Drowning in the Mainstream Flow

Old Blog Down New Blog Up

2008-12-11T01:30:00.002-06:00

I'll keep this blog right here, but if you're looking for new updates, head this way:

http://bclaymoore.wordpress.com

New year coming. Shitty year and a half passing for good.

Let's change some stuff up.

Harry Chapin and Art Thinking

2008-11-29T23:42:00.003-06:00

From an article about Harry Chapin's song "What Made American Famous," by Gerry Cagle:

As those of you who are reading this know, it was difficult to convince Top 40 radio programmers to play Harry's music. His songs were most often too long, too complicated and considered "tempo challenged" in the world of Top 40 when he first began recording. I had many arguments with Harry regarding his writing. He explained to me that his writing was art and he wouldn't compromise his art to fit into a specific format. I argued that if he was a true genius, he could create a wonderful piece of art that fit within a frame.

That's applicable to a lot of popular media. Is it possible to create "wonderful art" that fits within a frame? Is the mere act of trying too much of a compromise to call it "art"?

New Music as Turkey Day nears

2008-11-26T15:02:00.005-06:00

So, I'm a bit of a Paul McCartney apologist. I don't want to get into it, but I still follow his career as closely as anyone. I've been happy to see a late career revival in critical acclaim (even if I don't always agree with the critics), but I'm always hoping his next project will really kick me in the ass. Even when his albums have been solid (or even genuinely good), they rarely have me anxious to listen to them multiple times.

But, hey! Suddenly, out of the blue, Macca's churned out a disc that's likely to escape anyone's notice, but deserves attention.

I've never been all that into his "FIREMAN" persona (a recording identity he shares in conjunction with producer Youth). They've been interesting ambient or electronic experiments, but never really grabbed me until now. But the new Fireman release, Electric Arguments, is pretty great. Paul's stretching his voice, rocking out with authority, letting his voice bubble along behind evocative, electronic/electric music. There's all kinds of interesting stuff going on here. Soundscapes and McCartney stretching his voice in different directions. Hell, he's even a little angry on a track or two.

Anyway, it's the first time in a loooong time I've found myself hitting the "repeat" button again and again for a McCartney release. Check it out.

Also? Belle & Sebastian's two-disc version of their BBC Sessions disc is fucking brilliant. Early studio performances are intimate and full, and the bonus live disc demonstrates their taste in covers and the enthusiasm they bring to the stage when they're at their best.

Twee it up, kids!

11/22 at Elite Comics

2008-11-16T21:21:00.003-06:00

If you're anywhere near Kansas City, you ought to stop by Elite Comics next Saturday (November 22) for their 15th anniversary sale. Elite has long been the home shop for myself (along with Seth Peck and Jason Aaron, among others), and proprietor William Binderup is one of the good ones. And he always does these things up right.

In any event, I'll have to verify who all's going to be hanging out, but I think Jason will be there, along with Matt Fraction and a host of locally based kids whose work is well worth checking out. Probably Harold Sipe and Hector Casanova, whose SCREAMLAND is yet another Image book you pretty much have to read.

Also, me.

All Murdered and Mayhemmed Up

2008-11-10T14:03:00.008-06:00

So, that was about the coolest weekend ever.

I can’t say I slotted right in with a gathering of “true” mystery writers, but I wasn’t the only graphic novelist there, as Tim Broderick, who wrote and drew the book Cash & Carry was in attendance. Also on hand was the delightful Kat Richardson, whose Greywalker books walk a fine line between mystery and science fiction. Kat and I ended up sitting next to each other on the flight home, and had a great conversation about publishing, Hollyweasels and future creative plans. And when it was time for my panel (on "Hooking the Reader," along with three other writers), I was pleasantly surprised that people seemed genuinely curious about my experiences writing comics.

The event drew a lot of people (250, I'd guess?), all of whom sat through the entire day’s lineup of panels, right up until the grand finale, when Michael Koryta interviewed Dennis Lehane in a rather illuminating conversation. I suppose it was telling that the one panel that seemed to draw the attention of all the assembled writers was Lehane’s. In fairness, a couple of things Lehane said really clicked with me, particularly about storytelling and his influences. And he proved to be as nice and down-to-earth a guy as the rest of the group.

Full credit and thanks to Penny Halle and the library, and, of course, Jon and Ruth Jordan, who opened their home (the Cave of Cool) to the entire assemblage of writers on both Friday and Saturday nights. I’d feel badly about imposing upon the Jordans if it wasn’t clear how thoroughly they loved every moment of it. And who the hell doesn’t love a bathtub full of beer? Great folks, the Jordans. I wouldn't have been there without their support.

Everyone was accommodating and provided great conversation, but special shout outs go to Mario Aceveda, creator of the Felix Gomez vampire detective series, who proved to be one of the genuinely nicest guys I’ve met in any industry, Victor Gischler, whose work I’d already enjoyed, and who, it turned out, is a lot of fun to sit around and drink beers with, talking about Wolverine, golf and Freddie and the Dreamers, Anthony Neil Smith, with whom I had a great conversation about comic books and creative writing programs, Tom Schreck, who moonlights as a world class boxing judge and gave me a beer koozy that doubled as advertising for his latest book, Chicago writer Michael Allen Dymmoch, who carted us all around Muskego when the mythical limos failed to materialize, and the list goes on. Special nod to Mystery One bookseller Richard Katz, who wasn’t much on comics, but provided great discussion about NBA and college basketball.

Also, if you’re in Milwaukee, you should really drop by the Iron Horse Hotel. I can’t explain the place (obviously, as my “upscale biker” description failed to move my wife at all), but it provided superior accommodations, from the humongous HDTV on the wall to the giant-sized shower that rained straight down on me from the ceiling. Fine eating at Slim McGinn’s (the meat really did just fall of those ribs, and…deviled eggs as an appetizer? Just call me Cool Hand Luke).
Also thanks to Sam and Jo, two comic fans who showed up and argued over the value of superhero comics while I nodded sagely at both sides of the debate (sort of).

I’d love to do it again, and hanging out with such literary minded kids has half-convinced me to (attempt to) adapt a nagging pulp/mystery concept into prose form…

We shall see.

Murder and Mayhem in Muskego

2008-11-06T23:30:00.002-06:00

Don't ask how I scored an invite to the event, but tomorrow I'm headed out to Muskego, Wisconsin for the fourth annual Murder and Mayhem in Muskego...a gathering of mystery writers at the Muskego Library, each of whom will participate in panels on topics related to their work. Dennis Lehane seems to be the guest of honor.

I'll be participating in the "Hooking the Reader" panel:

11:00 - 11:45 "HOOKING THE READER"

Mario Acevedo
Kat Richardson
Chris Grabenstein
B. Clay Moore
Tasha Alexander

Events kick off with a mixer on Friday night, which should provide some terrific conversation and, you know...a bit of drink.

With Brian Azzarello and Duane Swierczynski having cancelled, I believe I'll be the only comic book creator attending. I'll be curious to see if anyone has any interest in what I have to say, but we'll have some copies of HAWAIIAN DICK on hand for those who find themselves struck with a desire to investigate my work...

Truth is, I'm looking forward to the event. Azzarello recommended it to me earlier in the year, and I'm intrigued about rubbing elbows with such a diverse crew of authors.

At some point I plan on plunging into prose. Maybe this trip will inspire me.

Stop by if you're near Milwaukee. With luck I'll score my son a new Packers jersey while I'm in town...

Obama

2008-11-06T00:31:00.005-06:00

I've exhausted myself with this election. I've been a close watcher of Presidential politics since early in college, when I was fortunate enough to be taught be a professor who I would best describe as a political animal, Dr. Mel Kahn at Wichita State University. My father, who served from 2002-2006 as the Lieutenant Governor of Kansas, runs into Mr. ("don't call me doctor") Kahn on occasion in Wichita, and he still asks about me, which means a lot to me. He once asked why I didn't consider a career as a college professor, which was heady stuff for a confused nineteen year-old, but the mere suggestion that I had that potential had an impact.

In any event, it now seems as if the only professors I paid much attention to in college were the ones who were consumed by politics, and political season always brings me back to those days.

I never thought I would see a black man elected president. But in 2004, during the Democratic National Convention, I witnessed Barack Obama give one of the most electrifying speeches I'd ever heard. His message was one of inclusion and unity, and event hough he seemed to be the only one at the convention hitting those notes, I heard his message, and knew there had to be others who heard it as well. And I knew at that moment that Obama was a man I'd one day vote for for the White House.

I just didn't think it would happen so quickly. And I had no idea that he would run the kind of campaign I'd been begging for since I was eighteen. Instead of allowing his opponent to define him, Obama took all the heat thrown his way and remained calm, cool and collected, frustrating his opponents while he plunged ahead with confidence and class. He refused to stray off message and get bogged down in divisive issues that would only cloud the important issues that needed to be addressed. And everywhere he went, he spoke in eloquent, clear language. While Fox News and bitter Conservatives tried to build an issue out of the Reverend Wright's rants, Obama released the most intelligent, well-reasoned statement on race in America ever delivered by a man running for public office. He didn't hide from his associations. He simply explained them. When Fox News devoted hour after hour to Obama's "radical" connections (connections shared by many Republicans, for what it was worth), there was no need to give in to their slavish attack dog mentality. Not when most of America felt they had gotten to know the man, and understood that the last place they needed to turn for answers was a "news" network whose primary intention was clearly to fan the fading racist embers in a no longer jittery electorate.

And when he was finally elected, I heard him mention gay people and disabled people and people who didn't vote for him. There was no ranting rhetoric or lofty platitudes that didn't seem grounded in the reality of the day. There was a clear statement of purpose wrapped in an understanding of the challenges that face us as a nation. And the international community has regained their faith in a country that has, for eight years, done nothing but scare the shit out of them thanks to the irresponsible buffoonery of our current president.

The whole thing has been nothing short of astonishing. And very moving.

This will make me sound like a guilty white liberal, but it's the truth...last night around nine, as it became more obvious that Obama was going to handily carry the day, I ran up to the local grocery store to pick something up. There weren't a lot of people shopping, but I saw a black family pushing their cart through the aisles, and I realized that that little black boy following his mother around was going to grow up in an entirely different world from the one in which his parents grew up. Telling him that he can accomplish anything in life is no longer jingoistic bullshit. There's now a man headed to the White House that provides real proof that the American Dream isn't nearly as dead as I thought it was, and this little boy will grow up knowing that even the nation's highest office is truly open to the right person for the job, regardless of their ethnic heritage.

A beautiful day in America. The angry, scared bigots and frightened name callers will still linger in the woodwork, but as a nation we've overcome their influence, and given in to hope.

Laurenn McCubbin passed along this link of photographs from Callie Shell, who's been following Obama with her camera for a couple of years now. Please take a look:

http://digitaljournalist.org/issue0810/callie-bp.html

A Hopeless Halloween

2008-11-02T21:32:00.006-06:00

Stacey, the new kid and I dropped by the Hopelesses Halloween party (thrown by Dennis and Jesse Hopeless) Friday night. Tony and Kara (Moore) made the trip in to see everyone. Tony's Nixon (from HARD-BOILED) costume was fucking awesome. Also in attendance: Kevin Mellon (who handled the art for my Spearmint anthology contribution), Kyle Strahm (the future of horror comics if there's any justice), Harold Sipe (pick up the SCREAMLAND trade NOW), Jason Aaron (hack) and his lovely wife Kelly, and Steven and Dawn Sanders (dressed as one another).

Anyway, I'm sniping some of Steven's pics from Flickr. Hope he doesn't mind:

Comic Book Outsiders Podcast

2008-10-29T08:13:00.001-05:00

A few months ago someone linked me to the (British) Comic Book Outsiders podcast, where the hosts were chatting about both Hawaiian Dick and '76. In both cases, they completely got what we were going for, and it was quite gratifying to hear.

In any event, they were nice enough to ask me to share some time with them earlier this week, and the results have just gone up here:

http://comicbookoutsiders.wordpress.com/2008/10/29/comic-book-outsiders-episode-28/

I need a new laptop - plus UPDATES!

2008-10-23T23:57:00.004-05:00

I just want a cheap little workhorse that won't cause me grief, you know? Several people have mentioned these eee systems, including my sister's mother-in-law. I'll check the old bank account and see what I can do. My dead laptop slowed me down for the better part of a week, but KC artist Steven Sanders helped me extract files from the old hard drive.

Project updates, for those who care... CASEY BLUE recently wrapped at Wildstorm, and HAWAIIAN DICK #5 finally dropped the same day. Steven is working to finish up the backup story for HAWAIIAN DICK #6, and Jason Armstrong is working on HAWAIIAN DICK #7. Right now it looks as if ATHENA VOLTAIRE artist Steve Bryant will be handling the backup for that issue.

Tony Harris is taking a gander at the first few scripts for our upcoming creator-owned book, so hopefully it won't be too long before he starts with the art making. BILLY SMOKE is picking up speed, fueled by the enthusiasm of future Billy Smoke star Matthew Fox and certain friends of his. Ed Tadem is back in gear on JACKIE KARMA, so '76 should be dropping agains before too long. If all goes right, we might even have some exciting news about Jackie's future in other media soon...

Working on the third issue of Top Cow's BLACK VAULT, as Nelson Blake III gets rolling on the first two issues.

Been chatting with Vertigo about a potential graphic novel, which, should it not fit there, will fit somewhere. Something I've been kicking around for years. One of those "too important not to tell" kind of things. I think, anyway. Seth Peck, Stephen Molnar and I are putting the finishing touches on prepwork for our upcoming creator-owned superhero book. We've got long range plans for the book, so with luck it'll be well received.

BLUEJACKET debuted recently in Boom! Studios' PULP TALES anthology, but we still have no publisher for the book. Peck and I are putting together a budget for a book that we've been kicking around for a couple of years, which should feature art by another current collaborator.

Still waiting on word from DC on a couple of things, and I keep trying to convince WildStorm's Ben Abernathy that I should be writing a Midnighter/Jack Hawksmoor mini, but he ain't buying yet.

Oh, and the Leading Man movie looks like maybe some progress is perhaps being made. Maybe. Could be.

Hugs to everyone.

BLUEJACKET debuts!

2008-10-08T08:55:00.002-05:00

Woot! Woot! Finally dropping today is Boom! Studios' PULP TALES anthology, a benefit book for Josh Medors. Included amongst the tales inside is Bluejacket, by myself, Seth Peck, and Chris Samnee.

Check here for a preview:

http://comicbookresources.com/?page=preview&id=1156&disp=table

WW Chicago video interview

2008-10-02T12:05:00.002-05:00

Comic Collective interviewed me about CASEY BLUE on camera during Wizard World Chicago.

So here it is:

New Hawaiian Dick Model?

2008-09-29T11:52:00.003-05:00

Artist Jason Armstong was musing on the future of HAWAIIAN DICK, and suggested something similiar to (bear in mind that Jason is Canadian) 1979's CAPTAIN CANUCK SUMMER SPECIAL (the first and only):

Basically, a seasonal or quarterly book (64 pages) stuffed full of comics, with a complete Hawaiian Dick story in each issue.

I kind of like that idea. I could let collaborators run wild with backups and short stories, and then focus on a lead story for each issue. In a perfect world, Griffin could even get back to drawing Byrd now and then...

A fat quarterly anthology with Griffin covers. That would be a beaut, eh?

Paul Newman

2008-09-28T12:27:00.002-05:00

One of my all-time favorites. Can't think of many guys of his era who made so many great movies in so many different flavors. Paul Newman was always the guy I wanted to be, you know?

Pure class, too.

September 23, 2007

2008-09-24T23:08:00.002-05:00

Yesterday marked the one year anniversary of my mother's passing.

We miss you, Mom.

Dick 7

2008-09-22T19:08:00.002-05:00

Jason Armstrong just turned in the cover for PREVIEWS:

Hawaiian Dick and the Future

2008-09-17T09:39:00.005-05:00

So, HAWAIIAN DICK #5 is all finished up and should be in shops within a few weeks. HAWAIIAN DICK #6, which features art by guest artist Jason Armstrong, should follow in a fairly timely fashion.

We have yet to solicit HAWAIIAN DICK #7, but Jason is also working on that one, which features the death of a cast member (oooh!), and the aftermath.

Beyond that...I'm up in the air. I wonder how people would respond to a HAWAIIAN DICK graphic novel in leiu of more single issues. Or HAWAIIAN DICK digital shorts, which would then be collected into a fourth trade...

The complete JACKIE KARMA (so far)

2008-09-15T11:55:00.003-05:00

With '76 #5 delayed a bit, I thought I'd share a link to all of JACKIE KARMA up to now. By myself and Ed Tadem:

http://jackiekarma.blogspot.com/2008/05/complete-jackie-so-far.html

Farewell to the (other) Moores

2008-09-15T10:58:00.002-05:00

It's Tony and Kara's last full day in Kansas City before they head out to the wilds of Kentuckiana.

We'll all miss them both.

Script to Page

2008-09-10T11:14:00.003-05:00

Here's a page of script from the upcoming (as in very soon) HAWAIIAN DICK #5. Script by me:

PAGE ONE

Panel 1. The Thinker stands on a street corner, looking at his watch. Evening.

THINKER: It doesn’t take much dealing with the native populace to rob this place of its charm—

Panel 2. Waves at a taxi.

THINKER: TAXI! Stop!

Panel 3. Gets in, door open, complaining.

THINKER: Good Lord. How long does a man have to stand on a corner waiting for one of these ghastly contrivances to appear—I need to be in front of the Blue Aloha in five minutes.

Panel 4. Looking sideways out the window, a look of mild surprise on his face.

THINKER: I have a meeting of importance, so despite my secure knowledge that speed is hardly of the essence in this—eh?

Panel 5. The Thinker is angry now, looking over his shoulder.

THINKER: Damn it, driver. The Blue Aloha is in the complete OPPOSITE direction. Do I have to—

Panel 6. Without turning around, the cabbie is holding up a gun so that the Thinker can see it.

CABBIE: You just have to shut up, Mr. Antonio. Shut up and enjoy the ride.

And here's the finished page, art by Scott Chantler with Steven Griffin coloring (click for a bigger view):

Bleed redux

2008-08-30T23:40:00.001-05:00

Speaking of "Bleed," here it is being used to close an episode of Third Watch, assuming you've never heard it before:

"Drowning"

2008-08-30T01:46:00.005-05:00

In case anyone's curious about "Drowning in the Mainstream Flow," here's its origin. Make of it what you will:

Bleed by the Negro Problem

I don't bleed you
I just need to see you
I would love to turn your vice
and make a silly error twice

She isn't dreamy
she just needs to see me
drowning in the mainstream flow
and frowning where ever I go

So come down little one
leave your place in the sun
So come down little one
leave your place in the sun

I come in bleeding
stumbling round and needing
I love to burn your trash
and make a picture with the ash

I come in storming
before your cloud starts forming
I would love to cut your hair
and leave an empty promise there

So come down little one
leave your place in the sun
So come down little one
leave your place in the sun

Start your engine
but don't forget to mention
to your friend that I need work
don't reminded her I'm a jerk

Enter clowning
and join me while I'm downing
drink tickets and poison herbs
courtesy of the suburbs

So come down little one
leave your place in the sun
come down little one
leave your place in the sun
come down little one
leave your place in the sun
come down little one
leave your place in the sun
come down little one
leave your place in the sun

INKY COLOR POW!

2008-08-28T12:17:00.001-05:00

Stephen Molnar:

Van Morrison

2008-08-25T22:10:00.001-05:00

Kind of in that mood.

The Kiddie Corral

2008-08-23T12:58:00.003-05:00

Here's a great idea. From Bill Bryson's highly entertaining THE LIFE AND TIMES OF THE THUNDERBOLT KID (a memoir of his growing up in fifties Des Moines):

Dahl's, our neighborhood supermarket, had a feature of inspired brilliance
called the Kiddie Corral. This was a snug enclusore, built in the style of a
cowboy corral and filled with comic books, where moms could park their kids
while they shopped .... it was filled with comic books. To enter the Kiddie
Corral you climbed onto the top rail and dove in, then swam to the center. You
didn't care how long your mom took shopping beause you had an inifinite supply
of comics to occupy you.

Pimping Pals

2008-08-21T10:56:00.002-05:00

It's no secret that I think Jason Aaron is one of the brightest voices at Marvel. He's doing fun stuff with GHOST RIDER, a book that's honestly never really been *good* in any incarnation, but features a fun character that people love.

Jason just previewed some pages from GR #26 on his message board. I thought I'd swipe one of 'em and share it:

He's taking all the loose flotsam and jetsam (no matter how lame) associated with previous takes and tying them into the new version. I'm sure it'll annoy some longtime fans, but it's a lot of fun to watch...

INKY POW!

2008-08-21T10:54:00.001-05:00

POW!

2008-08-19T17:00:00.001-05:00

(in progress) KA-BAM!

Robert Kirkman with a call to arms

2008-08-13T19:25:00.003-05:00

I've copied Robert's plan here, but please head to the CBR link for his video editorial:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=17705

Roberts writes:

I came back from San Diego supercharged with excitement for comics and so I made this video. It's a little ramble filled in places and I want to thank the fine folks at CBR for cleaning it up as much as they did. Just for clarity's sake I'd like to simplify things a little.

I think there's a way to fix comics and make everyone happy doing it. I don't claim to be right, but I think there could be something to this.

Step One:

Top creators who want to do creator-owned work band together and give it a shot. I'd certainly love for that to be at Image, but whatever, wherever -- if you want to do it, step up and do it. The more people who do it, the easier it'll be to do. Creators are very important to the current fan base, if it's done right you could bring a large portion of your audience with you provided you take the plunge and only do creator-owned work. If you give people the option of Spider-Man or your creator-owned book... they'll choose Spider-Man, that's something time-tested versus something new. New has to be the only option.

Step Two:

If that results in a mass exodus of creators leaving Marvel and DC, don't panic guys, I love their books as much as everyone else -- nobody wants to hurt them in the process. Look at it like an opportunity, that's the time for Marvel and DC to step up the plate and make their comics viable for a whole new generation. Less continuity, more accessible stories -- not made for kids, but appropriate for kids. Books that would appeal to everyone still reading comics, but would also appeal to the average 13 year old too. There are a wealth of talented creators who haven't yet reached a level where they can sell books on their own -- they can do awesome work for the companies and be happy doing it.

What that could lead to:

A comic industry where there are more original comics, so there's more new ideas, more creator-owned books by totally awesome guys that are selling a ton of books. Those books are mature and complex and appeal to our aging audience that I count myself among who are keeping this business alive. And we also have a revitalized Marvel and DC who are selling comics to a much wider audience than ever before. And that audience, as they age, may get turned on to some awesome creator-owned work eventually. So everyone is happy.

I'm not saying it would be as simple as all that, I'm just saying this "could" work and that there are enough smart people working in comics today that it could probably happen. The problem as I see it, is that Marvel and DC are currently very successful with the audience they have now, "us" and we're all happy with the comics they're producing... because they're all mostly awesome. But as we age, we die, so we're not going to be around forever and so if comics continue to age with us, they will die along with us and that's not something I think any of us want.

So, there, I hope that makes my message clear. So, uhh, fire away, I'm all ears.

-- Robert Kirkman

Fairport Convention on late summer days...

2008-08-12T16:56:00.003-05:00

Not much makes me nostalgic for college, but Irish and English folk music sometimes makes me long for lazy days alone in my student apartment, windows open, breezes drifting in. Classes over or, more likely, skipped for the day. The far off sound of students coming and going, traffic out on the highway beyond the trees outside the window. Suspended between fake resonsibility and the slowly encroaching realities of Real Life...

Anyway, that was where I first really dug into artists like Nick Drake, Steeleye Span, Tommy Makem, Planxty, and, of course, Sandy Denny, Richard Thompson, and the amazing Fairport Convention.

These two Youtube clips take me right back:

"Who Knows Where the Time Goes" never fails to move me...

Hawaiian Dick #5 is almost here

2008-08-11T09:55:00.001-05:00

Steven should be putting the finishing touches on the files now. Ironically, #6 has been done for months.

Here's Steven's latest revision of the cover for HAWAIIAN DICK #5:

Me and My Monkey

2008-08-10T23:32:00.001-05:00

From the FX Show in Orlando early this year. I participated in a monkey painting auction thingie.

My Hawaiian Chimp:

If you bought him, let me know!

Let's make our own rules...

2008-08-07T17:20:00.001-05:00

Hollywood and Comics...Newsarama did a two-part feature, but the points I really wanted to make are in part two:

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080807-hollywood-comics-2.html

Also. MTV is now paying attention:

http://splashpage.mtv.com/2008/08/07/warner-bros-matthew-fox-link-up-with-billy-smoke/

DC and Archie

2008-08-03T01:00:00.004-05:00

DC has picked up the rights to the Archie superheroes (again), and Dan Didio just announced that JMS will be brining them back in the pages of BRAVE & BOLD.

I have a lot of affection for those characters, for no real logical reasons, I suppose. I'd love to play around with the Fox or the Black Hood...or maybe even bring the Comet back with his original costume.

Here's a very early Fox page, followed by a Comet page from his first appearance. If you're an X-Men fan, you might notice something familiar about his visor...

SDCC '08 Recap

2008-07-29T23:47:00.013-05:00

(Pictures by Charlie Chu)

SDCC Bullet points!

Roomed with Shawn Crystal (thanks, Shawn!), Jason Latour, Andrew Robinson (if you can score Andrew's ANDROX sketchbook, DOO EEET!), Hunter Clark and Johnny Depp.

Many meetings and greetings from Hollywood folk, in the wake of Billy Smoke, the Leading Man and Hawaiian Dick. Some renewed interest in Dick. Some possible interest in Jackie Karma from an interesting lead. Lots of genuine love, of course.

Ran into tons of old friends, of course. Flew out with Haun and Peck. Flew back with Peck and Parks. Also on the flight were KC con promoter Chris Jackson and Diamond sculptor Rudy Garcia. Seth Jones was on hand covering things for CBR, as was Mar Harris. Never did see Jonah.

Met J. Torres's baby, and, yes, it is the cutest thing in the world. Good to see he and his wife, Young. Missed Rick Cortes, though. Bummer.

Dinner with the Oni gang on Thursday, which included political chatter with Joe Phillips, and included a bunch of my favorite folks, from Chris Mitten to Rick Spears to Robbi Rodriguez to Chuck BB to Brian Hurtt to Cullen Bunn (and wife). And, of course, James Lucas Jones, Joe Nozemak and Randy Jerrell.

Special thanks to Oni's media mavens Eric Gitter and Peter Schwerin.

Fucked my knee up playing softball for DC against Marvel. Yes, we lost 16-6, but I was three for three with three RBI. So don't blame me.

Got to see Jai Nitz strike Joe Quesada out in slo-pitch softball.
Ran into Hawaiian Dick co-screenwriter Mark Swift and had a nice chat.

UTA party Friday night with many of the Oni folk (including Jamie McKelvie and Kieron Gillen). Sarah Silvermen, Stan Lee, and two Napoleon Dynamites were on hand.

Karaoke with the Wildstorm gang. Christos Gage finally drove us out of the bar.

Signed with Black Vault artist Nelson Blake 2, who's a great guy.

Nice meeting with my DC lifeline Mike Siglain. Hopefully things work out on THAT PROJECT.
Erik Larsen: "What you should do with your next Image book is think about what people want to read and do that." Thanks, Erik.

Lunched with Casey Blue artists Carlo Barberi and Jacob Eguren and editor Ben Abernathy. Again, great guys all.
Met Dan Curtis Johnson finally. Brain was scrambled by that point, though.
Also met Ryan Kelly for the first time. Been a fan of his since Local first debuted.
Had planned on chatting with Ben Templesmith about things, but ended up just bumping into each other on the con floor, as usual. Email it is.
Played softball with Randy Green, and ran into him several times (often with super nice guy Andy Yates). Good guy.
Found out Ted McKeever's a prince of a guy.
Chatting with Darwyn Cooke and James Sime together in the middle of the Hyatt bar was a high point. Darwyn's...well...Darwyn, and James greeted me with a warm hug and a high five. Love those guys.
Picked up the Pulp Tales anthology, which featured the debut of Bluejacket.

Saw John Layman stone sober on a Friday. Then I saw him on Saturday...
Someone remind Cory Walker that he's a genius, please. Also, he wrote a song about me.

Nick Derington's Tiger Fighter is genius.

Also thanks to the Top Cow gang: Mel, Filip, Matt and Rob. And Chas!

Ivan, Kristyn and Andy finally showed up.
Simon and Pat hanging in the Hyatt bar.
Chatted with lots of other good people I don't see enough: Josh Fiaklov, Andy Kuhn, Phil Hester, Kody Chamberlain, Francesco Francavilla (and his delightful wife), Joe Keatinge, Eric Stephenson, Jim Valentino, Jimmie Robinson, Mark Englert, Tim Seeley, Chris Burnham, Robert Kirkman, Jason Aaron, Fraction and DeConnick, Scott Kurtz, Neil Kleid, Marc Hammond, Chris Powell, Frank Cho, Jann Jones, Mark Sable, Ryan Ottley, Sam Humphries, Lea Hernandez, Chip Mosher, the Image office gang, and so on and so forth.
Comic Book Tattoo ruled the Image booth. Nice work, Rantz!

Chuck BB with the EISNER WIN! Followed by shots and pizza.
Oni PR hawk Cory Casoni and Shawn Crystal saved me from jail by getting me a new badge before I tried to punch out an over-zealous badge monkey on Sunday. Temper, temper, Clay.

Biggest moment for me was signing on Saturday afternoon with future Billy Smoke star Matthew Fox, who flew in to Comic-Con specifically to sign Billy posters with me at the booth. Great guy, and he's very into the project (his being there at all was proof of that). Eric and I are going to kick this thing in the ass and let Fox and his folks put together a killer flick. Also? Sitting next to Matthew Fox made me realize how out of shape I am.

My San Diego Schedule

2008-07-22T14:20:00.003-05:00

If you're looking for me in San Diego, here's where I'll be:

Thursday, July 24
---
4:30: Softball (DC vs. Marvel)
Adams Rec Center
3491 Adams Avenue (corner of 35th Street)

Friday, July 25
---
2:00-3:00: Signing at the IMAGE BOOTH with Scott Chantler & Seth Peck.
3:30–4:30: Signing at the TOP COW BOOTH with Nelson Blake II

Saturday, July 26
---
10:00–11:00: Signing at the TOP COW BOOTH with Nelson Blake II
2:00-3:00: Signing at the IMAGE BOOTH with Scott Chantler & Seth Peck.
3:00–4:00: HERD IT THROUGH THE BO-VINE (Top Cow panel, Room 2)
6:30-7:30: Wildstorm panel

Sunday, July 27
---
2:30–3:30: Signing at the TOP COW BOOTH with Nelson Blake II (Jeremy will be there, too)

I'll probably be hanging around the Oni booth now and then, as well, helping out.

Comic Reviews!

2008-07-12T22:33:00.008-05:00

Instead of hanging out at Steven Sanders' place with almost all of the Kansas City comics community, I'm stuck at home with kids, reading old comics through bleary eyes.

I thought I'd post some reviews of old comics I picked up in Chicago a couple of weeks ago. I loaded up on cheap seventies stuff, mainly, and thought I'd spit out some brief blurbs on a few of 'em.

FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL #5

Manhunter by Jack Kirby

So, First Issue Special was primarily a dumping ground for lousy concepts that had no prayer of being picked up, the one notable exception being Mike Grell's Warlord. James Robinson got some mileage out of the Starman character introduced near the end of the run. The book did feature a now classic Marty Pasko/Walt Simonson Dr. Fate story, and the Creeper and Metamorpho had showcases, but so did Lady Cop, the Dingbats, and the Green Team...

So, this is Jack Kirby reinventing his Golden Age Manhunter character, and it's better than you'd think it would be. Typical Kirby silliness opens the book, as the character waltzes into the "cave of Talking Heads" and battles a dude wearing a robe and a mask over his pinstripe suit. But from there Kirby sets up an interesting scenario...a society of manhunters, with the newest member being a young public defender who laments that society's "big fish" so often abuse the "little fish."

It's a fun little story, and I think it would have been a decent springboard for a book. Cool looking character, too.

FIRST ISSUE SPECIAL #10

The Outsiders by Joe Simon, Jerry Grandenetti and Craig Flessel

This book, on the other hand, is almost abstract in its awfulness. In a nutshell, a group of freakish looking characters have banded together (because they're all so ugly) to help other freaks.

The first freak rescued by the Outsiders in this issue is a baby with a GIGANTIC hard head, who speaks telepathically ("I'm Billy! Won't someone please help me?"). In this book, normal people react to freaks by attacking them with torches and clubs, you see. When Billy is set on fire, he uses his giant head to bash his way through a crowd and jump into a lake.

A trio of Golden Age creators must have thought this concept was out there enough to appeal to a new generation, but it's so laughably executed, it's hard to take it seriously as an attempt at crafting a hit. It's also highly enjoyable, thanks to the pure goofiness that drips off every page. I'm convinced the kind-of-keen Ernie Chan cover was designed the way it was so they didn't have to feature the completely ridiculous looking cast (which includes a scaly woman with flippers for hands and a twisted dwarf who drives around in his own funky bubble chair). Still, it must be read to be believed.

io9 asks me (and Millar) about terror in comics

2008-07-07T11:59:00.002-05:00

I think Graeme's question is a little odd, which I suppose I address in my answer.

I also think it's odd that he thinks imagining the war on terror not stopping more attacks would have been "unimaginable" a few years back. I've never thought the "war on terror" was likely to prevent attacks.

Anyway, check it out here:

http://io9.com/5022322/sci-fi-terrorism-comes-to-comics

M. V. Carey was kind to me when I was a boy

2008-07-04T02:15:00.003-05:00

Cleaning up the basement, I just stumbled across a letter written to me many, many years ago by author M.V. (Mary) Carey.

As a kid, I was a fanatical fan of several series (the continuity of series books always greatly appealed to me): Notably Lloyd Alexander's High King (or Black Cauldron) series, Hugh Lofting's Dr. Doolittle books, C.S. Lewis's The Chronicles of Narnia, and Willard Price's "Adventure" series. While I could never get into the Hardy Boys, I was a monster fan of the Three Investigators books, created in 1964 by Robert Arthur, but primarily written during my childhood by Carey.

When I was in fourth or fifth grade, my class was given the assignment of writing a letter to our favorite authors. Most kids wrote to Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary, but I wrote a heartfelt letter to Carey, explaining that I loved to write and draw, and that I one day hoped to write and draw comic books and maybe even write real books.

Virtually every kid in the class received very nice form letters from the authors they chose, but I received a lovely typed response directly from Ms. Carey, with specific advice on the craft of writing, and inquiries as to my hobbies and about the town in which I lived. Over the course of a couple of years, we exchanged three or four more letters, and each time she wrote to me without condescension, in a leisurely manner, sharing her impressions of the places I lived based on their names (we moved from Iowa to Texas during this period), and wishing me success with the detective agency I started with my friend Troy Petrick (C.L.O.Y. Investigations).

Over the years I'd occasionally stumble across one of Carey's letters, and each time I'd make sure I tucked the letters away in some corner for preservation. Finding this letter tonight spurred me to search for information on her life after she stopped writing the Three Investigators books (her last book was published in 1987), and I found what I was looking for:

MARY VIRGINIA CAREY
1925 - 1994

Personal: Born May 19, 1925, in New Brighton, England; brought to the United States in 1925, naturalized citizen in 1955; daughter of John Cornelius (an engineer) and Mary Alice (Hughes) Carey. Home address in 1993 was 3748 Birch St., Ventura, CA.

The entire entry can be found here: http://www.threeinvestigatorsbooks.com/MVCarey.html

Along with much biographical information, the entry includes this lovely quotation from Carey:

"Young people ask why I became a writer, as if it were something I decided. I didn't decide; it grew on me like ivy. When I was a child I liked to read to my friends, or to tell them stories. When I grew up I had several false starts before I found a job on a magazine and discovered that people who read and write are more fun than people who don't. I first wrote for profit at the Disney Studio. I worked on the Mickey Mouse Club magazine there. Suddenly I felt that I was ten again, sitting on the front porch telling stories to the other kids. Now that I am a free-lance writer, the sensation of reliving younger days is even stronger. I remember how it was when my brothers and I were small. We had no money because of that thing called a depression, but we had freedom. If there were wicked people on Long Island in the 1930's - people who might harm kids - we did not know of it. On summer mornings my mother could open the door and send us out to wander through the neighborhood and she did not worry. So long as we came back in time for lunch - and relatively clean and undamaged - everything was fine. We explored all empty houses, and all empty houses were considered haunted. We went out on the sound in a tiny boat which my second brother had salvaged from the beach after a storm. We had clubs with secret passwords. We watched the older people of the community come and go and I think we knew quite a bit about what they were up to - probably including things we were not supposed to know."

"And we read. We read everything we were supposed to read, and much that we weren't supposed to know about. We fished pulp magazines out of the neighbor's trash and learned all about Dr. Fu Manchu and Tarzan of the Apes and other super heroes. We also plowed through Dickens and Jules Verne and the Saturday Evening Post and Collier's and everything the librarian would let us carry home from the library. Today all of the reading and the roaming stands me in good stead. So does my habit of being not especially practical or brisk. People ask if I work for a certain number of hours each day. I admire people who do, but I must admit that I don't. Some days it seems more important to wander and watch, or to read. There is only one brisk rule that I do observe; if I plan to write today, I do not leave the house until I've written. I know that once I go out, I will stay out until dark, and then I will come trailing home, tired and probably hungry. I will have lost the day."

It's now been over ten years since Ms. Carey passed away, and I regret not being able to thank her for her kindness, and for the small part she played in shaping my own life.

Very brief WW Chicago recap

2008-07-02T09:45:00.005-05:00

Had a nice time in Chicago this year. Lots of people dropped by to tell me they enjoyed the iFanboy podcast, which was cool. Moved a few trades, signed at DC a couple of times.

Editor Shannon Denton, Jeremy Haun and myself on the Wildstorm panel

Had fun hanging with Wildstorm editor Shannon Denton (with whom Jeremy and I shared a Wildstorm panel). Wildstorm is good people. Good to see Jim Valentino and Larsen again, even if conversation with Erik was interrupted Thursday night by a very drunk British artist. Obviously there was a pall cast over the proceedings with the word of Michael Turner's passing on Friday night. Shannon and I were chatting when Jim Demonakis leaned in with the news, having just received a phone call. The Aspen booth was understandably pretty somber for the rest of the show. Good news on Saturday for Eric Stephenson, stepping up as the publisher at Image. I don't think his job will change much, but it'll shift some, of course. Wish he hadn't missed his flight to the show. Also good to see the Top Cow guys, Rob Levin, Filip Sablik and Mel Caylo. I'm glad to be working with all three of them.

Dinner at Maria's, followed by drinks Thursday night at the amazing Hala Kahiki with Ande Parks, roommates Jason Latour, Jeremy Haun, Jason Hurley and Aaron Norton.

Shannon, writer Jai Nitz and myself bad-assing it up at the DC booth.

Bar conversation always highlights Chicago. Ivan Brandon and Brian Azzarello and I spent a while discussing the merits of the Office, and I caught up with Dynamite's Nick Barruci and Marvel's all-everything go-to guy CB Cebulski (I knew him when...). Saw old pal Seth Jones, heading up coverage for CBR. A big thanks to Crimespree Magazine honcho Jon Jordan and his wife, Ruth, for hooking me up with some great fiction and a spiffy Crimespree T-shirt (I wore it on Monday). Good to see Andy Kuhn, Phil Hester, Mellon & Hopeless, Norton & Seeley, BB & Stakal, Samnee & Bunn, and all the other cute couples in comics...

Anyway, it's always nice to hit Chicago.

Iron Maiden One from Top Cow

2008-07-02T09:40:00.002-05:00

I'm doing a new book at Top Cow that, as yet, doesn't have a final title, but came to the Cow as Iron Maiden One. Five issue mini-series, with Nelson Blake II on art. There will be a preview issue ready for San Diego:

http://www.wizarduniverse.com/062808wwcbclaymooreironmaidenone.html

http://www.newsarama.com/comics/080628-WWCIronMaidenOne.html

Billy Smoke news is out there...

2008-06-30T18:23:00.002-05:00

Woke up today (after rolling in from Chicago in the middle of the night) to see that Variety had a piece on Warner Brothers and Matthew Fox being attached to Billy Smoke, an upcoming graphic novel I'm doing with Eric Kim for Oni.

When Hawaiian Dick was first optioned with Johnny Knoxville attached, it led to a ton of cheesy but entertaining headlines. A Google search reveals the same is the case here.

To whit:

Billy Smoke is Lost

Racer X Ponders Becoming Billy Smoke

"Lost' Star Matthew Fox spots "Smoke"

Fox Lights a Smoke

Where There's 'Smoke' There's Matthew Fox

Matthew Fox Inhales "Smoke"

Matthew Fox Smells WB's "Smoke"

Matthew Fox Spots "Smoke"

My favorite headline, though, is:

Lost Star to Play Unwritten Comic Character

Chicago is upon us...I shall be in attendance

2008-06-25T23:54:00.002-05:00

Haun and I are heading out for Chicago in the morning, along with Hurley and A. Norton.

We'll be setting up shop in Artist's Alley, at tables 5200-5204, along with Jason Latour and Dennis Hopless and Kevin Mellon.

Sounds like I'll also be signing at the DC booth on Friday, from noon until one, and on Saturday, from 1:30 to 2:30.

And I think I'll be on the Wildstorm panel, which is on Saturday at 4:00.

The iFanboy discussion

2008-06-23T11:02:00.002-05:00

Josh Flanagan and I discuss reviewers, the state of the industry, my work, and what have you.

I think it was a pretty good discussion. Josh is a good guy. Here's link to the podcast and the ensuing response from some iFanboy board posters:

http://www.ifanboy.com/podcasts/audio/06_22_2008_-_Special_Edition_Podcast_-_B__Clay_Moore

Mining the old properties, and more critical chatter

2008-06-21T10:51:00.004-05:00

I wonder if anyone holds the rights to the Italian wartime hero Ciclone : l’Uomo d’acciaio (Hurricane : the man of steel).

Something vaguely familiar about the character, but I can't quite put my finger on it.

CRITICA!

Timothy Callahan posted a link to the Sequart website's discussion on the role of reviewers, sparked by the earlier post here:

http://www.sequart.org/columns/?column=2180

It's interesting discussion. I would like to point out yet again that I was in no way responding to specific reviews of my own work. Hawaiian Dick is generally reviewed favorably, and very often reviewed quite well (with well written reviews), as a lot of the reviews seem to come from non comic reviewers. I was just using that as an example.

In related news, I had a long conversation with Josh Flanagan from the iFanboy podcast, in which we covered a broad range of subject related to the industry, and, of course, my own books. Should be up Sunday, I think.

Blogcritics.com on Byrd of Paradise

2008-06-20T09:42:00.002-05:00

A truly flattering review of HAWAIIAN DICK: BYRD OF PARADISE by author Mel Odom:

http://blogcritics.org/archives/2008/06/19/0117502.php

Thanks to old friend and voracious reader Chris Miller for passing it along.

Which actually reminds me of something. I've known Chris for about fifteen years, I suppose. We were both members of the Legends APA, which I joined while in college. Not long after finishing the first HAWAIIAN DICK book, I was talking to Chris at a Chicago area cookout during Wizard World, and he gave me his thoughts on the book. He enjoyed it, but noted that Byrd "didn't really do a whole lot." He just sort of fell into things as he went along.

Of course, that's kind of the essence of Byrd.

Father's Day 2008

2008-06-19T11:32:00.002-05:00

OH, DADDY

Father's Day was Sunday. First one alone for my father, and I couldn't connect with him, leaving a message on his cellphone. That's not a completely bad thing, though, since it means he's keeping busy, living down at the lake now.

My wife got me my first iPod for my birthday in March, and it's a dandy. For Father's Day, the family gifted me a nifty Logitech speaker system for use with said iPod. Music is essential, you know.

BLUEJACKET

Uploaded the Bluejacket pages for Boom!'s anthology, and we're quite happy with the first foray into that world. Seth, Chris and I are all pretty devoted to the concept. Hopefully we can make it work. Nice little write-up on CBR:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/?page=article&id=16798

Bluejacket go Boom!

2008-06-13T11:29:00.004-05:00

Despite having plenty of paying work to be doing, I've spent a chunk of the last two weeks focusing on a labor of love, in Bluejacket, which is a co-creation with Seth Peck and Chris Samnee.

Here's a very brief summary of the concept, which I did for a CBR piece to run soon. Make sure you do the clicky-clicky on the links, for more info on the characters:

Bluejacket is a guy who used his fists and the help of some specialized experts (his "Men of Adventure") to battle crime back in the thirties. At some point, he ran into something that turned him blue and seemed to have extended his life well beyond normal (a story yet to be told). His longevity led to the establishment of a Bluejacket "brand," and an operation that was once designed simply to support his fight against evil has blossomed over the decades into a huge corporation, which provides support, but also exists to turn a profit on the Bluejacket name. Bluejacket merchandise (toys, cereal, clothes), Bluejacket-related media (books, comics, movies, cartoons), Bluejacket theme parks...all of these are overseen by Bluejacket, Inc., and their current CEO, former Bluejacket kid sidekick Rusty Haynes. (The first Bluejacket series will examine what happens when business intrudes on adventure)

In recent years, Bluejacket has found himself spending more time on the business end than he'd originally intended, and he's working to get back out in the field with his Men of Adventure. Over the course of seven decades, a lot guys have worn the "Men of Adventure" tag, but his current crew is perhaps the sharpest ever, and includes the very first female Man of Adventure, in Dr. Nicole Shaw.

Bluejacket's Men of Adventure include pilot Ray Wilson, weapons expert Carson Hunt, researcher Simon Van de Kamp (grandson of former Bluejacket ally Merlin Van de Kamp), mythology expert Sardur Sandhu, and grifter/con man Jimmy Cotton. Their vehicle of choice is the world famous Aeronautical.

Here's a page from the debut story, which, as I've said, is slated for the Boom! Studios Josh Medors fundraising book, PULP TALES. Again, click for a larger view!

More Critical Chatter....

2008-06-10T14:21:00.004-05:00

Chris Neisman passed this along, from the Around Comics forums, where Monster Magnet lead singer Dave Wyndorf is a listener and poster. I highlighted the key line for me:

"On the B.Clay Moore thing, sure he's pissed, can't blame him one bit. In the "no accountability" world of the internet, everybody's a DJ, everybody's a star and everybody's a critic.

As a working creator, it has to be frustrating to see his work "criticised" by amateurs and attention starved, reactionary morons.

Adept criticism is an art in itself. Opinions are just opinions. Sadly,the difference between these two gets fuzzier every day.

I wouldn't mind if he took shots at one idiot a day,every day. Criticise the "critics". See how they like it."

Stingray?

2008-06-10T00:14:00.004-05:00

I almost forgot this one existed.

Got the letters on my little Stingray tale today, from Marvel editor Warren Simons. It's a trifle, but the Lee Weeks art is ace.

Here, I cribbed a panel just to prove it to you:

Criticism

2008-06-09T16:52:00.001-05:00

If you're a comic book reviewer, ask yourself a question, and answer honestly: What do I hope to achieve with my criticism?

Do you just want your opinion noted? Do you wish to prove people wrong in their assessments of books? Do you hope to point people toward good work they may have missed? Do you hope to steer people away from books you personally don't like?

BJ is coming along

2008-06-06T12:22:00.003-05:00

Ten Favorite Covers

2008-06-04T17:03:00.002-05:00

Tim Seeley passed along a list he made for the Comic Buyers Guide, so I put together yet another list of covers I dig, and why.

So here it is.

Because I'm an obsessive list maker, here are ten of my favorites (with links). I'll stick to Silver Age and up, so I don't have to try to track down images of Golden Age Mac Raboy or EC covers. I could honestly list dozens of covers that I either love as art, or that hold a special place in my heart, but here are ten:

X-Men #50 (Steranko): This cover grabbed my attention when I was a kid first seeking out X back issues, and I still think it's really effective, especially coming in an era when there wasn't yet a TON of experimentation going on with Marvel cover art (DC was doing lots of cool shit):

Speaking of Mac Raboy, I love this Adam Hughes homage to Raboy's old Captain Marvel, Jr. covers:

Growing up, the Byne/Austin/Claremont X-Men is what gave me the biggest geek woody, so I have to include one cover from that run. Truth is, the best covers from Byrne's run were by Cockrum, but since this (#133) is probably the first "Wolverine unleashed" cover ever, I'm including it. This issue is where Wolverine really became Wolverine:

This is my favorite Kirby Thor cover, and I think he did his best cover work on Thor. Such a shame Vince Colletta inked so much of his run. Thor #142:

I'm a Blackhawk freak (always trying to get DC to let me do *something* with them), and there are a ton of 'Hawk covers I love, but I've always really dug this Pat Boyette cover, From Blackhawk #242. The last two issues of the sixties-era Blackhawk put them back in their black leather (they had been dressed as superheroes for a while before that), and told cool old school Blackhawk stories, with art by Boyette (who did most of his work for Charlton):

Some of my favorite covers of all time are Nick Cardy's Aquaman covers. Kind of ironic that DC had more interesting stuff going on with cover design in the late sixties than they do now.

Jerry Ordway's "painted" covers to the Power of Shazam! were favorites, too, especially in an era where early Image-inspired gritty bullshit was the norm. I love a bunch of 'em, but here's one of the best. Power! #8:

One of my favorite comics of all time is Peter Bagge's HATE! It's the ultimate ode to my generation. The lead character in HATE! was Buddy Bradley, who was introduced in "The Bradleys" stories in NEAT STUFF, and the cover to #15, in which Buddy leaves his family and curls up on a toxic New Jersey beach in his sleeping bag, is one of my favorites:

DC's mystery titles had a pretty great run of covers, including a lot of Neal Adams, Kaluta and Wrightson stuff. I love this Wrightson cover, just because it's the coolest looking zombie head this side of Tony Moore:

Ed Hannigan is one of the more underrated cover artists, doing a lot of really cool work in the late seventies and early eighties. He did some rad Batman covers, but I've always loved his Spec Spidey covers:

Hawaiian Dick Think

2008-05-30T23:42:00.003-05:00

I've got a fairly audacious idea in mind for the next chunk of Hawaiian Dick.

Gonna try to map it out and chat with Eric Stephenson about it in San Diego. Over drinks, one would hope.

Also, unrelated...Billy Smoke picked up a potentially interesting project hitchhiker this week.

Pro Fan Art

2008-05-28T16:58:00.002-05:00

I love seeing people handle my characters.

Ryan Cody just posted this Mid-Nite Hour sketch on my message board:

One of these days, when I have the time, I'll get a new Mid-Nite Hour book rolling.

Internet comic reviewers...

2008-05-26T21:32:00.004-05:00

A note: HAWAIIAN DICK #4 came out last week, and Griffin, operating on the advice of Tony Moore, figured out how to adjust the color levels to a degree that made him happy. I haven't seen the issue yet, but Steven says the color ("colour") looks great. So check it out:

So, Griffin sent me this "Mondo" review, and it made me happy.

Not because the guy liked the book, but because he clearly approached the book with genuine enthusiasm...as if he picked it up hoping to enjoy it, and then just let himself get into it:

http://www.mondomagazine.net/?p=1124

Hawaiian Dick is a book that is beyond negative criticism. Why? Because it accomplishes exactly what we set out to accomplish, and if that's not your cup of tea, it's not because we failed you, it's because...it's not your cup of tea. It's a fun genre comic book, and we don't half-ass the effort, which is all you can ask of us. So if I read a negative review of the book from a guy who praises by the numbers photorealistic cape melodrama, I just get depressed that someone sold him the book in the first place. It's like listening to Poison fans review Barry Manilow albums. Or Teletubbies fanatics reviewing a Maysles documentary.

On reflection, "Beyond criticism" is probably the wrong way to put it.

But making a negative judgment call on something because it's not up your alley is the problem for me. Hawaiian Dick is a good example, because some people may not respond to the art. And if that's the case, fine. What I can't tolerate is someone making a qualitative judgement on the art because they don't personally connect to it.

I think anyone who pisses on creator-owned books in reviews should be smacked in the head with a mallet. Somebody saw something in the book, and someone sacrificed to make it happen. Someone will probably enjoy it, and the book sniping a smidgen of sales from the latest Mark Millar/Popular Artist juggernaut isn't going to kill anyone. To have failed writers with a limited comprehension of the medium trash the work simply to assuage their own superior egos is maddening.

Someone once wrote a bitchy letter to CMJ magazine, asking why they featured so many glowing CD reviews. The response was along the lines of, "A lot of stuff comes out each month, and we only have so much space. Instead of dumping on an artist, we try to guide people to music they might enjoy." As someone who bought the magazine looking for recommendations, I greatly appreciated that. What I didn't need were 200 pages telling me what NOT to buy.

Sure, I'd like intelligent analysis of things, and I don't need to read reviews from a guy who loves everything without applying any filter, but I get so fucking sick of the snarky condescension.

Addendum: I just read a THIRTEEN PARAGRAPH review of IRON FIST, which was, you know...a fun mainstream comic book. (look! I summed it up in four words!)

Addendum to the addendum: Okay, that was a cheap shot. There's nothing wrong with analyzing a book you find interesting, and thirteen paragraphs isn't unduly excessive, but it is very easy to lose sight of what you're reviewing (a mainstream superhero comic) when you take it that far.

Bluejacket debuts in September

2008-05-13T00:07:00.002-05:00

On the advice of wise old comic book sage Mark Waid, Seth Peck, Chris Samnee and I will be debuting Bluejacket here:

PULP TALES BENEFIT BOOK FOR JOSH MEDORS

Contributions by Steve Niles, Josh Fialkov, Kody Chamberlain, Tony Fleecs, Dan Taylor and more!

Cover by Ben Templesmith and Josh Medors

24pgs,

FC SRP: $3.99

Help BOOM! Studios support comic book artist Josh Medors, recently diagnosed with cancer, by ordering the benefit comic book PULP TALES. This two-fisted one-shot features all-new, action-packed stories by horror master Steve Niles, P.U.N.K.S' Josh Fialkov and Kody Chamberlain, '76's B. Clay Moore & Seth Peck, Capote in Kansas' Chris Samnee, In My Lifetime's Tony Fleecs, and more! Featuring a cover by Ben Templesmith! ALL PROCEEDS will go to Josh Medors and his family. HELP NOW AND PRE-ORDER THIS BOOK TODAY! PULP TALES WILL SHIP SEPTEMBER!

http://www.boom-studios.com/node/2025

We've cooked up what we think is a great little intro to the world of Bluejacket, so I hope that gives people extra incentive to support a worthy cause.

Humbug!

2008-05-09T12:51:00.002-05:00

I was just bitching about the lack of a quality reprint of Harvey Kurtzman's HUMBUG, when Rantz Hoseley directed my attention to this:

From Fantagraphics, this summer.

Fantastic news.

July 1st

2008-05-06T09:27:00.000-05:00

New Dick Trade in August

2008-05-05T22:26:00.000-05:00

Screaming Black Thunder. Cover by Griffin.

The Local Scene & Casey the Blue

2008-05-04T20:48:00.003-05:00

Article on Fraction from the KC Star, which also ties in the larger "scene" in the area. The writer was planning on a larger piece about the Kansas City comic creator community, but editorial thought the Iron Man tie-in was more topical (and it is):

http://www.kansascity.com/105/story/604187.html

Also...

CASEY BLUE preview up at Newsarama:

http://www.newsarama.com/dcnew/May08/previews/wildstorm/7th.html

Con Report Addendum

2008-04-24T13:01:00.009-05:00

The real highlight of the con for me was bumping into Jamie McKelvie here and there, and running into Kevin Mellon a couple of times.

Those boys are handsome with their open line drawings.

I also saw Dennis Hopeless briefly. Other people I saw or met and enjoyed rubbing up against: Phil Hester, Robbi Rodriguez, Greg Thompson (though I never saw Jen), Paul Maybury, Tim Seeley, Dean Haspiel, Liz Gerhlein, Andy Serwin of Wizard, Sterling Gates, Mike Perkins, Marlin Shoop, John Lucas and Mindy (two of the absolute most amazing people associated with the comic books), Will Dennis, Pat Loika, Andy Schmidt, Lee Loughridge, Pornsak Pichetchote, Mark Sable, Alex Segura, Fletcher Chufong, Arvid Nelson, Josh Dysart, Chris Powell, Aubrey Sitterson, Josh Williams, Chris Burnham, Ian Sattler, Jim Valentino, Joe Keatinge, Traci Hui, Randy Jarrell, Joe Nozemak, Becky Cloonan (so damn good), Filip Sablik, Christos Gage, Phil Noto, David Gallaher, Rachel Gluckstern, Jeanine Schaefer, Nachie Castro, Ken Levin, and so many more.

Two regrets: I walked past Kerry Gammil sketching at a table, and wished I'd stopped to shake his hand and thank him for being nice to me when I was about ten years old at Dallas conventions. And Siuntres told me Irwin Hassen was there somewhere. Wish I'd had a copy of my Wildcat story to give to him. It's probably one of the first Wildcat stories in a long time to directly link to his original work...

A kind of Con Report

2008-04-24T10:17:00.024-05:00

McKeever, Moore, Haun, Norton in New York

The first real con report I've done in years. Sprinkled with graphics to keep you entertained.

Don't get me wrong. There are some real class-A douchebags in comics. But by and large, I enjoy being around creators and love meeting new ones. I mean, ultimately these are people who battered their way into a fucked up business because they have stories they want to tell. This goes for writers, artists and editors...

J. Torres

Mike Norton

As a result, the most fun I have at cons is running into old friends and just catching up. My oldest friend in comics is probably J. Torres, so it was nice hanging out with him during the DC events and afterwards, and if I've known J. for the longest time, I've known Mike Norton almost as long, and Mike generally had Sean McKeever tagging along, so hanging with those guys was great. Staying with Jeremy Haun (and Haun's pal Aaron Norton) and Jason Latour, I obviously saw a lot of them, as well. Got to meet Latour's sort-of girlfriend, Tracy, who was great company.

Haun, with Newsarama's Vaneta Rogers

Latour

The DC "media mixer" on Thursday night was a lot of fun. I got to chat with my primary lifeline at DC, editor Mike Siglain (although chatting with editors is a tricky proposition, since someone is always trying to pull them away), and ended up sharing a table with Darwyn Cooke and Jimmy Palmiotti. I've known Darwyn for years and actually first met Jimmy at a barbecue of Darwyn's a few years ago. While I wouldn't say I'm close to Jimmy, I think it's safe to say he's one of the nicest guys in comics, and he understands the business as well as anyone. If you need advice on any aspect of comics, Jimmy's the best guy to go to. Darwyn was his usual self, holding court on any number of things, as Bob Wayne, Amanda Conner and Rodney Ramos chipped in. The lovely Jann Jones hosted the event for DC, and was all over the room.

Jimmy and Darwyn

Friday at the con was uneventful. I camped out with Tony and Kara at the booth they shared with Rick Remender, Eric Powell and Steve Niles, since Rick, Eric and Niles had yet to show. (Any port in a storm) Ran into Josh Fialkov, Marc Bernardin and Tony Lee, and chatted a bit. Josh has done a fine job of forging a career by following his own path, even if he stopped seeking my advice after I told him to abandon Elk's Run. Had lunch with my Wildstorm editor, Ben Abernathy, who's a truly great guy. Friday night Jason Aaron and I wandered over to the DC party, where I ran into old friends Mike Hawthorne and Christine Norrie. Mike's another guy I've known for almost a decade, having published some of his early work way back in the Love in Tights days... And Christine used to run with the Oni gang back in the day. Also bumped into KC area creator Nathan Fox, who had with him some amazing pages for a new graphic novel he's working on. That guy's a step ahead of most people in the game. Met Vertigo editor Mark Doyle for the first time, and managed to hook up with Ramon Perez and Andy B., from the Canadian posse.

Jason Aaron

I owe Andy a script, and Ramon is doing amazing work on my Wildcat story for JSA Classified, and it was gratifying to have people come up to me all weekend and insist that we badger DC into letting us do a regular Wildcat book. Andy B. was doing his best to drink the bar dry before it was time to split. Before Remender, Hawthorne, Mike's friend Pierre and I left to go meet Ivan Brandon's crew at the Irish Rogue, Brian Azzarello summoned me over to discuss a "mystery authors" even we've both been invited to in November up around Milwaukee. Brian told me a funny story about how he "insulted" Fraction by asking if he was the guy who wrote Hawaiian Dick...

Azz

The Irish Rogue was a great time. Bumped into CB Cebulski (another one of the nicest guys in comics), Jade Dodge, Matt Camp, and the usual gang of idiots: Paul Azaceta, Ivan, Andy McDonald, Ivan's better half Kristin, Rick Spears (but no Rob G.)...Esad Ribic was with Ivan, along with Nicky Barucci (who regaled us with tales of his bowel movements). Spears and I vented about the industry, and then argued the Clash, before Ribic, Spears, Ivan, Remender and I started debating the music of the 90s. Those guys were all veterans of the punk wars, whereas I spent the decade on the fringes of every scene. For me the 90s were about Britpop (yes, I defenses Oasis), twee and emerging singer-songwriters like Elliott Smith.

Saturday was eventful. Shawn Crystal was kind enough to treat me to lunch at Burgers and Cupcakes. I always enjoy hanging with Shawn. Had a long conversation with Top Cow's Matt Hawkins, did a little video thing for Word Balloon's John Siuntres, and had a signing at the DC booth, followed by missed meetings and the Wildstorm panel. The panel was at six o'clock, and as a result a little lacking in energy, but I did get to meet and chat with Keith Giffen about a project, before listening to Keith mutter annoyed observations about the panel for an hour. I bumped into Larsen on the way back to the hotel, and asked who he had in mind to draw a recent Next Issue Project story that I wrote. I was kind of jazzed to hear him say he thought he might do it, although he hadn't read it yet, so...

Cage, Giffen and Moore at the Wildstorm panel.

Shawn Crystal

At the Wildstorm dinner that night, Haun and I sat with Tom Fowler (who's now doing regular work for Mad), and Glenn Fabry, whom I'd never met before. Glenn turned out to be a delightful dinner companion, and we discussed movies, television, sports, books, and, of course, art supplies, before Glenn and a number of other Brits wandered off looking for a pub to watch a boxing match. We soon ended up at another local bar, where we gathered Chris Neseman from Around Comics and KC homeboy Ande Parks, who joined our sordid crew. Ande later took Jeremy hat shopping. Ande is a man of fine tastes.

Tom Fowler

Ande Parks

After gathering Shawn Crystal and Andrew Robinson, we made our way to another bar (the Gaff?), where we found Doyle, Siglain, McKeever, Norton, and the Kids in the Hall's Kevin McDonald. Latour and his gal pal arrived before long, and we spent the evening drinking and debating (Latour and I ended up arguing politics, despite sharing nearly identical political views).

Andrew Robinson (with Lee Loughridge)

Sunday? Yes, Sunday. Slept in (I don't get to do that in real life) before hitting the Wildstorm booth for another signing. Chatted with Wildstorm VP Hank Kanalz, and was amazed at Jim Lee's memory as he recalled our first meeting, at a Steak n Shake in Dallas four years ago... Met with Mark Doyle, had a chat with Top Cow's Rob Levin about a project, did a Wizard pod thing, and bid farewell to Brian Hurtt (who I never saw leave the Oni booth) and the Canadians (including Kalman and Cameron) before heading to the airport. Oni's James Lucas Jones walked me back to my hotel, and we discussed a few things, including the upcoming OGN Billy Smoke, which I need to get cracking on.

Jim Lee

Delays at the airport and I bumped one more time into Brian Azzarello and then Brian Hurtt (whose plane was held up by my plane's failure to depart on time), and I was OFF.

And that was my con in a nutshell.

New York Comic-Con Memories

2008-04-22T23:35:00.002-05:00

DC has a podcast up of the Wildstorm panel. It's not too long into it before we briefly discuss Casey Blue: Beyond Tomorrow:

http://www.dccomics.com/media/podcasts/DCComics_2008-07-19_Wildstorm_Revelations_New_York_Comic_Con_2008.mp3

DC photogs snapped me signing:

Was a good con. I have to say, DC editorial, in all three branches, is hard to beat.

NEW YORK COMIC-CON SCHEDULE

2008-04-13T14:48:00.004-05:00

FRIDAY, APRIL 18th

3pm-4pm: Signing at the Image booth (I'll have some book on hand to buy)

SATURDAY, APRIL 19th

1pm-2pm: Signing at the DC/Wildstorm booth

6pm-7pm: Wildstorm Panel (room 10E7)

SUNDAY, APRIL 20th

12pm-1pm: Signing at the DC/Wildstorm booth

Still trying to work out Image signing times.

College

2008-03-28T01:37:00.002-05:00

In retrospect, I wish I'd approached college with absolutely no thought of eventual vocation.

That'll be my advice to my kids. Study what interests you, see how things go.

Just realized my last few entries have been texty.

Here's a graphic from my hard drive:

Just a little something that Peck, Samnee and I are devoted to.

JSA CLASSIFIED #36 out tomorrow...and stuff

2008-03-25T15:28:00.002-05:00

Just got my box of Wildcat, and it just looks awesome. Kudos to Ramon and Dave McCaig on a stellar art job.

Morbid musing, I suppose, but that's life:

Ran into an old friend while in Wichita. His mother died of cancer ten years ago, when he was in his twenties, and he was one of the first people I happened to run into back when my mom was diagnosed about a year ago. He shook his head and said, "Your mom's the only one who always has your back. When my mom died, I realized I'd have to pull myself out of trouble alone from now on." Amen to that. I'd feel that way if my mom had passed away when I was seventy.

My brother-in-law's father died of cancer a couple of years before my mom did. His father and my mother were probably the two most reliable people in the world. This weekend he said, "Man, why'd your mom and my dad have to go? We kind of needed one of them to stick around. Now we've got to be the parents."

Cancer sucks.

March Madness

2008-03-20T11:20:00.001-05:00

Got invited to this in November:

http://tessgerritsen.com/blog/2006/11/15/murder-and-mayhem-in-muskego/

Should be fun.

My K-State Wildcats tip off tonight against USC in the "marquee matchup" of the opening round. Beasley vs. Mayo. Whoop! Whoop!

Out this week: WILDCAT!

2008-02-26T00:57:00.002-06:00

I'm really jazzed about this one. JSA CLASSIFIED has just about worn Wildcat out, but I really think this arc is different.

The intention was to do something different, anyway. Per Dan DiDio.

Since it's out this week, I think it's probably all right to flash some interior art. Check it:

Hawaiian D & Superman C

2008-02-23T11:36:00.002-06:00

Out this past week:

Oh...

2008-02-21T13:40:00.006-06:00

...the things I could tell that kid:

Still posing together, though, all these years later:

Casey Blue solicited for May (Wildstorm)

2008-02-20T00:32:00.002-06:00

I'm guessing some people find this one surprising.

It's been a lot of fun, though. Hope to get on the PR wagon soonishly.

Pops mulls Cedar Crest...

2008-02-18T11:19:00.007-06:00

The Wichita Eagle featured an article this morning on my father's potential run for governor:

http://www.kansas.com/news/local/story/314617.html

Something I learned: The Eagle's "comments" section is even worse than Newsarama's. I don't mind comments sections, but they should really be separated from main articles. It's very easy to lose the gist of whatever you've just read when you're immediately confronted by angry little people with too much time on their keyboards...

I'm not sure how I feel about this idea, to be honest. I think a lot depends on what happens with the presidential election. There's a strong chance sitting governor Kathleen Sebelius, with whom my father served as Lt. Governor for the first four years of her administration, could end up in Washington should Obama be elected. That would mean she'd be leaving office early, which could shake up the playing field.

But the main reason my father chose not to run again with Kathleen was to spend time with my mother. With her passing away in September, he has the time, and he's never lacked for work ethic.

I dunno. Part of me thinks retiring to the lake sounds more appealing, but it's his life, and someone needs to beat Sam Brownback.

Brunner Colors Crystal

2008-02-13T02:01:00.001-06:00

Back-up story from HAWAIIAN DICK #3 (out next week). Art by Shawn Crystal, with color by Chris Brunner:

Here Comes the Sun

2008-02-12T16:07:00.000-06:00

Picking up the kids today, "Here Comes the Sun" came on the radio, which prompted me to dig out Abbey Road and give the track a closer listen.

That track may be one of the Beatles' most immaculate productions. It's just a beautiful slice of folk pop, which lots of stuff going on that never threatens to overwhelm the tender sentiment of the song.

In fact, Abbey Road as a whole (with the possible exception of "Maxwell's Silver Hammer," which might feel out of place anywhere) is amazing sounding. Nothing dated or forced about the sound.

It's a little depressing, really...makes one wonder what potential still existed for the George Martin/Beatles collaboration when they split.

Steve Gerber: RIP

2008-02-11T22:01:00.000-06:00

Busted Wing

2008-02-10T00:37:00.000-06:00

But dealing:

Thank You, Mystery Girl...

2008-02-07T17:09:00.000-06:00

Yesterday I noticed a neighbor with GIANT Romney signs pasted to his back deck (which rises some twenty feet above his fenceline, highly visible as you enter our development). I thought idly about tracking down an Obama sign, and wondered who would throw such noisy support behind such a sinking ship.

So this afternoon I'd driven about forty yards down my street when I noticed a girl I'd never seen before walking toward me holding an Obama sign.

When I was about thirty feet away, she held it up over her head, and I gave her a big thumb's up.

When I got back home it was planted in my front yard.

That was easy. And a bit weird.

Office Space

2008-02-07T13:31:00.000-06:00

To fill space with something other than ads, I threw together this little tour of my (always cluttered) office, and Steven whipped it into a pleasing shape.

This'll appear in the back of HAWAIIAN DICK #3 (out soonishly). Click for a bigger look:

Atomic Revolver on YouTube

2008-02-02T09:30:00.001-06:00

The 25th Time is the Charm

2008-01-30T22:12:00.001-06:00

I don't talk sports much on here, but...

Loving my Cats this year.

That's all.

Dick on the North Shore

2008-01-23T11:20:00.000-06:00

Writer Steve Barnhart sent me this great shot of himself on the North Shore, clutching his prized copy of HAWAIIAN DICK #1 while on vacation in Hawaii:

Top Ten Cheap Trick songs

2008-01-23T00:36:00.001-06:00

The greatest band to ever emerge from Rockford, Illinois!

1. Surrender
2. Oh, Candy
3. Dream Police
4. I Want You to Want Me
5. I Can't Take It
6. Hello There
7. If You Want My Love
8. She's Tight
9. Next Position Please
10. Southern Girls

If you don't like Cheap Trick, I don't even wanna know.

Welcome Wes

2008-01-17T03:23:00.000-06:00

Wes Wedman is on board to draw HAWAIIAN DICK #11, which will easily be the strangest issue in the series to date.

Wes is a talented artist from just down the road in Lawrence, and is beginning to turn some heads.

The quality of the scan ain't great, but check out this uber cool STEEL CITY HAWK pin-up he did last year:

Around Comics podcast...'76...Dick

2008-01-16T01:31:00.000-06:00

So, '76 #1 and Hawaiian Dick #2 are out tomorrow.

Seth and I did an interview with Around Comics where we talk about '76, and I ramble on about the industry and this and that:

http://www.aroundcomics.com/

'76 #1 out next week...preview up...

2008-01-12T17:41:00.000-06:00

...at Newsarama:

http://forum.newsarama.com/showthread.php?t=142958

A Dick flick

2008-01-11T21:34:00.000-06:00

If and when Hawaiian Dick makes it to the screen, it's gonna be so far removed from what it started out to be.

Not bad, mind you.

Also, HAWAIIAN DICK #2 and '76 #1 both drop next week.

Check your favorite comic shop! And if it's not there, check another one.

Shane White's Hawaiian Dick

2008-01-07T17:02:00.000-06:00

Shane White's working on an eight-page Hawaiian Dick story, and worked up this piece as he's playing around with color and design.

Purty sweet.

Come to Orlando for free '76!

2008-01-06T20:16:00.000-06:00

Assuming the book arrives by then, Seth and I will be handing out free copies of '76 #1 to anyone who attends the Atomic Revolver panel at the FX Show in Orlando on January 26.

Goodness

2008-01-04T00:04:00.000-06:00

Wow. Just...wow.

Sometimes I almost think it's okay to have hope again.

I'm sure my soul will be thoroughly crushed again in due time.

Wizard love

2008-01-01T12:24:00.001-06:00

So Happy NYE!

2007-12-31T17:52:00.001-06:00

I changed the blog's colors with fingers crossed.

Awaiting word on a book whose lead character sort of matches this color scheme.

Could be fun.

Dick Up

2007-12-26T12:50:00.000-06:00

Didn't know Newsarama was doing this, but the entire lead story from HAWAIIAN DICK #1 is up on this Boxing Day:

DICK!

At least click on it so it looks like you care. And, of course, to enjoy Steven Griffin's backup story, you'll need to pony up for the book. Or download it illegally, if that's how your twisted soul rolls.

---------------------------------------------

"Camp is the consistently aesthetic experience of the world. It incarnates
a victory of 'style' over 'content,' 'aesthetics' over 'morality,' of irony over
tragedy."
-Susan Sontag, Notes on Camp

Top Twenty-five (NO....FIFTY!) of the 90s

2007-12-21T02:30:00.000-06:00

Or...twenty-five of the top...from the 90s. Twenty-five of my favorites from the 90s. Top Twenty-five. Twenty-five of the Top. The 90s. No order. One album per artist. No comps.

1. If You're Feeling Sinister by Belle & Sebastian
2. Fruit of Life by Wild Colonials
3. Telegraph by Richard Davies
4. Vinyl by Dramarama
5. Grace by Jeff Buckley
6. Whatever by Aimee Mann
7. Wild Wood by Paul Weller
8. Fisherman's Blues by the Waterboys
9. Hymns to the Silence by Van Morrison
10. Moseley Shoals by Ocean Colour Scene
11. Fight Songs by Old 97's
12. Loveless by My Bloody Valentine
13. Definitely Maybe by Oasis
14. The Bends by Radiohead
15. The Holy Bible by the Manic Street Preachers
16. The Missing Years by John Prine
17. Gentlemen by the Afghan Wigs
18. It's Great When You're Straight by Black Grape
19. Check Your Head by the Beastie Boys
20. Little Earthquakes by Tori Amos
21. XO by Elliott Smith
22. Parklife by Blur
23. Pinkerton by Weezer
24. The Soft Bulletin by the Flaming Lips
25. In the Aeroplane Over the Sea by Neutral Milk Hotel.

Probably should expand it to fifty. Missed a bunch of favorites.

Okay. Twenty-five more!

26. A Different Class by Pulp
27. Laid by James
28. Odelay by Beck
29. Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet
30. Feeling Strangely Fine by Semisonic
31. Exile in Guyville by Liz Phair
32. Tuesday Night Music Club by Sheryl Crow
33. The Man Who by Travis
34. Ladies and Gentlemen We Are Floating in Space by Spiritualized
35. Ben Folds Five by Ben Folds Five
36. Keep it Like a Secret by Built to Spill
37. Cure for Pain by Morphine
38. Tomorrow the Green Grass by The Jayhawks
39. Dog Man Star by Suede
40. August and Everything After by the Counting Crows
41. I Should Coco by Supergrass
42. Amplified Heart by Everything But the Girl
43. I Love My Friends by Stephen Duffy
44. Cracker by Cracker
45. Hot by The Squirrel Nut Zippers
46. White Sky by Archer Prewitt
47. Tindersticks (II) by Tindersticks
48. Vauxhall and I by Morrissey
49. Bandwagonesque by Teenage Fanclub
50. Infamous Angel by Iris DeMent

I still left a few out.

Damn.

Happy Holidaze

2007-12-21T00:43:00.000-06:00

Superman Confidential #13

2007-12-18T14:51:00.001-06:00

Man, I love this cover. By Phil Hester & Ande Parks. Something old school about it, but mainly I love simplicity in design:

Same Old Lang Syne

2007-12-16T21:36:00.000-06:00

Song always gets to me. With the passing of Dan Fogelberg, and the time of year, I thought I'd dig up a video. About the best I could find was this fan-made video that's still pretty heartfelt:

CBR on my Superman Confidential arc

2007-12-13T22:20:00.000-06:00

If you're curious. I chat about it a little bit:

http://www.comicbookresources.com/news/newsitem.cgi?id=12587

Music 2007

2007-12-12T14:08:00.000-06:00

In no particular order:

Spoon: Ga Ga Ga Ga Ga (each Spoon album is a grower...better and better with each listen)

Dinosaur Jr.: Beyond (great listen...they haven't missed a beat)

The Broken West: I Can't Go On, I'll Go On (beautiful folk pop...or something like that)

The White Stripes: Icky Thump (after a misstep, a return to great)

Radiohead: In Rainbows (best thing since OK Computer)

Bettye LaVette: Scene of the Crime (soul survivor teams up with Drive-By Truckers , tears it up)

Sharon Jones & the Dap-Kings: 100 Days 100 Nights (soul neophyte belts it out like the old days)

Field Music: Tones of Town (easily one of my most-listened to discs this year--catchy catchy pop)

Loney, Dear: Loney, Noir (pretty music)

The Clientele: God Save the Clientele (harmonious pop!)

Candie Payne: I Wish I Could Have Loved You More (Bond music for a new generation)

Band of Horses: Cease to Begin (a step up from an impressive debut)

Jens Lekman: Night Falls Over Kortedala (beautiful realization of potential)

Celebration: The Modern Tribe (uplifting dance-punk, soul pop)

Dan Deacon: Spiderman of the Rings (electronic kookiness that hooks)

Stephen Duffy & the Lilac Time: Runout Groove (fucking beautiful work from a guy who's done a lot of beautiful work)

Pale Young Gentlemen: Pale Young Gentlemen (technically a late 2006 release, but I love it...catchy, bittersweet low key pop)

The Lodger: Grown-Ups (classic sounding Brit indie rock)

Christmas

2007-12-11T04:07:00.000-06:00

It's going to be different this year. To say the least.

I was in Orlando for Thanksgiving, but I'll head back to Wichita for Christmas. Probably the last time I'll ever spend Christmas in Wichita with my family. I think my father's going to sell his house, and try living down on Grand Lake in Oklahoma for a while. He and Mom sold their condo and bought a house big enough for my sister and I to bring our families down to visit. With Mom gone, there's no real reason to stay in the house in Wichita, so Dad's going to try to sell it and put the money in the bank while he truly retires.

We moved to Wichita (or Andover, if you will) just prior to my eighth grade year, and then into that current house during my second year of college. During high school, and for years after, we'd gather at our house on Christmas Eve with my friends and play games, drink beer, watch a movie. Generally Christmas Eve was more fun than Christmas, although there were some slightly rough Christmas mornings.

Anyway, we'll head back there, and spend Christmas Eve and part of Christmas day together one more time, before Dad drives down to Oklahoma to enjoy the day with some new friends, as the new chapter in his life continues to develop.

Having moved all over the place as a kid, Wichita is the closest thing to "home" I ever really knew. Most of my truly formative growth took place there, and there are a lot of people there I truly love. Those people will still be there, but with my parents and the house gone, it feels like "home" is fading away...