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 2016 Comic-Con International, part 6: Sunday (Thing sketchbook, Adult Swim...and the aftermath!)

Hey! It's the last batch of Comic-Con pictures...until I go to the New York Comic Con in less than two weeks! Here are pictures from the final day of Comic-Con 2016 in San Diego.

My Thing sketchbook had two empty pages in it before this convention. Chris Burnham filled up the very last page on Sunday. There are a few little things I'd like to do with the book before I officially lock it up in a vault somewhere, but this is, I feel, some kind of milestone in my life (right?). You'll notice that Batman and X-Men artist Burnham has a Pac Man lanyard on...we also had a nice chat about old video games. It turns out that Burnham once owned a arcade cabinet himself.

I'm extra excited to bring these two things home with me - signed and sketched comics from both Matt Groening and Sergio Aragones! 

I never take enough pictures of the floor. It's hard to get an idea of the scope of this convention even when you're there, let along from an image. But here's this, stretching out as far as the eye can see.

Todd Nauck is a great guy who is kind enough to acknowledge my presence every year when I walk up and bother him at a show. Todd has worked on pretty much every major mainstream character. It's pretty impressive.

The Sideshow booth is always mind-alteringly awesome. Check out this TMNT statue set based on the original movies.

Wanna grab a Star Trek uniform? It's possible.

Due to my foolishly-acquired sunburn (and other reasons), I didn't do much outside of the convention center this year. But on Sunday I decided that I would finally give the Adult Swim on the Green offsite a try. The lines were incredibly long - you'd have to wait a few hours to get one of their screen-printed shirts (I passed).

But I did stop at Meatwad's Dome, which had a new, and very trippy, show this year.

The costumes were impressive every day of the show. It didn't slow down on Sunday.

I ran into Ally Cat, a great artist and a cool gal, at her booth which was situated right by one of the snack bars. They're trying to fit as many booths into the convention center. I guess some of them eventually have to be next to the nachos.

And here's Eric Esquivel, a writer who's comin' up in the world. He just announced that he'll be writing a story in this year's DC Christmas special.

There were a lot of Star Trek costumes at the show this year. These Borg looked great!

I managed to grab a quick picture with Griffin Newman, Arthur on the (greenlit!) Amazon "Tick" series, before he went back behind the New England Comics booth to do another round of signings.

DC's New Super-Man title had only just launched at this point, but here's a really great costume from the last day of the show.

The NEC booth was pretty busy on the last three days of the show. Ben and Griffin signed for hours. It was great to see the enthusiasm fans had for the character. It's funny to see copies of the SDCC exclusive comic pop up on eBay every so often with their signatures on it.

Our last cosplay for the show is a fun one - the Guardians of the Galaxy family, complete with a potted Groot!

One more before the show ends.

I'm always surprised at how quickly the convention clears out when 5:00 rolls around. People are ready to go, I guess. I have to believe that someday soon, they'll extend the hours until 6:00, or at least have panels that go on after the convention closes. It's a taxing show, but everyone seems to have a good time.

This is about the time that I scour around for empty boxes to send stuff home in.

Might as well wrap up some creators for the offseason. It keeps 'em fresh.

Riding a bike on the show floor? There are no rules!!

And thus ends my Comic-Con adventure for 2016. Planning has already begun for next year's show! But thankfully, I had a least a few days to rest up. I stayed in the area for a few days and made a trip to San Diego's Cat Cafe once again.

I then hit up a local state park, where I activated my lobster powers.

And then, at the top of the mountain...

After San Diego, I went out to Los Angeles for a few days, where I was pretty blown away by the exhibits at The Getty Museum. This is absolutely a must see if you're in the area.

It's really impressive.

I ended the trip by stopping by the Santa Monica pier.

There. I went in the ocean.

Until next time, Comic-Con.

Pictures from the 2015 Comic-Con International, part 6: Sunday (Sergio Aragones, IDW signing and more!)

Sunday! The last day of Comic-Con. This day seemed a bit quieter than in years past, when there is usually more sprinting down the aisles, trying to buy something at the last minute. This year it seemed like a normal day, as if there would be another day to browse on Monday (maybe at some point there will be). I found that I took fewer pictures on this day as I eased out of Comic-Con mode.

How did I miss seeing this Hulkbuster Iron Man display until Sunday? 

I often marvel at seeing movie-quality outfits like these Star Trek uniforms. But then I wonder what someone would do if he or she would buy one. Would you wear these things out, to a party, maybe? What if you spilled ranch dressing on it? I bet you can't just toss it in the washer afterwards.

What a thrill it was to finally meet comic legend Sergio Aragones. Aragones is probably best known for his work on MAD Magazine, which he has been a part of since it's inception (and he's still going strong!).

Lookit this Frankenberry merchandise! I wonder if that metallic pink skull is part of the lot.

Here's some good Thor villain cosplay. The Enchantress and the Executioner!

DC had costumes from the upcoming Superman vs. Batman movie out on display. I hear that Cavill and Affleck showed up for a little while, though I never saw it for myself.

In the middle of the day, I went outside to visit the Adult Swim area one last time. I cashed in all of my carnival tickets for a Rick and Morty plush. Near the exit, they had an Aqua Teen Hunger Force memorial wall set up to commemorate the show's final season.

Everything is great with these (Extreme) Ghostbusters costumes, but I'm most impressed with the hair.

Toward the end of the day, I had a chance to sit down at the IDW booth for an Imaginary Drugs signing with Ally Cat, Eric Esquivel and Alexis Ziritt, all of whom are probably more awesome than I am. But, as we can see here, I'm the only one who wore an Imaginary Drugs shirt to the signing. I'm not sure if that's a good thing or not. It was a fun time and HEY, I got to sit behind the IDW booth for a whole hour and no one kicked me out. Awesome!

I wish I had a better picture of this. I have no idea what this lady is supposed to be, but wow, it was impressive.

And then, all that was left was the waiting. I went back to the small press section, and pretty soon...

...the show ended. And Comic-Con 2015 was a wrap!

BUT WAIT! There's one more batch of pictures to come. And then I can rest easy. Yes.

Comic-Con exclusive Tick! IDW signing! Happenings!

So guess what I've spent the last month doing?  Trying to prepare for the San Diego Comic-Con that's coming up in just over a week.  How am I doing?  Okay, I guess...but boy, I've got lots more to catch up on.  We'll see how it goes.  In the meantime, let me announce two very cool items of news!

ITEM 1: There'll be a brand new issue of The Tick out at Comic-Con from Duane Redhead and me.  This issue is exclusive to Comic-Con and features two covers and a pinup section with art by Gabe Crate, Kerri Parker, Bob Polio and (get this) Ben Edlund!  I'm really looking forward to seeing this issue in print.  It'll be available at the New England Comics booth.

I'm also suuuuuper excited that this issue will come with the first ever Tick blank sketch cover!  This is what it'll look like.  The Comic-Con logo on these images has "2014" stamped on it, but that's just a placeholder - the actual books will have the correct date on 'em.

ITEM 2: I managed to talk my way into a signing for Imaginary Drugs at the IDW booth on Sunday from 3:00-4:00!  This is a big deal as IDW has one of the most prominent booths at the show.  Joining me at the signing will be Eric Esquivel, Ally Cat and Alexis Ziritt!

As always, if you are going to the show, stop by and say hello!  If not, rest assured that I will post an overabundance of pictures after everything is said and done.

Back to work for me.

FUBAR Comic-Con signing! Awesome Toy Blog! Weird Al!

Comic-Con is just a few days away, and it's shaping up to be even bigger than ever before.  I'm trying to pack, make last minute plans and figure out some semblance of a schedule for the coming week.  I'm flying in to San Diego a day earlier than I did last year, so hopefully that helps me get accustomed to the west coast in time for the show...but let's face it, no one is ever really prepared for Comic-Con. I'm hoping for the best.

Plans don't get much more last minute than this, but I'm still finalizing a few details on some exciting news.  There will be a small FUBAR signing at Comic-Con, complete with a few exclusives to boot.  The picture at top is of our con exclusive poster, measuring 11x14 and featuring the "Ace of Spades" Free Comic Book Day cover.  It sells for five bucks!

The signing will take place on Friday the 25th in the small press section, booth M-06.  I'll be there along with Chuck Dixon and Jennie Wood to sign some books and say hello.  Eric Esquivel and Lesley Vamos are scheduled to make some appearances as well!  The time for the signing is tentatively set for 3:30-5:00, but we're still working out individual schedules.  Let's keep our fingers crossed.

I'll hand out a bunch of these post card sized flyers before the singing to hopefully drum up some interest.  The front has the pertinent details...

...and the back has a place for autographs!

There'll also be a special item for backers of the "Mother Russia" Kickstarter. Cryptic!

The Awesome Toy Blog is a great site with lots of great information on, well, toys in general, but I use it most to find a list of convention exclusive merchandise.  The site compiles it and I scan it to see what I need to get for SDCC and other conventions (but mostly SDCC).  The site recently put up a post about the Tick exclusives from New England Comics!  I'm glad someone (uh...) tipped the site off about them!



In the category of "dream come true that might quickly turn into a nightmare" comes news that "Weird Al" Yankovic will have a panel all to himself at Comic-Con on Saturday.  This is fantastic news until you find out that the panel is a limited ticketed event and you'll probably have to wait in line for seven hours just to get a chance at a ticket.  There are better ways to do this, Comic-Con...just look at Nerd HQ if you want to know how to do it right!

Regardless, I'm going to try to get into the panel and see Al once again, so I hope that it's relatively painless.  Al just released his new album, "Mandatory Fun", which is, of course, a gift to humanity.  I'm doing my best to learn all the lyrics to the new songs before Saturday.  Above is the video for what might just be my favorite song on the album, "Foil"!  Watch and enjoy.  And then go buy the album.

Best of luck to all heading out to San Diego for what is sure to be a great, manic time.  I'm sure to come back with lots of pictures.