You may have noticed that I prominently featured the trade paperback version of “Cobb: Off The Leash” in several places in our aStore. Writer Beau Smith is a chum, of course, but my hyping this book is mainly due to my wanting to read more. I want a series, I want at least another mini, and I wish this book had gotten many more readers than it did. I hope that you’ll all buy one. (Secondarily, I hope you’ll use our aStore link to buy it. Hey, I’m upfront about it!) The book version is $12 and it will be born on Christmas Day.

Still hesitant? Maybe these two opinions will sway you:

First, Scoop’s Top 10 Comics of 2006 has Cobb as the #3 book of the year, tied with Dynamite’s excellent “Lone Ranger” #1.

3. [Tie] Cobb: Off The Leash
IDW Publishing; $3.99
In a career marked thus far by diverse characters from a variety of publishers, ranging from The Black Terror at Eclipse Comics to Guy Gardner at DC, Beau Smith has established himself as a writer with a distinct take on things. Whether he’s been working on someone else’s characters, such as Wildcat, or his own, like Wynonna Earp, his characters have had a certain rough-and-tumble directness to them, a straight forward honesty akin to John Wayne’s Rooster Cogburn in True Grit. That said, even Smith’s diehard fans might not find themselves ready for Cobb #1. Matched with the fluid linework of artist Eduardo Barreto, Smith has poured himself and his sensibilities into this new series and the results are outstanding, a real page turner of a read. This first issue introduces Cobb and his world and sets up what is no doubt going to be a seriously fun story.

As if that’s not enough, Cobb was reviewed by Tom McLean on Variety’s “Bags and Boards” blog. Though he pooh-poohed the straightforward plot, he got a lot of feedback disagreeing with him…INCUDING MARTIAL ARTS MOVIE STAR CYNTHIA ROTHROCK! How cool is that?

If someone from Variety thought my work was OK and Cynthia Rothrock loved it, I’d be in heaven.

(Note to self: Remember to tell everyone about seeing Cynthia at WizardWorld. In fact, instead of doing that later, just recopy it from Chuck’s messageboard in the extended entry.)
(Note back to self: OK. I don’t know why you are taking the time to write this out.)

OK, here’s my endlessly fascinating story of “meeting” Cynthia Rothrock:

I remember walking around the Artists Alley at Wizard World a few years ago. I turn the corner and Cynthia Rothrock has a table. I didn’t know what to say!

Insane Clown Posse? They’re special guests. The guy who played the Senator monkey in “Planet of the Apes”? He’s in Autograph Aisle all weekend. But martial arts movie star Cynthia Rothrock has to buy her own table.

I just walked past trying not to gape. Ever since, I regretted not saying anything because no one was at her table and I could have made her feel more appreciated. But I was afraid of looking like a gushing fool.