SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG DECEMBER 15 2010

Yeah, yeah, this was originally written and published in November. November 23 2010 to be precise. But life happens…plans change, especially plans of publishers and printers. Both these books were delayed from their original release date, but it’s been confirmed that they will really truly be in stores tomorrow, Wednesday December 15 2010. So, read this re-post quickly…then off you go.

SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG

Every now and then, comics I wrote or drew get published, and I get to ask you to buy them.  I often forget to do this, but this week, I’ve got enough coming out in a row to pester you.

I PRESENT THE SHAMELESS PLUG BLOG

Shameless Plugging you with the Jason Edmiston Cover A

First up:  I’m fairly sure that Johnny Canuck’s big return to comics in the NORTHERN GUARD is this Wednesday or next Wednesday, if your local doesn’t get it tomorrow.  There’s some chewy good fun in this comic – a revival of some terrific Canadian Golden Age characters, and the first published work of a couple of good Canadian pals of mine.  (I just called my wife a “pal”.  I’m a dead man.)

 

Shameless Plugging you with the less-often-seen David J. Cutler’s alt cover B

Speaking of the lovely Keiren, it’s fun to see her credit on the Harvey Pekar meets the Thing story that’s coming out NEXT week.   She’s lettered a couple of the stories I did with Harvey Pekar, and keeping with the tradition, she gets her first Marvel credit.  And she did a terrific job!  I’m allowed to show off the first page, now that Marvel’s put it into promotion rotation.  This one’s in the stores in a week, I’m told.

If you have any fondness for Pekar, you’re going to love his take on the Thing.  This is, by far, my favorite Pekar story I ever got to do, sad as the events surrounding it were, and I’m going to blog about why it was so wonderful and bittersweet, right after it comes out next week…no spoilers here.

The cover looks like this, so you’ll know to get it when it’s out…

 

this series is so cool, you should be buying it, regardless.

And just to top off the sudden flood of Templeton product on the market in one fortnight, this came out in England last week –  check it-

 

Issue #14 of Murky Depths.

It’s a horror/sf writer’s magazine, with both prose and comics contained within.  Not a bad little offering and you can find much more about this publisher at   http://www.murkydepths.com  But you probably figured that out on your own.  I’ll bet you can order copies there.

For my part, I did thumbnail layouts and original edits on a terrific horror/adult story about a man who finds out the world is going to end, and wants to go out – ehem…with a bang.  It was written by Greg Dunford, and illustrated by Gibson Quarter and Eden Bachelder –  a group of friends who are all merry members of the Toronto Cartoonist Workshop usual suspects.

All right…the shameless plugging is done for today. Though it may come up again when my issue of Mad Magazine comes out next month, or my upcoming issues of the Simpsons.   Or…

Ty the Guy OUT!

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Here now, your Shameless Plug Comic Book moment of zen:

 

Look at that outfit. The man is clearly shameless.

 

CANADIAN SHIELD COMICS!

Talk about a collector's item!

Whilst rooting around in the dollar bins at my last convention, I came across the gem you see above.  It’s important for many many reasons:

1)  Unlike issue #1 of this Golden Age Canadian White comic book series, issue #2 is ULTRA-RARE, and I have never even SEEN one in person.

2)  It was drawn by “Ty Murphy”.  (You can see his signature in the lower right, under the Shield’s foot).  Ty was one of Canada’s first comic book professionals, and certainly one of the more consistent illustrators of the Canadian Whites.  And if you haven’t guessed by now, I was named after him by my cartoonist father, who owed Mr. Murphy money and settled the debt by naming his last born son after him, some twenty years after Murphy died.

For more information about the great Canadian Super-hero pictured in this ancient cover go to HEROES OF THE NORTH and click “PLAY” to watch a newly shot webisode of the golden age character, or click HERE and click on the download comics button, to read an all new retelling of his origin adventure!  Or HERE for a facebook gallery of modern versions of the characters (I’ve got one in there, very bum-centric!)

That’s it.  Back to typing script and inking little figures in backgrounds.  Ah, the life of Riley!

TY THE GUY OUT!

Here now, your comic book moment of zen.

To share post:

Holy COW! One Hundred Thousand?!?

Rich Chocolately Goodness

I’ve been VERY bad about blogging the last week or so.  It’s entirely because I’ve been VERY busy, drawing some covers, writing some scripts and working on some interior pages…the last two weeks, everything I owe publishers is late, and I’m working 15 hour days, which means, dear, dear readers I’ve had to slack off on this VERY fun, but VERY unpaid blog.  Don’t worry, that will all settle out in a few days, with luck.

But in the meantime, I’m beyond thrilled to announce that it seems the blog is working.  I started sporadically blogging after the start in Septeber, and with more regularity and intention in January, and started the Saturday Webcomic in March, and you guys seem to have shown up to read ’em.  Two days ago I discovered that this blog passed the one hundred thousand mark in readers, and that tickles the hell out of me.

Now, obviously, I’m aware it’s not 100,000 individual readers, I know the difference between a visit and a unique visitor.  Our UNIQUE numbers are down in the twenty thousand range, which means folks are coming back after they’ve been here once or twice.

So thanks for showing up.  Sorry it’s been a little sparse the last few days.  I’ll be back to regular blogging by the start of next week, and on Saturday, you ALWAYS  get the webcomic, even if I have to stay awake for 48 hours in a row.

And since I’m here, and since I’m the only one who has a copy of this cover with THIS logo, I’m showing off one of the many projects that are taking me away from this blog.

Hands up if you know who Johnny Canuck is...

It’s been announced on Moonstone Books at this point, but not around here, so I gets to announce.  The ALL-NEW Johnny Canuck comic book is coming out this November.   Moonstone is reviving the CANADIAN super-heroes from the Golden Age, and I’m writing and editing the project and another fellow Canadian (DAVID J. CUTLER) is drawing it.   David is a graduate of some of the comic book courses I teach, and WOW, are you going to be impressed with his work when you see it this fall!  He’s going to be BIG!  Big, I tell you!  (I’d like to pretend I taught him everything he knows, but he was already disturbingly skilled when I met him…)

For those who don’t live in Canada and aren’t in the know, we had our own comic industry in the forties, during the war paper shortages, featuring such characters as Johnny Canuck, Nelvana, Freelance and others.  The art and writing in the “Canadian Whites” (so named because there was no interior colours, just black and white) was fairly spectacular, and the characters created are uniformly entertaining, and as a proud Canadian, I’m delighted to be involved in bringing ’em back to a modern audience.

Moonstone’s Joe Gentile has been very supportive of the project, but was concerned that American audiences will have never heard of Johnny Canuck and his pals, and asked me to change the logo and name of the series to work for a buyer who never heard of the Canadian Whites.  I utterly see his point, but this patriotic Canadian is so in love with the Johnny Canuck character that I can’t help but show off THIS version of the cover (painted by the amazing Jason Edmiston) with the original logo.

I’ll show off the new logo and title tomorrow, along with a REALLY fun story of the gig I got last week that may well be the happiest job offer I have ever received….(how’s THAT for a teaser?!?)

Again, thanks for showing up and making the hit counter rock 100,000 hits in the last few months.  It’s very gratifying to know you like me as LEAST as much as Sally Field.  (Wow, is that a dated reference!)

Ty the Guy

UPDATE: in the Comments, Scott Dutton has been kind enough to direct us to his site where he’s giving some Canadian Whites away for FREE! FREE I tell you!