November 4, 2008
Election-Jitters Safe Zone

   Hey, gang, I'm back! Sorry I haven't contributed much new blog material this year but events both personal and professional have been occupying most of my waking hours. I've got a lot of random comments and musings to offer this time around.

   I don't have a lot of regrets in my life, but if I were to name the deepest regret, it would be that I had thrown out all my childhood homemade comics in a fit of melodramatic teen bitterness. Well, my cousin Sean recently informed me that he'd come across some crudely-drawn comics that we both collaborated on during our not-so-misspent youth! Happy Day! When Sean's hectic schedule allows, he'll send me scans for me to share with you. If my pal Steve Epting has the guts to post his childhood doodles on his site, I can do no less! Prepare yourself for some Bic ballpoint pen all-out action of the mighty misanthropic manner!

   You may have noticed if you study the upcoming solicitations from DC, that I am no longer inking Green Lantern Corps, but I've been happily reunited with my old Gen13 pal, Carlo Barberi for the remainder of Wally West's "run" on Flash. After that, we may have other plans elsewhere in the DCU, so I'll keep y'all posted when the time is appropriate. Earlier this Fall, when I had a couple days free, I helped out my pal Tom Nguyen by inking several pages of the just-released Ghostbusters: The Other Side #1 by IDW. Tom's a total madman, capable of pencilling and inking two pages a day for weeks at a time on little or no sleep while working on his second instructional book for aspiring comic artists! Tom and I trashtalk on the phone every week like a couple of caffeinated tribbles. About whom? That's for us to know, unless you ply us with booze at a convention!

   My pick for Hot CD Of The Moment is The Bangles debut 1984 album, All Over The Place, reissued this year on Sony's Wounded Bird label. For Garage Band rock fans who's only exposure to this girl group has been the bland overproduced Prince-penned Manic Monday (and subsequent soulless hits contrived for the masses by those faceless "corporate suits, man"), please open your mind to the jangly guitars and swooping Beatlesque harmonies and damn clever songwriting that fills your ears. At the time of it's release, rockin' Girl Groups were relegated to low-wattage college radio and would, almost as the occasional novelty, top the charts with a Go-Gos hit one year, a Joan Jett hit another. Once Madonna entered the public's consciousness, countless would-bees became the standard-bearers for women on the radio. Sure there were remakes aplenty sent to remix heaven (Former "New Wave" singer Kim Wilde's Set Me Free immediately springs to mind), but women with guitars on the radio? Nu-uh, unless you wanted the softer side of hair metal bands. I know I'm wandering off subject a tad, but in short: Check out All Over The Place.

   Now comes an open apology I must offer to friends and associates: Lately, I've been hit up by just about everybody I know to join them on Plaxo, Linkedin and other networking sites, and after the first several dozen, I stopped responding as it was becoming a daily chore that seemed increasingly trite and pointless, like racking up a growing Christmas card listing. Sure, you can reject an offer to a person's invitation to join, but when you see some people accepting seemingly everybody, you wonder if there's any standards to be considered, or is it just a big keg party? I'd joined MyComicSpace a couple years back, but it's been more of an irritant than a benefit, with everybody bulletin-ing every self-congratulatory accomplishment, no matter how minuscule. I'm certainly no stranger to hype, but I know to lay low, too.

   Now if anybody's still reading this after the previous paragraph, there's some new inked artwork added to Commission Page 12 from such notable and eccentric talents as Don Perlin, Adi Granov and Steve Rude (Dude! WHERE is Nexus #101?)

   Next month will be the FIFTH anniversary of this website, can you believe it? This site would not be nearly as satisfying, or would have grown the way it has without the long hours of hard work from Webmaster Chris, so let's tip our collective hat to him! He has more energy than my punk-ass does!   
 
 
All characters & their images are property of their respective copyright holders. All original content (c) Drew Geraci. Please request permission before reprinting or reposting elsewhere.