One book per Jackie O, please!

San Diego Comic-Con International 2010 is all but a fading memory. Only a slightly cracked voice and a small pile of mementos (freebees or otherwise) are here to remind me that I spent a solid five-day work week on my feet, talking to friends and making new ones. Oh, and Darlene and I took a slew of photos. But I’ll get to those later in my annual SDCCI Photogasm Recap, as tradition dictates.

This year’s ‘Con marked the worldwide debut of Bimboozled, the third volume of collected Cool Jerk strips. It was serendipitous that I asked my long-time pal John Layman to write the foreword several months ago. Who knew he’d go on to get nominated for — and ultimately win — an Eisner Award for Outstanding New Series? (I did, secretly) His Image comic Chew is the talk (taste?) of the town, and I’m really happy for him. Bravo, Mighty Layman. Bravo.

This year’s coupon — available ONLY to subscribers — was for a free, full-color poster print with the purchase of Bimboozled. The print was an extremely limited run and they all went to subscribers who participated. Thank you! My gift to you for supporting small press and independent cartoonists, and for being a subscriber!

This comic-con had a lot of exciting events: “Scott Pilgrim,” “The Walking Dead,” “Thor,” “Green Lantern,” “True Blood,” “Glee” (?) and scores of other TV shows and movies dominated the buzz, as did a face-stabbing in Hall H on Saturday and rumors about if Comic-Con is going to leave San Diego in the coming years.

Sadly, dozens of familiar faces (familiar to Team Cool Jerk, that is) didn’t attend Comic-Con this year, for one reason or another (conflicting schedules, passes selling out, the economy, moving out of the area, etc.). Missed you guys! You know who you are.

But I did get to say hi to a lot of friends and allies of Cool Jerk: Tom Bray and his posse (Tom was instrumental in getting Cool Jerk into multiple newspapers back in the early 1990s), Richard Foley, Jay Halili and Jamie Lim, Earthdog, Marc Mason, Alex G., Randy, Eric (and Jocelyn, by proxy), Jim Burns and Jason Childs (responsible for this strip, swear to God), Wendy the Rollergirl who kicked my ass last year, Lacie, Brian, Dennis Schamp, Trina Mills & her brother and pop, Kim the Catgirl & her brother and pop, Armando, Magic Snapshot (hug to you, dear lady!), Kurt Snibbe, Marian (and Majorie, by proxy), Bridget Crosby and Josh (!!), Keith G. and Kady, David S., Donald and @kirbiecravings, Jonathan Solomon, Larry C., Shaylan and Ty (only reps from the Poway Posse this year), James Michael’s emissary whose name escapes me, Grace and Araceli, a slew of former co-workers (Anita, Nel, Michelle, Rose and Jeff, Luis and Neil), Steve Yatson and Rebecca Watson from Poser/Manga Studio, and @acomicbookgirl. Thanks to Mike, the other Mike, Matthew, Todd, John, Tak, Hans from Peru, Kim’s co-conspirator Patrick, Bailey, Jonathan, Dan, Justin and Lauri, Rob and his boy Matt for stopping by and making my acquaintance (or vice-versa).

Even though I was super-busy, I was able to catch up/spend some extra time with pals and colleagues Jodi Kurland, Sarah Kuhn and Jeff Chen, Kevin Church, Ming Doyle, Daniel and Dawna Davis, Ryan Claytor, Ben and Andrea Walker, Naomi and Jose Cabrera, Bavarian Erin and Superfro, Deb Aoki, Tyler and Wendy Chin-Tanner, James Hicks, Chris Wisnia, Phil Foglio, Abby Denson (and Matt Loux, who I met) and Ren Bates. JustJenn gets a big virtual hug for letting us spend so much time with her. XOXO

I also got to meet fellow creators (and first-time Small Press exhibitors) Audra Furuichi & Scott Yoshinaga (mahalo!) and steampunk simian Chet Phillips, which was a whole lot of awesome! I understand they all had a good show.

It’s nearly impossible to mention you all. I hope I didn’t leave out anyone who’s reading this!

Special thanks goes to the other half of Team Cool Jerk, my wonderful wife Darlene! Among her many in-front-of-and-behind-the-scenes escapades, she ran into one of her five Island Guys on the way to getting me lunch! “OMG! PACEY CON!” *swooon*

Photos to come!

What the heck?!? Keep reading!

• Debuting at SDCCI: my FOURTH comics collection, Cool Jerk Vol. 3: Bimboozled! Unlike other trilogies (“The Matrix,” “Star Wars,” “Smokey and the Bandit”) these books keep getting better and better! Like Hodabeast and Chickadoowa that precede it, Bimboozled is loaded with more than 200 strips, and nearly 15% of them are Bimboozled-exclusive (i.e. they appear ONLY in the book, and haven’t/will never be online)! Sketches, Director’s Commentary, Outtakes, the insane-o Index… all there! Foreword by CHEW creator John Layman! $12.

• Of course I’ll have plenty of copies of Hodabeast (Cool Jerk Vol. 1), Chickadoowa (Cool Jerk Vol. 2) and Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus to help fatten up your library! The Cool Jerk volumes run $12 a pop, and Doc Splatter is $8.

• Didn’t get a Cool Jerk T-shirt last year? They were pretty popular so I did a reorder. It’s probably my favorite design so far (it was Darlene’s idea). It comes in a myriad of sizes, in both crew neck (M/F) and ladies’ tanktops. $15.

• IT’S ART, YO!
Now this THIS I’m really excited about. I’m debuting Cool Jerk Panel Canvases at Comic-Con! What you’re looking at in the photo above is an assortment of small, gessoed canvases stretched onto a wood frames. Darlene and I pored over hundreds and HUNDREDS of my comics, and chose 40 panels that either consistently made us laugh and/or would be a sure-fire crowd pleaser. Supply is VERY LIMITED — we hand-manufactured only about 60 of these bad boys; for most of the panels, there was only one copy made. First-come, first-served! You have to see ’em to believe ’em. Perfect for your desk, wall or gallery! IT’S A POCKET MASTERPIECE! $25.

• ALSO debuting at Comic-Con this year, Cool Jerk original art! Yes, you read that right. You’ve seen ’em in Chickadoowa and Bimboozled. I’m selling the Sharpie roughs I use to create Cool Jerk (click here for more on that), and each sheet usually has two strips roughed out on it. Ready for the price of these one-of-a-kind keepsakes? READY?!? $5. That’s right. A five-spot. A fin. A Folding Lincoln. THAT’S CRAZY CHEAP!

• How about my 24-Hour Comic starring Doc Splatter? I’ll have a few of those, plus stickers, NEW glow-in-the-dark buttons, window decals and other Cool Jerk shwag you can’t possibly live without!

• As always, I’m more than happy to stink up your sketchbook with some pencil-and-ink action! Gratuities and donations to the HornCo Fund are always appreciated, of course. =:^)

• If you’ve been to my table before, good news! Team Cool Jerk is in the exact same spot we’ve been at since 2003! Here’s a map I whipped up as a refresher!

Click it to Comic-Con-Size it!

Lots of good stuff here, folks! If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t be doing this — I really appreciate your support, enthusiasm and friendship.

Well, not yet, actually… but I hope you will soon!

Here’s the skinny:
• Contains more than 200 Cool Jerk strips, picking up from Cool Jerk Vol. 2: Chickadoowa!
• Nearly 15% of the strips within were created ONLY for this book, not ever having been seen by human eyeballs!
• You know those full-newspaper-page comics I did for The San Diego Union-Tribune? The ones that tied in with San Diego Comic-Con in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2005? They’re in there!
• Like all my books, all strips have been digitally remastered to better than 600dpi resolution (in comparison, the ones you see online are 72dpi).
• Also like previous volumes, it contains all the extras you’ve come to expect: sketchbook sketches, cutting-room floor scraps, director’s commentary on every single strip and the anal-retentive index! How many books do you buy that compels, nay, FORCES you to reread it another three or four times? That’s almost like getting FOUR books in ONE! That’s added value!
• Foreword by CHEW creator John Layman!
• Limited print run of 1,000 copies!

Its debut will be at San Diego Comic-Con International, July 21-25. After the show I’ll make it available in the Cool Jerk store. $12 for 144 pages of Best Book Ever.

Team Cool Jerk, San Diego Comic-Con 2009

Emerald City ComiCon • Seattle
March 13 & 14
Cool Jerk’s second ‘con appearance in the land of Twin Peaks, coffee conglomerates and sasquatches.

WonderCon • San Francisco
April 2-4
Fourth year in a row! Look for Team Cool Jerk in the same spot as always (Artists Alley, across from the Furries yiff pile)!

Phoenix Comicon • Phoenix
May 27-30
Delighted to be back for the first time since 2006!

Comic-Con International • San Diego
July 21-25
Eight years in a row, in the same spot as always (Small Press K10, next to the restrooms and vomitorium)!

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

Here we have Chris Gore of G4TV, hanging out at the Cool Jerk table. He wrote the foreword to my third book, Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus, which debuted at San Diego Comic-Con. He was really gracious to Tweet his location so his many stalkers followers could find him at my table. The banners behind me are brand new, thanks to my longtime friend and Cool Jerk ally Nikki at Instant Sign Center, Reno, NV.

And speaking of gore, here’s a “booth babe” for some “chicks with chainsaws” thing.

Here’s comics writer/blogger/gadfly Kevin Church (with drink) and Santa Barbara’s favorite pop culture pundits, Lance & Carla Hoffman. Every single photo I have of Kevin has him drinking something (see inset).

Here’s Eric again with a sketch of Doc Splatter chainsawing everyone’s favorite emo vampire Edward Cullen (his request). “Twilight” was this year’s favorite punching bag.

Spider-Woman and Magneto stopped by to pick up my Cool Jerk books Chickadoowa and Hodabeast. Then they zapped me with a combo venom blast/magnetic pulse and took off.

A drawing of Mr. Pinkle for a girl’s sketchbook.

You’ll remember my friend Shay from last year, dressed as Molotov Cocktease. This year she’s rocking the Dark Phoenix thing.

Yes, that’s Megan Rae in a Dalek dress. She’s holding a plunger and an eggbeater. Check out the shoes. HILARIOUS!! One of my favorite costumes!

That would be director John Landis giving me the thumbs up, because he asked me to sign his copy of Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus. (It’s dedicated to him, after all)

Aw. One thing you can count on at Comic-Con are couples who want to pose for photos. Here’s Batgirl and Batman (circa 1960s TV), Orion Slave Girl and Captain Christopher Pike and Jean Grey as Phoenix with her mentor Professor X.

Here’s a funny moment: Mrs. The Narrator Darlene, our friends Superfro and BavarianErin and O.G. Poway Posse founding member Nathan eyeballing a 6’3″ walking bunny rabbit. No lie.

Did I lie?

I usually can’t get away from my table but for a minute or two, but luckily I was able to squeeze off pix of Dr. Mrs. The Monarch (from “Venture Brothers”), Magma from the New Mutants (I think) and old-school Black Canary (she was also dressed as Batgirl, above).

Speaking of “Venture Brothers,” here’s a squad of henchmen.

And before you know it, POW! Jay Garrick (the original Flash) kicked some ass!

Darlene was able to get shots of most of the “True Blood” cast! Michelle Forbes, Rutina Wesley, Deborah Ann Woll, Anna Paquin, Alexander Skarsgard and Stephen Moyer. There were more cast members but after Darlene got the pix of Stephen and Alexander the lens got all foggy (YOU know what I’m talkin’ about…!).

Here’s O.G. Poway Posse founding members Ben DiAnna modeling the brand-new Cool Jerk shirt, with his brother Joe in the background dropping a Photobomb.

The Poway Posse is ever-expanding! Here’s Dana, Robert, Ben and John, chillaxin’ at the Cool Jerk table before heading off to causing trouble.

More couples! Here’s Black Widow and Nick Fury, Director of S.H.I.E.L.D., Scarlett and Snake Eyes from G.I. Joe, and a couple of reprehensible hooligans (barely) wearing matching outfits.

That’s me and Robert Englund! You’ll remember him as the benevolent visiting alien Willie in the acclaimed TV mini-series “V.” I gave him a copy of Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus. (It’s dedicated to him, after all)

Here’s Darlene and me flanking our friend Robyn Bremner at the Marvel booth, where she was working that weekend. She gave us maple syrup from her native land (Canada).

Here’s Jodi Kurland and Nathan Pierce sharing in some morning waffles, with real maple syrup from Robyn.

No shortage of “Venture Brothers” characters getting cosplayed at the ‘Con. Here’s Dr. Mrs. The Monarch with her Pupa Twins.

USAToday Pop Candy’s Whitney Matheson with her copy of Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus. OMG! She’s so awesome! *swoon*

Probably the most-photographed person at Comic-Con, here’s my dear friend Jessica Nigri as Pikachu. Once she heard that her male twin Pokéyman was a recurring character in Cool Jerk, she jumped onto the sign-up sheet and joined the ever-growing army of Cool Jerk subscribers!

Another one of the most-photographed people at Comic-Con (proof: look behind my right arm), here’s The Lollipop King from “South Park.” I actually know his secret identity and he’s a good pal. I have to confess, I lost a little bit of my innocence that day — I saw things I can’t unsee (and neither can YOU!).

Cool Jerk subscriber Wren as Zatanna. I might be mistaken, but I think she was working for Stark Industries a couple days later. (Wren, if I’m wrong, pls. correct me!)

Vermont’s ambassador of keen fashion style (and new Cool Jerk subscriber) Gina D’Angelo with a copy of Hodabeast to read on her long flight home. She was dressed in Dr Girlfriend’s mall outfit.

As always, here’s a little somethin’ somethin’ for the ladies. That’s Nightwing, evidently on his day off from patrolling the alleys of Blüdhaven.

As is tradition here at Cool Jerk International, I’ve uploaded the SDCCI ’09 recap, complete with photos and linkylinks!

Next, I want to say thanks to the thousands of people who came by my table this year. Many got a personal introduction to Cool Jerk, many came by to say “hi” and many came with folding money to get some books, T-shirts and whatnot. A few of you brought sketchbooks for me to junk up. Several stopped in to hand-deliver a letter to The Doc. Some came by for interviews, photos or just to stare at me uncomfortably for long stretches of time. It’s all good!

I’d like to personally say hi and thanks to Will Bento, Matan Chaffee, Chris and Tara Mobley, David Poller, Armando Vargas, Kim the Catgirl (missed you on Sunday!), Marc Mason, Steve Yatson, Earthdog & the Mrs., Alex Gamboa & the future Mrs., Zachary Simon, Nicole, Dorian Wright, Ming Doyle, Jessiga Nigri, Randy, Ken Rolow, Eric & Jocelyn, Daniel Wiegand, Vincent, PJ Perez, Peter from Newhall, Keith Garcia (KEITH!), Bethany Jordan, Gina D’Angelo, Nicholas, Dennis from Comic Gallery, Larry Williams, Armac (HeroClix hook-up), Carob Sue (who snuck in on Sunday just to say hi), Doug Thigpen, Chris (Pizzaboy) Coleman and Jen, Jamie & Jay, Whitney Matheson, James Sime, Jonathan Solomon, Joe Hughes & Cameron Balint, Eduardo, Richard Foley for extending the comic-con another week, the voluminous Poway Posse (Nathan, Joe, Ben, Barry, Mack, John, Ricky, Robert, Dana, Shaylan and “Laime” by proxy) and I know there were many many more please forgive me but my typing hand is starting to spasm & smoke!

But before I go, I’d be remiss to not give shout-outs to colleagues and allies Kevin Church, JustJenn, Snarkydork, Chris Wisnia & Britton Walters, Ryan Claytor, Paul Friedrich, Ben & Andrea Walker, Daniel & Dawna Steamcrow, Superfro and BavarianErin, Jacie Landeros, David Malki !, Robyn Bremner, John Layman, Deb Aoki, Mick & Holly Gray and Chris Gore (and his daughter Haley). And, of course, to Darlene aka Mrs. The Narrator.

San Diego Comic-Con International is this week (July 23-26, plus Wednesday the 22nd if you have a four-day pass) and IT SOLD OUT! If you’re one of the lucky quarter-million who’ll be there, here’s the skinny:

&#149 Debuting at SDCCI: my THIRD Cool Jerk collected edition Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus! This book, if I may be so bold, is easily the best $8 you’ll spend at my table! It’s true! 60 pages chock full of EVERY SINGLE Doc Splatter comic strip (1988-2006), plus commentary, sketches, photos, video(!), karaoke(?!?), fashion tips, an anal-retentive index and more!

&#149 Of course I’ll have plenty of copies of Hodabeast (Cool Jerk Vol. 1) and Chickadoowa (Cool Jerk Vol. 2)! Each compilation contains hundreds of strips and lots of extras, like sketches, outtakes, director’s commentary and an index! Each book is $12 or both for $20!

&#149 I’ll also be debuting a brand-new Cool Jerk T-shirt! It’s probably my favorite design so far (it was Darlene’s idea). It comes in a myriad of sizes, in both crew neck and ladies’ tanktops. $15!

&#149 Didn’t get the 24-Hour Comic starring Doc Splatter? last year? I’ll have a few of those, plus stickers, button packs, window decals and other Cool Jerk goods you can’t possibly live without!

&#149 Want a cool freebee? I’ll have new Yuri Tomato character card (fourth in an ongoing series!) and a special somethin’ somethin’ for everyone who buys a Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus — AN AXE IN THE HEAD! Joke. No, a different freebee.

&#149 If you’ve been to my table before, good news! Team Cool Jerk is in the exact same spot we’ve been since 2003! It has a new look, which should draw peoples’ attentions from across the convention center! And speaking of, here’s a little map I whipped up while you were getting the mail.

&#149 As always, I’m more than happy to junk up your sketchbook with some awesome pencil-and-ink action! Donations to the HornCo Fund are appreciated, of course. =:^)

If you can’t tell, I’m really excited about this year’s ‘Con. I’m looking forward to seeing you there!

I’ll start of with some Wil Wheaton action. He’s got a great blog and is a nice guy in person. Those be his devil horns, tho.

Bear with a gun. That’s all I know.

That’s the Owlship. You may be confused now, but come May 2009 you’ll thank me.

Here’s Kevin Pereira and Olivia Munn (G4’s Attack of the Show) interviewing a Catwoman.

My tablemate to the north was — once again — the lovely and hilarious Jose Cabrera of Crying Macho Man.

Across the main hall you could find Phoenix’ own Daniel and Dawna Davis of Steamcrow. They’re good friends and wicked(ly) talented.

Here’s my friend Shay with both Cool Jerk books! She’s dressed as a character from “Venture Brothers” whose first name is “Molotov” and the last name isn’t “Cocktail.”

Here’s consumer whore Eric Kocol with a terrific t-shirt. He had to swing by to get Chickadoowa.

There’s Robert Culp (white hair, seated) and William Katt (foreground) from “The Greatest American Hero.”

Here’s the XY chromosome variant of Power Girl. My friend Earthdog calls this “crossplay.” Power Girl was really nice and fun to talk to.

Another example of “crossplay,” here’s the XX chromosome variant of Booster Gold (holding Skeets for good measure).

“Wonder Twin powers… ACTIVATE!” Where’s that damn monkey with the bucket?

Hamster! This pocketful of cute was created by Jodi Kurland.

Trianna. “Venture Brothers” is exceptionally popular this year. Pretty much every recurring character was memorialized in costume.

Now this was one of the most-unexpected costumed couples I’d seen at the show. Bravo, guys. Very Professional.

Hello, Kitty! Hello, Kitty Pryde! Hello Cat(woman)!

Black Cat & Punisher looking to open up a can of vigilante whoop-ass.

Here I am personalizing a copy of Chickadoowa for someone. And by “someone” I mean “a lucky bastard who bought this book!”

Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D., making the streets safe for Americans, dammit!

Nick Fury giving the “V for Victory” sign after blowing away a bunch of Hydra operatives.

That’s me and James Sime at the USAToday Pop Candy Meetup. He’s a gent. His comic shop Isotope is the crown jewel of San Francisco.

And here’s the hostess with the mostess, Whitney Matheson. She invited me (and nine other cartoonists) to participate in the first-ever Pop Candy Twitter mini-comic!

Can you find Shrek in the crowd?

“So what’re you going to dress up as for Comic-Con?” “Oh, I don’t know… I was thinking TETRIS.”

And here’s Plastic Man. Dude! What’s with the reach-around?!?

As per usual, here’s the SDCCI ’08 recap, complete with photos and linkylinks! It was so fun, I wish it were every weekend! I’d like to say thanks to everyone who came by the table and spent some time checking out the ‘Jerk (yeah, I mean me). There are too many to name but I’d like to do a shout-out to Earthdog, Alex Gamboa, Zachary Simon, James Hicks, Todd, Jamie Lim & Bethany Jordan (the ladies couldn’t make it but each sent an emissary to pick up the new CJ book), Richard Foley, Tucson Richard, Dari, Randy, Erik, Tim O’Connor, Matan, Tara & Chris, Clay, Jay, Lonnie, Duncan, Lacie, Steve Yatson, Marc Mason, John Layman, Eric, Keith Garcia, Armando, David Poller, Arturo, Kim the catgirl (and her mom), Elisa, Mary, Alan and the ever-growing Poway Posse (Ben, Joseph, Barry, Mack & Shay). Also to the “mystery gal” who bought the new book on Saturday when I wasn’t there! And of course it was great to meet/visit with/consume foods with Daniel & Dawna, JustJenn, BeaucoupKevin, SnarkyDork, Sister Mary Shovelface & Superfro, Jose & Naomi, Ryan & Candace and Jacie. And thanks most of all to the other half of Team Cool Jerk: Darlene!

I wish I could name all of you who came by to chat, get sketches, buy t-shirts or just stand and stare at me uncomfortably… but my typing hand just blew a gasket. Thanks to all — mentioned or otherwise — for being part of the best Comic-Con so far!

San Diego Comic-Con International is this week (July 23-27) and IT SOLD OUT! If you’re one of the lucky quarter-million who’ll be there, here’s the low-down:

&#149 Debuting at SDCCI: the SECOND Cool Jerk collected edition Chickadoowa! OMG! This is the good stuff, Maynard! Fresh off the presses, Chickadoowa contains more than 200 strips, but here’s the kicker: more than A QUARTER of them are ALL NEW and HAVE NEVER BEEN SEEN BY HUMAN EYEBALLS! It’s true! Plus, it contains all the fun extra stuff you’ve come to expect from Hodabeast (Cool Jerk Vol. 1) like sketches, outtakes, director’s commentary and an index! Each book is $12 for hours upon hours of laughter and enjoyment!

&#149 Also making its San Diego debut is my 24-Hour Comic starring Doc Splatter! It’s the printed version of the comic I created last October (24 pages of comic written & drawn in 24 consecutive hours). What’s extra cool is that it directly ties in with Chickadoowa so you’ll HAVE to get one! It’s a mere $2 — less than .09&#162 per page!

&#149 If you’ve been to my table before, good news! Team Cool Jerk is in the exact same spot as the past five years! Here’s a little map I whipped up while you were shaving.

&#149 Team Cool Jerk will also have T-shirts, mini-comics, stickers, button packs, window decals and other effluvia for sale!

&#149 As always, I’m more than happy to junk up your sketchbook with some awesome pencil-and-ink action! Donations to the HornCo Fund are appreciated, of course. =:^)