Many folks throughout the internets are excited, and justly so, because TCM is airing the little-seen film The World's Greatest Sinner, Timothy Carey's opus that features music by Frank Zappa, early this morning. But nobody's talking about the film that they'll be screening directly after, and one which is almost as little-seen (and currently unavailable on DVD, to the best of my knowledge), Zappa's 1971 200 Motels. It's set to air at 2:45 am Central, 3:45 Eastern...and even though I own the VHS copy, I'd be tempted to watch it if I could stay up that late!

Motels is a very odd and typically free-form movie, done at a time when Frank was beginning to be interested in branching out into filmmaking, and which stars a host of people including Ringo Starr as "Larry the Dwarf", a character that is supposed to be a stand-in for Zappa himself (who only actually appears during concert sequences); Howard Kaylan and Mark Volman, aka "Flo and Eddie", former Turtles who were by then performing as members of the Mothers of Invention; Pamela Des Barres (nee Miller) along with the rest of Zappa's groupies-slash-girl group the GTO's; Theo Bikel, who was an actual actor, Keith Moon, who spends most of the movie dressed like a nun, and members of the Mothers both past (Don Preston, Jimmy Carl Black (the "token Indian of the group") who gets a lot of funny lines, Motorhead Sherwood) and present (George Duke, Aynsley Dunbar, Jim Pons (another former Turtle), and Ian Underwood). Also appearing as Jeff Simmons, one of Zappa's guitarists who bailed just before filming began to tour on his solo album Lucille Has Messed My Mind Up, was Moon's chauffeur Martin Lickert.

There is an underlying theme to the mostly chaotic madness- this was said at the time to be a collection of fantasies inspired by the unending tedium of the road. There's a lot of in-jokes about the band members, most notably at Simmons' expense, and many of the set pieces are clever...but the strength of the whole thing, for me at least, remains the intermittent concert sequences that spotlight the Mothers performing songs done for the movie, such as the rocking "Mystery Roach" and "Magic Fingers" (yep, about those vibrating beds in motel rooms), and some of the musical set pieces such as Black's performance of "Lonesome Cowboy Burt", a mock-country tune about a horny redneck in a honky-tonk bar. Black's sour voice is a natural. Zappa's more classical-oriented score pieces are among his best, as well. Otherwise, it can be slow going sometimes, especially during some of the more surreal setpieces. None of the cast, with the possible exception of Bikel, can act at all, although Kaylan and Volman have their moments because they're natural clowns in front of the camera. There's also an amusing animated sequence in the middle, in which Zappa and company poke fun at Donovan and Simmons as well as the whole showbiz thing at the time.

If you find yourself awake in the wee hours, and you haven't seen this, and you're even a little bit of a Zappa fan, you owe it to yourself to see it at least once. I think it's worth setting the TiVo for anyway, so you can watch it at your leisure. Once in a blue moon I'll fish out the VHS tape I have and fast forward to the parts I like. It's kinda crude, and misses as often as it hits, but it's definitely a unique experience, with perhaps only the Monkees' Head rivaling it for whatever it is. No coincidence, Zappa was in that film as well.

Behold the trailer!

OK, FINALLY.

After a brain fart induced false start back on Wednesday, I can now proudly announce that today marks SIX YEARS since I started posting stuff on this blog.

Unlike last year, I'm not going to make any announcements that can be misconstrued; instead, I'll just thank everyone who continues to read and comment, and I promise to do my best to try not and suck in the future.

Also, thanks to the mighty Mike Sterling for the early shout-out, and congrats to blogsister Tegan on her own 6 year anniversary two days ago.

Kids, I'm furiously typing away at comics reviews, which I hope to get posted before the weekend's over- but in the meantime, I want to take the opportunity to pass along the contents of an email that Sonny Liew sent me the other day, and I've been remiss in not posting sooner:


* PRESS RELEASE - DRAW YOUR OWN LIQUID CITY ROBOT AND WIN! Image Comics' upcoming anthology, Liquid City, holds contest for robot drawing artists!*

16 October 2008 (Berkeley, CA) - To coincide with the upcoming LIQUID CITY anthology, editor Sonny Liew is inviting the artists of Deviantart.com to submit their own robot designs for the chance to win big!

"The variety of robot designs is practically limitless," said editor Sonny Liew. "I hope we'll see lots of fun and interesting ones sent in for the contest."

The LIQUID CITY Draw-A-Robot Contest is your chance to one of three signed copies of LIQUID CITY for the grand prize - a page of original art from the story by Liew and Mike Carey, "Faces." To enter, simply create and design an original robot - no fan art - and submit it by by November 2nd 2008 (EST). Winners will be notified on the Liew's DeviantArt journal on November, 5th. For more information and contest details, please see http://sonny123.deviantart.com/journal/20889602/.

LIQUID CITY (SEP082215), a full-color 326-page anthology for $29.99, will be in stores November 5th 2008.


And if ya win, and you saw it here, tell 'im Johnny B sent ya!

Anachronisms aside, this would be about six dozen kinds of awesome. This is just one of a series of James Bama Doc Savage/classic monsters and literary character mashups Keith Wilson has done- go here for the full set. I also want to read this one and this one. This one, not so much.

Found via the excellent Frankensteinia blog.

How about Potpourri for $200, Alex?

Tom's Five for Friday was an interesting one, as it so often is; the official title was "Name Five Beautiful Comics Characters And The Artist That Depicts Them That Way, Including At Least One Of Each Gender, In The Exact Format: Artist's Character." If I take that at its face meaning, by "artist's character" he meant a character created by (at least visually) by the artist, and because I was rushing to get it in on deadline my answers, I suppose, fudged a bit- Doug Mahnke didn't create Wonder Woman, nor did Igor Kordey (had a hard time choosing between his version and actual creator, or at least first artist J.G. Jones') create the Yelena Belova Black Widow- but Tom put 'em up anyway so I guess it's cool. Be that as it may, there were several other characters that I considered (and even fit the exact criteria) but could only name five- so I thought I'd post 'em here. And they are:

Khari Evans' Misty Knight;

Jaime Hernandez' Maggie Chascarrillo (Love and Rockets), especially mid-90's style. Nothing against Hopey, heaven knows, but Maggie's closer to my temperament, I think. She looks a little careworn these days, which is a shame but that's the way it goes sometimes. I look that way too.

J.H. Williams III's Promethea and, of course, Chase.

P. Craig Russell's Volcana Ash (Amazing Adventures/War of the Worlds feat. Killraven; I also really liked his Mint Julep. Yeah, freaky names I know.);

Eisner's Plaster of Paris (The Toast of Montmarte! I can't find any page scans of her- all I can find is frigging pics of Paz Vega from Miller's movie. I'll keep looking);

Paul Pope's Kim from 100% (Daisy's pal, she of the teakettle symphony scene, as well as the great scene in issue one in which she gets the willies when a car approaches her from behind);

Jason Armstrong's Kinetix from Legion of Super Heroes (See above; even though a group of fine artists such as Jeff Moy, Lee Moder, and Alan Davis has drawn her, I liked this guy's version best- even though he only drew one or two issues);

Chris Sprouse's Andromeda from Legionnaires;

Adam Hughes', well, just about any character! Of course, I can't think of any he's actually created, so take that for what it's worth.

Adam Warren's Dirty Pair, especially the later ones, by which time he had refined his style to be less slavishly imitative of manga.

Bob Oksner and Wallace Wood's Angel O'Day;

Howard Chaykin's Medea Blitz from American: Flagg! and Shebaba O'Neil (left) from the Ironwolf series;

Mike Kaluta's Madame Xanadu (of course, i also like his lithe versions of the Shadow's Margo Lane and Starstruck's Erotica Ann);

Becky Cloonan's Cyndi from American Virgin;

And a host of others that don't come to mind immediately.


In other things that have popped up here and there lately, in the wonderful world of comics and its attendant blogosphere:

I see where the cultishly popular but sales-challenged Manhunter has once again been canceled with issue #38. That's too bad; it was an entertaining series with a well-rounded lead character, and enough time had gone by to allow writer Mark Andreyko to develop a clutch of interesting subplots and supporting characters, most notably (to me, anyway) Cameron Chase, which led me to pick up the book to begin with. I'm also seeing a lot of the usual wailing and gnashing of teeth among the cult at the news, and that's to be expected, plus I sympathize, really I do. I am and remain a faithful buyer and reader of the title; I like the often flinty and gruff Kate Spencer character, and Andreyko hasn't mishandled Chase all that badly, pregnancy aside. Oops, spoiler, sorry. Anyway, now I'm reading about another email campaign to save the book and so on and so forth and...people. Let it go. It had a 38 issue run, far more than a lot of titles of its ilk get. Chase? She only got 8, 9 if you count that 1,000,000 issue. Major Bummer? 15. Many, many good comics, better that Manhunter even got a lot less. As I said when I reviewed the first issue of this latest relaunch, this is never going to be anything more than a fringe title at best, admired and supported by a few rather than a majority...and these days, books that sell in the tens of thousands or less are just killing trees as far as DC is concerned. There was nothing new or different about this relaunch, or the second one for that matter, and I'm sure DC thought word of mouth might improve the numbers- but it didn't. I don't blame them for killing it, really, even though I will miss the book. I think we all need to move on. Perhaps go worry about Blue Beetle now.

Also, a tempest in a teapot popped up last week when Noah Berlatsky posted a negative review of the first trade collection of 100 Bullets, which fostered a hubbub in the comments section (and I was one of the initial shit-stirrers, it seems) that eventually spread, wildfire-like, onto message boards and Blog@Newsarama, even involving pros like Mark Waid, before eventually subsiding. Heck, it may be going strong still, I stopped paying attention not long after the first post, although I have skimmed subsequent posts and comments and have been seeing updates at the Beat. A small part of the outcry was caused by a mistake that I brought to Noah's attention (which I'm sure someone would have called him out on if I hadn't)- he panned a cover illustration that he credited to interior artist Ed Risso, but was actually done by longtime 100B cover guy Dave Johnson. That's fine, we all make mistakes and I know I've made more than my share. It's also fine that he didn't care for that first trade, even though I think he was premature in dismissing the entire series out of hand after that one book; kinda like giving up on Citizen Kane after his parents give him up for adoption. Heck, I have been critical of Azzarello's magnum opus myself; I think it's mutated into something that's perhaps a bit too elaborate for the reader's good, at least in terms of clarity and comprehension, even though I'm willing to hold out hope that he will bring it home in fine fashion at the end. But the problem is that he took a stance which came across to me like he didn't care, that it wasn't important that he didn't have his facts straight, and couldn't be bothered to do a little research to get it right. That's kinda troubling to me, especially since this guy gets published in the Comics Journal, which is supposed to be pretty much the apex of sequential storytelling criticism and commentary. Sure, life is short and there's a lot of stuff out there to keep up with, and I'm sure that he feels like he has more important things to do than make sure he knows what he's popping off about- but I think there's something to be said for plain old intellectual curiosity, the desire and/or urge to know more about something which has drawn one's attention, and I'd expect that from someone who apparently is held in high enough regard to write for the Journal. Oh well. When all is said and done, it's his blog, he can write what he wants, and in the end it's only to himself that he's accountable.

Also couldn't help but be annoyed at Rich Johnston, in his latest Lying in the Gutters column- he gives us a paragraph (headed "Blind Items") full of naughty gossip about some individuals in the comics biz, but by not naming names or at least making it possible for us to guess who these people are, he becomes the equivalent of one of those people, you know the ones, who come up to you and tell you that they know an incredible secret that would blow your mind if you knew it, then won't tell you what it is. It's not that I have a burning desire to know this, mind you- in fact, I could be quite content not knowing since my life is filled with enough unpleasantness and boorish behavior as it is. But if you're not gonna tell all, then I have to wonder what the point of putting that stuff out there is, anyway. Is it solely to remind everyone that he is an insider, and privy to knowledge that we mere mortals aren't meant to know? Are we supposed to be impressed, to think he's so cool? Was he having a little insecurity attack there, and decided to get a little ego-boo? Aah, who knows. Just struck me as curious, that's all. And it's not like he's the only "connected" blogger that does this sort of thing, for that matter.

Hm, let's see...I'd like to bring this to a close on a positive note. Ah, here. Looking at the Diamond shipping list for Wednesday, I see where DC is rereleasing Paul Pope's Heavy Liquid in a new hardcover edition. I bought a trade collection a couple of years ago, read it, and enjoyed it like I do most of Pope's work (especially in this vein)...but curiously had nothing really to say about it at the time, so it remains unreviewed by yours truly to this day. Anazingly enough, the world has continued to turn despite this, so that's good. Anyway, I liked it and I think you'd like it too if you have the cash. Also, Trevor Von Eeden's long-awaited Jack Johnson bio is now appearing online at Comicmix.com; it's looking very good so far- he's beginning to flex some long-unused storytelling muscles, and when he gets his speed up I think it will be amazing. Finally, I had a large time reading this, which got put up yesterday at scans_daily- it's a Sub-Mariner story from Tales to Astonish, that Gene Colan started but couldn't finish and Jack Kirby (whatta pinch-hitter) had to complete, and it's pretty much a knock-down drag-out brawl from start to end between Subby and Iron Man, that just sings despite Roy Thomas' typically hamfisted dialogue. You should check it out, unless you just don't like fun.

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

After a one week hiatus, Bahlactus is back with another call for four-color fracases (fracasii? What is the plural of fracas?), involving the ladies of the comics world, called FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS! My submission for tonight, pun mostly intended, is every fanman's wet dream- from the recently completed Batman Confidential story arc that featured Barbara Gordon's Batgirl and Catwoman teaming up, if you want to call it that, to fight Russian mobsters as well as each other over Babs' dad's notebook. In this seven-page scene, which surely answers the prayers of those who yearned to see Babs and Selina in a naked catfight, if you will, Batgirl has been forced to follow Ms. Kyle into a Gotham underground sex club in which clothing is not allowed...and of course chaos ensues. From the very enjoyable (and not always for prurient reasons) Batman Confidential #18...written by Fabian Nicenza, of all people (successfully channeling Giffen and DeMatteis' bwah-ha-ha style) and illustrated by the incomparable Kevin Maguire. Oh, and click to see the images all embiggened.

BAHLACTUS SAID KNOCK YOU OUT.

CONFESSIONS OF A SPINNER RACK JUNKIE.

Time once more for CONFESSIONS OF A SPINNER RACK JUNKIE, that more-or-less ongoing and often overdue feature in which I write shortish reviews of various works of sequential fiction that I have perused in the interval since the last time I inflicted such reviews upon one and all, or to be specific, the period from approximately September 29 through October 10, some of which may even still be on sale at finer comics selling establishments worldwide if you're lucky. Or not, as the case may be.

BATMAN #680: I don't know, everybody- yeah, this is Grant we're talking about here, but this is a frigging mess. Even though Morrison is usually a font of ideas and possibilities, sometimes I think he has trouble expressing those ideas coherently, especially when paired with, shall we say, less gifted collaborators- and he's certainly saddled with one this time out, I think it's safe to say, even though the three-issue arc with J.H. Williams III succumbed to incoherence at the end as well. I like that that Morrison is trying to stir in a lot of different ingredients from a lot of off-the-wall periods in the character's history; the whole what-the-hell aspect of it is probably its biggest strength. He's muddied the mix with me by throwing in the Joker, which evokes more of a "oh no not him again" reaction with me than a "Oh, cool!"- and the split tongue is just disgusting for the sake of being disgusting. Maybe I'd be more attuned if I had been reading as far back as the pre-Williams issues, where this cliched Damien character is introduced, but that's not the case; if I'm trying to read something titled "Batman: RIP", and they put that title at the top, then that's where I'm starting, damn it. Oh well. Short story long, this is very flawed but interesting in a car-crash kind of way, and I'm idly curious about the big revelation next issue that Grant has promised, so I'll be getting next issue no matter what and then we will see what we will see. C+

BATMAN STRIKES #50: Late for the party as usual, this was my first issue of DC's most recent animated Batman series tie-in, and it was provoked by fond memories of the last time I recall Etrigan the Demon popping up in one of these things, Batman Adventures Annual #2. While this isn't better that that 1995 annual (no Bruce Timm on art, for starters), it's still a passable supernatural adventure story, in which new-to-me writer James Peaty works in those three demon guys (whose names elude me and I'm too lazy to look up), a puzzle box straight out of Hellraiser in which they were imprisoned, and the odd-looking Trent Reznor-looking TV Riddler, of all people, and maintains a frantic pace throughout. Drawn in that almost-Timm style by Christopher Jones and Terry Beatty, and they acquit themselves well for the most part; it's not especially inspired but it is efficient. This is the last issue of this particular iteration of the character; I guess we're supposed to be sad but really- as long as there is a Johnny DC line, a Batman book will be part of it...so I'm sure it won't be long before something takes its place. B+

DUGOUT: Just in time for the MLB playoffs and the World Series, here's a nostalgic baseball saga by the same guys that brought us the somewhat fondly-remembered Hench. Writer Adam Beechen does a nice job with the random cast members' characterization; I especially like the ex-con junkball pitcher (in a movie, I could see him played by Joseph Cotten or even the Professor, Russell Johnson) who is fond of making up sounds-like-bible quotes, and he successfully evokes the spirit of a hundred and one late 40's-1950's B-movie baseball movies, not to mention low-budget noir flicks, with his story. But I don't think he understands baseball as a sport or business very well; the owner of a team in pre-free agency and guaranteed contracts 1961 didn't have to tell a manager to "retire" an unwanted player; the owner just traded him, sent him to the minors, or cut him outright. It was business. Also, while the whole "If we had this guy pitching for us, we'd win the World Series thing" sounds really nice from a stage or screen dramatics standpoint, in real life it takes a lot more than one good pitcher to take a team all the way to the top- just ask Steve Carlton about his stint with the Phillies in 1972. Anyway, it's still a diverting little prison break story, even though I wish it had zigged and zagged a bit more on its way to its final destination. Manny Bello continues to build on the promise he showed in Hench; all his characters have a well-worn schlumpy kind of look, like baggy-uniformed baseball players and their bosses tended to have back then- except the love interest, oddly drawn with simpler, cleaner lines and a more animated cartoon aspect than the remainder of the cast, almost as if he was trying to make her come across like Glenn Close does at "Wrigley Field" in The Natural. He still has more than a few awkward poses, and the art tends to be dark and the inking sloppy...but he still manages to tell the story well and I'll certainly be interested in what he illustrates next. Dugout, while far from perfect, is still a good, diverting read, especially if you are interested in, or even remember, baseball as it used to be. B+

EL DIABLO #2: Standard-issue Big Two supernatural superheroics, as the newly minted title character continues to face his various demons, so to speak, while being mentored by a ghostly Yoda figure and of course he's hotheaded and doesn't understand his place in the big picture and of course he's a hothead so he charges off on his own private agenda which of course doesn't go well and of course there are people who he thinks are his enemies that aren't really and he will of course eventually learn to work with them rather than against them and...well, I think you get the picture. While the story underwhelms, writer Nitz is very fortunate to have the assured hands of Phil Hester and Ande Parks to bring it to life with their jagged, kinetic style, aided by the bold hues and vivid Photoshoppery of colorist Guy Major. It's because of them that this is as readable as it is, not because of the recycled Ghost Rider (both versions) and Spectre tropes. B+

FERRYMAN #1: Don't pay the Ferryman, or so the song goes; however, in this case it would be a better idea to come up with the money I think. Pretty much one big Itchy and Scratchy Show episode, as the title character, a supernatural repo man of a sort, questions himself and his purpose while inflicting pain upon, and in turn getting pain returned upon, himself as he attempts to do his job and bring in a fellow who is trying to welsh on his Faustian deal with the devil. This could have been awful, but it helps that Manhunter's Marc Andreyko is doing the scripting; the dialogues, both inner and outer, are well-written and the pace is brisk. Artist Jonathan Wayshak, another new-to-me illustrator, has a sketchy, scratchy, kinetic style, reminiscent perhaps of Simon Bisley, that works pretty well with the material for the most part; it doesn't exactly move me but doesn't hurt my eyes either. As this sort of tv slash movie tie-in thing goes, it's not too bad, but I'm reminded of an issue of Global Frequency (drawn by Bisley, coincidentally- or perhaps not so- enough) that was similar in vibe to this, and it was my least favorite of the run...so make of it what you will. C+

GEARS OF WAR #1: For the life of me, I don't know why the Powers That Be think that these video game tie-ins will be interesting to anyone- people who aren't hardcore gamers can't care less, and those who are won't get the same sort of experience from the static page. Undaunted, many publishers still throw these things together then put them out in the world to general indifference. Can't imagine why this won't suffer the same fate- it's pretty much a bunch of big guys walking around being macho and shooting mutants, and despite some not-bad Liam Sharp art (didn't care for his work on Vertigo's Testament at all), it's just kinda routine and dull. C-

HOUSE OF MYSTERY #6: The lead this time is the story of one of the House's servers, who used to be a pirate queen Bloody Bess type but was led astray by love. It works OK. Second half is taken up by the residents' plans for escape, and it progresses the story well enough. This isn't exactly a thrill-a-minute comic, but I remain mildly interested in the characters and continue to buy for that reason alone. Oh, and I like the design of the logo for what that's worth. Also, I keep hoping that Cain will show up again- he's far more interesting after all this time than the group of young handsome people we're being asked to invest in. B-

THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST: ORSON RANDALL AND THE DEATH QUEEN OF CALIFORNIA: This is the sort of thing that Howard Chaykin used to be able to hit right out of the park back in the late 80's-early 90's. A solo spotlight for Danny Rand's predecessor, as he gets mixed up with weird cultists in 1920's L.A., it reads decently enough, if a little too unnecessarily cluttered; and seeming like Duane Swierczynski's tryout script for the main Immortal Iron Fist gig. Artwise, it's very unimpressive; Giuseppe Camuncoli's slick, modern art style is totally unsuited for the kind of Weird Tales/Spicy fare this wants to be. For current Iron Fist completists only. D+

NORTHLANDERS #10
NORTHLANDERS: SVEN THE RETURNED: You know how I'm always saying that this and that will probably read better collected, but I never get around to getting the collection to let you know if that's true? Well, for once (thanks to the fine folks at DC) I got the chance to follow up on that often-made statement, which I made (I'm sure) at least once about this very title...and y'know, I was right. Sven, which came across to me as uneven at best in one-month intervals, achieves a flow in one sitting- and perhaps because I'm rereading it, I picked up on the occasional overlooked detail here and missed nuance there which added to my enjoyment. Of course, I always liked Davide Gianfelice's nicely detailed art, as well as Massimo Carnevale's excellent covers, from the beginning. Of all the works of Brian Wood I've read so far, I do believe that this is one of his best to date. The latest issue, #10, also impresses in its bloody climax to the Saxon invasion story- the ending, with its somewhat unsatisfying outcome for its nominal young boy lead, rings true and I always enjoy Dean Ormston's too-infrequent interior art. TPB: A- #10: A-

VIXEN: RETURN OF THE LION #1: Y'know, somebody at DC really likes this character- despite her obscure beginnings as one of the initial casualties of the DC Implosion of 1977, she's gone on to persevere and is now, if not a major player in the DCU as well as the DCAU, at least a solid second-stringer comparable with, oh, a Hawkman or Metamorpho. It doesn't hurt, either, that she fits right in with DC's admirable desire to diversify their character base. So now, here we are with her first solo series that I'm aware of, written by up-and-comer (or so DC wants us to think) G. Willow (Air) Wilson and drawn by someone named "Cafu", (gesundheit! Sorry...) whose work unfortunately reminds me of the clumsy stylings of Mike Grell, only Photoshopped better. Storywise, it's a good-enough setup I suppose, as new evidence comes to light via a Justice League terrorist bust (which included Superman, who looks ludicrously out of place beating up on ordinary mercs and soldiers) about the death of Vixen's parents, which sends Vixy off to Africa toot sweet to get payback. All of this is wrapped inside by a stunning Joshua Middleton cover; he's becoming a big favorite of mine. If you're disposed to like this character, or have always had a yen to see Halle Berry in a good superheroic exercise, well, you're probably already getting this. If you're just idly curious, you could do worse. B

WONDER WOMAN #25: Reviewed at PopSyndicate.com. B+

ZOMBIE TALES #5: As I always said when reviewing earlier iterations of this BOOM! title, I am pretty much tired of zombies. I bailed on Walking Dead and have avoided other zombiecentric efforts for (among other things) that reason. Still, when I saw that none other than comics blogosphere luminary "Pal" Ian Brill had his first professional comics script in this very issue, then I thought the least I could do was check it out if I got the chance. The chance came, and I can honestly say that Ian has done very well for himself, even coming up with a novel (at least to me) twist on zombie lore...and to say more would give said twist away so I'll let it go at that. He gets lucky in that he's paired up with a decent artist, who tells his story in a straightforward style in mostly coherent fashion. The other two stories, by bigger names, both feature nice art but are sabotaged by stories with ambiguous endings that leave you more "Huh?" than "Wow". So I'm thinking that BOOM! could do worse than to let Ian just take over the book- at least his story had an ending. B

Thought I'd give you guys a break from DHL and package box-related pics this time. Yes, it's time once more for that least essential feature, IMA GET NEW COMEEKS THIS WEEK!, in which I waste a good five minutes of your life and tell you what comics I'm expecting in my bi-weekly DCBS shipment, as well as provide a little commentary on the ones that I can find something to remark upon. And these be them:

MEAT CAKE #17: I was thinking the other day about why I buy certain titles, and leave others alone, and this one is one of the biggest headscratchers in my experience. I do have a weakness for Early Americana and/or Victorian-styled whimsy, not that I really get to scratch that particular itch all that often, so I guess this qualifies on that score...and I especially like it when it's created by an attractive female, on which count Dame Darcy certainly does qualify. I'm sure a lot of it has to do with the quirky cast she's created to populate her book, and her accounts of the exploits of Wax Wolf, Richard Dirt, Strega Pez and others are usually always the highlight of every issue in which they appear. Guess this is another example of #22 on Spurgeon's list (which seems to be missing from his site right now).

MANHUNTER #35: Watch out boys, she'll chew you up. Oh, wait. that's Maneater.

THE BOYS #23

TOP TEN SEASON TWO #1: Yes, I know I already reviewed this one over at PopSyndicate.com. How is this possible? Confession time: I downloaded it. Yes, that's right, I took advantage of one of those multitudes of sites that offer that shady service. It's just about the only way I can read new comics in time to review them, m'kay? Anyway, lest the jackbooted officers kick down my door and confiscate my computer, I deleted it after I was done, and as you can see, I did buy a copy. So there. I liked this myself; I thought it was a decent continuation of Moore's original series. Maybe not as witty or as keenly observational, but a solid B+/A- work.

B.P.R.D.: THE WARNING #4: Every time I see this title, I think of Grandmaster Flash's "The Message" and its "Don't push me 'cause I'm over the edge" lyric. No, I don't know why. Actually "Warning" is an old Black Sabbath track. And I'm rambling.

100 BULLETS #96: One of these days I'm going to dig my singles out of storage and read them all in one sitting. Well, actually probably two or three sittings- I recently tried to reread my run of Major Bummer and only got to issue 11 or so. Distractions, distractions. A nagging little thought keeps entering my brain- "Sell your singles, Dave! Take the money and buy the trades!" This thought enters my mind about a lot of books these days.

HAWAIIAN DICK #5: The grande finale to the "Screaming Black Thunder" arc. Boy, this one's taken quite some time, hasn't it? I've enjoyed it, though...as with Meat Cake (and that's the ONLY way these two are connected, except by quality of course), I guess I just like the setting and the characters that much, and it keeps me entertained and buying. B. Clay Moore's been mulling some future format experimentation on Twitter (and I'd assume on message boards and such), and that sounds intriguing. I think I'd prefer buying Dick as a series of all-in-one annual graphic novels, or something like that. For what that's worth.

FABLES #77

Also, I made out my DCBS order a couple of days ago, and it goes a little something like this:

100 BULLETS #98
FABLES #79
HELLBLAZER #250
JACK STAFF #20
DAREDEVIL #114
SCALPED #24
AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE #6

TERRA #'s 3 & 4 (It's the Amanda Connor art, OK? Not to be confused with Terro.)

MADAME XANADU #7
THE BOYS #25
TOP TEN SEASON TWO #3
UNKNOWN SOLDIER #3

UMBRELLA ACADEMY: DALLAS #2 (Yes, I should wait for the trade. I am weak and worthless.)

MANHUNTER #37
SANDMAN: DREAM HUNTERS #2
PATSY WALKER HELLCAT #5

INCOGNITO #1 (In which Brubaker and Phillips try to do Sleeper again...except they don't.)

COURTNEY CRUMRIN AND PRINCE OF NOWHERE (Hooray, new Courtney!)

WASTELAND TP BOOK 03: BLACK STEEL IN THE HOUR OF CHAOS (Here's a series I'm following in trades, partly because Oni used to send them to me. Guess I'm on my own now.)

APOCALIPSTIX GN VOL 01 (Been interested in this for a while now, missed it when it was originally solicited.)

HELLBOY: THE WILD HUNT #1 (OF 8) (By Mignola and Duncan Fregredo, which sounds pretty damn good to me.)

BLUE BEETLE #34

And finally, items of note that are coming out this week:

THE COMICS JOURNAL #293: Featuring an interview with JBS favorite S. Clay Wilson. If the Journal didn't depress me so, I might try to buy it 'cause I sure would like to read that. Maybe they'll put it online before I die.

FINAL CRISIS: LEGION OF THREE WORLDS #2 and FINAL CRISIS: ROGUES REVENGE #3 are the latest issues of Final Crisis tie-ins I'm interested in. The latter, especially, was surprisingly readable.

JUSTICE SOCIETY OF AMERICA #19, another series I've developed a casual interest in.

SCALPED VOL. 3: DEAD MOTHERS is the newest Scalped trade, and if you're not reading it already here's where you start. Hopefully, you'll break down and get the first two as well, and be mostly caught up. Right now, Scalped has my vote for best comic being published by the Big Two.

THE SPIRIT ARCHIVES VOL. 25 is supposed to collect the Spirit daily newspaper strips, which I think I've seen somewhere before but damned if I know where. If I ever hit the lottery, I'll order the whole set of these Archives, just you wait and see- or at least #'s 2-25. I already have #1.

Anyway, that's all I got, I suppose. Here's Diamond's shipping list for this week so you can make your own. Cheers!

Gee, seems like just the other day I posted something or another about Paul Pope. Well, since I haven't posted anything here since Friday, and since Nicole Powers was nice enough to point me to a newish interview with the Popemeister at SuicideGirls...well, you can never have too much Pope art on your blog as far as I'm concerned.


I swear I have a monstrous review column coming up (which is why it's taking so long), and I should have one of those "what I'm getting from DCBS" posts I know you all eagerly await coming later today.

Check that page out! Isn't that beautiful?

Several times over the last (almost) six years, I've mentioned my love for the TEX ARCANA series by John Findlay, originally serialized in Heavy Metal magazine in the 80's, and continued to this day at Findlay's Tex website. It's an imaginative and whimsical mashup of humor and the supernatural, set in the Old West (a setting in which you don't always get the two mixed together) and brought to life by Findlay's insanely detailed crosshatch pencil style. It was a highlight of what was probably the most creatively fecund period in that publication's history, and I enjoyed it as much as anything that they ran.

But by the beginning of the 90's, I had stopped buying HM (and Tex had stopped appearing there before that). I always thought I'd get the collected trade someday, but it wasn't a priority, even though I had parted with my Heavy Metals in 1987. I still fondly remembered the series, though, and years later I was overjoyed to find not only Findlay's website, but to see that he had been doing new installments on a semi-regular basis! It wasn't perfect; the website isn't exactly crafted for ease of browsing- one has to click on a entry portal for each book, then click through each page (many are app. 20 long) to get to the new page of the story. The only way to know that he's updated is a tag at the bottom of the gateway web page (my lack of webpage building experience is showing here; I don't have the proper jargon I know), which actually isn't working right now. There's no RSS or Atom feeds, either, so that rules out subscribing via feed reader.

But I want you guys to check this out so much and follow it that I thought what I'd do is try to keep checking the site periodically for new pages, and when I found one I'd post a panel from the new page and a link. Hopefully Mr. Findlay won't mind if I draw attention to his site this way, without infringing on his copyright by posting whole pages (yeah, like I did above. It's a one time thing, OK?) or stories. I might try to email him someday to ask him to talk to his webmaster to improve the functionality of his site...

Anyway, so far, he's done four "books", the first three of which are collected in this publication, as well as available to read for free on the website.

Here's book one, book two, and book three.

Here's page one of book four, "The Story of the Woman in White".

You can read by clicking on the pentagram icon on the lower right hand corner of the page. Hope you dig 'em.


Of course, this is all © 2008 John Findlay.

A posthumous BSBdG today for JOHN WINSTON ONO LENNON, who would have been 68 today if not for, well, you know.

From 2005, here's a list of favorite solo Lennon tracks. I should probably revise it someday.

Pic courtesy of the fab and gear Beatle Photo Blog.

誕生日おめでとう!

I saw at Tom's where today is HOWARD CHAYKIN's 58th birthday...which is as good a reason as any for a Bacardi Show Birthday Greeting, featuring another of my massive birthday cover dump salutes!

Honestly, though, of all the multitudes of comics artists that have galvanized me over the four decades I've been reading funnybooks, Chaykin is right up there with Kaluta, Kirby, Ditko, Eisner and others in my top ten. His work grabbed me hard from the first time I saw it, at age 14, in a short Archie Goodwin-scripted lead story in issue #441 of Detective Comics in which Batman had to rescue Robin from a nutjob Judge who had kidnapped him, and who forced Bats to run a gauntlet in the form of a booby-trapped house to do so. I was utterly fascinated by Chaykin's art on this story; still early in his career and not as refined as it later became, it was still rough, and sloppily inked- I had never seen an inkline like the one he used. It gave his art an earthy feel- that's the best way I can think of to describe it- and would have been ugly if the figure drawings and layouts weren't solid underneath. I just couldn't get it out of my mind after that, back when I still aspired to be a comic book artist, but not knowing exactly how comic book inking was done and what materials were used, it was as if I was looking at something totally alien to my experience. Eventually, I sent Chaykin a letter care of DC asking him what materials he used...and of course got no reply. If he saw the letter, he probably gave a snort and a hearty belly laugh. Not long after, I spied a copy of Weird Worlds #10, with its Kaluta cover, on the spinner rack. Intrigued by not only the cover but the name of the character in the blurb- Ironwolf- I paid the quarter and took it home, and here was that Chaykin guy again, with that funky art style of his, and this character (scripted by Denny O'Neil, but the concepts were Chaykin's), along with the world he inhabited, were incredible! Couldn't wait for the next issue...which was not to be, because eventually I noticed in the letter column that that was the last issue. Even so, the one-two punch of Ironwolf and that Batman story made me a Chaykin fan for life. Everything he did was a reflection of his personality by most accounts; iconoclastic, sarcastic, down-to-earth, and just plain ornery- from the clutch of idiosyncratic characters (most featuring a tall, dark-haried, dashing square-jawed goy type that I like to call Chaykinman) he created for both DC and Marvel, as well as fledgling Atlas Comics and Gary Friedrich's Star*Reach magazines in the 70's, through the first couple of issues of Marvel's Star Wars adaptations, and eventually, one of the high points of his career, American: Flagg! in the 1980's. Flagg! was an audacious mix of satire, sci-fi adventure, and plain ol' sex and was one of the books that kept me reading comics in my early 20's, when I almost kicked the habit out of boredom. He followed that up with a series which, I've always thought, had the potential to be even better: Time Squared...but sadly, the vagaries of the market prevented that series of graphic novels from establishing itself. It reflected a lot of the things he was into at the time, including the Jazz music of the 40's and 50's. He's gone on to do a lot of things since then- the squalid Black Kiss, a reasonably funny, if-reliant-on-earlier-tropes Power and Glory for Malibu Comics, the cheeky redo of the Shadow which Andy Helfer and Kyle Baker later took to even greater heights of absurdity, for lack of a better word; Twilight, which ruffled a lot of fanboy feathers in its time with its irreverent revamps at DC's stable of science fiction heroes of the late 50's-early 60's, and delighted me no end by tying into his earlier Ironwolf concepts; and speaking of ol' Wolfy, his script for a graphic novel with Mike Mignola and Craig Russell, 1994's Ironwolf: Fires of the Revolution, was an outstanding return to a character he had (as he said in interviews at the time) forgotten about. That's just scratching the surface of the work he's done in the comics medium alone; he also spent many years, mostly in the 90's, developing and writing for television.

In recent years, his star has dimmed a bit- many of the concepts he came up with in the 90's such as American Century, City of Tomorrow, and a Challengers of the Unknown retake, some in collaboration with Dave Tischmann, have failed to catch on with readers...and while this may be simplifying it a bit, it seems like even more recently he's chosen to do a lot of what frankly seems like a lot of uninspired work-for-hire, mostly in the form of covers and the occasional brief run on interiors for DC titles that one has to believe he wouldn't have come within fifty miles of back in the day. Hey, that's the way it goes sometimes- inspiration burns bright then sputters out, difficult to sustain at best. Man's gotta pay the bills, after all, and if you've got the skills then go for it and god bless. Still, however, I hold out hope of seeing one more grand Chaykin magnum opus in my lifetime...guess we'll see if that will ever come to pass.

CONFESSIONS OF A SPINNER RACK JUNKIE.

Time once more for CONFESSIONS OF A SPINNER RACK JUNKIE, that more-or-less ongoing and often overdue feature in which I write shortish reviews of various works of sequential fiction that I have perused in the interval since the last time I inflicted such reviews upon one and all, or to be specific, the period from approximately September 21 through September 28, some of which may even still be on sale at finer comics selling establishments worldwide if you're lucky. Or not, as the case may be.

AIR#2: I remain distanced from this; G. Willow Wilson seems to be trying to set up some sort of wide reaching global spy thriller/conspiracy/romance/magic/adventure thang here, starring the jethopping flight attendant heroine Blythe (who apparently doesn't have a regular work schedule, because she's never at work), but the situations stretch disbelief, the characters are bland and derivative when they're not being ciphers (sole exception, Blythe's Indian roommate, who is likable), and the talk/action ratio is way off. I'm still not too wild about the art, either, it's just too stiff and fussy and overrendered. This issue ends with a cliffhanger which doesn't work because we all know that nothing permanent is going to happen to our heroine, unless you haven't read any sort of fiction since you were born. That said, I'm willing to accede that this may read better when collected, so I might hang with it a while longer just in case something, you know, interesting happens. C

ALL-STAR SUPERMAN #12: Many are describing this issue, and the eleven that preceded it, as among the best Superman stories ever...but I remain skeptical. Oh, don't get me wrong- this has been an outstanding series overall- but many of the same issues that impressed a lot of pundits, such as the Luthor-in-prison and Zibarro stories, disappointed me. #4's nutty Jimmy Olsen spotlight was great, as was the touching #6...but really, what Grant seems to have given us is a long, elaborate, swoony love letter to Siegel and Shuster and Boring and Weisinger and Bridwell and Bates and Swan and Maggin! and on and on, and even though I've never been what you could call a big fan of the Man of Steel's four-color exploits over the years, I've enjoyed a Superman story or three, and I am not so Philistine that I can't understand what Morrison's trying to get across. I'm also glad that he's chosen to curb his tendency towards cleverness for its own sake, and its close cousin obfuscation, and has played fair with the reader for all twelve chapters. Also appreciated, since more than anything Grant is a thinking man's comics scripter, was the insights into the character of all concerned. As for #12 itself, it's full of nice moments, and if the ending seems, on the face of it, as anticlimactic it's at least enlivened with some wonderful Quitely illustrations (loved the Metropolis (get it get it) homage in the third from last page)- the man can tell a story like few others even though his tendency towards unnecessary facial crevasses (look at Supes' chin on the cover) and baggy supersuits causes momentary discomfort. Besides, with Grant, on this book, the destination wasn't the point- it was the sights along the way. A-

AMBUSH BUG: YEAR NONE #3: Better this time, or at least a bit funnier, although my goodness does it ramble and shamble to nowhere in particular. Of course, it helps that I'm familiar with most of the 60s and 70s stuff that Giffen and Fleming are dropping in to the stories; those less versed might be a bit nonplussed by the sight of the Odd Man and his family, which includes Danger Street Dingbat "Non-Fat" and others, just to name but one instance. The whole bit with Darkseid singing karaoke was amusing, as was the whole intro with the Bug finding himself in a Vegas hotel, married to the Inferior 5's Dumb Bunny (a fate worse than death, I'm sure, he says, eyes rolling). Odd laughworthy moments that don't always add up to an entertaining read; it aspires to Marx Bros. style madness but it's more Night in Casablanca than Duck Soup. I'm finding myself impressed with Giffen's art; maybe I just haven't been buying the right books, but I don't recall seeing his full pencils on anything for a long time and while he's always been at home with Kirby characters he does well by the diverse likes of Bunny, Super Turtle, and the long-forgotten Jerro the Mer-boy. Al Milgrom, a 70s vet himself, has always been a very good inker and he acquits himself well. So far, this new Bug series has been entertaining enough to warrant attention; one wishes it could be more something...pointed, perhaps, or less DC-centric or...who knows. It's good that DC still cares to put something like this out, but is that enough to justify your continued purchase? Who knows. B+

BLUE BEETLE #31: Nicely done action issue, in which we get a crossover teamup with the current, criminally underused Doctor Mid-Nite of JSA fame and our minimum monthly requirement of plot advancement. Kudos to editor Rachel Gluckstern for finding a fill-in artist (Andre Coehlo) whose art looks so much like semi-regular Rafael Albuquerque's that I didn't even notice until I was almost done- he draws people with the same gritted-teeth grimace. A-

DAREDEVIL #111: I was not expecting anything revelatory or breathtaking here, and I'm sorry to say that I was not disappointed. I've always been an admirer of Brubaker's writing, since the Scene of the Crime days even, but this is as close as I've ever seen to him just hacking something out. The whole Matt/Dakota North shagging thing (sorry if I spoil but you HAD to see it coming, no pun intended) is not so surprising, and works as a logical development, no harm there, but I fail to see any reason to create yet another feminine version of an established character, apparently because the original has been used to death, and then compound the issue by having yet another rape-motivated origin on top of that. If we're that tapped for new ideas (and we just went through about a half dozen issues of a storyline that reminded of the one immediately preceding that, not to mention smacking of much of Bendis' run even earlier)...well, perhaps it's time to bow out gracefully and concentrate on other projects so maybe Joey the Q can find another scripter with some ideas for the character. Just a suggestion. Can't fault artist Clay Mann for anything save idiotic costume design, assuming he designed it- the layouts and figure drawings are just fine and besides, Gaudiano imposes himself over the whole thing just like he always does, making it look like everything else he's ever done. Fellas, we can do better, is all I'm saying...and if you can't, then perhaps I should take my patronage elsewhere. C+

FABLES #76: I just got #75 in the last shipment; what is this book, weekly now? Anyway, an interesting, if not particularly gripping, chapter in which we see Gepetto aka the overthrown Adversary, getting escorted around Fabletown and being cranky and hateful, understandibly so, to all concerned. Drawn in typically stiff and awkwardly posed fashion by fill-in artist Mike Allred with excessive Photoshoppery done by wife Laura, who should consider the old adage that "sometimes less is more". Still, as fill-ins go, I've seen much worse. B+

HELLBOY: THE CROOKED MAN #3: #1 was marvelous; #2 a little less so, but this issue brought it home in grand fashion. Even though the ostensible main character didn't really do much but hit things and react, even to the point of looking a fool more than once, he does get the coolest scene as he gets to wield a shovel, with a crucifix etched on the flat end and charged with the power of God, against the title character, and it's a ripping great scene indeed. This whole mini just hit all the right notes with me, with its unorthodox setting that plays right into my affection for backwoods-set hillbilly magic stories, its unusual utilization of Hellboy himself, Mignola's always-effectively terse dialogue style, and of course the moody, atmospheric art of horror master Richard Corben. I don't know about you, but if they can spin frigging Lobster Johnson off into a miniseries, then I don't see why they can't do the same for wandering Tom Ferrel and his magic bone. A+

THE IMMORTAL IRON FIST #18: Two issues into the post-Frabaker era, it's pretty plain where the problem's gonna be- the art. I'm not talking about flashback artist Russ Heath, he's as good as always. Travel Foreman tries to channel, oh, someone like Travis Charest perhaps or even as far back as Alex Niño...but his storytelling choices are haphazard and random, and the big two-page spread fight scene with Misty Knight, Colleen Wing, Danny, Luke Cage and the Big Bad who kills Iron Fists, which should be cool as all get out, is just incoherent. I will give him points for drawing Misty with her big natural, though, and will say that perhaps he had an off month and will improve. B

MADAME XANADU #4: Speaking of action scenes, however, someone who has surprised me on that score is Amy Reeder Hadley- in this arc, which does require a fair amount of leaping, running, and punch-throwing, she keeps everything clear, moving along crisply, and looking good. I'm also admiring Matt Wagner moving outside his comfort zone and giving us a supernatural-themed bodice-ripper with plenty of court intrigue as well as doing a good job with the Phantom Stranger. Can't help but think that this might have made an intriguing Minx title, with its courageous and resourceful young-lady lead, a recurring character rather than a one-shot, and the compelling off-again-on-again romance between Madame X and the Stranger. A-

POWERS #30: The resolution, for the most part, of the Pilgrim-gets-powers storyline, which seems like it's been going on since 2000 or so. It's a mostly satisfying one, too, and if the series ended on right here I think I could live with it. But I don't think it's going to...and that's a good thing too, since I still believe that Bendis writes Avengers for the money, but writes this because he wants to...and Oeming continues to shine as well. A-

SCALPED #21: Jason Aaron continues his shifting cast focus, this time giving some screen time to Red Crow and Dino Poor Bear- the former dealing with a frustrating number of thorns in his side, and the latter with an unwanted new side occupation as a drug runner for one of the multitudes of corrpt cops on the Res. Of course, this will dovetail at some point in this arc, and this book being as uncompromising in its pessimism as it is, I'm sure it won't turn out anywhere near well. Welcome back to R.M. Guera on art; his work is a big part of why this is one of the best books on the stands these days, smartly (if grimly) written and drawn with character and spark. A

SOLOMON KANE #1: Reviewed at PopSyndicate.com. B+

SUPERMAN #680: Gud dog indeed. Word of mouth about this one got me curious, so I checked it out, and I'm glad I did. Even though I generally like James Robinson's scripting, I'm just not that much of a Superman fan so I haven't been tempted to buy his recent stint. He does remember how to push all the right buttons and make you root for Supes' scrappy pal Krypto (introduced, I assume, when Robinson began his tenure) as he holds off Jack Kirby's obscure one-off strong guy Atlas until his master can get things worked out enough to defeat him- apparently Atlas is wreaking havoc for reasons unknown- or at least reasons that have slipped my admittedly easily-slipped memory. I don't recall him being the world-traveling, conquering type, but it's been a hell of a long time since I read that issue of First Issue Special. Art is by Renato Guedes, last seen providing a realistic, non-explotative rendition of Supergirl which apparently didn't go over as well as some hoped. He does a pretty good job here, but there's an awkwardness to a lot of his figure drawings and fight staging here that I didn't see previously. Oh well, unburdened with the desire to follow any further, I can say that I did enjoy this one overall. Best super-pet story since We3. B+

TINY TITANS #'S 1-8: The kiddie table of the DCU. I don't really know what age group this is aimed at; the admittedly clever but steadfastly continuity-referencing humor can't possibly appeal to anyone but those who are familiar with it, which would seem to rule out anyone still in grade school, and older, whimsy-challenged readers (of which there are more than there should be), including but not limited to the people who are buying the "grown-up" stuff appearing in mainstream DCU books, including the current lugibrous Titans title, probably turn up their nose at it. Young kids who like the fast-becoming-forgotten Teen Titans animated series might be interested, but these cutesy-poo big-head characters bear little resemblance to their kewl, pointy-haired anime-influenced counterparts and would probably think it's for "babies". Guess that leaves people like me, who don't seek to stifle his or her inner child and appreciates a good joke as much as the next aging fanperson, to champion this fun, breezy, and clever comic. That's not a very big demographic, I dont think, but Johnny DC titles seem to play by their own rules so I guess we shouldn't worry about it ending anytime soon and should enjoy it while we can. A-

TOP 10: SEASON 2 #1: Reviewed at PopSyndicate.com. A-

Coming soon, an in-betweener edition of CoaSRJ with looks at DUGOUT, EL DIABLO #2, BATMAN #680, BATMAN STRIKES #50, NORTHLANDERS #10 and the TPB collection of 1-8, and HOUSE OF MYSTERY #6. Maybe even more!

FRIDAY NIGHT FIGHTS!

Yes, it's Friday night again, and that means Ladies' night on Bahlactus' fight card. Tonight's altercation is from Monkeyman and O'Brien #3, from waaaay back in 1996. I rather liked this series, and it's a shame that Art Adams doesn't seem to be able to get back to it.

Script and art by Adams, of course.

BAHLACTUS SAID KNOCK YOU OUT.

Good golly, I haven't blogged all week!

Been kinda busy around casa Bacardi, what with work and the new granddaughter and all.

I'll try to scare something up for Friday Night Fights tonight, and I do have a new Spinner Rack Junkie that I've been pecking away at, a word at a time, so more will be forthcoming eventually.

I see where Heidi the Beat posted a column hyping SPX this weekend, and listed among the publications making their debut at that fest is Fatalysia #3, which (unless I'm mistaken) should feature a guest illo from yours truly.

That's all I can think of for now. Must get back to work...