Fare Thee Well, Gone Away

It ain't workin'.

No way I can balance this blog against everything else I'm juggling, and I've had too much fun doing it to just leave it lying here like the toy I'm done playing with. The velvetine rabbit, alone in the corner, watching the boy play with all his shiny new toys? No way.

So I'm closing up shop. For now.

Much love to everyone who helped me out, sent me comics to review, commented on the blog, busted my balls, linked back to me, or made good comics while I was working on this. I didn't cover nearly the monumental stack of awesome product that came out while I was working on Quality Control.

Treat yourselves well and enjoy every sandwich. I'll see y'all up the road a piece.

A few more nibbles

Much love to Mark Fossen for cluing me in to Action Comics and Busiek's current run on the title. I'm so gay for Superman comics right now it's like I don't recognize myself - since when do I give two shits about feckin' Superman, for cryin' out loud?

So when I went to the Isotope this afternoon, I found no new comics (because, dumbass, Monday holidays mean Thursday comics, duh), so I caught up on Action Comics as well as nabbing the second issue of Wasteland (which I've been told was a big improvement over the first) and the first issue of Phonogram (which Ash loved so much).

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Does anyone else here dig The Roots?

You know you can see 'em at Rasputin Music this Saturday? That's the one over in Berkeley. One o'clock in the afternoon. It's unclear to me if they're performing or just signing, but what the hell, eh? If you're in the neighborhood...

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Two places to eat pizza here in San Francisco that are awesome:

Patxi's Chicago Pizza - apparently I didn't know a damn thing about Chicago-style pizza, because I never really cared for it. But when James and Jared swore up and down it would be a religious experience, I had to belly up, and goddamn, that's a nice pie. Several layers of cheese and toppings in a pizza about two inches tall, with the tomato sauce on the top (with more toppings). Awesome service, too. Well worth the money, but don't go alone, 'cause it's a shitload of food. They do have slices, but I think the fun is all in the GIANT FUCKING PIZZA they bring to your table.

EDIT: It looks like this, for Christ's sake:



and...

Milano's Pizzeria and Italian Restaurant - where, last night, Molly and Ash Aiwase and Josh Richardson and his Chris French and I put away seven pitchers of beer, a huge order of garlic bread and a four-topping extra-large pizza for a scant fifty-six bucks. Tuesdays and Thursdays they sell pitchers of MGD or Weinhardt's (a personal fave of mine) for a scant $3.75 (used to be just $2.50!), and our waitress was awesome. Good times with good people, good food, good drink, good prices.

Long time gone...

Okay, I know it for sure now: it's gonna be HARD to update this puppy on the regular now that I'm back in school. I'll do my best... but I can see already it's gonna be fuckin' rough.

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Much love to the dear, departed Steve Irwin. A lot of folks seem to've found it fashionable to crack on the half-crazy Australian environmentalist over the last few years, and while I'm not one to stand up and argue about whether he was batshit or not, I always found his show really damned entertaining, and I know he did a lot of good for the animals he loved so much. It's a duller world for his absence.

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I will buy the Punisher one-shot, People v. Castle, by Marc Guggenheim and Leinil Yu, for sure.



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The best comic book I read last week, which surprised me a little, was Doc Frankenstein #5. No real back-story needed, either - just pick it up and give it a look. It's really good. Newsarama's got four pages of interior art here, if you don't believe me.



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You know what? Actually, the best comic book I read last week was Rotting In Dirtville, which I discussed in advance over at the Civil War Survival Guide.



Don't have time now, but I'll try to put up a full review sometime this week...

Short version: you know how horror movies sometimes spend the first half of their screen time building the "normal lives" of the main characters, and it's excruciating to wait and wade through 'cause you just don't give a shit and you'd really rather just have the carnage begin? Well, what it the first half was really, really interesting instead?

Things Molly Says To Me

"If you don't win the lottery, baby, I'll take you to San Quentin."

And yeah, she meant the prison.

Beyond that, the context is yours to imagine.


Thanks for bearing with the empty blog this week; I hope you enjoyed the Civil War Survival Guide, which was where I focused all my real comics love over the last week and a half or so.

I'll be back next week. Be good to yourselves.

The Best Week

Ugh. The comics internet is leaving a bad taste in my mouth today.

So here's a dose of my own personal mouthwash.

Ash and I are having a good time, for sure.

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Oh, mother of God. The best week of my whole life is coming up.

First, from October 6th through the 8th, the Hardly Strictly Bluegrass music festival hits Golden Gate Park for three days of free music, including Elvis Costello, Earl Scruggs, Emmylou Harris, Steve Earle, T Bone Burnett and Gillian Welch.

Then, on October 9th and 10th, Shane Macgowan rejoins the Pogues - one of my favorite three or four bands ever - for two concerts at the legendary Fillmore, one of my favorite music venues in the whole city. This is a once-in-a-lifetime chance for me, and I can't wait to see these guys, and Shane especially.

Then, on October 12th, the Hubert Selby documentary I discovered back in may - HUBERT SELBY JR: It/ll Be Better Tomorrow - comes to the Yerba Buena Center For The Arts, and I've already got tickets for both screenings.

I mean, God damn. How often does that much cool stuff happen at once?

PSA

Isotopean amigo Ash and I have kick-started the Civil War Survival Guide, a seven-day jaunt into the future as we suggest ways folks can spend their hard-earned comics cash and keep up with some great upcoming reading while waiting for Marvel Civil War to get back on track. Take a look, we're already having a great time.

Soldier Forth

Many thanks to James and the crew for an excellent party last Wednesday, and to Darick Robertson for being such a cool guy and drawing such amazing work. You guys have no idea how awesome it was just to see the super-hero beatdowns coming to life on the page right in front of me.

Anyway, a great time was had by all, due in no small part to Smoke and Guns writer Kirsten Baldock and her heavy pouring hand. Kirsten celebrated a birthday on Saturday, too, and I just wanted to throw a shout-out her way for being such a classy lass. Cheers!

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Keep an eye on the Your Mom's Basement forums, 'cause good buddy Ash Aiwase (he of the fabled Pete Mortensen Challenge) and I have some plans for this week, which we'll be kickstarting later today.

And while I'm thinking on it, I wanna give Steve Higgins some credit and love for bringing the comics passion to YMB like nobody's managed since the Ash & Morty days of May.

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Good aul John Voulieris (voo-lee-air-iss?) has a great All The Rage column this week, getting me good and excited for Peter Milligan's upcoming work, "an upcoming Wildstorm series entitled The Program, as well as a new Vertigo series called The Bronx Kill."

Somehow, the Vertigo thing in particular has me feeling all juicy and delicious. Milligan's best stuff has always been under the Vertigo banner, somehow, and I can't wait to see him off the big name property comics and back on some original concepts.

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Also from John's ATR column this week, how bitchin' is this cover to Boom! Studios' upcoming Ninja Tales?



The overall level of quality on the "... Tales" series of anthologies has been pretty damn high, and they've maintained a strong balance of known talent, rising stars and plucky unknowns. I was a little iffy on adding the "Ninja" concept, but now I'm more excited about this one than any of the others.

Could also help that I just read the newest Usagi Yojimbo trade, too.