Birthday Cake and Whiskey

With Three Thieves Vol. 1: Tower of Treasure now back out in the world, it's probably time to start getting people excited for Vol. 2: The Sign of the Black Rock and Vol 3: The Captive Prince, which are being rereleased by Papercutz on June 24 and October 28, respectively.

I was especially happy to draw a new cover for The Sign of the Black Rock, because both of the previous covers were my least favourite of their runs. Covers are an aspect of book production that even the most hands-on creators have the least control over. It's essentially an advertisement for the book, so publishers have strong opinions about them, as do their marketing departments, distributors, and so on. You submit a handful of ideas and they pick the one they like -- assuming they like any of them and don't end up suggesting their own. It's easy to end up scratching your head over where you ended up, but I think we finally got it right with this one.

The new cover for The Captive Prince, on the other hand, is essentially the same concept that appeared on the previous two editions, just a better version of it. Two different publishers have chosen it three different times, which I totally understand: it's simple, fun, and gets immediately to the role reversal at the heart of the book's story.

Here's a video I recorded for Papercutz of me inking it, and talking a bit about how it's been to draw Dessa and her friends again:

MORE PICTURES OF Spider-man

I had two terrific book signings this month to mark the rerelease of Three Thieves.

The first was at The Dragon in Guelph, Ontario, an inviting, world-class comics shop owned by my longtime friend Jenn Haines. It also happened to be my birthday the next day, so Papercutz sent a cake, which was a nice surprise. Always nice when publishers do more than expected, and remember that you're a person and not just a product. I think everybody in the shop got a piece. Pretty great.

The second signing was this past weekend at Wayside Comics & Cocktails in Newmarket, Ontario, which is exactly what the name would suggest: a combination comics shop and cocktail bar. It's relatively new, but has quickly endeared itself to southern Ontario comics creators and the local readership with its signature cocktails, easygoing vibe, and well-curated selection of books.

Because of the nature of the shop, ordering a Jameson whiskey there eventually became asking for “J. Jonah Jameson,” which evolved further into simply asking for “more pictures of Spider-Man.” I honoured this tradition in a sketch, which was then celebrated by downing the pictured shots. Always a good time with Omar and the gang.

I signed stock at both stores, so if you're looking for autographed copies of my books, there are plenty at both locations. And both are shops worth visiting in their own right. Retailers are on the front lines of the comics business (and the wider book business) and these are two of the best, who've built a real sense of community among the customer bases in their cities.

THE rest of 2025

So far, I don't have other personal appearances planned for this year, though I'm entertaining a couple of offers (both involve travel to the U.S., which is very much touch-and-go at the moment, as you'll understand if you have any access whatsoever to the news.) Which is fine, because I have two big projects that I'm nose-to-the-grindstone on. I still can't talk much about either one, but if I disappear for a while, that's what I'll be doing.

In the meantime, please enjoy this photo of me shovelling delicious cookie cake into my face.

Everything Old is New Again

...Starting with this website.

With ongoing privacy concerns, the mass infringement of intellectual property by AI, and increasingly extreme and toxic politics, the social media era seems to have fallen off a cliff. Which is cool with me. I never liked much liked it to begin with. The only social media platform I've ever actually enjoyed using was Instagram, which people are currently running away from like it's a house on fire.

Still, it puts creative professionals like me in a bit of a quandary as to how to continue to promote our new and upcoming work as cheaply and effectively as possible. I'm going to stick with Instagram for as long as I can stand it, and am giving Bluesky another try even though I find the Twitter-style, scroll-and-complain type of platforms annoying and exhausting. I tried an inexpensive Patreon for several months, where I had intended to let subscribers watch behind the scenes as my new books take shape. But without being able to talk publicly yet about either of my current works in progress, I was at a bit of a loss for what to post there.

So what I'm doing instead is revamping my website, and adding a blog that double as a subscription newsletter. You know, exactly what we were all doing in 2005, before the social media era. It worked then, maybe it'll work now. And if your favourite platform collapses tomorrow, or suddenly becomes an online hangout for white supremacists or other unsavoury types, it'll be a place you can always find me, where we can reliably hang out and talk comics and be safe from said dirtbags. Cool? Cool.

THREE THIEVES ReRelease!

Speaking of old things that are coming back around, tomorrow (February 4, 2025) is the release date for the new edition of Three Thieves: Tower of Treasure, the first in a seven-book rerelease from my new pals at Papercutz. I'm thrilled to see the series getting a second life. The original versions were popular in libraries and schools, but got little traction outside of that market. Word of mouth has kept them alive since the last book was released in 2016, but they've been notoriously hard to find in retail stores, even when they were still in print. That changes now. Many, many people who have emailed me over the intervening years asking, "Where can I buy the Three Thieves books?" I'll finally have something to tell them.

Each book is going to have new cover art, new design, and a bunch of new extras, including sketches, original character designs, and an extensive interview between myself and my partner, comics editor/scholar/journalist Irene Velentzas, that will run through all seven volumes.

It's pretty exciting stuff. Don't believe me? Believe comics legend Jeff Lemire:

Birthday Sale in Online Store!

Yet another old thing: me.

I turn 53 on February 9th, which is this Sunday. And I badly need to clear out my online store to make room for newer stuff. So for my birthday, I'm giving you a present: 20% off everything in my online store. If there was ever a time to grab that piece of original art you've had your eye on, it's now. (As always, if the piece of art you had your eye on isn't it the store, shoot me an email or a DM on the platforms I still use, and I'll let you know if I still have it available.)

Use the promo code 53ISOKWITHME to get 20% off your entire order.

February appearances!

A new year and new/old books to promote means more places where you can find me in public. I've just added two new signings:

This Saturday, February 8, from 4-7pm at The Dragon in Guelph, Ontario. One of my old haunts, where we'll be launching the new editions of Three Thieves, alongside Stephanie Cooke and Alina Tysoe, who also have new books debuting.

And you can also catch me on Saturday, February 22 from 11am-4pm at one of my new favourite haunts, Wayside Comics & Cocktails in Newmarket, Ontario, a comfy and welcoming comics shop that's also a cocktail bar, combining my two favourite types of establishment into one unstoppable, Voltron-style mega-establishment. (Unfortunately, I don't have cool graphic for this one yet.)

Until next time!

I'm hoping to update this blog twice a month, but that -- as always -- will depend on how busy I am with the new projects (which I will eventually be able to talk about and show you, I swear.) If you're so inclined, sign up for email alerts so that you don't miss one.

Cheers!