All Hell Broke Loose...
All Hell Broke Loose...
NYCC. Confess, Fletch. And miles to go before I sleep.
Ah, New York Comic Con.
It seems like a lifetime ago. The grass was still green. The leaves hadn’t begun to turn. And the Braves and Dodgers were still destined to meet in the NLCS.
What a difference a couple weeks makes, amirite?
I won’t bore you (I hope) with too many details, but here are some highlights of the con. First things first:
My flight Wednesday was the perfect length for watching CONFESS, FLETCH, the new Jon Hamm reboot of one of my all-time favorite book series.
The movie was a ton of fun and Hamm did a great job…although I confess I still would’ve loved to see Jason Sudeikis in the role.
Anyway, it was a solid adaptation, and I didn’t miss Chevy Chase one bit. (But I did miss that totally 80’s Harold Faltermeyer score.)
But enough about a movie that got criminally screwed when it came to marketing and promotion. You came here to read my NYCC wrap-up, not my thoughts on why you should just go ahead and buy this movie on YouTube so I can get the rumored sequel, FLETCH’S FORTUNE.
*Ahem*
After a quick check-in at the hotel, Wednesday ended with a late night meat and cheese platter and talking comics with DREAMQUEST editor Frank Pittarese. Not a bad way to start the weekend!
Thursday was spent getting the lay of the land and catching up with old friends like Karla Nappi, Pat Shand, Joe Mulvey, Rich Douek, Kat Calamia, and Phil Falco (OK, that was Phil’s brother impersonating him on Thursday—I caught up with Phil later).
I also made time to score a signed copy of Ice Cream Man #2 and chat with artist Martin Morazzo before moseying to the east side for dinner and drinks with my old pal and Frequent Frier James Amler.
Friday, I had every intention of laying low and nursing my hangover (thanks a lot, James!), but then I got wind that I should high-tail it to the WhatNot booth to take part in a livestream with a certain special guest.
Afterwards, pandemonium—and an impromptu signing—broke out when said special guest (AKA Martin Kove) walked over with us to the Scout Comics booth:
We signed a ton of books over the course of a couple hours, and then the party moved to the Scout House, where I switched gears and signed copies of RED XMAS on another WhatNot stream, defacing books with both my autograph and some NSFW graffiti as viewers bid on the items.
(Being an old man who still doesn’t understand Facebook, WhatNot is a whole new world for me, but it was cool to connect with readers on the interwebs. Thanks to all at Scout for having me on!)
Afterwards, I was ready to find a quiet booth at the Tick Tock Diner and chill with my man George O’Connor.
(And yes, George, late night pancakes are the best pancakes.)
Saturday’s signing was even crazier than Friday’s, and PRODIGAL SON co-writer Don Handfield and I even had to jump in and do some damage control/line maintenance lest the Fire Marshal shut us down (!)
Meanwhile, on the break, I stumbled across this:
After spending not nearly enough money on comics, I left the con Saturday to find a quiet table at the Joyce Public House, where I was later joined by George, who kept me entertained over a few too many Guinnesses.
The evening—and, for me, the con—ended on a high note when we ran into Michael Calero, Trevor Richardson, and Kevin Roditeli, the fine folks behind WhatNot Publishing. We closed down our section of the bar and ended the night in style.
I hated to get on the flight Sunday, but all good things must come to an end.
New York, I will miss your Bacon, Egg, and Cheese bagel sandwiches, your Citibikes, and your cart coffee that is infinitely better than the fru-fru expensive crap I bought on day one.
See you next year?
LETTERING
I probably don’t talk about my lettering work enough here, but: I’ve been busy! Lettering! Because I love making comics!
(Can’t you tell I’m excited? Look at all the exclamation points!)
Anyway, I should be starting a new! and exciting! project next week, but it’s too soon to talk about yet.
In the meantime, here are a few books I can talk about, and they’re all available right now on Kickstarter (!):
Journey to 'Ikuā - An all ages hardcover fantasy adventure!
The follow-up to Shadows of the Ancient is a 32-page bi-lingual picture book full of the magic, mythology, and mystery of the Pacific Islands written by the real life Moana. It’s a gorgeous children's fantasy book steeped in Hawaiian culture...and it just so happens to be the #1 children's book on Kickstarter. If you're looking for something cool for your little one, check out Journey to ʻIkuā by Moana McAdams and Ryan Robinson!
CLICK HERE TO BACK JOURNEY TO IKUA
AER HEAD 1 & 2: Surfer Hero Sci-fi/Comedy
From Mindy Indy comes the latest installment of her series Aer Head: “Teen surfer & lifeguard Aer struggles to control his ESP, until he predicts a solar flare will hit Earth! Futurama meets Don't Look Up!” Mindy’s art is great, with inventive layouts and a fun story to boot. So if sci-fi comedy with a dash of teen romance is your thing, surf no more!
Concrete Arcanum
No, I didn’t letter this entire 120 page anthology of supernatural and modern fantasy comics, but I did have the good fortune of lettering the latest Turner Family Terrors short by Robert Krisch. Trust me when I say that if the rest of the stories are even half as entertaining, you're in for a real treat. The campaign is ending soon and could still use some love, so if that old black magic has you in its spell…
CLICK HERE TO BACK CONCRETE ARCANUM ON KICKSTARTER
That’s all I can talk about now… except for one final book I’m lettering that’s still on Kickstarter.
And Miles to Go Before I Sleep…
Of course, I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention that Kickstarter has already started counting down the hours rather than days, and with a strong final push, DREAMQUEST could be our highest grossing book yet.
We're unlocking a new digital bonus book for every 50 backers who join us, and so far we’ve added books by Amy & Pat Shand and Erica D’urso, Charlie Stickney and Emiliana Pinna, Jason Ciaramella and Greg Murphy, Russell Nohelty and Juan Frigeri and an anthology sampler from Travis Gibb.
What will we unlock next? Nyarlathotep only knows… but the more of you who get on board, the more goodies everyone gets in their (digital) Halloween bag.
That’s all for now (wasn’t this long enough??) Off to finish binging season 1 of The White Lotus before season 2 premieres…
- Clay