In our new catalog, you may have seen listed a book called Mego 8″ Super-Heroes: World’s Greatest Toys! This is one stunning, full-color book, already being hailed by such pros as Brad Meltzer and Chip Kidd for its graphic design, and obsessive coverage of the Mego toy line of the 1970s and ’80s. Remember our Captain Action book of a few years ago? Picture it on steroids, and you’ve got it!

However, in our new catalog, we have a typo on the price. The retail price is $49.95 for this hardcover ($54 postpaid in the US). Just wanted to get the word out; it should be listed correctly in Previews when it ships this Fall.

Yep, the Blue Beetle was at our New York Comicon booth as promised! Chris .R. Notarile, fan filmmaker extraordinare, is in the BB costume, and needed some company at the NY con. So Christopher Irving, author of our upcoming Blue Beetle Companion book, threw on the Flash costume. (But hey, shouldn’t BB be hanging out with Booster Gold?)

We just got the word yesterday that the Blue Beetle Companion has cleared DC Comics’ legal department, so it heads off to press this week. Should be in stores by March 28. Lots of really cool historical stuff in there, and will be a fascinating read for anyone interested in comics history.

They may not be as pretty as Rachel, Ross, and the others from the hit sitcom, but I’ve got my own batch of really special friends, that are the absolute best perk of doing this publishing thing. When I was unable to make it to the New York Comicon literally at the last minute (don’t ask!), all the (very expensive) plans we’d made for the show could’ve crumbled, if not for the able assistance of my buds who were there.

First is rambunctious Rand Hoppe, who’s been our webmaster since the beginning, and is head of the Jack Kirby Museum. With the help of capable Chris Irving (and Chris’ buddy Chris. R. Notarile), all our boxes of books made it to our booth, and both Rand and Chris helped out the whole weekend. Then, gorgeous George Khoury (shown above, looking sharp) filled in for me all three days, fearlessly fielding non-stop questions from our legion of fans who wondered, among other things, where Roy Thomas was (Roy was a last-minute no-show as well).
Not to be forgotten is awesome Adam McGovern, who subbed for me at the Marvel Bullpen panel, and—by all accounts—did a great job tossing out questions to Stan Lee, Joe Sinnott, Gene Colan, and Flo Steinberg.

So thanks to these gracious gents, a potential disaster was averted, and the convention was a marked success for TwoMorrows. I am eternally grateful to all of them for saving TwoMorrows’ hash in a tight spot. I’m really sorry I missed the show, as everyone I’ve talked to had a great time. But we’ll see you there next year for sure!

Now just one question; who was that “Flash” that was hanging out at our booth on Saturday?

If you’ll be in the Big Apple for the New York Comicon this weekend, be sure to stop by our booth (#975) and meet our editors. Here’s the signing schedule for Saturday:

Noon-1pm: Roy Thomas
1-2pm: Danny Fingeroth
2-3pm: Bob McLeod
3-4pm: Mike Manley

I’ll be at the booth most of the time Friday-Sunday, except on Saturday from 4-5pm, when I’ll be moderating this panel:

NYCC’S Behind the Panels: The 60’s Marvel Bullpen
Saturday, 4:00:00 PM in Room 1E12/13.
Under the direction of Stan Lee, Marvel Comics in the 1960s was one of the most remarkable creative workplaces in the history of the medium. Now join Stan Lee, Marie Severin, Roy Thomas, Ralph Macchio and Gene Colan for a look back at what the classic bullpen was really like, in a lively panel hosted by John Morrow.

And don’t be surprised if the Blue Beetle makes a special appearance at our booth, to help promote our upcoming book The Blue Beetle Companion. Will it be the Dan Garrett version? The Ted Kord version? Or DC’s newest incarnation? Stop by on Saturday and see!

I normally post these on Friday, but I’ll be in New York the rest of this week, so here’s one Pete likes to call:

Ambition, but not much imagination…

If you love Pete’s work like I do, don’t forget we’re now offering a Von Sholly Bundle, containing Comic Book Nerd, his parody of the comics fan press (including the TwoMorrows line), plus both hilarious issues of his Crazy Hip Groovy Go-Go Way Out Monsters spoof of old monster mags. You’ll get one CHGGGWOM free, so save some money, and start laughing today!

We’ll be exhibiting at this year’s Emerald City Comicon in Seattle, WA on March 31-April 1. So fans in the Northwest, get ready, as Christopher Irving will be manning our booth for us (and loony-bin escapee Tom Stewart will be on hand to help out).

Also there will be Back Issue magazine editor Michael Eury (also writer of some of our best “Companion” books, and the soon-to-be-released Comics Gone Ape!, currently in the final design stages by my lovely and sick-of-looking-at-monkeys wife Pam). Michael will be set-up over in Artist’s Alley, so there’ll be two spots to get your back issues of Back Issue.

The con is really growing, and this year’s guest list is spectacular! We’re looking forward to seeing everyone there. Here’s a link for more info on the con.

It’s a busy week, getting ready for the NY Comicon, but I didn’t want to miss mentioning the passing of Bob Oksner. He drew the absolutely cutest girls in comics, and I’ve been a fan since I was a kid. Roy Thomas has an outstanding issue of Alter Ego (#67, below), dedicated to Oksner, due out in early April. Sadly, Bob passed away before seeing it in print (but he was very cooperative in helping Roy and Jim Amash put it together).

I hate seeing these great pros leave us, but thankfully their work lives on. Here’s to you, Bob Oksner.

Any minute now, our own web-savvy Rand Hoppe will be adding a PDF preview of our upcoming COMICS 101 giveaway to its description page on our website. We just show a couple of pages from each section, to give you an idea of what it’s like.

So, how did Roy Thomas boil down 30+ years of comics history into 3000 words or less? Or how about Michael Eury doing the same for the history of comics from 1970 to today?! What figure drawing wisdom will Bret Blevins impart to readers, and can Mike Manley really show you how to break down a comics page in three easy steps?!! Plus, just what are Danny Fingeroth’s Top Ten Tips for Comics Writers?!?!

These questions and more will be answered, but only if you canoodle your local comics shop owner into ordering COMICS 101 when it hits the Previews catalog at the beginning of March. It’s for all ages, so it’s a perfect way to introduce young kids to how comics are created, and to teach them the basic history of the medium. But it’s also just a really neat collectible for us old geezers who already love the TwoMorrows mags. Our pals at Wizard are offering a sampler reprint compilation of one of their “how to draw like (insert flavor of the month here)” pubs, so if your retailer isn’t familiar with TwoMorrows already, they’d likely opt for the Wizard book (cause like it or not, all the retailers know Wizard).

So I’m counting on you, buddy. Let your retailer know you want this puppy, and stress to them that ours is new stuff, not reprint like Wizard‘s. It’s the only way you’re gonna get a copy; we’re not selling them ourselves. It’s a giveaway for comics shops, but like all the other Free Comic Book Day offerings, it isn’t free for your retailer to order it (they’ll pay a quarter for each copy). And if enough retailers don’t order our book, we end up losing our shirts on the printing bill. And nobody wants that. Least of all my wife, who foolishly thinks my daughters need new clothes to replace the ones they’ve outgrown. (Honestly, just cut the pants legs off, and you’ve got a really hip pair of fringy-bottomed shorts, all ready for Spring. Nobody’ll notice the holes…)

If you want to see the whole thing, be sure to stop by our booth at the New York Comicon next week (#975), or at Wondercon the following week (booth #913). Or go see Michael Eury in Artists’ Alley at the Emerald City Con at the end of March. We’ve got a complete preview copy of Comics 101 we’d love to show you!

While parts of the US are being hit by massive snow and cold, apparently some of you have decided it makes sense to stay inside and do a lot of reading. I’m talking about the numerous crazoids out there who’ve ordered our Ultimate Bundles! When I decided to offer complete runs of our mags for half-price, I really wasn’t sure if anyone was going to plop down the loot for full sets, as good as they are. (Especially for Alter Ego, which has 65 issues and counting…)

So far, we’ve moved several of each Ultimate Bundle (including one to Sweden!). One guy ordered four at once. I’m amazed, astonished, flaggergasted, and totally delighted that you folks love our stuff enough to buy it in bulk.

Think of us as the Sam’s Club of comics fandom.

Through the diligence of one Christopher Irving (our shipping manager), all 500 free copies of Alter Ego #64 (from our Valentine’s Day giveaway) were dropped at the post office today! So after Monday’s President’s Day holiday, they should be speeding (?) their way through the US Postal Service to their lucky recipients.

A lot of people seem to think we’re nuts to give away so many of our mags (this is our fourth giveaway in less than a year). But the cost of one giveaway—including printing the extra issues and paying for envelopes, postage, and our time—is still less than a single ad in Diamond’s Previews catalog (and based on our experience, a lot more effective). We can’t do it every month, but as long as we allocate our ad budget toward it, so far it’s making pretty good financial sense. And hey, I’m cheap (my kind wife calls it frugal, but I’m not deluding myself). I’m always looking for a less expensive way to promote our stuff. If you’re cheap too, send me your ideas!