Matty's "Collector's Appreciation Whatever" booth was selling three JLU three-packs that I guess they figured weren't gonna make it to stores.  Instead of doing each set one by one, I figgered I'd just throw the new guys from each set into one big blog post.  It's not like I have a lot to say about each individual guy here anyway.

Except for Heat Wave, that is!  I had no idea that I'd like him this much.  As a character, he's barely on my radar, since he's "That Other Major Flash Villain That Doesn't Show Up Quite As Much As The Others," so I figgered he'd be just another guy to throw on the shelf.  But the unique tooling done for him really causes him to go above and beyond my expectations.  He of course has a new head, like all new JLU guys.  He also has a new flamethrower backpack thing, unsurprisingly.  But what impresses me are his new arms.  I guess Mattel decided to give him new arms ... for some reason.  I thought at first that it might be because they wanted to give him a flame gun, but they sculpted Angle Man a little triangle to hold in one of his arms and his arms are otherwise unaltered.

Regardless, the new arms make me very happy.  There's detail sculpted into them that would otherwise be just paint, and both handsculpts are deliciously new and crisp.  You can really tell that the standard JLU handsculpts are ten years old.  They're kind of blobby and lack the crisp edges that the newer handsculpts have.  Even though Heat Wave's torso and legs are recycled, he really feels like a whole new figure, like the special one-off guys like Gorilla Grodd or Lobo that get all-new sculpts.  And it's entirely the hands that do it.

The rest of the guys are all right.  I was excited for Evil-Star for no real reason, and I'm pretty content to own Angle Man and Goldface as well.  And Killer Frost was a frequently-appearing villain, so she fills a very conspicuous hole in my collection.  But their tooling is mostly recycled, so they're less exciting than Heat Wave.

It's kind of insane that we got all these obscure villains, even late in the game.  Good work, Mattel.

...including a bunch of Young Justice stuff specifically for my wife.

I'm going back to C2E2 for its second year this coming weekend (March 18-20), and I'm bringing some pals.  You can find me sharing a table with Danielle Corsetto (Girls with Slingshots), Randy Milholland (Something Positive), and Joel Watson (Hijinks Ensue).  It looks like we're in booth 862, which is a corner booth in the back of the hall facing Artists Alley and the Webcomics Pavilion.

You can still buy tickets to C2e2 online, but only for the next two days (plus eight hours as of this writing).

As a sidenote, woo, apparently Mattel's booth is selling three exclusive JLU three-packs at C2E2!  There's:

• Goldface / Evil Star / Kyle Rayner


• Angleman / Firestorm / Killer Frost


• Heatwave / The Flash / Mirror Master

I've bolded the guys who are new.  I'm pretty excited for Killer Frost.  Oh, and Evil Star, too, I guess, if only because of his one, quick hilarious bit in "The Great Brain Robbery."

I miss you, Dwayne McDuffie.

And here's the last of my (published) pictures.  That's right!   There are photos worse than the ones from yesterday with all the mouth-pooping.

(They were blurry or boring.)

Argh.  Well, first, let me address everyone's missing weekend comics.  I had a Joyce & Walky! done days ago, but for some reason the old FTP wasn't working (J&W! is still at the old server) and I couldn't get that fixed before I left.  And I planned to draw TNI's strip at C2E2, but then I forgot about it.  D'oh.  Anyway, I'm a loser, and you'll have your comics when I get home and things are resolved and/or drawn.

Some of these images are kind of gross.  Three of them, in fact.  They are mere links, because, you know. (You may recall that Jeph Jacques and I have a "feud."  In fact, you obviously do recall, because you guys keep asking us to act on it in ways such as this.)   I recommend not clicking on the links that sound Not Safe For Work, because they undoubtedly are.

I'm asked to draw myself pooping in Jeph Jacques mouth.  Of course I'll draw that.

Same person got another book.  So this is Batman pooping in Commissioner Gordon's mouth, because why the hell not.

And Jeph responds.

Yay, I remembered to bring my camera cord back with me.  And my camera!  (That also helps.)  So have some pix.

Saturday's stuff I'll put up tomorrow!  Think of today as Friday night, but 24 hours later because I was stupid.

Sneak preview: KFC Double Down.  Mouth-pooping.

...is gonna be a crappy-ass blog post.  I left my camera cord at the booth.  It will do me no good there, while my camera and laptop are here!  Damn.

Regardless, it's been a super start to what promises to be a super show.  Thanks from me to everyone who's stopped by so far!

So, hey, I was reminded by an email this afternoon that I should tell everyone, uh, I guess if you have a certain original art page in mind that you'd like to pick up at C2E2 this weekend, email me with the strip's URL.  If it's available I'll try to find it tomorrow morning before I head to Chicago and I'll aim to have it at the booth for you.  Undialoged, obviously.  It'll be virgin.

No promises, of course.  This is totally a last-minute thing.  I have a huuuuge stack of pages you wouldn't believe!  It's monstrous!  And a few pages are important enough to me that I plan to dialog them and auction them online later at my discretion.

I can't wait to see you guys this weekend!  I am so stoked.  Everyone's always so awesome.

Have I mentioned often enough that I'm going to be at C2E2 in Chicago this weekend?  Have I?  Have I Have I Have I?

Well, I am.

Going to be at C2E2, that is.

Here's a fun guide of all the sweet swag I'm gonna bring that you can bring home with you:

1) Shortpacked! Book 2 and Roomies! Book 1, of course.  Shortpacked! Book 1, as you recall, is sold out, and Shortpacked! Book 3 is currently in production in Hong Kong.  I will have preorder slips available at the show, but the two books I will have will absolutely not disappoint.

2) The Shortpacked! Book 1 reprint cover poster!  You know, with the Ultra Car and the Ethan and the Ronnie and the Back to the Future?  Yeah.  Gonna have just 25 with me at the show.  Get one before they're gone!  (They're convention-exclusive, so I won't have any in the online store.)

3) "I'm Gardening Man" t-shirts.  All sizes, while they last.   Oh yeah.  You want one.

4) Shortpacked! magnets.  Use this 4"x6" magnet to hold up the pizza coupons on your fridge.

5) "If you see me, I'm toy hunting" bumper sticker.  Let all of traffic know you're hunting in vain for that elusive Transformers Animated Arcee.  These bumper stickers are beautiful.

6) And then there's the usual art prints, the original art pages, and I'm available for commissions, as always.

7) I am selling my boothmate, Chris Hallbeck.  He doesn't know yet.  He's $50.

So hit up Chris and I at C2E2, booth WC E.  That's WC for "WebComics," y'see.  There's a whole Webcomics MECCA.  We'll be in the back nestled in between the Moens and the Milhollands.  Seriously, have you seen the roster for this show?  Everyone's gonna be there!  It's crazy.

Shortpacked!: Signifying nothing.

Still working on the site overhaul.  I have over 1100 comics, all of which gotta be assorted by chapter and subchapter.  You can imagine how much fun that is. 

But it's gonna be beautiful.  It's going to be beautiful and user friendly and it will be amazing.  So many thanks to ComicPress Overlord Frumph, who's been walking me through this hand-in-hand.  (But not in a gay way.)

I must have something for your eyeballs in the meantime!  I'm gonna be in motherfuckin' Chicago the weekend after this one!  That's right, C2E2 is April 16-18, and it promises to be a huge thing of bigness.  I'll be exhibiting with Chris Hallbeck of The Book Of Biff.  

Let's talk the merch.  Look, it's a poster!  Remember that really awesome Book 1 reprint cover I did?  Well, you can have an 11x17" full-color poster of it if you come to my table and buy a high-five.  (The poster comes free with the purchase of a high-five.)   But you can only have the poster if you come see me at the convention!  These posters are gonna be convention exclusive.  

(Why?  Well, I don't wanna take away one of the few draws to funding the Book 1 reprint.  But I also don't want to not make a poster of it.  So, compromise.)  

At the moment, I only have 25 of these.  Just 25!  There's a good chance that'll get depleted C2E2 weekend and I'll have to order more for subsequent conventions.  Regardless, make sure you get to me early at C2E2 if you want to guarantee a poster.  We'll be at booth WC E!  (WebComic area, table E)  If you see Erika Moen, we're the ones right next door shooting rubber bands at her.