ONE SIGNING DOWN, THREE (OR MORE) TO GO…!

Hope you all had a wonderful Thanksgiving. Me, I had my best one since fall of '02 when I first introduced Laura to my family! Great food and fun with the fam, and the addition of my first Dead Duck signing at Coy's Comics the day after made it an incredible holiday. But before I tell you about that signing, I need to promote my NEXT signing (click on the image to make it larger)...!

The sign says it all! As I've recounted before, Delta was my home from 1994-2001, and the best education I got there was serving on staff at The Delta Collegiate from '95-2001. So to be able to have a signing at my alma mater and to have my old newspaper sponsor it is an absolute thrill and honor. I hope to see some of you there, and to introduce Dead Duck to Delta's student body!

Now, if you're still curious about how my Coy's Comics signing went, I got pictures!

I arrived at Coy's around 11, and hour in advance to allow for set up, and I got to talk with Steve, my pal and manager of Coy's. I told him how huge a thrill it was for me to sign my comic at my childhood comic shop, a wonderful and almost surreal experience. Any comic creator who gets the chance to revisit his old comic shop and do a signing should jump at he chance. It's the sort of nostalgia that warms you to the core of your soul, an experience not to miss out on.

As usual, I snapped a photo or two of myself. Though I was certainly emotional, my tears weren't fogging up the lens here. I was just stupid and left my camera in my car overnight. Yay for condensation. Fortunately I was wise enough to bring my comics indoors.

Here's a brief overview of Coy's selection. Though the books have been rotated over the years, this is pretty much the same layout Dave Coy had for his store in the early 80's when I first started patronizing his shop. I can still smell the newsprint…sigh….

A shot of my table. This is similar to my set up at Wizard World Chicago, except I had less giveaways and original art. I did, however, sell a few prints at this signing, which was very cool.

My mom and her husband Scott arrived just after noon, my first customers. She took this picture of me.

This is me and my mom. I owe her more than I can ever express. Not only was she always supportive of my art and my dreams, but she never complained when I asked her to drive me to Coy's Comics as a kid. Sometimes she'd sit outside in the car reading a book while I pawed through the back issue boxes. Other times she'd come in the store with me, taking an active interest in MY interest in comics. She never dissuaded me from buying more "adult" comics, like "Batman: The Killing Joke" (even Dave Coy tried to talk her out of letting me have it), and she once stood through Dave Coy's thorough explanation of why Flaming Carrot is such a great comic book (p.s. I'm still a huge Flaming Carrot fan today). That's just a small part of why I love my mom, and why it meant so much for me to have her at my Coy's signing.

Here's my mom and her husband Scott…

Gradually, people started coming in, and to my great pleasure, they were all some of my oldest and dearest friends. Here's me and Becky, one of my closest friends and fellow Delta/Delta Collegiate/CMU alum…

And here is Ray, my oldest friend ever (as in longevity of our relationship--he's actually close to two months younger than me). Ray and I met in elementary school, and Ray was one of my earliest converts to comic book appreciation. Because of the now infamous day 20 years ago that me, Ray and our friends Bill and Danny rode our bikes to Coy's without Ray and Bill asking their mom's permission--and consequently got busted by Ray's mom before we could step foot in Coy's door--I signed Ray's copy of Dead Duck: "We finally made it to Coy's, Ray!" Similarly, I signed a copy for Ray's mom, saying: "Haha! We finally made it to Coy's, Mrs. Peters!"

And here is Premo, my second oldest friend, and beyond a doubt one of my very best. Premo even brought his baby girl Juliet with him. I offered to autograph the baby, but we suspected his wife Andrea would disapprove.

Here I am with my old CMU theater department friend Kristi Bogart, aka Kristi Fradette (or Fraday)…

My old Swan Valley high school friend Julie showed up with her boys Nathan and Justin. I gladly accepted her patronage of Dead Duck, and advised her that she may want to wait a couple years before letting them read it. Boobs abound, after all!

My old Thomas Township Parks friend Lindsey (who also modeled for a character in Dead Duck!) came out to see me…

…along with another old parks friend, Lindsey's sister Jo…

..and the queen of the parks herself, our old boss, Shelly and her nephew Levi. I worked for Shelly for thirteen years, and she allowed me to put my art to use in a job that was decidedly non-artistic. So she deserves a lot of credit for keeping me gainfully employed for over a decade. However, I felt enough time had passed that I tell her about all the times I drove the work truck down to Coy's when I was supposed to be working. If she only knew half the crap I got away with…

It's to my regret that I didn't get photos of my other friends who came to see me--my pseudo sis Emily and her finance Chris, my old Collegiate friend Gina (aka Gina Bo-beena), my old Swan Valley friend Theresa and my old Swan Valley English and drama teacher Mr. Bird (who's teachings were a huge influence on Dead Duck). If any of you guys have pics from Coy's that you took, please e-mail them to me or link me to them on Facebook. I'd love to show them off!

So my thanks to Steve at Coy's Comics (the absolute best comic shop in mid Michigan) for allowing me to hold my first signing there. It was such fun, and just one more piece of my childhood dream puzzle to fall into place!

To the rest of you, all my best, and I hope to see you at my next signing on Monday at good ol' Delta College!

--Jay