Some Cool Jerk news items for August and September:

• The Thinkulus signing at Southern California Comics was terrific, though I should have said it was only for an hour (instead of five hours). Everyone minus James and Rebecca Hicks (Little Vampires) and Charles Apple seemed to show up in the last 45 minutes of the signing! It was a sweltering day and Southern California Comics was a gracious host. Thanks to everyone who battled the heat and traffic to buy some stuff, incl. the aforementioned James & Rebecca, Charles (who came down from Orange County!), Nathan, Ben, Joe, Ricky, Ram & Deanna, Chris & Ernie, Richard & Shannon, Dennis and several others whose name I didn’t catch!

• Attention, Los Angeles Cool Jerk readers: You can now get all my books — including Thinkulus — at The Comic Bug in Manhattan Beach. Ask owner Mike Wellman to steer you to the spot and tell him I sent you!

• Attention, Burbank Cool Jerk readers: There’s only one store north of San Diego that carries The Girl with the Donut Tattoo… and that’s House of Secrets on Olive Ave. You can also find all Cool Jerk and Doc Splatter books there, too (incl. Thinkulus)!

• Few people have ever seen my original art. Be one of them and attend the ArtLab ¡Viva Comics! art show and exhibit, opening Saturday (Sept. 21) at 7pm. Hosted by Batton Lash and Jackie Estrada, this gathering of San Diego-local comics creators is the second-such art exhibition in as many years. Come to the gallery, have some wine, cheese, brownies and conversation with Dan Bois, Rebecca Hicks, Billy Martinez, Eric Shanower, Jeromy Cox, Mark Irwin, Phil Yeh, Jorge Pacheco, Barbara Marker, Lee Kohse, Mary Fleener, Johnny B. Gerardy, Rod Mojica, Emily Rocha, Wendy All, Jon Esparza, Dean La Crone, Joe Phillips, Beth Sotelo, Karyl Miller, Matthew Walker and more! ArtLab is at 3536 Adams Ave. (between the 805 and SR15). Bring some folding money because everyone will have stuff for sale!

• Darlene and I are on a podcast— Nerd For A Living (hosted by Adron and Wendy Buske). Good and oft-times amusing conversation discussing everything from self-publishing comics and conventioneering to food blogging and the perils of breaking one’s drawing thumb. Bookmark their site— it’s a valuable asset for creative types trying to make a living at what they love to do.