by John | Jan 15, 2012 | Blog
My sister Lisa (left) and my mom (right) were travel agents together. Here they are a lifetime ago during a trip to Peru.
My mom (Nina Lustig) always had a plan. She was determined to do things her own way. And in her own time.
For instance, she went in for a mastectomy even though it seemed hopeless. Her doctors told her she had only three months to live. They were only off by…29 years.
On the morning of Jan. 13, 2012 (Friday the 13th) she finally lost her battle with the Big C. But she didn’t give up without a world-class, kick-death-in-the-teeth fight.
She was an incredibly tough and private woman. (And I wouldn’t even dare tell you that much if she was still with us.)
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by John | Jan 1, 2012 | Blog
Comics writer & pop culture author Danny Fingeroth is speaking about his new book The Stan Lee Universe in Seattle’s University District on Jan. 7 from 5:30-7:30 p.m. Details here.
by John | Dec 27, 2011 | Blog
Through Jan. 1 2012, NobleWorks is having a post-Christmas sale on all its Christmas cards. Discounts range from 40-60 percent off.
–Buy at least $30 of cards and you get 40 percent off with the coupon code: REGIFT40
–Buy at least $60 of cards and you get 50 percent off with the coupon code: REGIFT50
–Buy at least $120 of cards and you get 60 percent off with the coupon code: REGIFT60
Last Kiss Christmas cards:
—Buy Happiness
—Naughty Girls
—Great Sex
–Gay Christmas
Order by the dozen for best discount. Minimum order $30. Free shipping.
by John | Nov 20, 2011 | Blog
Although I spend most of my time doing Last Kiss, I still write an occasional Disney comic. The latest is something special. The first seven pages of “The Duck Who Came to Dinner” was scripted decades ago by the late and very great Carl Barks.
I purchased the unpublished manuscript several years ago during an eBay auction that was held on behalf of the Barks Estate. My publisher Egmont (Disney’s main comics licensee for northern Europe) gave me the go-ahead to write the remaining three pages of the 10-page Uncle Scrooge story.
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by John | Oct 27, 2011 | Blog
We’re celebrating Zombie Week here at Last Kiss, so I couldn’t resist posting this pic from ZomBcon 2011. I bopped into the show briefly last weekend to see what a convention full of zombies was like.
And the answer?
Well, it’s a lot like a political convention–except with more Braaains! And way cooler outfits.
I stopped to chat with www.geekchicdaily.com/ Editor-in-Chief Brian Walton (see photo above) and decided to take his picture. Two zombie gals immediately volunteered to make the photo more…uh, interesting.
Yeah, it was that sort of convention!
by John | Oct 21, 2011 | Blog
Yeah, I know. This isn’t a new gag. But I still laughed out loud when Last Kiss fan “Cubby” sent me this photo in reaction to my “Dancing with the Stars” comic. Yes, I’d definitely pay to see this pairing on the show!
by John | Oct 13, 2011 | Blog
The New York Comic Con is this weekend. And, for the first time ever, I’m not attending. So don’t look for me. If you do find me…it’s someone else. Accept no substitutes!
by John | Oct 2, 2011 | Blog
Authors Brian Herbert (the Dune saga) on left and Bruce Taylor ("Mr. Magic Realism") during one of the sunnier moments of Northwest Bookfest 2011.
I needed to be cloned–at least twice–to do everything I wanted to do and be everywhere that I needed to be this last weekend:
- 40th high school reunion — Friday night.
- More reunion festivities where everyone walks around saying, “Who are all these old folks?” — Saturday until everyone gets bored or dies of old age.
- Sell Last Kiss goodies in Kirkland at a booth at Northwest Bookfest — Saturday & Sunday 10 .am. to 6 p.m.
- Be back in Seattle BEFORE 6 p.m. Saturday and Sunday to take care of my sick mother.
- Stay home all weekend and kill some deadlines before they kill me.
How’d I do? Well, numerous fans kindly volunteered to take over for me at Bookfest. But I needed to at least set up my booth and be there for at least a few hours. So this is what happened…
- Made it to the reunion Friday night and had a great time pretending I remembered people.
- Skipped the reunion events Saturday so that I could be at Bookfest. Too bad. I was actually looking forward to more people going, “Oh, my God! Are you still alive?”
- Saturday morning I set up at Bookfest and waited for the crowds to arrive. Four hours later I decided they weren’t coming. Frankly, I don’t blame them. Having the vendors for a literary festival outside in October (especially in the Seattle area) is asking for trouble. It was kinda cold. And kinda wet. No sides to the tents of most booths. So it was hard to keep merchandise (and ourselves) dry. A friend was coming later in the day to take over for me. But having a friend be miserable and cold in my place didn’t seem fair. Plus security was going to be a problem when the show closed for the night. So leaving stuff overnight was out. So I just packed up and left around 2 p.m. Saturday. I didn’t come back the next day. Oddly enough, though, I’m glad I attended Bookfest. I enjoyed talking to my booth mates–old pals Bruce Taylor and Roberta Gregory and new pals Carl & Lida Sloan, and Brian Herbert. I especially enjoyed meeting Brian. I knew his dad Frank and it was fun reminiscing and finding out what’s going on with the Dune series.
- Took care of my mom Saturday night. Shelagh filled in for me Sunday night so I could write.
- And, yes, I made all my deadlines. Otherwise you wouldn’t be reading this!
by John | Sep 20, 2011 | Blog
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.”
by John | Aug 26, 2011 | Blog
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!
