The Christmas haul, 2015

Is it weird that I post pictures of some of the stuff I got for Christmas? Maybe. But here's what I got for Christmas. I like it.

I got some great comics this year. The Gaiman/Williams Sandman prequel was collected just in time for Christmas. I'm now caught up on the Hellboy library editions. I'm very excited to read the comic adaptation of Don Quixote. And WOOOOOAH, I got the Complete Calvin and Hobbes hardcover edition, which must weigh about 50 pounds. It's really impressive.

Your pal (and mine) Larry got me some great Thing items. First up are these two figures. The first one is from Japan, and the second is part of a kid's memory game. Both are awesome (and both come apart!).

Larry also went above and beyond when he found these two gems from the 2005 Fantastic Four movie. Thing hands and Thing feet!

Check out this sticker on the Thing feet box. Was it necessary? You can see the feet in the box, and it says "THING FEET" just inches away, in big, capital letters, at the bottom of the box. The artwork doesn't fit the rest of the packaging, either. But how cool! Somewhere out there, there's a roll of these "Thing feet" stickers.

While everyone else is moving away from DVDs to digital downloads and streaming services, I am apparently doubling down on discs with bizarre additions to my collection like the Dr. Katz complete series.

I got a WiiU a few months ago, and now I have a few more games to play, plus my first Amiibo. What's an Amiibo? Why, it's a huge racket that forces you to buy toys to go along with your games. And here I am, falling for it! I think I'll get the Pac Man Amiibo next.

My Steelers sideline shirt from 2004 is nearing the end of its life. So here's my new gameday shirt, which maybe I'll wear for another 10 years or so. Let's get a picture now while it's still black.

And then there's my haul from the yearly Gallery 1988 sale. These aren't technically Christmas presents (since I bought 'em for myself), but they came in December and they are great. So we're listing them. These two Weird Al prints are from separate shows, but they obviously follow a theme. I buy a few each year in hopes that the many Weird Al prints don't sell out before I have a chance to buy them all.

This one is freaky but great.

Merry Christmas!

Support "Honcho" on Kickstarter!

Howdy, folks. It's been a while, but I hope you haven't missed me too much. 2015 is crawling to a close and, all things, considered, it's been a good one for me and comics. I've been very lucky to work on some really fun books and I feel like I've made a little more headway this year than in years past. I apologize for not updating this blog as much as I probably should, but I guess that when my choices are to write a blog about how much I hate the Fantastic Four movie and work on a comic script, I'm best served by doing the latter (usually). Now the real key is to figure out a way to quit my day job so that I can write both a lot more often. Who knows? Maybe one day it'll happen.

Here's some exciting news to close out the year: I'm working on a new book with FUBAR's Jeff McComsey and Paul Little and Pietro titled "Honcho". The book is currently campaigning on Kickstarter, and I hope that you'll take a few minutes to check it out and, if you'd like, pre-order the first volume!

Honcho is a story that takes place in the far-flung future of the 1980s, 15 years after World War III ruined much of the civilized world. Our protagonist, Captain Stanley, arrives on the shores of North Carolina claiming to represent the United States government in exile. He finds a country split into factions, many of which have taken to baseball to divide territory and settle disputes. Can Stanley unite the separate factions on his way to Charlotte? Is Stanley even in his right mind to begin with?

Honcho takes a lot of its influence from Miguel De Cervantes's Don Quixote, a book I've come to love in the past year, so I'm excited to try and channel some of that madness into this new graphic novel. The first eight pages of the story are available to read on Jeff McComsey's blog, here: https://mccomseycomix.wordpress.com/2015/11/29/honchovolume-one-preview/

The campaign has a few days left to go, and I'm happy to say that we've met our initial goal. There are plenty of stretch goals to be had, though (including some retro baseball cards, which I'm nuts about), and up next on the list are some Honcho mini comics, which I really hope we are able to do.

If you have a second, do me a favor and check out the campaign. It is set to end just after midnight on Monday, January 4th! Keep your fingers crossed for us. Here's to a productive 2016.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1607639297/honcho-volume-one

Sites you should be viewing: "Hey Oscar Wilde! It's Clobberin' Time!!!"

How this slipped from my attention for so long will forever remain a mystery - a website that combines some of my favorite literary authors and creations, comic book artists, and the Thing belongs on everyone's website viewing list from now until the end of time.  It's "Hey Oscar Wilde, It's Clobberin' Time!", and it's better than you could imagine.  For instance, the above and two below pictures are just a few of the rotating frontispiece images, each featuring Oscar Wilde and the ever lovin', blue-eyed Thing.  Why the author of this site chose these two figures, I'll never know.

Interestingly enough, the Thing doesn't appear in the body of the site, which collects images from artists (mostly comic book artists) of their favorite author or literary character.  It's easy to lose time searching the extremely impressive sketchbook-like catalogue that's on display here.  If you've got a favorite classical (and in some cases, modern) work of literature, chances are it's represented in some way on this site.  For instance we have a nice representation of some of my favorites, including...

...Sherlock Holmes...

...Ernest Hemingway...

...and Don Quixote!

What a collection.  Unfortunately, it seems to me that the site hasn't been updated since 2010.  Still, there are hundreds of images to search through, and I have to hope that more will arrive at some point.  For now, though, head over to http://heyoscarwilde.com and look through all the site has to offer!

FUBAR press release: FUBAR Press becomes an official imprint of Alterna Comics

Some exciting FUBAR news came down the pipe recently.  Below, in its entirety, is the official press release from Alterna Comics:

FUBAR PRESS now an official imprint of ALTERNA

We are excited to announce the Jeff McComsey's "FUBAR PRESS" has joined forces with Alterna Comics as an official imprint.  FUBAR PRESS will follow in the creator-owned mentality that Alterna is known for an will be headed by President and Publisher Jeff McComsey, Art Director Steve Becker, and Story Editor Jeff McClelland. The imprint will operate under the Alterna Comics banner as it always has but will have their own submissions, story ideas, and creative teams centering around a mash-up of historical-horror fiction.

Branching out with the MOTHER RUSSIA mini-series by Jeff McComsey (debuting issue #1 in stores today), the brand is set to build on the unique story-telling and phenomenal artwork that readers have been enjoying since 2010.  McComsey speaks about his experience with Alterna and the future of FUBAR, "I've worked with Alterna Comics on just about everything I have published since I started making comics in 2007.  From my first series, AMERICAN TERROR to when Steve Becker and I published volume one of FUBAR five years ago, Peter Simeti has been a publisher I can count on.  I'm very proud to finally make FUBAR PRESS an official imprint of Alterna.  While we'll continue to publish FUBAR PRESS books on all platforms available, we will be focusing a large portion of our time and resources on engaging retailers and showing them why we deserve a spot on the shelf in 2015."

For more information on ALTERNA and FUBAR PRESS titles, please visit http://www.alternacomics.com

That's all pretty great!  I'm happy to be involved with the project and I hope it continues for years to come.  I'm currently working on a few upcoming projects, such as a backup story for Mother Russia #3 with Jeff McComsey and Christine Larsen.  I'm reading Don Quixote, the classic novel by Miguel de Cervantes for the first time, so the time seemed right (400 years later) for a FUBAR Quixote story.  Christine really did a fantastic job with it, as we should all be used to by now.

I also just finished lettering a full-length FUBAR tale featuring these two figures pictured above.  This comes out in the music issue, on shelves pretty soon!  Lots of great things going to press in 2015.