I've been drawing Pekar's THE QUITTER at a steady clip [20-pages inked, thus far] and writing short A-OKAY COOL scripts for my proposed Image series, AS BIG AS EARTH, a 2-man superhero anthology with cohort Scott Morse. Otherwise, nothing new to report.
Barely making it through the "Sins Past" storyline in AMAZING SPIDER-MAN, where Straczynski rapes the memory of Gwen Stacy, JMS gives Peter Parker his very own Victor Von Doom [dating back to high school] in the new arc "Skin Deep." I dunno. JMS can spin a solid yarn, but maybe it's time for him to retire his web-shooter? Curious to see how JMS and Mike McKone follow Waid & Ringo's nearly sublime run on FF [nearly, because that Frightful Four story was for the birds]. Brubaker has consistently knocked SLEEPER out of the ballpark and his take on CAPTAIN AMERICA is the comic book equivalent to 24 [speaking of 24: season 4 debuts this Sunday!]. I dare Marvel NOT to let Brubaker and GOTHAM CENTRAL cohort, Michael Lark, follow Bendis & Maleev's awesome run on DAREDEVIL. Double dare. A shame Bruce Jones' great run on HULK ended on a whimper. It felt rushed. Sloppy. As if editorial finally caved in to the fans poor distaste for good old fashioned mystery and horror. Puny humans! Jones & Lee's HARD KNOCKS was fun if unnecessary. After taking sabbatical, INCREDIBLE HULK is back on the racks. This time with HULK veteran Peter David returning to write it. I never read David's decade long run on the title but fans did which makes me suspicious. Still, Lee Weeks and Tom Palmer drew this, so I had to try it. So far, so good. I don't know what my opinion of Bendis' AVENGERS [old and new] is. I think I like it. I wish there were more meat added to them there potatoes per issue, but he's got me buying my first AVENGERS comics since the '80s. So, I guess he's doing something right, or at the very least, compelling. I like Millar & Hitch's THE ULTIMATES much better. Vaughan continues to rock Y THE LAST MAN and EX MACHINA. I look forward to the return of THE RUNAWAYS. Azzarello & Risso are keeping it lively with 100 BULLETS, but Azz's SUPERMAN is hurting me like a bad paper cut that won't heal. Is the big reveal of "the vanishing" that, by the 13th issue of this 12-issue arc, there won't be more suffering? Still, I believe in Azzarello. Don't let me down!
Based on a recommendation from
I added another album to my white music collection; the YEAH YEAH YEAHS "Fever to Tell." It's crunchy and it squeaks. I like it. Okay -- I have "Ziggy Stardust," "Diamond Dogs," and "Hunky Dory." What is the 4th BOWIE album I MUST-HAVTA-GOTTA own?
I picked up old pal Josh Neufeld at his A FEW PERFECT HOURS book signing at Jim Hanley's Universe [90 CANDLES cohort,
Talking shit the other day, I claimed my three favorite real life action heroes of all time. I nominated Mohammed Ali, Bruce Lee, and Steve McQueen. Hard to argue their merits. I'd drop their ghosts into a knockdown drag-out crime fiction, kung-fu western. The Shaw Brothers meets Sergio Leone in a Robert Aldrich epic. Throw in Romero zombies and you may have the best fiction ever told.
Who are your Top 3 and how would you handle them?
AND -- because
