I noticed a lot of San Diego (and San Diego-area) regulars didn’t make it to Comic-Con last month. Maybe it was the high cost of tickets, maybe it was the near-impossibility to get tickets, maybe it was a conflict with work, school or vacation. Whatever the reason, I’m holding another “Cool Jerk Comic-CAN” for those who could not attend SDCC.

Cool Jerk Vol. 4: Thinkulus is my newest collection, and I’ll be having a book signing at Southern California Comics in Kearny Mesa on August 31. That’s a Saturday, so I hope to catch as many of you on your day off (or at least on your lunch hour) as possible.

Thinkulus is a $12 book, but if you need other volumes (Hodabeast, Chickadoowa and/or Bimboozled) I’ll be selling those at a discount. Heck— buy any two books and you a FREE Doc Splatter Ominous Omnibus! I’ll even bring my Canvas Panels, a sure-fire crowd pleaser.

If you haven’t been to Southern California Comics, it’s kind of tricky to find. I’ve whipped up a locator map for you. In general, it’s very close to where Clairemont Mesa Blvd. crosses SR 163. Jamie Newbold is the owner; we’ve known each other for as long as his shop has been in existence. If you come by for Thinkulus, please take some extra time to explore/discover San Diego’s best comics store.

I’ll be there from opening (11 a.m.) til at least 3 p.m. Hope to see you there!

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.

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!

All ashamed that everyone else on your block has nice Funbags and you don’t? Buck up, little trooper! Here are the places to get your hands on some Funbags here in sunny SoCal:

* House of Secrets (1930 W. Olive Ave., Burbank; 818.562.1900)
* Southern California Comics (8280 Clairemont Mesa Blvd. #124, San Diego; 858.715.8669)
* Amazing Al’s (600 F St. #E, Chula Vista; 619.498.0445)
* Meltdown (7522 Sunset Blvd., Hollywood; 323.851.7223)

What’s a Funbag, you may ask all sheepish-like? Well, it’s a polyethylene party-pack containing a limited-edition Cool Jerk ashcan with scores o’ comic strips, a sheet of uncut vinyl Cool Jerk stickers, a couple collectible Cool Jerk character cards (they look almost exactly like business cards), an exclusive Cool Jerk air freshener and an original character sketch by yours truly… all for a mere $4! Wotta deal! Go get one NOW!