I’m sorry to say that I will not attending this week’s San Diego Comic-Con—again. But—health and commitments permitting—I fully intend to be back next year.
However, my friends at Prism Comics (Booth 2144) will once again be selling lots of Last Kiss fridge magnets (and a few Last Kiss tote bags) for me. So please stop by for some giggles.
And, if you buy some LK gifts for family, friends and yourself? I’m sure that will make your family, friends, yourself and—most importantly—mevery happy!
Last week I was once again a guest on Mark Severino’s wonderful Barks Remarks – a Carl Barks Podcast. This time we discussed in depth one of Barks’ all-time great stories, “A Flip Decision,” frequently known as “Flipism!”
For the first time, I was a guest on Mark Severino’s wonderful podcast series Barks Remarks. Together Mark and I discussed one of Carl’s best short Donald Duck stories (“Omelet”) in depth. Panel by panel and often joke by joke. It was tremendous fun!
Here are a couple of ways to listen to the free podcast:
My memorial to my long-time friend Dana Gabbard is in this year’s San Diego Comic-Con Souvenir book. And it’s free via download here.
Previously, you had to attend this mother of all comic cons to get that year’s souvenir book. But this year the book is strictly digital and available to everyone who can click a link.
As for Dana, he was my longest friend in comics. We shared a passion for Disney comics and both of us had a hand in shaping Disney duckdom. But there was a lot more to Dana as both a person and a professional. Wanna know more? Click the frickin’ link!
I’m ecstatic to announce that I’ll be much more involved than I originally thought in the reprint series of Nervous Rex.
Before I explain what I’ll be doing, though, I should mention that the first issue of Nervous Rex is now ready for order in the Diamond Comics Preview catalog. (If you want a copy, ask your friendly, neighborhood comic shop owner to order it pronto!)
Drew Ford’s It’s AlivePress is reprinting WilliamVan Horn’s entire 1980s comic book series. The plan is to reprint all 10 issues from the original series. Plus, print an additional comic (#11!), that collects all of Van Horn’s Rex comics—all of ’em in color—which appeared only in Disney Adventures.
In addition to new variant covers by Van Horn—colored by original series cover colorist Barbara Marker—there will be other art that never appeared in the original series. I’m curating that art and I’m also writing introductions for every issue.
I’m thrilled because Nervous Rex is a wonderful, witty and silly masterpiece that Van Horn did shortly before his long and better-known series of brilliant Disney comics. And because Van Horn played a huge part in my early comic career. And it all started when I got involved in helping plot the final issue of Nervous Rex.
While I’m not back on the con circuit yet, Last Kiss products are. Prism Comics is selling Last Kiss fridge magnets and tote bags at it’s booth at Q Con—a new LGBTQ comic con in LA on Saturday, June 18. Free admission.
And, from July 20-24, 2022 they’ll also be for sale at Prism’s booth at Comic-Con International: San Diego.
I rarely get interviewed about my Disney comics career. And even less often do I get to talk about my involvement with Disney legend Carl Barks—creator of Uncle Scrooge and so much more!
Barks’ stories are a primary influence on my Disney stories as well as much of my other work. So it was fun to do talk about all of that in these YouTube interviews by my friends Scott & Georgia Ball.
Part 1: In addition to discussing Carl Barks, I talk about how I got my start in Disney comics and how I came to know Carl.
Part 2: We talk about how Barks’ career in comics began; his storytelling; and his fantastic splash panels!
Part 3: We talk about Barks’ characters—Uncle Scrooge, Donald, Magica De Spell, Flintheart Glomgold and so many more.
Part 4 : We talk about Uncle Scrooge’s appearances in animation and my graphic novel adaption of the DuckTales movie.
Part 5: We talk about censorship and editing problems that Barks faced. Plus, we discuss problems caused by the Code Code and Western Publishing internal restrictions.
Part 6: How did Carl go from being an anonymous comics creator scratching out a modest income to being world famous and eventually a millionaire? We discuss how fans sought him out and rescued Barks from obscurity.
Part 7: I attended the huge public celebrations for Carl’s 95th & 96th birthdays–as well as his funeral a few years later. We talk about that and more.
Part 8: In the final episode, we discuss Carl’s Disney duck paintings—which made him a millionaire—and wrap up with a discussion of my Last Kiss work.
I’m thrilled to announce that William Van Horn‘s Nervous Rex comics are being reprinted—at long, long last.
What?!! You want to know why I’m mentioning this? And what this comic has to do with Last Kiss?
Well, nothing. Except…
Bill Van Horn played a huge part in my early comic career. We teamed up together to create a lot of Donald Duck, DuckTales and Uncle Scrooge comics. Without him, it’s likely that I never would’ve done Disney comics or gone on to do Last Kiss.
But we first worked together and became friends when I submitted story ideas for Nervous Rex back in the mid-1980s.
However, the series was wonderful, witty and silly long before I played my small part in it. The humor and art are very much in the tradition of George Herriman’s Krazy Kat. There’s also a smidge of Jack Benny embodied in the character of Rex–a pint-sized, hen-pecked, tyrannosaur who’d rather eat oatmeal than…well, you.
The series—along with some cool extras—is being re-printed issue by issue by Drew Ford’s It’s Alive. Issues aren’t for sale yet. But Drew is going to be offering 100 issues of #1 signed by Van Horn.
Since Bill hasn’t done any comic cons or appearances in many years, this may be the only chance to get work signed by him.
