Last Kiss posters and comics are appearing as prominent props in the upcoming web TV series, Up Up Down Down. I’ve created several new, faux Last Kiss comic book covers just for the series.

The adorable tyke holding the Last Kiss poster is series creator/star R.a. Rayne’s four-year-old daughter Ariebella. The series is now filming it’s first episodes. I’ll post a link as soon as the Up Up Down Down goes live on the web.

The sitcom is set in the fictional Up Up Down Down video game store where Owner Jack Cooper “and his short-fused…Assistant Manager…are being constantly bombarded with threats from the bank (and)…angry customers…

“In a desperate attempt to turn the store’s sales around Jack has hired Alex, a very attractive female ‘gamer’ who would much rather play a video game or read a comic book than Twitter about her latest shopping spree. Alex’s presence alone is drumming up new business and sending the store into a hormonal frenzy.”

And that well-dressed person is…Tom Dimock.

Tom asked me to make up this shirt for him in time for this year’s Burning Man festival (Aug. 29-Sept. 5.)

I feel sorry for all the other people at Burning Man who won’t be wearing this shirt—or even clothing.

Hmm. Got a photo of yourself with a Last Kiss product? Send it to me and (if it’s not too raunchy), I’ll post it. Extra points if it’s funny!

I generally don’t talk about my private life here—unless it’s something upbeat or I can get a gag out of it. But I’m about to go all dark and dramatic. So if you’re expecting some jokes, I suggest you don’t read this.

My mom is dying.

She’s been dying for years actually, but recently she’s gotten really good at it. No more chemo. Let the Grim Reaper come knocking. She’s ready.

Thanks to hospice, the pain is mostly manageable.

But Mom wants to die in her own home. So family members have been giving her 24-7 care for the last few months. By family members I mean mostly my sister Lisa and me.

(The week Lisa and I took off to attend last month’s San Diego Comic Con was an obvious exception. It was hard on my mom. And it was probably even harder on the family members who filled in for us.)

I’m spending about three days and nights a week taking care of Mom. And that’s fine. (Lots of good talks and bad TV.) But…I’m falling behind in my life.

Free time is scarce. Mostly, I just meet my deadlines and collapse.

So why talk about this now? Well, I guess I want to let friends and fans (many of you are both) know why I’m so hard to reach. So busy. And so very, very far behind in responding to e-mails.

Okay, that’s it. Monday, I’ll be back without the drama. I’m always happy to concentrate on the gags. We’re all here for the laughs. After all, laughter heals. (And pays my bills.)

In the meantime, though, thanks for letting me get this off my chest.

I should be a lot easier to find this year at Comic-Con International. Most of the time I’ll be at the Last Kiss Entertainment booth (#2302.)

I’m excited because Booth 2302 is near the middle of that long, long convention hall–just a few yards away from one of the main entrances. Last year I was in a corner of the convention  so far from the center of comics civilization that I may have actually been in another dimension!

Sharing the booth with me will be the insanely funny Kevin Boze and wildly talented Stasia Kato of The Virgin Project.

I’ll also be putting in daily appearances and selling cool stuff at Justin Chung’s World Famous Comics booth (#5560) which is just inside one of the entrances near the Illustrators and Fantasy Illustrators area. Beautiful models (Miracole Burns, Brieanna Brock and Dana Braziel-Solovy) and fantastic artists (Justin, Chung; Hi-Fi’s Brian and Kristy Miller; and Joe Corroney) will be there too.

Here’s my schedule for appearances at World Famous Comics:

Thu, July 21, 5:30pm – 6:30pm

Fri, July 22, 10:30am – 12:30pm

Sat, July 23, 12pm – 2pm

Sat, July 23, 12pm – 2pm

Schedule for all WFC artist and models here. Drop by and chat–or I’ll get lonely and depressed!

Yes, I finally allowed Mark Zuckberg to put Last Kiss on Facebook. (You can stop sending me cash now, Mark. Use Paypal instead.)

So what’s Last Kiss on FB like?

Great comics! Amusing (often fact free) news! And fabulous, freaky fun. Plus, it’s guaranteed to be better than sex–since you don’t have to pay for it.

Sign up to be a Facebook fan here! Free IQ boost to the first 1oo,000 people who sign up!

It’s bad enough that my pal Shannon Wheeler is wildly funny and successful. I mean…his Too Much Coffee Man cartoons are some of my favorite comics. He’s also written an opera and–for several years–he published a national magazine.

So, of course I’m jealous and I secretly hate him.

But then he went too far. He went legitimate and started selling cartoons to The New Yorker.

And now?

Now Shannon is up for an Eisner award for a collection of the comics that The New Yorker rejected! His book, I Thought You Would be Funnier, has been nominated for “Best Humor Publication.”

And Shannon has the nerve to ask me to publicize his nomination and urge people to vote for him?

Uh, sure. Why not?

I had a lot of fun at WonderCon 2011! Why? Well…

#1. Shelagh joined me at the con. (No that’s not her above.) But Shelagh had such a great time that she’s willing to go back next year. Yippee!

(Of course, she also said she’d be happy to go back to San Francisco–even without the convention.)
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I’ll be attending WonderCon 2011, but I won’t be in full (crazed) exhibition mode. I’m mostly going as an excuse to take Shelagh to San Francisco, see friends and have some fun. Some of that fun will be at the convention, though!

I’ll be selling some Last Kiss goodies (tote bags, prints and possibly fridge magnets) at the World Famous Comics (Booth #1140.) I’ll be at the booth much of Saturday and parts of Friday and Sunday.

There are some panels I want to attend. So here are some times I WON’T be at the booth:

Friday: I won’t be there on Friday: 3:15-5:45 p.m. And I’ll also be gone from 6:45 p.m. and later.

Saturday: 3:45-6 p.m. I’ll be gone.

Sunday: 2:15-3:45 p.m. I’ll be gone then too!

See you there–unless you don’t go. Or I’m gone.

If you’re in the Seattle area and you’re interested in getting published, check out Saturday’s (March 19) meeting of Cartoonists Northwest. The guest speaker, Bob Larkin, is the Seattle rep for Global PSD—a major publishing, printing, marketing and development firm for high-end art and children’s books which is moving into the field of graphic novels

Bob will be talking about different approaches to printing and publishing. The meeting is from 4-6 p.m. at Daniel Smith Artist Supplies at 4150 First Avenue South in Seattle. Free to the public.

Here are a few shots from Emerald City. Photos courtesy of Rich Hernandez. Wisecracks by me.

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