March 24, 2009
I know, I know!

   It's been months since I've had time to blog. I've been politely pestered from friends and fans alike to come up with some new material, so we'll see if this ol' windbag still has it...

   I had a ton of Final Crisis gags prepared last month that seem kinda dated now that Battle for The Cowl is underway, so we'll pass on them...

   Well, I can start off with a big thumbs-up for the Watchmen movie, despite the second week dropoff! Sure it's different than the graphic novel, but I find both are perfect in their respective formats! Halfway through the movie, it occurred to me that this wasn't so much a superhero movie as it was a science fiction movie, particularly the scenes with Dr. Manhattan. Once all the hubbub about "lack of squid-this" and "lack-of-newstand-loitering-characters-that", I believe Watchmen will be considered a cult classic in the vein of Dune and Blade Runner. I'm deadly serious. Like most fans, I bit my lip at the beginning, saying a silent prayer of, basically, "please don't suck", and found myself enjoying it immensely! I want to see it at the Imax, but don't know if I have the time.

   Had a great time at Megacon, sharing a table with Derec Donovan (Youngblood, Connor Hawke), doing sketches and chatting up with fans. My favorite pen & ink sketch I did this year was Stargirl from the JSA. I spent extra time on it late Friday night in the hotel room I shared with Lone Ranger artist Sergio Cariello. The guy I did it for must've really dug it too, as, Sunday, when his car happend to be parked outside our hotel, he poked his head out and told me again how much he liked my drawing! It's always good for inkers to get some validation, ya know :)

   Saturday night, I had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe with Dan Didio, Darwyn Cooke, Rob Hunter, Tony Bedard, Billy Tucci, Phil Noto, Rodney Ramos, Dick Giordano and some of their significant others as well as the most-significant-of-others team of Jimmy Palimiotti & Amanda Connor. Later on, Dan Jurgens, George Perez and Ethan Van Sciver showed up. Maybe the hostess could smell trouble from a bunch of roudy comic book types, and sat us in a closed-off section with no exterior windows. That said, it got hot and stuffy in there quickly! Thankfully, a couple hours later, I had an out. Rob Hunter and his lovely fiancee' were getting tired and flushed as well, so they kindly drove me back to the hotel. Sure we got lost a few times, but we had a good time joking about it. When we arrived at our hotel, it dawned on me, horror of horrors, that I left my fashion-forward jacket at the Hard Rock and had no one's cell phone number. I tried 411 but I had trouble figuring out the exact address of the Hard Rock we were at (I can be hopeless when it comes to directions and addresses). Thankfully, the next day, I happened by Darwyn's booth and his winsome wife Marsha asked me if I was missing a coat! I thanked her profusely, merrily reunited with my coat!

   During the show, I had hoped to squirrel away some time with former Monkee Micky Dolenz, who made his first Megacon appearence this year. No such luck. I had also hoped to trade with retailers at the show, using some high-grade Silver Age comics I'd brought as collateral, but nobody was trading, they were all dealing strickly with cash (another unfortunate sign of the economy) so no significant purchases for this fanboy.

   Gosh, so much time has passed since my last entry. Just to cover a few old items: Having arrived on the Scott Pilgrim bandwagon late, the fifth volume "Scott Pilgrim vs. The Universe" was the first one I bought on the actual day it hit the stores and hastily devoured it. Prior to SPVTU, I had read the previous four within a couple months, and I now know the frustration of waiting another year for the final (NOOOO!) volume. It broke my heart when Kim Pine quit Scott's band. What can I say? I'm a sensitive guy! Heck, I can openly admit that I'm genuinely upset that Ugly Betty may face cancellation! That's been my favorite show and I'm glad it no longer competes directly with 30 Rock (or maybe I'll just be lost without my weekly dose of badgirl Wilamina Slater played by Vanessa Williams).

   At the end of last year, Karen and I lost our beloved bichon, Gromit, who we found cold and frightened way back in the winter of '96. He was in a great deal of discomfort in his final months, so it was a blessing of sorts when he passed. Less than a month later, we adopted a cockerspaniel/poodle mix and named him Bucky (after Bucky Barnes, the new Captain America, of course). If we waited any longer, our other poodle, Valentine might've gotten too territorial to tolerate a new dog. Karen and I have mad crazy alergies, so poodle breeds are the only dogs we can live with. The two of them are getting along amazingly well, running outside together and napping together and provide hours of fun and comfort during these unsettling times. They also both snore, which always cracks me up!

   As a Valentine's Day gift, Karen bought me the hardcover book The Clash, based on the legendary band of the same name. Highly recommended. Amazing rare photos, contributions, insights and quotes from band members! Can't ask for much else!

   Loved the second wave of New Gods toys in the Kirbyesque style! Kalibak, Metron, Big Barda and Kirby Superman! Similar to the Orion figure, which had an alternate (scary) face, I was kinda hoping that Superman would come with an alternate Murphy Anderson-style face, to reflect the Jimmy Olsen issues where Anderson was hired to redraw the heads to keep the characters "on model"!

   I was pleasantly surprised this week seeing Marvel publish a hardcover of the "Avengers Disassembled" stories from five years ago! I'm proud of the four issues of Cap that Scot (X-Men: Legacy) Eaton and I did with Robert Kirkman. Everybody go buy double copies so I can get me some royalties already!

   I'm sure there's a whole lotta stuff I haven't caught y'all up on, but I promise not to be away so long next time. Especially when I'll be announcing the next series I'll be working on. In the meantime, I've been pitching in on The Titans #12, due next month!

 
 
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