For the first time ever, I’ll be at Stan Lee’s Comikaze Expo. The show is Oct. 30-Nov. 1, 2015 at the LA Convention Center. I’ll be signing at the big Northwest Press exhibit island–Booth 910 for hours and hours every day. Drop by. I’d love to see you!—John Lustig
Given all the strange and salty Last Kiss comics I write, you wouldn’t think I’d also be writing Donald Duck & Uncle Scrooge comics for Disney. But, you’d be wrong.
This Wednesday (Oct. 28, 2015), “The Duck Who Came to Dinner” in Walt Disney’s Comics and Stories #724 hits comic shops. What makes this really special is that it was a story started decades ago by Disney legend and one of my personal heroes Carl Barks. Carl scripted seven and a half pages of what I presume was supposed to be a 10-page Donald Duck story. But he never completed it.
Segment of the first two panels of Carl Barks’s handwritten script for “The Duck Who Came to Dinner.”
My editor at Egmont (Disney’s main Northern Europe comic licensee) gave me the go-ahead to finish the script—as well as several other stories that Carl either started or left notes for. Some have been printed in Europe. But this is the first to appear in America. And it’s the story that Carl came the closest to finishing.
I’m happy to say that artist Daan Jippes—who’s a Disney legend himself!—was my artist on “The Duck Who Came to Dinner.”
I think Carl would’ve liked how it came out. But, ultimately, it’ll be up to readers to decide. So check it out—if you can find a copy.
Yes, that’s a Last Kiss tote bag by the fridge in this scene of The Big Bang Theory.
I’ve now seen the second episode of this season’s The Big Bang Theory. And, yes, once again the Last Kiss “More Caffeine” tote bag appeared on the show.
It was slightly less visible than the last episode and I think there’s a good reason for that…
Counting last season’s final episode, this is the third straight episode featuring the tote. And each time it’s been moved slightly. I think it’s possible that the show’s staff is trying to make it look like the tote is being used. (Just like a tote would be in real life.)
So look for the bag to continue to move—possibly in every episode.
So far, the Last Kiss zombie poster hasn’t been seen on the show again. But I expect it back in the future. Look for it in one of the comic shop scenes in a future episode.
As always, I’m extremely grateful to the amazing John Fluke of Placed4Success for getting Last Kiss on this and other TV shows.
No Amy (Mayim Hoya Bialik) didn’t actually say this. But I’ll bet she was thinking it!
Last Kiss had a cameo on The Big Bang Theory—again!
A Last Kiss tote bag was shown several times in kitchen scenes during the season premier (Monday, Sept. 21.)
Prior to this, it (along with a Last Kiss zombie poster) appeared in last season’s finale.
“It was great to see the tote bag on the show again,” said Last Kiss creator John Lustig. “John Fluke—whose business Placed4Success got Last Kiss on The Big Bang Theory last season—didn’t think the tote bag would still be on the set this season. So I was very pleasantly surprised!”
(The More Caffeine tote bag is now available here on Etsy.)
“With the bag in the premier episode,” said Lustig, “there’s a really good chance that it’ll show up throughout the rest of the season. Now I’ll be watching to see if that Last Kiss zombie poster shows up in episodes as well.” (Look for it in scenes in the show’s comic book set.)
“I’m a big fan of the show,” said Lustig. “Oddly enough, I only got into watching it in when I was taking care of my mother during the last year of her life. She loved it and I started watching it with her.
“So, having Last Kiss show up on The Big Bang Theory has extra meaning for me. I think Mom would’ve been thrilled and proud for me.”
A whole row of Last Kiss comics are featured in this scene from the TV show SCREAM. In the foreground are actors John Karna (Noah Foster) and Bex Taylor-Klaus (Audrey Jensen.)
If you looked closely—no, I mean really closely–Last Kiss images showed up multiple times on the recently completed first season of the MTV show SCREAM.
Last Kiss art showed up in at least seven episodes of the popular slasher horror-comedy. (The TV series is a sequel to the late Wes Craven’s popular SCREAM movies.)
I created 12 faux Last Kiss comic book covers for use on the MTV’s SCREAM.
A Last Kiss sticky notebook</em> (originally published by Dark Horse Comics) showed up most often and most prominently. But also featured was a set of faux Last Kiss comic book covers that I created specifically for the show. All were used as set dressing on the show’s comic book shop set.
Last Kiss appeared on the show thanks to the amazing John Fluke of Placed4Success.com. In addition to SCREAM, John has also gotten Last Kiss cameo appearances on THE BIG BANG THEORY (See pics.) and MIKE & MOLLY (See pics.)
(more…)
I’m delighted (and proud!) to announce that I’ve been named one of the “21 Best Comic-Con Artists” by Printmag.com’s Michael Dooley.
I’m particularly happy about this because many of the other artists selected are legends in the comics business and many are my personal heroes: Sergio Aragones, Ramona Fradon, Rick Geary, Denis Kitchen, Alex Niño, Bill Sienkiewicz and William Stout (to name just a few.) That’s an impressive group of creators to be included in!
Michael Dooley‘s article “21 Best Comic-Con Artists: A Designer’s Guide” also selects established and emerging artists such as Frank Forte, the fabulous Karen Hallion, Natalie Hernandez, Ed Luce, Arlen Schumer, and others.
Last Kiss creator John Lustig was interviewed about his dreams & goals—and how he makes them come true.
In June I attended the 2015 Licensing Expo* in Las Vegas and I met artist/designer Kat Ford of CorpirateUSA.com. A first time exhibitor, Kat’s small, but well-organized booth stood out in a sea of booths that were all clamoring for attention.
Apparently I impressed her as well—or maybe she just thought I was weird enough to be interesting—because she interviewed me for the blog that she and Bonnie Gore run about how people achieve their goals.
Thanks, Kat!
*I swear by the Seven Gods of Merchandising, I’ll write about the Licensing Expo soon. Or at least someday—sorta soon. Trust me, it’ll be worth the wait!
Elite Avni-Sharon (by Elite!)
Israeli artist Elite Avni-Sharon is the newest member of the Last Kiss team of insanely talented (or in my case just insane) contributors.
I met Elite back in 2008 at a New York Comic Con. We’ve exchanged occasional e-mails since then. But it was only recently that Elite approached me about working on Last Kiss. I quickly said “Yes!!!”
An artist for 18 years, she’s illustrated books for children, adults and “professionals.” In addition to advertising and public relations work, she’s also done designs for the fashion, textile, and toy markets.
Elite lives in Israel, with a demanding Macintosh, “delicious husband, Pinkish girl and three cats.”
See more of Elite’s fabulous work on her site and her professional Facebook page.
As well as below…
I won’t be that hard to find at Comic-Con…unless you’re a Minion.
Although I won’t have a booth of my own this year, I’ll be easy to find at Comic-Con International. Please come by and chat when I’m autographing and selling here:
Thursday, July 9
—Prism Comics booth #2144, from 4 to 5 p.m.
Friday, July 10
—Prism Comics booth #2144, from 1-2 p.m.
Saturday, July 11
J—World Famous Comics booth #5560, from 10-11:30 a.m.
—Prism Comics booth #2144, from 4-5 p.m.
Sunday, July 12
—World Famous Comics booth #5560, from 10-11: 30 a.m.
—Prism Comics booth #2144, from 1-2 p.m.
See you there!
Me flexing what I pretend is a muscle at one of the cons a few years back.
I will not have a Last Kiss booth at Comic-Con International (in San Diego) this year. But I will be doing some signings at the Prism Comics booth (and probably at least one other booth.) I don’t have a schedule yet, but I’ll be posting it as soon as I know.
