peeves in life - but events were such that on Friday night I went to see Iron Man 2 with my wife and father-in-law.  As this was a rare event for me, I realize that there are probably a lot of other people waiting until things slow down to catch this sequel, so I won't go into many details here.  There are plenty of other reviews that will tell you everything that happened, so if you're really curious...you'll be able to find them.

In short, I really don't think the movie lived up to the first.  It might just be my expectations - I didn't expect much from the first, but since it was so spot on, I thought the second would follow suit.  Wthout getting too deep into things, what I ended up seeing was more suited to those who like cheap jokes, because really - that's almost all it was.  Gary Shandling - who looked like someone connected an air pump to him and left it run for four hours - was cast as a Senate member who reminded me a bit too much of Pennsylvania's Arlen Specter.  Tony Stark cracked jokes almost the entire time.  Pepper Potts was little more than a damsel in distress.  War Machine said variations of the line "I'm doing this under protest!" over and over and over.  Whiplash, the film's villain, was so one-dimensional it's almost like he wasn't there at all.  The "after the credits" ending was predictable to the point where I knew what was coming almost immediately.

All of the above I could have lived with and walked away feeling ambivalent about Iron Man 2, the movie.  But there was one scene - one little thing, really - that put me over the edge.  I feel justified going into a little detail here, because this particular occurrence doesn't have any bearing on the move other than the fact that it makes me want to strangle someone (not you, kind reader).  There is a scene toward the end of the movie where War Machine fires a rocket from...well, wherever he fires rockets from.  To get the point across of just how ineffective this particular weapon is, it bounces off of its target, hits the ground...and then farts.  Sigh.

In many cases, I enjoy a good poop joke.  I do!  And there aren't a lot of situations where they aren't funny!  But in this case, in Iron Man 2, where almost every other joke was the equivalent, it was just annoying.  The girl in back of me thought it was the best thing she had ever seen/heard (at the time she shouted "yes, yes, yes!!"), but she loved EVERYTHING.  She loved the conjunctions and punctuation in the sentences of dialogue.  I, however, did not like being treated like the only humor I like is the "lowest common denominator" type.  I mean, hell, I like that, too, but not ALL the time.

I bet there'll be another one in 2013 or some time around then.

guest appearance

Take a peek at the cover posted above.  I'm willing to guess that the hidden Teddy and the Yeti covers aren't the first things people are going to notice.  Or the second, etc., but since this is a Teddy and the Yeti-centric blog, it's my duty to point them out to readers and general passers-by.

This image was just passed on to me by my good friend Todd at New Dimension Comics.  The folks at NDC are working with the creators of Hack/Slash, the Devil's Due horror/monster title that recently made the switch to Image Comics, to put out this exclusive cover.  If I'm not mistaken, this will be a special cover to the first issue of the miniseries Hack/Slash: My First Maniac, which will be the first issue that Image is releasing.

To say that I'm thrilled is an understatement.  Obviously, the image of the NDC version of Teddy and the Yeti #1, with cover art by Alan Gallo and Karin Rindevall, is a minor aspect of the cover that I'm sure most people will skim right over (because, hey, there are sexy girls on the cover, and one of 'em has a knife), but seeing my work in this regard, on the cover of an Image book that has a movie in some form of production, is really fun to see.  Beyond this, I can now make the claim that the Teddy and the Yeti comic book exists in the Hack/Slash universe along with Invincible (#46, bottom left, next to the pizza box).  Perhaps we'll have a crossover or something.

I'll keep an eye on the release date for the book and update this blog when it shows up in stores.  And if you STILL can't pick out Teddy and the Yeti on the above cover, I've cropped the images out for you.  Now that's service!

What is that, a bent corner?  Man, you gotta be more careful with those things.

For those who like vague, brief references to Teddy and the Yeti...

Wilmington's Star News did a nice (if not surface level) piece on this past weekend's Free Comic Book Day event at Fanboy Comics, discussing the event itself and all that Fanboy had planned for the comic book celebration.  Above is a picture from the article, featuring shop owner Thomas Gilbert pretending to organize comics that I know he already had out and in order.

The entire article can be found here, but let's be honest - all you're concerned about is the brief and fleeting reference to both me and Teddy and the Yeti.  Well, okay, I hate to disappoint:

Fanboy is also sponsoring an appearance by Wilmington-based comic artist and fantasy illustrator Tom Fleming, who’ll give a slide show and retrospective on his work with DC, Marvel and others at 6 p.m. May 10 at the Northeast Regional Library, 1241 Military Cutoff Road.

Local self-published comic creators Bill Cofflin (Cape Fear Comics), Jeff McClelland (“Teddy and the Yeti”) and Mike Pigford (“Bleedfish”) will be on hand for a question-and-answer session and comic signings. During the event, Fanboy will hold the drawing in its raffle to raise funds for the New Hanover County Public Library.

This is a reiteration of something I posted a little while ago regarding the New Hanover County Library panel that takes place on Monday, May 10th.  I met with Tom Fleming at the Pittsburgh Comicon and we talked about what I could possibly bring to the appearance.  Beyond my general attractiveness, that is.  I'm looking forward to it!

costume show

The Pittsburgh Comicon has been over for just about a week now, and I'm just now recovering from all of the traveling (oh, and it's finals week at school), so I thought I'd post some pictures from the con to show off some of the great costume acts there were over the weekend.  Of all the ones I saw, the Venture Bros. henchman was probably my favorite, though she couldn't tell me if she was supposed to be 21 or 24.  Come on!