Fun for all ages, races, genders and stages of undress!

Indeed! Free domestic shipping on purchases made at the Cool Jerk store until Jan. 1, 2011! So if you’ve been on the fence about adding some Cool Jerk books to your library or maybe have some holiday shopping to wrap up, NOW’S THE TIME!

(Sorry, my foreign friends — international shipping rates still apply!)

By popular request. (Will Puppy be the new Gyros girl?)

I just shipped a book order out this weekend. Not terribly newsworthy in and of itself, and normally not worth mentioning in my blog, but this a little different. It was to Greece.

A few years ago at San Diego Comic-Con, I met a fellow named Dimitris Sakaridis. He came up to my table and checked out my comic. Either he liked what he saw or my mind-controlling brainwave emitter worked, because he bought a copy of Hodabeast. While I was signing it off to him, he signed up for my weekly e-mailer.

When Hodabeast was distributed via Diamond in 2008, I spotted an online recommendation from Greece. It was in Greek, but I used Babelfish to “translate” it:

COOL JERK VOLUME 1: HODABEAST (Hornco Press – p285) Only that I know for this comic he is that editor, Dimitris [Sakaridis] it worships him. (Unless I tangle him with some other… Hopefully not). That means that exist enough probabilities it is really good. Judge better alone you. (Editor’s Note: No, you do not tangle him. COOL JERK is his exceptionally entertainer, astute comic strip and author, Paul Horn, which I [personally] knew in San Diego, it is a horribly cool type – and by no means jerk. Buy this comic!)

So this week I got an order from Dimitris, with these strict instructions: “Please, please, please, could you make it “to Dimitris – a real cool jerk!”? Thanks!” Due to a PayPal snafu (my fault), I didn’t have an option for overseas shipping & handling (i.e. $0), so I essentially made about $2 on the sale. But no worries. I let Dimitris know his book was on its way. He replied shortly afterward:

Hey Paul!

Thanks for the heads up. I’m actually trying to promote Cool Jerk to everyone I know here, since 2007. I met you briefly that year in San Diego Comic Con. You were actually the first exhibitor/creator I met on preview night and I’ve always been sorta emotionally attached to your strip. It being really cool and well made helps a lot!

I’ll do my best to convince other people here to order your books. Fix the shipping charge thing soon.

Best wishes
Dimitris

P.S.: Seriously, I feel bad about the no shipping thing. If I don’t manage to get more people to order your books, I’ll order a few more myself and start giving them away to those I love as gifts.

Nice guy, that Dimitris. People like him make the world a smaller place. And to all of you readers from outside the U.S., I fixed that shipping glitch so YOU’LL HAVE TO PONY UP SOME EUROS LIKE EVERYONE ELSE!

EPILOGUE: I’ve learned Dimitris is a reviewer and one of the head honchos at Comicdom, Greece’s premier comics news site. Also, he’s spearheading Greece’s only comic convention, ComicdomCon. If your travels take you to the birthplace of Heracles, Pythagoras and the Olympics, do what you can to help support the industry, won’t you?

Today (Nov. 26) marks the in-store debut of my first book, Cool Jerk Vol. 1: Hodabeast! Just in time for Christmas shopping and Black Friday!

So now you can just head over to your Friendly Neighborhood Comics Shop and get your hands on the ‘Beast (and if they don’t have it, fret not because they can reorder it). And since it’s considered a “graphic novel” or “trade paperback,” it might not be where the new comics usually go. So ask for it if you don’t see it. Of course a store-bought Hodabeast is awesome… but if you want one that’s personalized to you, you can always order directly from me!

I know I’ve talked about this book for quite a while — and you already know it’s filled with the first couple hundred Cool Jerk strips, sketches, outtakes, a director’s commentary and an index — so I’ll let someone else do it for me (thanks, Matt!).

HODABEAST IN STORES SOON!
Indeed, Cool Jerk allies and sleeper agents! Soon you’ll be able to get your very own copy of my first book Hodabeast AT YOUR LOCAL COMICS SHOP! It’s true, these things I say! But here’s where you have to get involved: You need to go to your local comics shop and ASK THEM TO ORDER A COPY OR TWO! Hodabeast is on Page 285 of the September Diamond Previews catalog; orders from this catalog will be filled for November distribution! Just in time for the holidays!

Seriously, friends. It’d be sooo awesome if you were to nudge that comic shop owner to order a couple/few copies. And also because, hey — this is what I do for a living! =;^)

Luke Foster of COMICON.com had some nice things to say about my book, Hodabeast. COMICON.com is a great site with lots of reviews, interviews and other features. Thanks to Luke for the insightful review (and to Jennifer M. Contino for helping out behind the scenes).

Bring your sketchbook and some folding money to Brave New World in Newhall, CA… I’ll be doing an in-person signing there next week, pimping my super-awesome book Hodabeast, Cool Jerk T-shirts and meeting comics fans! It’s true! See me there in the pasty, non-tanned flesh Thursday, Sept. 6, 2007. It’ll be like Comic-Con except A) no cost to get in, and B) it’ll smell nicer! And why Thursday? Well, that’s NEW COMICS DAY, chief (it’s usually every Wednesday but Labor Day will bump shipments to Thursday). The folks at BNW are truly awesome. Their shop was up for an Eisner Award this year (Spirit of Comics Retailing category) and they’ve been loving Cool Jerk long time. So if you’re in a 300-mile radius of the Magic Mountain area, come by!

“Closing out the week: Paul Horn brings my all-time favorite web comic to trade paperback. Check out what makes COOL JERK so damned much fun. Trust me.”

Marc Mason is a comics reviewer who spends as much time (probably more) eyeballing independent/alternative comics as the mainstream stuff… and he’s done a write-up of my Cool Jerk anthology Hodabeast here! He’s got a LOT of other reviews on his site so be sure to bookmark his main page: http://www.comicswaitingroom.com and/or subscribe to his blog feed: http://comicswait.blogspot.com

Hodabeast!
The first volume of collected Cool Jerk is now available for order (just click the link above)! Hodabeast collects the couple hundred strips I did for the Reno Gazette-Journal (and, through them, other Gannett newspapers), all digitally remastered for this book! Within the 144 pages of pure comedy gold you’ll also delight to commentary on each strip, sketches and a comprehensive index. Every book is autographed on the cover and you’ll have the option to get your copy personalized with a sketch inside, if you so choose.

If you’re going to San Diego Comic-Con International July 26-29, you’ll be able to find Team Cool Jerk in the same spot as the past four years. I’ll have plenty of Hodas for sale and I’m planning a special freebee for the first 100 buyers!