D.J. Coffman - Sequential Artist, Thinker

Hey, happy BIRFDAY to my wife! She’s not 30… yet! Awh, I love her. It’s still true that I can’t sleep properly in a bed without her by my side. I’m like a big baby.

Easter! Candy! YEE! - My kids will be bouncing off the walls soon enough here.

My buddy Dave lent me his copy of KIRBY: KING OF COMICS, which I am devouring. I know a lot of the old stories already, but it’s still very inspiring to read. It reminds me I need to step things up in my own game… if you’re only drawing ONE comic, you’re being lazy. Or you’re not fast enough. Here was a guy who was doing 5 different daily features under different pen names for a syndicate. IN the morning he’d be drawing Pirates, and in the evening he was in space. How awesome. Gotta pick up my own copy of this tome soon.  I pinch myself for missing the Kirby panel in LA, could have gotten the author to sign one.

– Something I didn’t want to talk about publicly was the situation with Pittsburgh Comicon. But I’ve had a couple douchebag supposed “fans” emailing me asking me to boycott my appearance there, on the count that the show’s co-owner, Michael George, was just found guilty of murdering his ex-wife 18 years ago. Now, first, I gotta say, I’ve known the Georges for 15 years through Pittsburgh Comicon. Each year that show raises thousands of dollars for the Make-A-Wish foundation and not to mention the Comic Book Legal Defense Fund. Michael and his wife Renee were always supporters of the small press and independent local creators, including myself. Yeah, 10 years ago, I attended the show as a flannel clad angry young man, with mini comics in hand. They loved the name “Efh-U comics”, when I thought for sure I’d be kicked to the curb with my crass little comic books– Now I’m treated as a “media guest” kinda– and Hero By Night was also on the cover of the Pre-Con mailer, which made me very happy—– ANYWAYS, it came as a surprise to learn about their past, to myself and MANY others in this area. I followed the trial in the news, and frankly I can’t believe the guy was convicted 18 years later, pretty much because some schmuck said he made a phonecall and Michael had answered and it threw off the timeline of events. You know, when that crime happened, the police never tested his hands for gunpowder residue? — it seems to me, in my opinion, that the prosecution did a great job of painting Michael George as a sleezy guy who was having affairs and wanted out of his marriage. The jury couldn’t seperate the two things. Even Michael George would probably tell you he was an asshole, in one quote on the news, he said he had done a lot of bad things in his life, but he would never murder his wife. Unfortunately though, that’s where they are. I’m told by friends who know the law much better than I, he’ll likely spend the rest of his life in prison. All of this is supposed to be on an edition of Dateline NBC too, probably in May I hear.

So why should I boycott the Pittsburgh Comicon if justice has supposedly been served already? His current wife, Renee George is now on her own with kids to raise a business to run and hopefully a convention to keep going. A convention that has done a lot of good for charities and individuals. I know she can keep it going with the help of her friends and staff– and I’m sure it’s a really rough time for their family too now as they fight on, and they probably have a ton of legal bills. Whether you believe he did or didn’t do it… his family surely did not.

The anonymous douchebag who emailed me called it “blood money”- any money Pittsburgh Comicon would make, or any money I’d make at the show. That’s ridiculous, and I reminded said douchechill in an email, that ALL money is blood money. If you live in the USA and pay taxes? Do you know how many of your dollars have gone to wars and bombs dropped on innocent kids? Maybe you should boycott the DOLLAR if you’re so worried about blood money. The rest of the world seems to be doing so!

ANYWAYS— I’ll be at the Pittsburgh Comicon with a lot of Hero By Night stuff and supporting the show. Supporting the Make-A-Wish foundation, the CBLDF and great new organizations like HERO Initiative. I encourage more creators and fans to come to the area, because it’s always been a great show for actually meeting with creators and fans– a good vibe each year.

Off to the inlaws for Easter food.