Interview with Jed Thomas

After meeting him at the "Daniel Way Signing" at Phat Collectibles on November 17, 2012, I finally had the honor to ask the talented Jed Thomas some questions and he took the time to answer them.

So I really hope you enjoy the read and my first personal interview with one of my favorite artists at this time. Dive into a world full of music and art with my Interview with Jed Thomas.

1. Please Introduce yourself to my readers!

The name is Thomas,... JED THOMAS. I am a native from Orange County but resides in Los Angeles, California. I am an artist, illustrator - I run my own art company, THE BAT COMES OUT TONIGHT and also a lead singer in a metalcore band, WITH HEARTSAKE IN VENGEANCE.

2. When did you start drawing comic-style?

I started drawing like forever and a day ago since I was 4 years old. I was a little dude back then.

3. Who is your favorite Comic Superhero and why?

My favorite superhero of all time is BATMAN. He is the greatest character and hero ever created in the history of mankind. He is the reason of my decent existence, he is an inspiration, a motivational figure, he is everything to me (more than words could explain). Apart from the personal matter, I really like BATMAN because of who he is, what he stands for, how he does things, his work ethics, he break rules, he is scary, he is just way too awesome !!!!!

4. If you could have any Superpower in the world which one would it be or would you rather be the rich guy that invents all his stuff?

I would rather be the super rich guy that has that ability to do everything. Yes, just like Bruce Wayne or Tony Stark. I have an expensive taste in life anyway, so I think being super crazy rich would fit me the best.

5. You currently worked for „The Walking Dead“. How was that experience?

The Walking Dead is fun. I didn't work on the book, I worked on the other art stuff for them but at the moment I cannot talk about it much. Because it's still a future release and I cannot give it away. So mouth zipped for now.... Hahahahahahahahaha.

Headsketches & an awesome Deadpool poster from Jed Thomas

6. Beside your work as an artist you also sing in a band. Do you mind telling me more about that side of yours?

 I sing in a band, yes I do. I love singing and I love music. I have always been the crazy kid that loves the spotlight. I am an eccentric human being that likes to rock out and have that rock edgy attitude. Music is definitely my other passion in life. I like to be the guy that does everything that I truly love. We only live once in this life, might as well do all the things we love and live a life with no regrets.

7. Does your music also influence your work as a comic artist or the other way around?

I think I am able to channel my life and express different aspects in my life differently through my music and my art. So I guess they just run their own course individually. It's really funny though, it seems like the people who are fans of my art don't care about my music and the people who are fans of my band, don't care about my art. It's strange... maybe people need to be educated more.

8. What is your favorite Comic at the moment?

My current favorite comic book is BATMAN by Scott Snyder and Greg Capullo. SO GOOD !!!!!!!!!!!

9. If you could give any advice to upcoming comic artists what would it be?

 My advice would be to work hard, practice right, don't listen or care what negativities that others say to you.

10. Thank you so much for taking your time to answer the questions. Do you have any last words to my readers?

Go LIKE my art page on facebook

Go check out my website

Go LIKE my band page

Xoxo,
Nana

Mike Mignola Signing @ Phat Collectibles

Meeting the creator of such a popular character like „HELLBOY“ is always an honor for a geek-girl like me.

So on December 8, 2012 I had the opportunity to meet Mike Mignola at the Phat Collectibles store in Anaheim, CA.

When I arrived in the morning the line was already super long and so there was no chance of getting free stuff this time.

While I was waiting for my number get called for the signing I was shopping around and through that got a bunch of tickets for the raffle that was going on. This time I got really lucky there.

Since I won one of the really rare Headsketches in the raffle I got to cut in line and get all the comics signed really fast.

Mike Mignola really cherishes his fans. That's at least the impression I got at the signing and that is what I really love about the comic scene.

Also PhatCollectibles did an awesome job again with the signing and the Cosplayers were really entertaining as well. And don't forget to check out the pictures of the Event on the Phat Collectibles Facebookpage.

I just can't wait to visit both locations of Phat Collectibles again in the future. This is a comic store I really miss.

Xoxo,

Nana

Daniel Way Signing @ Phat Collectibles

On November 17, 2012 I attended the Daniel Way signing at Phat Collectibles in Huntington Beach.

On the same day there was also a huge SALE going on where you could get old comics and pretty new back issues for cheap. So the store was really well visited.

As one of the first 15 people that arrived there for the signing we got a ticket for a free “Deadpool” Headsketch by "Jed Thomas".

On a side note: Jed is one of the nicest and most talented people I had the honor to meet. You should really check out his work & his homepage.

http://www.thebatcomesouttonight.com

But the main person that day was writer “Daniel Way”. He wrote stories for “Wolverine: Origins”, “Deadpool” and many more.

Since there was no limit on comics you could get signed some people came with huge piles of comics to get them signed. And Daniel Way was such a sweetheart and signed every comic with such a patience, talked to the fans and took pictures with them.

I took the following comics to get signed:

After I got the free Deadpool Headsketch from Jed Thomas I also purchased an awesome Deadpool poster plus a Headsketch of Ms. Marvel.

During all the shopping and waiting I met this awesome guy by the name of LJ. He is as addicted to comics as I am and talking to him was really fun. Check out his YouTube Channel. He put up some nice Videofootage of the Daniel Way signing.

http://www.youtube.com/calicollectibles

And yeah if you’re ever in SoCal go to Phat Collectibles. The store is just too amazing and their events are always really well organized. They have 2 Stores, one in Anaheim and another one in Huntington Beach. Both stores are really nice, but the one in Anaheim is bigger. You should check out both since they both have their own character.

http://www.phatcollectibles.com/

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Phat-Collectibles/

Can’t wait to tell you guys about the Signing with Hellboy Creator Mike Mignola in my next blog.

xoxo,
Nana

Friday - what a shopping success

Normally I post pictures of my Comic Book Shopping on Instagram but last Friday was such a crazy day that I can’t even post all the pictures on Instagram because it would be simply too much. So I just decided to give last Friday its own Blogentry so my readers don’t have to miss out on what kind of Comics I bought this time.

While my fiancé & we’re driving down to Los Angeles on Friday we decided to make our usual stop in Santa Clarita to just shop for a few comics we’re missing. But this time it got a little crazy, but what isn’t “crazy” nowadays.

The first stop we made was at UtopiaComics. Their boxes of back issues are not just a few. They have lots of boxes and all the back issues even newer ones are just $1. So we started to make our way through the top ones which were about 9 boxes and the result of it were 54 back issues. Plus we also bought some new ones there we were missing from Wednesday.

Next stop was Paper Hero Comics, our favorite Comic book store in Santa Clarita. There we also bought some back issues.

I have no idea how many comics we bought but in the end it was 4 bags from 2 different Comic book stores. If you’re ever visiting the area and want to go shopping for comics I can really recommend those two stores.

Can’t wait for the next shopping spree there but tomorrow is finally Wednesday again so let’s see what will be on Instagram this time.

Instagram: HachiKomatsu

Digital Comics

After I did a regular introduction post on my love for comics I wanna talk about „Digital Comics“ this time.

The first time I discovered Digital Comics was through Marvel’s „Avengers vs. X-Men“. When it said on Issue #0 „Free Digital Code“ I got curious and downloaded the App.

But it’s not like you enter the code in the App and there you go. Luckily every code comes with instruction and thanks to the Marvel.com you can download your “Digital Copies” to every device that you have connected with it.

I really love using it for my iPad. It is just so nice to be like on a trip and have your favorite digital comics with you so you can read them. I most of the time read them on my long overseas flights from Germany to the US.

Another good thing  is that you don’t need any internet connection once you have downloaded your Digital Comics to the App to read them.

There is also one thing that I dislike the “Digital Codes” that come with the Marvel Comics. It is the price. Comics that include the Digital Code cost $3.99 when the Comics without the Digital Code just cost $2.99. Still it is better than paying another $2.99 on the App to get a Digital Copy of the comic you just purchased.

Marvel also has SALES on Digital Comics every now and then. The issues are as low as $0.99 and sometimes you get lucky and get a short series for under $5.00. Plus you also get FREE Digital comics from time to time, which gives you the chance to discover old series that you haven’t collected yet and that you then might wanna add to your regular comic collection.

Since “Avengers vs. X-Men” came out my count on Digital Comics climbed from 0 to 62 and I haven’t even claimed all the codes I have.

So to be honest getting comics with “Digital Codes” has more pros than cons. I just wish that DC Comics would to the same as Marvel. It would definitely be a huge step for them.

What do you guys think? Do you like to get your Comics with Digital Codes or is it that you don’t care about them?

Comics

I’ve been a fan of Comics for  a long time now but some day it switched more to Manga and forgot about the awesome world of western comics. So I’m really thankful to my fiancé that he brought me back into this.

During my last visit in the US we started to collect comics together and I have to say in like 3 months we collected nearly 300 comics. It’s a mixture between old and new.

My favorite of the newest comic series is definately „Avengers vs. X-Men“, even tho it is limited to 12 comics, but what makes it really interesting to collect are all the different Variant issues they come out with. Each issue comes with at least 3-4 Variants and until now I really loved every single one.

When it comes to older comics I’m really in love with the Iron Man Franchise. Yes, I’m an Iron Man Fangirl & also proud of it. ^_^ I currently read the „Legacy of Doom“, which was released in 2008. So it’s a quite new one. But the reason why I love it so much, is because it combines my favorite Super Villian and my favorite Super Hero all in one. The storyline is awesome but there was one thing that really creeped me out and this was the “Eyeball Monster”. I think it was one of the creepiest things I’ve ever seen.

But yeah to come to the point of this entry. Don’t forget about the awesome western comics. Asian comics might be hip and trendy right now (no, I’m not saying that they are bad!) but western comics have so much more history for us, that we as comic book fans should cherish.

You can also follow me on Instagram for more geeky & comic book related pictures: hachikomatsu