Tales of Syzpense #77
Scenes from the Super Jersey Comic Expo, Moonshine Bigfoot's first steps into a larger world, Mega press, Dark Honor FOC, and a Spinner Rack tribute to Mothers
Last Sunday, the Uber driver pulled up, ready to drive me to Newark airport following the weekend’s Super Jersey Comic Expo. The airport was an hour away from my hotel, depending on the Jersey turnpike traffic, so we needed to get moving.
Which is when the driver asked me if I was headed to New York.
No, I told him, the Newark Airport. He’d already accepted the request so this shouldn’t have come at a big surprise.
He said no, New York. I said no, Newark. He suggested I change my flight. I suggested I grab my bags out of his trunk and get a new ride. He asked me what the rate was for the drive to Newark. I reminded him again that it was what the app sent to both of us, at which time he accepted the ride.
He said no, that’s not enough. I need another $40. Cash only. This was when I said thanks anyway, grabbed my bags and went back inside the hotel to call another ride.
I put in a new request. The same driver accepted it. He came back to the hotel and said that there are very few Uber drivers in the area and it was either give him an additional $40 on top of the Uber fee or else I’d be stuck.
And that was how I ended up grabbing a Lyft to the Newark Airport this past weekend.
All of which is to say, I had a great time at the Super Jersey Comic Expo this past weekend. The show was held in a unique location, a large sports complex that had astroturf floor—which was very appreciated compared to the wear and tear that shows with hard concrete floors provide.
Among the other comic guests were plenty of ‘80s Marvel guests: Jim Shooter, Danny Fingeroth, Jim Salicrup, and Bob Budiansky. Along with plenty of great comic creators from all eras: Guy Dorian Sr., Heather Antos, John Beatty, Scott Hanna, Jamal Igle, Mark Morales, Rags Morales, Joe Rubinstein, Keith Williams, Mike DeCarlo, Ron Marz, Bart Sears, Reilly Brown, Rudy Nebres (88), Bob Sharen, and still others. And then on Sunday, I’d helped arrange for comic legend Larry Lieber, 93, to come sign his new novel and plenty of old comics, too. It was a fun time.
I’d sent a box of my Marvel Calendar books in advance of the show and the box got pretty mangled in transit, so I decided to use one as a kind of “yearbook” and get it signed by some of the people whose work is on display in the book. It was nice to have Jim Salicrup as part of that, since he was the editor who worked on Marvel’s first calendar in 1975, along with people like Rudy Nebres and Larry, who just don’t do conventions on any kind of regular basis any more.
Press Hits
More on our coming Megalopolis graphic novel:
• Megalopolis graphic novel feature in The Guardian
• Megalopolis graphic novel feature that includes a mention of me as “the wordsmith famous for adapting the works of literary rockstars like Stephen King, Harlan Ellison, and Clive Barker…” at Happy Mag.
Moonshine Bigfoot Shines On
“It’s impressive stuff. It’s pretty rare that a retro comic book manages to nail an era quite as well as the first issue of Moonshine Bigfoot. Granted...the art IS a lot more detailed than most of mainstream comic books managed to be back then and Daniels’ coloring work is WAY ahead of what would have been possible on the page back then, but it’s an impressive tribute to an earlier era of action comedy. Grade: A” - You Don’t Read Comics
• Full review at You Don’t Read Comics
“This is an insanely original and entertaining story and I cannot wait to see where it takes me next… Ellis [and Howard and Daniel] delivers some fantastic art in the issue. The story has a wonderful setting and [the artists] takes advantage of that by making some truly surreal and stunning visuals to match the insane energy of the story. 8.7 out of 10” - Super Powered Fancast
• Full review at Super Powered Fancast
“There’s a charm to the madness that Steve Ellis, Zach Howard, and Nelson Daniel captures. There’s a cartoonish nature to it all that definitely fits the vibe. This story is fantastical with a little hint at something darker and the art brings that energy. 8.5 out of 10” - Nerd Initative
• Full review at Nerd Initiative
A Haunted Girl
AHG co-writers Ethan Sacks and Naomi Sacks were given a special honor, the 2025 Lifesaver Award, at this week’s American Foundation for Suicide Prevention Hosts 36th Annual Lifesavers Gala.
And their graphic novel received a unique review in Lancet, the preeminent independent medical journal in the country, too. It’s been great being involved with a book that has been so helpful in ways that transcend the story itself. Ethan, Naomi, and the creative team deserve all the applause they’ve received for this book.
Dark Honor #1 Final Order Cut-Off
This coming Monday, May 5, is the final day to get orders in for this new Image/Syzygy title?
The Mother of All Spinner Racks
Mothers deserve extra attention, this month, every day of the year, and certainly in this particular newsletter as well. So here are 27 covers celebrating (mostly) moms of all sorts!
And Finally
Fantagraphics released the first hardcover collection of their “Lost Marvel” comics this week, and it’s a collection of some of the early ‘70s Tower of Shadows comics. Which is nice timing, since I’ve not only been researching these same stories for another project, but also because I’ve been grabbing these old comics whenever I come across good copies because the covers are just so much fun.
The collection is a nice one—I love the design, the paper stock, and the reproduction of the stories is solid, too.
And this coming Saturday is Free Comic Book Day! Due to being at the NJ con, I missed last weekend’s Independent Bookstore Day — which was a real bummer since San Diego does an annual bookstore crawl on that day, and I was hoping to beat last year’s record of shop visits on that day (8). But I’m at least back around for FCBD (that’s free comics to you, not to your local retailers, so if you do partake, I recommend grabbing some additional books as a way of thanking your shop for participating).
The Tower of Shadows collection has been on my list.. good to know it's worth it!