Last Kiss Creators Lustig and Blake at San Diego Comic-Con 2026

by | Jul 14, 2026 | Blog

Without romance comics, there’d be no Last Kiss. So am I excited to be on “The Looks of Love: The Evolution of Romance in Comics” panel?

You bet! I love good romance comics. (Sometimes I even love bad romance comics.) Romance is an under-appreciated comics genre with tremendous variety in themes and sub-genres. And often gorgeous art.

So please join me Thursday, July 23, at 9 p.m. in Room 29AB at the San Diego Comic-Con. The panel  features a lively group of romance comics experts, pros and academics: me (John Lustig), Thomas F. Zahler, Sydney Heifler, Michael Dooley, Bruce Simon, Rand Hoppe, Jim Krueger and Jaime Hodge.

My Signing Schedule at Prism:

If, for some reason seeing me at the panel isn’t enough for you, please drop by Prism Comics (Booth 2144 in Hall C) during the week. My autograph schedule at the booth includes several with Last Kiss contributing writer Jenny Blake!

—Thursday, July 23, 1-2 p.m.: John Lustig with Jenny Blake & Michael Varrati

—Friday, July 24, 9-10 a.m.: John Lustig with Jenny Blake

—Saturday, 4-5 p.m.: John Lustig with Jenny Blake & Sarah Gailey

—Sunday, July 26, 11 a.m.-noon: John Lustig with Mike Pingel & Neo Edmund

 

Jenny Blake gets the Finger…Award for Excellence

I’m also thrilled to announce that during the con my pal and frequent Last Kiss conspirator Jenny Blake is receiving the Bill Finger Award for Excellence in Comic Book Writing.

“As is always the case, the judges considered many nominations that were submitted to us and we picked two that stood out as the right choices,” chairman, writer and historian Mark Evanier remarked. “Both writers–the other is the late Martin Pasko–met our criteria of having generated a large and significant body of work that hasn’t received proper recognition and probably not proper compensation.”

Jenny wrote, and in some cases created, a number of DC’s and Marvel’s most unusual and interesting characters.

Jenny’s Panel Schedule Includes

—Transgender and Nonbinary Creators Stay Relevant and Proud,Thursday July 23, 2026 4:00pm – 5:00pm PDT, Room 9

 

—Focus on Jenny Blake Isabella, Friday July 24, 2026 1:30pm – 2:30pm PDT Room 10

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40 Years of Fun

40 Years of Fun

by | Mar 16, 2024 | Blog

Answers to Questions No One Has Asked Yet—But Will!

Q: Did you really wear Groucho glasses on your wedding day.

A: Yes, but only after the ceremony when we wanted to look cool.

Q: Why did you get married on St. Patrick’s Day?

A: Shelagh’s family is Irish (via Scotland and Canada,) And it seemed like a lucky date. (Plus, I had a green tie that I’d been wanting to wear.)

Q: How did you meet?

A: After my mom had cancer surgery, Shelagh was one of my mother’s nurses. I met Shelagh when she was on duty the night before my mother was discharged. I wanted to see Shelagh again so, I looked her up in the phone book (remember those?) and asked her out. A few weeks later I proposed. And she’s been stuck with me ever since.

↓ Transcript
SCENE A bride (Shelagh Lustig) and a groom (John Lustig) are wearing Groucho Marx glasses, noses and mustaches on their wedding day.

SHELAGH: I love a man with a good sense of humor!

JOHN: Really? is he anyone I know?

Happy 40th Wedding Anniversary
to my muse & partner in matrimonial mischief:
Shelagh Boroughs Lustig

(And Happy St. Patrick’s Day
to everyone else.)

Shelagh and John at their wedding-topaz-denoise-enhance-4x-exposure-faceai-sharpen-colorNo Background

John’s Last Kiss-ish Birthday

John’s Last Kiss-ish Birthday

by | Jan 24, 2023 | Uncategorized

Thank you in advance to the big three in my life–farmily, friends and fans–for what I’m sure will be a great 70th birthday!

And please check out guest artist and all-around great guy Mike Tackett’s site for more of his fun, wacky whimsy!

↓ Transcript
SCENE: A man and a woman--each wearing bathing suits--are kissing on a deserted beach ala the film "From Here to Eternity"

WOMAN: Happy Birthday, John. This kiss is for you!

MAN: Wait--I'm not John!

WOMAN: A girl can pretend, can't she?

©2022 Last Snog Inc

As a birthday gift last year, my pal Mike Tackett created this fun Last Kiss-ish comic. It was too good not to share--so here it is for my big, smoochy 70th birthday. Thanks, Mike!
https://miketackett.com ©2022 Mike Tackett

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