Ape and KiZoic will have early editions of Scratch9 #1 available at the show at booth #1703.

Jason Kruse and I will be signing at the booth during scheduled periods Thurs-Sun (see below).

Jason will also be camped out in Artist Alley at table EE-22 throughout the week. Hit him up for a sketch!

SIGNING

Rob And Jason will be signing comics at Booth #1703

• THURSDAY – July 22 – 5pm-7pm
• FRIDAY – July 23 – 12pm – 2pm
• SATURDAY – July 24 – 3pm – 4:15pm
• SUNDAY – July 25 – 1pm – 3pm (Jason only)

PANELS

THURSDAY – July 22 – 1:00PM – Room 9
Ape Entertainment – Rob and Jason will join Ape and KiZoic in unveiling their upcoming line of comics, including Scratch9!

SATURDAY – July 24 – 4:30pm – Room 18
How To with Jason and Rob – In which we discuss the creative process on Scratch9 and other comics for the kids.

OFF SITE

The New Children’s Museum of San Diego is hosting a comic art exhibit during comic con, including original artwork from Scratch9 and other titles from Ape Entertainment and KiZoic. Visit http://www.thinkplaycreate.org/ for details.

These books were fun to write. They required a bit of research as I’m not as versed in Norse mythology as I am in Greek. I didn’t really realize when I drew this pair that their stories overlapped so much, with Heimdall clashing directly with Loki at Ragnarok.

The covers below are the first artwork I’ve seen from them. In fact, it’s from them that I’m learning that comic book artist Brandon McKinney (Spider-Man, Godzilla!!!) illustrated the Loki book. Comic book artist Shawn Moll (She-Hulk, Friday the 13th) drew the Heimdall book. Can’t wait to see the interiors.

Other books in the line include Odin by Shannon Eric Denton and Mark Bloodworth, Thor by Denton and Mateus Santolouco, Freya by Christopher E. Long and Mike Dubisch and Tyr by Long and Dubisch.

Scratch9 has a dynamite hook and solid, kid-friendly storytelling that still plays decently for adults — who will be reading it to their kids over and over again.

Read the complete review!

Comic Book Resources posted a nice interview with me about my new all-ages comic Scratch9!

Even better, the article includes four never-before-seen pages of artwork from the first issue!

Click & Read!

“Talking animals, mad scientists and a dash of mysticism, SCRATCH9 delivers a positive message via a mischievously adorable young feline. “

Read the complete review at Comics Waiting Room!

I’ll be at Comics & More in Madison Heights MI handing out this swell mini-poster from SCRATCH9. If you’re in the area this Saturday come get some! The store is on John R. Road, South of 12 Mile.

Hit the FCBD website to find a comic shop near you and for a complete listing of all the comics that’ll be available.

KidsComics.com screen shot

Diamond Comics Distributors has announced the launch of a new website and comic shop locator aimed at directing kids and parents to kid-friendly comic shops (the ones that carry Scratch9!!!) across the United States and Canada.

The new site at kidscomics.com features a variety of news, info, and fun activities on comics and graphic novels geared directly to kids ages 4 to 11 — and older fans who are kids at heart!

Kidscomics.com builds upon Diamond’s successful comicshoplocator.com website and phone service, which since 1996 has directed over three million-plus customers searching for comics and other merchandise to direct market comic book shops.

The new kid-friendly site will be a web portal to get the most up-to-date news and information on kid’s comics (can I say it again? Like Scratch9) and graphic novels, with current plans calling for the comic shop locator, a new release schedule highlighting the latest kid-friendly comic books, a backlist of kid-friendly graphic novels, sneak peeks at upcoming titles, character and creator interviews, and more.

The shop locator for kidscomics.com will initially launch with over 800 qualified kid-friendly retailers taken from current shops who participate in Diamond’s comicshoplocator.com service. Each retailer must show a minimum ordering support for kid-friendly comic books and graphic novels.

Everybody knows cautionary tale of The Boy Who Cried Wolf but you’ve never seen it through the lens of animation superstar illustrator Will Meugniot (‘Ultimate Avengers 2′) before. I thought I turned in a pretty funny script for this story book, but Will’s drawings make it laugh-out-loud hilarious.

I wasn’t that familiar with The Ants and the Grasshopper Aesop’s ode to hard work and planning. Comics great Mark Bloodworth drew this one and did amazingly detailed renderings of the insect characters of the story. I can’t wait to see the colored images for the first time!

The books are for beginning readers and are meant for libraries. Check out the covers!

Other books in the line include The Lion and the Mouse by Shannon Eric Denton and Mike Dubisch, The Town Mouse and the Country Mouse by Shannon Denton and Mark Bloodworth, The Tortoise and the Hare by Shannon Denton and Mark Pennington, The Fox and the Grapes by Christopher E. Long and John Cbonis.

Now if I could just get an ETA on the Norse Mythology books we did for ABDO!

Update: Amazon shows September for the Norse Myth books.