THE CONTRACT COMETH, play news and a memoriam…

Even I was losing faith, just a teeny little bit, but lo and behold, I got an e-mail from Ape Comics telling me my contract was in the mail, and that same day, my mailbox proved Ape to not be a liar. Along with the contract, the good folks at Ape were kind enough to send me some of their comics and graphic novels as reference towards what Dead Duck will look like in printed form. And let me tell you, Ape does NOT put out a shoddy product. These were some of the glossiest, tightest books I'd ever held in my hands. So you can imagine how cool my Dead Duck graphic novel will be. All I'm waiting for now is my layer, Nick "Pro Bono" Duono (or Boner Donut, which is by far more hilarious) to call or e-mail me with a time that he can view the contract and make sure it's all good to sign. On my end, Dead Duck is still rolling along with my latest story being produced as we speak. I'm not hitting it quite as hard as I would normally, due to my involvement in the play I'd mentioned last time, but in under a month, the show will have wrapped, and it'll be full steam ahead on my comic.



And speaking of the play, here's the info you guys will need if you want to come see it. It's called "Duck Hunter Shoots Angel," written by Mitch Albom and starring, among others, myself as one of the two duck hunters, and my wife Laura, as the lost love of one of the other characters. Showtimes are:

March 7th&8th--8:00 pm
March 9th--3:00 pm
March 13th, 14th, 15th--8:00 pm
March 16th--3:00 pm
The box office opens March 3rd, and you can order tickets by calling The Bay City Players at (989) 893-5555 between 12-2pm and 7-9pm.

So mark it down, people. Much as I want to see as many of my pals in the audience, I don't want to have to commit this info to memory and repeat it ad nauseam a bazillion times. So no excuses, folks. All you need to know is here!

Lastly, a very influential personality in the world of comic books has left us, and I wanted to make mention of it here. Steve Gerber, probably the one guy most responsible for my ever having created Dead Duck, succumbed to a long battle with pulmonary fibrosis last week. He was the creator and writer of (among countless other popular comics for various publishers), the comic book "Howard The Duck" for Marvel in the 1970's, which was one of my most favorite books as a kid. It put me on a path of cartoon duck worship, and, as I've mentioned, led me to create my own cartoon duck. So in tribute, I created this cartoon. It's not much, but it's the best little candle I could light in his memory.



So that's it for now. More news as it comes.

Jay