I Love My Wife, But…


I don’t think I could kiss anyone for 46 hours and 26 hours straight. That’s the official world record for kissing–just set by a Thai couple during a “kissathon” competition. Too long for me. Best I could manage would be a measly 42 hours or so.

But trust me. They’d be quality 42 hours!

My Cover on Comics Buyer’s Guide #1676 & a New Writing Contest

Talk about perfect timing! My copy of Comics Buyer’s Guide #1676 arrived today on Valentine’s Day. A great Valentine’s gift for me since I did the cover and the theme of the issue is romance comics.

Well, okay. The late Dick Giordano did the original art and Allen Freeman extended and colored the art. But I wrote the dialog.

I’ve decided to just show the art here for now. You’ll have to pick up the magazine to see the gags I wrote.

Besides, it’s been awhile since I had a contest for readers. So here’s the deal.

Contest Rules

Submit your dialog for this art in the comments section below. Contest closes Monday night at midnight. I’ll pick a winner by the end of that week. Winner gets 10 Last Kiss notecards.

A Last Kiss to Valentine Blues…on YouTube!

Press Release:
Seattle, WA (Feb. 10, 2011)
— Romance comic genius John Lustig has a surefire cure for anyone suffering from Valentine’s Day heartburn.

His first animated video, “Racing Toward Heartbreak,” is a darkly funny, faux ad for The Last Kiss Institute of Dismal Love Affairs. The mini, mock epic features a mad doctor’s extremely inappropriate solution to a desperate dame’s boyfriend problems.

“Dangerous drugs and unnecessarily expensive shock therapy are involved,” explained Lustig.

Years in the making (seconds in the planning), the video is a collaboration with an award-winning Newgrounds animator Edward (Meddros) Smith.

“We included modified word balloons because we were trying for the look of a comic book,” said Smith. “But we added a voice track, music and special effects because…well, we thought it’d be easy. Silly us!”

Like Lustig’s regular Last Kiss webcomics, the animation uses art from old romance comics with bizarre, new dialog.

Kisses and Ducks

February and March are turning out to be big months for Lustig. In addition to the animation release, he’s spotlighted in the current issue of Seattle Magazine. Lustig is profiled as one of seven Seattle comic creators for the magazine’s “geek issue.”

On Feb. 23 (revised date–it’s out now!), Lustig has a long-awaited Disney story in Boom! Studio’s Donald Duck and Friends #363. His “Somewhere Beyond Nowhere” is a 12-page Donald Duck story based on a plot by Disney legend Carl Barks and drawn by Daan Jippes.

And then, on March 30, Lustig’s first Last Kiss merchandise (coffee mugs, metal card cases & sticky notebooks) through Dark Horse Comics will be arriving in stores.

See more Lustig-related video on the Last Kiss YouTube Channel!

And Now On With the Show…

After I posted yesterday’s gag about a strip club with parody lyrics (“There’s No Business Like Bare-ly Show Business”), I received an e-mail from my pal cartoonist Kevin Boze who came up with some great lyrics of his own. With his permission, here they are:

MEN’S CHORUS:
The bouncers, the colored lights, the panties, the tops
The audience that stares at you and sighs

WOMEN’S CHORUS:
The headaches, the heartaches, the backaches, the flops (NOTE:  This was just too good a line to change)
The feeling when you make their winkies rise

MEN’S CHORUS:
Excitement when the tipping comes apace

WOMEN’S CHORUS:
The downer when your stripper shoes unlace

ALLS:
There’s no business like ho business
Like no business I know

MEN’S CHORUS:
Every man looks on that stage adoring

WOMEN’S CHORUS:
Sweating but you’re trying to stay cool

MEN’S CHORUS:
No where could you dance and keep on whoring

ALL:
While you’re ignoring that four-foot rule
They’re hip people, those strip people
They’re swinging on the pole

MEN’S CHORUS:
Yesterday you barely could fill out some B’s

WOMEN’S CHORUS:
That night you really wanted to tease

MEN’S CHORUS:
Next day you are showing off your double-D’s

ALL:
Let’s go on with the show
Let’s go on with the show

A “new” story by Carl Barks & John Lustig!


(Click above to enlarge. Rough, preview lettering. Art by Daan Jippes. ©Walt Disney Company)

In February, Boom! Studios is publishing a totally new version of a Carl Barks’ plotted story. The story has a new title “Somewhere BEYOND Nowhere”; a new script (by me); and art by the great Daan Jippes. It’s 12 pages long.

Why did I want to do a new version–especially since I scripted the original 2000 version? Well, that’s a bit of a story in itself…
(more…)

Isabell’s Inventions

In going through material for Last Kiss, I’ve read some odd romance comics. But “Isabell’s Inventions” from Charlton’s Teen-Age Confidential Confessions #10 is more than just a bit wackier than most!

Click to enlarge!

Portland and Plans for Last Kiss Goodies

I’m heading to Oregon for the Portland Comic Book Show, Nov. 21. The Sunday show is my last convention of the year. The Portland con is always one of my favorites. It’s a nice crowd and con organizer Richard Finn always treats his guests like visiting royalty.

The next day I’m meeting with the marketing staff of Dark Horse Comics (just outside Portland) to discuss some crazy ideas I have for my new Dark Horse products.

I want to run a much bigger (and sillier) version of the Last Kiss contest that I ran on Facebook earlier this week. If Dark Horse likes it, the plan ought to go something like this…

People will post photos of themselves with one or more of my Last Kiss goodies from Dark Horse. Prizes for the first photos posted; the silliest photos; the most romantic photos; etc.

Of course, to win you’ll need to have a Last Kiss mug, sticky note book or metal case. So ordering one now wouldn’t be a bad idea.