Since my checks evidently didn’t bounce, I can now share the official schedule of Cool Jerk comic-con appearances in 2012 thus far; Cool Jerk may attend a ‘con or two later in the year. (Any suggestions?)

Staple! • Austin, TX

March 3-4

We’ve never been to Austin or Staple! so we’re really looking forward to this little independent show. We’ve heard nothing but good things about the city, the people and the attendees’ appetite for comics.

WonderCon • Anaheim

March 16-18

This will be Cool Jerk’s fifth year at WonderCon! They moved the venue from San Francisco while the Moscone Center is being renovated, so it’ll be interesting to see who makes the pilgrimage down from the Bay Area.

Phoenix Comicon • Phoenix

May 27-30

Really on the fence about Phoenix Comicon. The last time I tabled there (2010) it seemed more like “early Halloween” than a place for people to buy comics. So I’m likely giving it a pass.

Denver Comic Con • Denver

June 15-17

Cool Jerk has never exhibited in Denver, either… and that’s probably because Denver has never had a comic-con before now! The inaugural Denver Comic Con looks to fill the comic-con void in the Rockies, drawing in people from several adjacent states!

Comic-Con International • San Diego

July 11-15

Ten years in a row for Cool Jerk, in the same spot as always (Small Press K10, next to the restrooms and vomitorium)!

GeekGirlCon • Seattle

TBD (October?)

In lieu of spring’s Emerald City Comic-Con, Cool Jerk will be attending the second GeekGirlCon in the fall (if they hold a second con — stay tuned).

So mark your calendars, put in vacation time, book those flights and bring your wallets!

So I was having a store signing when all of a sudden Zeejay shows up.

Yep, “Zeejay” is actually Zachary J. Simon, a long-time Cool Jerk reader and subscriber who won a contest I held a few months ago. The winner’s prize was a walk-on cameo in a Cool Jerk strip. Well, Zac has so much “friend equity” with Cool Jerk and has so many peccadilloes that I expanded his cameo into a full-fledged character. Then I blew his head off.

Luckily, Zac took no offense to his libelous portrayal, and stopped by my signing to shoot me in the head the breeze and buy a bunch of Cool Jerk shwag. Thanks, Zeejay!

Thanks also to Juan, Dan Horn (no relation), Danny and Rafael, who also bought some Cool Jerk books. And thanks to the crew of Southern California Comics — Jamie, Shawn, Matt, the other Matt and Sam — who were great hosts. And thanks to by better half Darlene for baking up a box of puffy, salted chocolate chip cookies for the customers and crew.

Tomorrow (Saturday, Nov. 26) is Small Business Saturday. Please do consider patronizing small businesses, including the Cool Jerk store.

You need to go to the website and register your American Express card in order to qualify, but the gist is: spend $25 or more at a small business with your AMEX card and you’ll get a one-time $25 reimbursement. Be sure to check their website for all the details. What we’re talking about is $25 in free purchases, basically.

Since $25 is the magic price, I’ll have the following specials available tomorrow only:

• Buy any three Cool Jerk books for $25 (regular price $30-$36)
• Buy any Cool Jerk book + a Cool Jerk t-shirt for $25 (even JERKEA, which retails for $20!)
• Buy any two Cool Jerk t-shirts for $25 (save $5-$15)
• Buy three Canvas Panels for $25 (that’s practically Buy One Get One Free!)*

Instead of rejiggering all the pricing on my store for this one day, just mention AMEX in the checkout (when it asks for Special Instructions) and I’ll honor the special pricing. I’ll issue a refund for the difference.

Thanks for making a difference!

*Regular shipping rates apply on all purchases

This one’s for you, San Diego— I’ll be having a pre-holiday Cool Jerk signing at my favorite area comics shop, Southern California Comics in Clairemont Mesa! Come by SCC on Dec. 7, which is a Wednesday (also known as New Comics Day™®©). I’ll have all my books, Cool Jerk t-shirts, Canvas Panels, original art and the like… and will be offering on-site specials.

I’ve been shopping at SCC since geez, the late 1990s? They’ve thrived while many other area comics shops have shuttered their doors. Their inventory of Silver Age and Golden Age comics is without peer this side of Santa Monica. If you need new comics, recent back issues, statues and/or other collectibles, head here first. Owner Jamie Newbold and his staff have long been allies of Cool Jerk and I’d like to do what I can to drive new customers through their doors.

Getting to Southern California Comics is a little tricky, if you haven’t been there before. Please use the map above, or log in their address into you smartphone. In general, it’s located in an industrial park on the north side of Clairemont Mesa Boulevard, two traffic lights west of SR 163. Drive all the way to the back of the driveway and it’s on the left. It’s well-worth the trip to find this hidden gem of a shop.

Here’s Southern California Comics’ Facebook page. Go ahead and give ‘em a Like and be sure to come by Dec. 7th to pick off some holiday shopping!

Everyone knows October is Doc Splatter’s favorite month, and each year he celebrates DOCtoberFest with brand-new Gore Score comics. Subscribers to the weekly Cool Jerk emailer have been kept abreast of The Doc’s weekly shenanigans. But I know many people visit the home page yet don’t (yet) subscribe to the weekly Cool Jerk emailer, so I figure I should pop all the new strips onto the blog. Just click on a strip and it’ll take you to the appropriate page.

Do zombies poop?

The Doc gets schooled! (Actual letter!)

Ode to Adrienne Barbeau and her 1980s perm!

Doc Splatter put it to a vote— who’s the reigning Queen of Darkness?? (Actual letter!)

The votes come in, we have a pair of winners!

And, of course, you can get a signed copy of his book here!

At Darlene’s suggestion, I spent the last day of September and the first day of October creating another 24-Hour Comic.

What is 24-Hour Comics Day, you may be asking yourself? It’s an informal challenge thrown to comics creators — professionals and amateurs alike — to create a 24-page comic in 24 consecutive hours. And it has to be totally inclusive, start-to-finish within that time frame. That means no thumbnail sketches or layouts, no pre-made panels or dialogue, and no helpers! (Well, maybe you can have a helper. I’m not 100% certain about that. Regardless, I didn’t!)

This wasn’t my first 24-Hour Comic. I created one in 2007 (featuring Doc Splatter, .pdf available here) and it was grueling. This year’s was no easier. I went the autobio route and made a comic that discussed at length the myriad of musical influences that have shaped my tastes since childhood.

Many people who accept the challenge flock to neighborhood comics shops on the designated day (this year it was Saturday, Oct. 1) and participate amongst their peers. Me? I’m a recluse when I create comics. I like the solitude and things like “conversation” and “camaraderie” just get in my way. I’m in it to win it! So like the comic I created in 2007, I worked at home.

VIDEO: Three seconds out of 24 hours! (Click on the inset)

I started at 8:00am on Friday and had the final page scanned into the Mac a few minutes before 8:00am Saturday morning.

My process: Similar to how I create Cool Jerk, I would write the dialogue and captions on the Mac first, then print those pages out and rush them over to the lightbox. There, I would quickly pencil the layouts. Once I was happy with the page, I’d make any necessary changes on the Mac and reprint the dialogue and captions and then ink the final artwork.

I used Sharpie markers and Sigma Micron pens for the inks (I did the same in the 2007 24-Hour Comic). If I had used a brush and ink (like I do for Cool Jerk), I’d have surrendered after the third or fourth page. You maybe wouldn’t think so, but it takes A LOT more muscle control to use a brush. Hell, I get hand cramps when I ink Sunday-sized Cool Jerk strips, which usually takes about three hours. I’m happy to say I didn’t need to do any significant white-out corrections, and any major goofs were quickly edited either with Pentel correction fluid or in Photoshop.

So that’s the artwork. As far as the story, you’ll have to read it yourself. I admit it won’t be nominated for an Eisner Award anytime soon, but I’m pretty happy I wrote a cohesive story and illustrated it in one day. (And Darlene teared up when she got to the end.) As I said, it’s autobiographical, so it features Darlene, my sister, a fair chunk of my friends, many musical performers and chronologically accurate depictions of my hair. Plus two locator maps. And several poorly drawn vehicles. And a tampon.

BONUS! I live-Tweeted the whole day, at the top of each hour. Take a rare glimpse into the creative process!

Prepping to start 24-Hour Comic Day in 30 minutes. Extra coffee made and Sharpies laid out. #24hourcomicday

Officially starting #24hourcomic with this Tweet. You know, instead of actually drawing. #ohshit

Hour 1: did imposition and thumbnails for all 24 pages. Also saw @darleneeats off to work. THERE GOES MY SUPPORT GROUP! #24hourcomic

Hour 2: Busted out source material (calendars, concert tickets). Wrote dialogue for four pages. Stress Level CODE BEIGE! #24hourcomic

Hour 3: Wrote dialogue for another four pages (dialogue for 1/3 of the comic finished). Off to the drawing board! *fart* #24hourcomic

Hour 4: Penciled four pages, ready for inks! Also tried to reheat a burger from yesterday using the lizards’ sunlamps. FAIL. #24hourcomic

Hour 5: Penciled another four pages. Think it’s time to bust out the Sharpies. That burger sucked, btw. #24hourcomic

Hour 6: Wrote dialogue for another 5 pages, can’t tell if I’m kicking ass or if the ass is kicking me. Switching to inks next. #24hourcomic

Hour 7: Dialogue for more than half the book written, 1/3 penciled. I think I’m on track, but can’t tell. WHERE DID THE DAY GO? #24hourcomic

Hour 8: Fourteen pages penciled. I fear I’m making this harder than I need to. MUST DRAW SILHOUETTES AND BLACK SPLASH PAGES! #24hourcomic

Hour 9: Bit of a snag— had to redo 3 pages because I was unhappy. Thank God I’m not on a deadline for the world to see. #24hourcomic #ohshit

Hour 8: I’m one-third through my day, have 18 pages written (16 of them penciled). @darleneeats is home with foods! #24hourcomic #punchy

Hour 11: Nineteen pages written and penciled. WHOOPS— last hour was really Hour 10. I’m getting kinda loopy. #24hourcomic

Hour 12— the halfway point. I’ve written every page and have 21 of the 24 penciled. That’s the heavy lifting; Sharpies next! #24hourcomic

Hour 13: All pages penciled. Little bit behind because I needed to eat. Mild headache, sore ass. Tylenol to the rescue! #24hourcomic

Hour 14: I just finished inking my third page, minus some detail work that’ll have to come later. i.e. drawing The Smiths. #24hourcomic

Hour 15: Pretty sure I inked another three pages. Left wrist shot… and I’m right-handed! Coffee, please. #24hourcomic

Hour 16: Two and a half more inked pages. Wrist killing me; I think it’s time for TYLENOL! (and stretches) #24hourcomic #neveragain

Hour 17: I have 11 and a half pages inked… almost halfway finished! Getting fatigued— 5 Hour Energy Drink come to papa! #24hourcomic

Hour 18: Lost count of inked pages; need to go back into several of them for detail work. Surprisingly still awake and alert! #24hourcomic

Hour 19: I think I’m down to about seven pages needing inks… then it’s time for detail work. Shoot me now. #24hourcomic

Hour 20: Four more pages to ink, four more hours to go. Hand is dying. Remind me to NEVER DO THIS AGAIN! *slams head into desk* #24hourcomic

Hour 21: Twenty-three pages inked, but plenty of work still ahead. Losing muscle control in hands, bladder. #24hourcomic

Hour 22: All pages inked! Six pages require detail work and/or fixes. I can see the light at the end. Or is that the sunrise? #24hourcomic

Hour 23: The final stretch, firing up the scanner…. #24hourcomic

At the 24 hour mark: all pages scanned. Just a little post-production to make it all purty. CONQUERED!! #24hourcomic

Thought I’d do a quick recap of my Cool Jerk book signing at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach last Wednesday.

I arrived a bit early (I padded my drive time by an extra hour because it was raining pretty hard between San Diego and L.A.) and hung out with The Bug Crew— Mike, Jun and Greg. By time I got my table set up, justJENN and her youthful entourage (read: kids) arrived with boxes of cupcakes for book-buyers.

And let me tell you about the cupcakes. When I opened a box and peeked in, I burst into laughter. JENN had decorated each of the scrumptious red velvet cupcakes with a little Cool Jerk art element! So people could choose a Yuri Tomato cupcake, a Ghost of Paul Lynde cupcake or a projectile-puking Seashelly Dumpster cupcake (I ate that one). There were a couple bonus cupcakes adorned with images of my face and business card. (I worried if someone would choose those!)

Turnout was pretty good for a dreary* and humid Wednesday, and nearly everyone who stopped by the table and bought something was a new face! Thanks to Felix, Michelle and her family, Greg (and Alex, by proxy), Alan, Liz and Dianne (aka Pirate Space Queen) for adding Cool Jerk books to your Buy Pile this week! Also I got to meet comics writer Tracey Claverie. He was doing a signing for his comic, Scar Unit, right next to me. When there were lulls in patrons we ended up talking about comics influences, inappropriate cosplay and the best cheeseburgers in the tri-county area. Good guy, that Tracey.

Thanks again to The Comic Bug and justJENN, without whom the signing wouldn’t have been possible.

*Steve Jobs, R.I.P.

Hello, Southland Cool Jerk readers! Please take the day off work on Wednesday, October 5. Tell your boss you’re coming down with The Bug. But don’t say it’s The Comic Bug… because that’s where you’ll be heading to attend my store signing!

So come on down to lovely Manhattan Beach! I’ll be there from 5pm-8pm to lure unsuspecting comics buyers into the Cool Jerk universe. I’ll have ALL my books on hand — including the brand-new Cool Jerk OMG Color! Vol. 1 — ready to personalize to you or a loved one with a signature and a spiffy character drawing! I realize many of you may already have some/all of my books, but do you have a Cool Jerk t-shirt? Or a Canvas Panel? I’ll have those on hand as well!

And have I got a deal-sweetener for you! My friend and comics/graphic designer colleague justJENN is partnering with me and she’ll be providing some of her DELICIOUS CUPCAKES! (They’re so good, they were the Official Cupcake™ of the Paul and Darlene Wedding™!) You can’t buy them, tho— because they’re FREE when you buy a Cool Jerk collection (Hodabeast, Chickadoowa, Bimboozled, Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus), a Cool Jerk t-shirt or Canvas Panel!

If that wasn’t mouth-watering enough, I’ll be offering these bitchin’ deals:

• Buy one Cool Jerk collection for $12, get a FREE CUPCAKE! (already talked about that)
• Buy any two $12 Cool Jerk collections for $20! And you get TWO FREE CUPCAKES!
• NEWBIE DEAL: Buy Hodabeast AND Chickadoowa for $20, get Cool Jerk OMG Color! Vol. 1 FOR FREE! PLUS TWO CUPCAKES!
• Buy all three $12 Cool Jerk collections for $36, get Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus FOR FREE! PLUS OMG Color! PLUS FOUR CUPCAKES!

Geez. I should make all that into a chart. Speaking of, here’s a map I whipped up so you’ll know how to get there!

And here’s the Facebook invite, if you’re so inclined to RSVP.

Looking forward to this! Hope to see you there!

(That’s “Taking Care of Business,” as Elvis would say)

A couple weekends ago Darlene and I attended my 25th high school reunion in Carson City, Nev. This is the first one I’ve been to since the 10th in 1996 (I didn’t know there was a 15th, and I missed the 20th in 2006 because it was the same weekend as San Diego Comic-Con). It was a lovely affair, and I got to meet up and reminisce with many friends and former classmates, and even finally meet a few face-to-face for the first time. The festivities— ranging from a barbecue at Mark Funke’s home to golf and meet-ups at bars and restaurants— started Friday afternoon and lasted through Sunday. We only had time to socialize on Friday.

It was a lot of fun and doubly so to introduce Darlene to many kids (yeah, I know we’re all in our early forties… it’s a habit) I used to see in classes and pal around with. A couple kids (Wendy Johnston and… oh, jeez I forgot!) mentioned they still had my first business card from when I was a senior. Wow! How cool is that! Darlene hadn’t even seen that one before, so she suggested my next blog post should showcase my freelance business cards.

So here we go!

Here’s my first freelance business card, from my senior year. “86 RULES, DUDE!!” Can you tell I didn’t have access to a Macintosh?? This little beauty was created with a Sharpie marker (a dull one, by looks of it) and was likely created in less time than it took for me to write this paragraph.

I like to think I had other freelance business cards during college… but I did not. I probably used one of the business cards I created for the UNR Sagebrush newspaper staff, which also had a self-portrait on it. Regardless, here’s a set of six freelance cards from 1990 (photos taken by Greg Moyle).

When I moved to San Diego in 1994, those cards became obsolete. I didn’t have freelance business cards until I started professionally exhibiting at San Diego Comic-Con in 2003, and I would just use Cool Jerk cards (reminder to self: do a blog post showcasing all those cards). But after I quit The San Diego Union-Tribune in 2006, I realized I needed a card that showcased my mad infographics skillz, yo. So that’s when I created the current card.

Fifty years ago on this exact date, the first issue of The Fantastic Four (above) hit the newsstands. If you were around back then (I wasn’t) and had a couple of nickels, you could’ve ended up buying a comic book that became the most important comic in the last half-century.

That’s not an exaggeration. With Fantastic Four #1, writer Stan Lee and artist Jack Kirby ushered in The Marvel Age of Comics, a.k.a. Marvel Comics. You know… Spider-Man, Hulk, Thor, X-Men, Iron Man, Captain America,* Dr. Strange, Avengers, Daredevil, Ghost Rider, Punisher, Howard the Duck and Blade (all of which have also been made into motion pictures, or soon will be). The FF started it all.

* “Captain America? But he was around in the 1940s!” Well, it’s like this — With Fantastic Four #4, Lee and Kirby reintroduced Namor the Sub-Mariner, a WWII-era character published by Timely (the predecessor of Marvel Comics). A few months later, the Fantastic Four had become so popular that the Human Torch earned a solo spin-off in the pages of Strange Tales. And a few months after that, Lee and Kirby brought out of the Timely archives another popular character from the 1940s, Captain America (actually, it turned out to be an imposter) to battle the Torch. Reader reaction was tremendous so the “real” Cap was reintroduced into the Marvel Age of Comics in Avengers #4 (March 1964).

In early summer of 1978, I was riding bikes with my buddy Scott in Haslett, MI. We each had a buck of spending money and I distinctly recall us wandering into Jim’s Party Store (in Michigan at that time, “party” meant “liquor”). We each bought two comic books and a Faygo soda, which I think ran exactly $1.00. My choices were Fantastic Four #197, Avengers #174 and Grape. Scott chose X-Men #112, Defenders #62 and Old-Fashioned Root Beer.

Fantastic Four was the first comic book I ever bought and I liked it so much, I decided to keep getting it each month. For 33 years. I also liked it enough to get the 196 issues that preceded my first purchase (plus annuals, etc.). Ended that quest in 1997. So yeah, I guess you could say I’m a fan.

I’m certain many others are commemorating this anniversary, too. I won’t even try to compete with their prose. I’ll just say that through thick and thin, I’ll be getting this book each month indefinitely.

Happy birthday, Fantastic Four!

(ps I was going to upload another heart-stopping photo of me eating a raspberry-filled powdered donut while flipping though Fantastic Four #1, but I didn’t want to risk getting the camera all sticky.)