by John | Apr 2, 2016 | Blog
John Lustig (Sketch by Carol Lay.)
—April 7-10, 2016: Emerald City Comicon, Northwest Press–Booth #1227.
During Emerald City, John will be moderating the “Disney Comics—Oh, Boy, These Are the Jokes” panel on Sunday, April 10 1:30-2-30 p.m. in room T302. Panelists are Georgia Ball, Amy Mebberson, James Silvani, Aaron Sparrow & Geoffrey Golden.
—April 12-17, 2016: RT Booklovers Convention, Last Kiss table in Club RT.
—July 21-24, 2016: Comic-Con International (San Diego)
by John | Feb 20, 2016 | Blog
Last Kiss art has appeared on magnets, mugs and much more. But can it cut it as…a quilt?
Apparently so!
The original art as it appeared in FIRST KISS #20 (1961) by Vince Colletta. Click image to enlarge.
Thanks to the nimble fingers (and mind) of professional quilter Sue Bower, art from the Last Kiss archive has become a 44 x 45-inch piece of Americana wall art called “Dottie’s Lament.”
Completed in late January, “Dottie’s Lament” has already been accepted for competition in two prestigious, juried shows:
—The Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival (Feb. 25-28, 2016)
—MQX Quilt Festival—New England (April 6-9)
“The 2016 Mid-Atlantic Quilt Festival…has an entry category called ‘Mid Century Modern,’ said Sue. “Nothing says mid-century modern to me more than romance comics and Roy Lichtenstein’s art, as I grew up in the 60s.”
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by John | Jan 19, 2016 | Blog
Happy Anniversary to me.
And to you too if you’ve been following Last Kiss since Jan. 19, 2009 when it first appeared on GoComics.
Of course, Last Kiss has been around in various forms for a lot longer than that. In fact, the first Last Kiss comic appeared in Comics Buyer’s Guide sometime back in 1996. (Holy Crud! Twenty years ago. Another anniversary!)
Most of the comics I did for Comics Buyer’s Guide were in black and white. But some of the later ones—this is from 2011—were done in color.
But it was moving to GoComics that transformed Last Kiss. Most importantly, it introduced my odd comic creation to a much wider—and more vocal—audience. And I had to up my game for that audience. Suddenly I was doing Last Kiss three times a week instead of only once a week. I mostly stopped coloring the series myself and turned the coloring over to Allen Freeman. (And later Diego Jourdan Pereira and others.)
And I have to say that my humor changed slowly over the years—becoming spicier and (I hope) more pointed.
It’s been a great seven years. (And a pretty cool 20 years as well.) Thanks for going along on the ride with me!
—John Lustig
by John | Dec 17, 2015 | Blog
Like good sex, this book is almost free–for the moment!
As part of an insidious plot to get you all hooked on Last Kiss e-books, my most popular title is on sale for just $0.78! Clean out your penny jar and buy now!
by John | Dec 8, 2015 | Blog
Last Kiss creator John Lustig and wife/romance muse Shelagh Lustig gave a wide-ranging presentation about romance comics at the Nov. 21 Cartoonist Northwest meeting in Seattle.
The first romance comics—Joe Simon and Jack Kirby’s Young Romance #1, 1947.
I wasn’t sure what to expect on Nov. 21 when I gave a multi-media presentation on romance comics. Would anyone be interested in such an offbeat subject?
But—I was surprised! We ended up with one of the largest crowds I’ve seen at Cartoonists Northwest in a long time!
Now I can be a little shy. So I’m grateful that my wife (and personal romance goddess) Shelagh Lustig acted as a co-presenter. I should’ve kissed her at the end—the perfect end to an evening about romance comics.
In addition to lots of beautiful romance art, I also showed off some oddball and funny romance panels and covers. I covered the beginning of the romance comic genre and theorized about why romance comics died. Then I talked about current attempts to re-introduce romance as a genre in comics.
Based on the number of audience questions, general enthusiasm and laughs, it seemed to go pretty well. Frankly, I’d love to polish it up a bit and give this talk again sometime. Maybe to another comics group. Or maybe even some romance novel fans!
by John | Nov 14, 2015 | Blog
Art by Dick Giordano
Art by Matt Baker
Once upon a time romance was an incredibly popular genre in comics. Indeed, romance played a key role in saving the comic book industry from financial ruin and bedroom boredom.
On Nov. 21, Last Kiss creator John Lustig will take us back to those days when the number of boys and girls reading comics were roughly equal and romance comics were hot—in more ways than one! Lustig will be the guest speaker at the Cartoonists Northwest (CNW) meeting in Seattle.
A CNW Golden Toonie winner and the writer of decades of humor comics (Last Kiss, Disney, Marvel, and Viz), Lustig is promising a funny and surprising sexy multimedia presentation filled with gorgeous art, beautiful women and outrageous situations.
Lustig will also talk about:
—his career and the funny way romance has shaped his work in comics and gotten him numerous licensing deals.
—how romance comics played a key role in early Marvel superhero comics.
—why romance comics went undercover in the 1970s—but rarely in the bedroom!
—how romance is starting to make a comeback in comics…and why it might matter to you.
DATE and TIME: Saturday, Nov. 21, 5:30-7:30 p.m.
LOCATION: Artist & Craftsman Supply
4350 8th Ave. N.E., Seattle, WA 98105
(In the U. District about a block east of I-5)
This meeting is free and open to the public.
Free Parking until 7:30 p.m. at the parking lot across the street from Artist & Craftsman
by John | Nov 9, 2015 | Blog
Me and an unidentified fan who begged to have her photo taken with me. (Okay, maybe she didn’t actually beg. But I’m pretty sure one of us groveled and pleaded.)
I made barrels of money at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. Okay, they were small barrels. And they were mostly full with pennies and expired bus tokens. But still…I did okay.
More importantly, I had a wonderful time—both at the con and afterwards when I’d get together with my newlywed daughter Caitie, her hubby Mat and Mat’s family.
So, all and all, it was a great way to spend Halloween weekend.
A thousand thanks to Zan Christensen, publisher of Northwest Press, for offering me free space at his booth. Zan is one of the nicest guys in comics and his company publishes some amazing and innovative work by members of the LGBTQ community and those of us whose work is LGBTQ friendly. Check out his current Kickstarter.
You don’t have to dress up to be a Last Kiss fan—but it never hurts!
Zan Christensen hot dogs it at his Northwest Press booth.
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by John | Oct 24, 2015 | Blog
For the first time ever, I’ll be at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. The show is Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2015 at the LA Convention Center. I’ll be signing at the big Northwest Press exhibit island–Booth 910 for hours and hours every day. Drop by. I’d love to see you!—John Lustig
by John | Oct 24, 2015 | Blog
Given all the strange and salty Last Kiss comics I write, you wouldn’t think I’d also be writing Donald Duck & Uncle Scrooge comics for Disney. But, you’d be wrong.
This Wednesday (Oct. 28, 2015), “The Duck Who Came to Dinner” in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #724 hits comic shops. What makes this really special is that it was a story started decades ago by Disney legend and one of my personal heroes Carl Barks. Carl scripted seven and a half pages of what I presume was supposed to be a 10-page Donald Duck story. But he never completed it.
Segment of the first two panels of Carl Barks’s handwritten script for “The Duck Who Came to Dinner.”
My editor at Egmont (Disney’s main Northern Europe comic licensee) gave me the go-ahead to finish the script—as well as several other stories that Carl either started or left notes for. Some have been printed in Europe. But this is the first to appear in America. And it’s the story that Carl came the closest to finishing.
I’m happy to say that artist Daan Jippes—who’s a Disney legend himself!—was my artist on “The Duck Who Came to Dinner.”
I think Carl would’ve liked how it came out. But, ultimately, it’ll be up to readers to decide. So check it out—if you can find a copy.
by John | Sep 29, 2015 | Blog
Yes, that’s a Last Kiss tote bag by the fridge in this scene of The Big Bang Theory.
I’ve now seen the second episode of this season’s The Big Bang Theory. And, yes, once again the Last Kiss “More Caffeine” tote bag appeared on the show.
It was slightly less visible than the last episode and I think there’s a good reason for that…
Counting last season’s final episode, this is the third straight episode featuring the tote. And each time it’s been moved slightly. I think it’s possible that the show’s staff is trying to make it look like the tote is being used. (Just like a tote would be in real life.)
So look for the bag to continue to move—possibly in every episode.
So far, the Last Kiss zombie poster hasn’t been seen on the show again. But I expect it back in the future. Look for it in one of the comic shop scenes in a future episode.
As always, I’m extremely grateful to the amazing John Fluke of Placed4Success for getting Last Kiss on this and other TV shows.
