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Friday, January 30, 2009

The Onion

Back from NY and back to the warm weather. Read a great comic script from a young writer who I’ve been rooting for for awhile now. Just reminds me that the new crop is coming through (which is always so damn beautiful — see Hickman and Fraction for my current faves).


And here’s why The Onion is still the webpage that should never be missed.



Obama Disappointed Cabinet Failed To Understand His Reference To 'Savage Sword Of Conan' #24


Thursday, January 29, 2009

New York

In NY for top secret book project. Jump into little sushi place. Look...Bruce Willis. Crash on sister's couch. I miss this place.

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Election Comics

I don’t like to use this place to shill. But when it comes to shilling, there’s nothing like shilling for your friends. And so, in honor of our mutual pal The Calculator aka Noah Kuttler aka the guy who posts all this stuff everyday, let me shill for our mutual pal Dan Goldman and his book about the election, which comes out today.


It’s a graphic novel look into the 08 election (titled “08”. Duh.). I’ve known Dan a long time now, so check out his site at: http://dangoldman.net/08/

Friday, January 23, 2009

Gaiman

After our talk at the White House, Neil Gaiman just sent me the first half of his upcoming Batman story, “Whatever Happened to the Caped Crusader?”


For the past few months, I’ve been trying to imagine the other puzzle pieces from the few end pieces that he gave me. Usually, nothing lives up to your imagined perfection (see Phantom Menace, et al).


But this one has such an elegant simplicity to it. Rest assured, it’s in the perfect person’s hands.


Also, as my wife finally started reading Watchmen, I sat next to her in bed, reading issue one over her shoulder. And I giggled that evil giggle when she flipped right past that redhead with the End is Nigh sign.

Thursday, January 22, 2009

Oscars

Let me be clear on why I think Hollywood is filled with snobs. One of the best pictures of the year is Wall-E. That’s not an opinion. That’s a fact.


If you ask anyone and they disagree, don’t be friends with them.


Rooting for Slumdog now...

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

New President

Forget changing the world and hope and coming together -- this day always reminds me of the publication of The First Council, simply because it came out right as Bush was being sworn in (and as a result, the publisher had thousands of buttons delivered to the freezing crowd, with the tagline: Want to Date the President’s Daughter?).


Was so appropriate back then. Now? Superduper creepy.


Also, easily the most easily overlooked fact of the day:


On Monday, Vice President Dick Cheney pulled a muscle in his back, leaving him in a wheelchair for the inauguration.


It’s like when the guy who played Jar Jar got hurt in an accident before the last Star Wars opened. And some guy said, “That was no accident.”

Thursday, January 08, 2009

Wife’s Book Club

My wife’s book club is one of those book clubs that won’t read my books. They won’t say it (okay, they did say it), but it’s true.


But after years, YEARS of trying, they’re reading Watchmen AND Y: The Last Man, next month.


This was so damn hard, and took such subtle chess playing (I’m talking true years), it is clear to me now that nothing less than world domination for the Invisible Army will follow.

Thursday, January 01, 2009

The Worst Seats

The other night, in Florida, I had the fun of going to see the Broadway show Avenue Q with my pal (douche-y namedrop time) Jeff Marx, one of the creators of Avenue Q.


I'd seen it before. I love it like candy. Good candy. Like Chaleston Chew when those were the best.


But there was something about getting to see it with the guy who dreamed it up -- with his parents and family and friends and all of us there. Broadway and the Tony are nice. But at intermission, we were talking about the beauty of having YOUR play come to YOUR theater in YOUR hometown.


And as I mentioned this beauty to Jeff, he turned to the back of the theater, pointed up to crappy seats up in the balcony, and said, "That's where I used to sit when I came here years ago and saw Phantom."


Let me be clear here: most people, when they find success, never want to think of those days when they had the suck seats. But we should never forget those seats. Those are the best seats we'll ever have in our lives.


What you see below is the picture Jeff took -- of his Tony-award winning play -- from his old seats up in the balcony.


I love him for never forgetting. But I love him more for leaving our amazing center-orchestra seats to take in the view from way back.


PS - Other best part? When the 99-year-old lady usher shooed him (and us) out of the theater, threatening that, "The show's over, young man, time for you to get out."