San Diego Comic-Con International is back for reals this year. I say “for reals” because the last two summers SDCCI had to do things virtual, and their mini-convention in Nov. 2021 wasn’t really much of an affair. But hey, the pandemic is over, right?? So you’ll see Darlene and me in Small Press as we’ve been every year since 2003, table K-9.

And if that isn’t a perfect segue, I don’t know what is!

This year we’re debuting a new book: 88 Hours— Lost and Scared. (Or 88 Hours if you’re nasty.) It’s an off-brand format with an off-brand true story of our dog, Doctor, and how he went missing over five days due to a negligent pet sitter. It’s an emotional, multimedia tale filled with twists, turns and surprises, and luckily a happy ending. We’ve been fulfilling pre-convention orders all week and if you’re not able to make it to SDCC in person, you can order one online at the Cool Jerk store. The book is 32 pages, full color and retails for $10 ($1 of each sale goes to A Way Home For Dogs, a local charity run by Babs Fry, who played an instrumental role in 88 Hours).

We’re exceptionally proud of this book and, not gonna lie, it took more than two years to complete due to PTSD. Look for a write-up in The San Diego Union-Tribune this week!

Beyond 88 Hours, the Cool Jerk table will largely be populated with all the familiar products and publications, including:

• All Cool Jerk collections — Hodabeast, Chickadoowa, Bimboozled and Thinkulus — and Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus. Get ’em signed by yours truly!

• The Mightily Marvelous Cool Jerk Fun Book! It’s my first all-ages product, if you can believe that. *looks through archive, believes it* It’s a magazine-sized laugh-maker filled with puzzles, games, mazes and other fun stuff. A mere $7.

• Like, For Shore! The Complete Works. It’s three volumes collecting more than 170 college-era strips that preceded Cool Jerk. Armpit, Puppy and the rest of the Spittle Beach gang are all there, and I remastered nearly every strip in graphite. The first printing is in a very limited run of 75 signed-and-numbered copies, and most are gone. Sold as a set, $18.

• Canvas Panels are here for $15 a pop, or $40 if you want a long-form canvas (contains a whole strip, not just one panel), which I can custom-make for you if you order one up in person or online.

• Cool Jerk Enamel Pins. They’re $10 and you get one-of-a-kind original art with each pin. Choose among the COOL word balloon, JERK thought balloon and/or the ubiquitous CENSORED bar… perfect for any jacket, backpack or tongue piercing!

Attendees will also find The Girl Who Kicked The Donut Habit (Darlene’s second comic) and the Jerkopædia (Official Style Guide to Cool Jerk), both of which I’ll have on hand in limited supply. Also running a bit low on T-shirts, but I’ll bring what I have.

And last but not least, here’s a convenient map I whipped up while getting my second Moderna booster.

Click it to embiggen it!

Hope to see you at the show! Wear a mask and stay safe!