Magic Bullet #8: I Hate the Moon!

A little while ago, I received some copies of the newly-printed Magic Bullet #8 in the mail!  The Magic Bullet is the DC Conspiracy oversized free comic publication, based out of the nation's capital city.  I've had a few comics published through them in the past, and issue eight is no different.  This issue features, as its first comic, no less, "I Hate the Moon!"  Here's a tiny preview of probably my favorite scene:

"I Hate the Moon" is, I believe, the fourth comic I've submitted to the newspaper-size publication, but it's the first that I've done in color, which is rare for the MB.  The art for this comic was done by the prodigious Pietro, who took my weird script about talking planets at a party and kicked everyone's butt.

The issue is full of other great, one-page comics as well, including another installment of Rafer Roberts's eerie "Nightmare the Rat".

"Time after Time" was another favorite of mine.

And oh, look!  There's a Franks and Beans ad in there, as well.  This is sure to attract thousands of new viewers.

 I'll post the entire "I Hate the Moon" strip on this site in a few months.  In the meantime, I took the issue around to a few different Pittsburgh-area shops, including Impossible Dreams in Bridgeville, PA.  If you'd like to grab a copy for yourself and you're out of the area (and also away from Washington, DC, where most of the copies reside), you can order a copy online for only 99 cents!  Click this link for more info: http://dcconspiracy.storenvy.com/collections/170861-all-products/products/5383270-magic-bullet-8

Many thanks to all involved with the Magic Bullet for including me in their great publication once again.  It's always a treat.

"The Final Edit" in Magic Bullet #5!

DC Conspiracy's "Magic Bullet" publication is out with a new issue - its fifth - and dare I say that this is the best one yet.  I recently got a big package in the mail from editor Matt Dembecki and it looked a little something like this:

The Magic Bullet, for those who don't know, is published in the greater Washington, DC area.  It's a newspaper-sized publication filled with mostly one-page, self contained comics.  I've been lucky to have stories see print in issues 2 and 3, and #5 sees a new strip with art by a familiar name - Duane Redhead.  Duane stepped in at the last minute and really saved my bacon as the deadline approached.

This issue had a theme - the end of the world!  We were allowed to interpret that as we saw fit.  Even the cover reflected the end of days:

My entry, which can be seen at the very top, has another grammar joke in it.  Why do I find grammar so ripe a subject for funny one page comics?  Who can say, but dammit, I'll do with it what I can.

A few comics in this issue were in color, which was an exciting addition.  I've got a new strip in the works that I'm hoping to place in issue #6 and I'll have to see if I can get a color spot.  I'm a little over half way through this oversized issue and I must say that I'm impressed with the overall quality.  I think that this little magazine is on the cusp of taking off and I'm happy to be a part of it.

If you live in the greater DC area, you should be able to find a copy at any number of locations.  For my part, I'll be distributing the copies I received at three comic shops south of Pittsburgh.  If you live close and want to pick up the new issue, go here:

Pittsburgh Comics, McMurray, PA
Impossible Dreams Comics, Bridgeville, PA
Evil Genius Cards and Comics, California, PA

Ye olde photo dump

I recently traded in my old phone (from a carrier that no longer exists, if that tells you anything) for a new iPhone, and I'm really happy with pretty much everything about it.  I can check my e-mail constantly, play Pac Man, keep up on the Pirates and their 20th consecutive losing season...oh, and it also makes phone calls (quaint)!

One of the things I like most about the phone is the camera.  It's an eight megapixel and it's very convenient.  Of course, every time I look at the thumbnails, I see a handful of pictures I should really just delete, but darn it, I'm saving them for the blog to show at some point.  I figure that I've got enough that I should just show them all at once (and finally do some spring cleaning in the camera roll).

At the very top of this page you'll find the official Comic-Con magazine, mailed out a couple months ago.  It's a neat preview of this year's show...and judging by the cover, I'd imagine that the new Spider-Man movie might have a big presence there.  It's pretty cool.

It was my birthday recently, and once again, Google eerily wished me well on the day.  It's a cute gesture, but really, does anyone else get a little weirded out by the fact that Google seemingly goes out of its way to make this personal note?  Thanks in any case, Google.

I just polished off the last piece of birthday cake from Dairy Queen.  I don't know if I've mentioned this before, but the price of an ice cream cake is exactly $20.99.  No one else finds this funny, but I do.

On an recent trip to Bridgeville, PA's Impossible Dreams comics, I took a picture of the store.  You're welcome, Google images!

I was browsing through Evil Genius Comics in California, PA, when someone brought in a box of old comics they bought at a garage sale.  There were some nice books in the collection, though most of them were in pretty bad shape, including this copy of Incredible Hulk #180, which has the first appearance of Wolverine in it.  It's only a cameo, but it still goes for a good bit of money in good condition.  The guys who work there were nice enough to let me take a picture with it.  I was going for "flippant".  How'd I do?

I was directed to the blog TMNT Master, which has turned out to be a site that sucks up large chunks of my time.  It's just mesmerizing.  So when I saw the sign that said "the shredder is dead!" at work, I had to add an image of my own to complete the picture.  If someone would like to make those at TMNT Master aware of this, I'd be okay with that.  Very okay.  Extremely okay.  You get the idea.

This isn't a picture I took, just a random image I found online.  And it's hilarious.  It looks like Rick is on the phone and the horse is taking a break between shots.  Fantastic.

There we go.  My phone thanks you for the following post.  Now I can delete all of these pictures.  Well, the TMNT one probably stays.

Magic Bullet #3!

Thanks to Rafer Roberts and, well, the United States Postal Service, I got some copies of DC Conspiracy's The Magic Bullet #3 yesterday, and it looks great.  I'm always happy when some of my work gets printed, but it's more of a treat to read the other entries and see what else people are creating.  The page limit is a real challenge and it's something others find more creative ways to deal with that I do.  Even so, I think "The League of Obscure Historical Figures", with art by Jeff McComsey, turned out very well.

As with any publication featuring multiple contributors, I found that this issue contained stories that I liked alongside others I didn't enjoy as much, but there was more good than bad.  I especially enjoyed entries by Bill Ellis, Dominic Vivona, Matt Sheean and Michael May & Jason Copland.

To find a copy of is issue, you can check out this Google Map for locations around the country.  The map is as of yet incomplete, as I haven't added my stack to the list.  If you're in the Pittsburgh area, I'll be dropping copies off at the Century III New Dimension Comics, Impossible Dreams, Pittsburgh Comics and Evil Genius Comics.  I'll also take a few copies with me to next week's Xcon World and maybe even Fanboy Comics in Wilmington, NC.

"Eye of the Beholder" webcomic with Ruben Cordero, page 4

This story's second "act" begins with page four - we're all caught up to date and now we're working in the present.  The dog cages look more like jail cells, but hey, that's artistic license for you.

Now that I think about it, it's because of this story's publication in Strip Search that I came up with a way to sign my name on comics...that is, a different way than I sign, I don't know, a check or something like that.  The first time I saw a copy of Strip Search was at my local comic shop, Impossible Dreams Comics in Bridgeville, Pa.  The owner of the store ordered a copy for himself (probably because it's all I had talked about for a month) and asked me to sign it.  I wrote my whole 14-letter name, stopped to look at it, and said "I've gotta come up with something better".  What I came up with over the next few days is basically my initials and the date, so whether or not it's "better" is debatable, but at least I have a comic book signature to go with now.

Oh, and by the way, the best comic book signature I've ever seen has to belong to Mark Schultz (of Xenozoic Tales fame).  I'm told he worked on it for quite a while.

A Mile High salute and other notes

- Mile High Comics placed an order last week for copies of Teddy and the Yeti #3, meaning that the online retailer (they also have physical locations, most notably in Denver, Colorado) now has all three issues in stock.  Other online stores have ordered copies of certain issues of T&Y, but Mile High is, as of now, the only store to order all three.  My thanks go out to William Moulton and all the rest at MHC for their continued support of the book.  I'm really not sure how to ask about the coincidence of a guy named William Moulton working in the comic book business (the creator of Wonder Woman was William Moulton Marston) - perhaps it's a nickname and other people working there take the pseudonyms "Joe Shuster" and "Jacob Kurtzberg".

You can click here to see Mile High's Teddy and the Yeti page - the first two issues are listed, and the third will be added soon.

- I've made some looooong overdue updates to the main website.  The main page no longer says something ridiculous like "preview the upcoming second issue!".  I've also update the store page, so you can buy both the first and second issues - I even made sure that combined shipping stays in effect if you purchase different issues.  The third issue isn't up for sale yet for two reasons: one, I'm a jerk, and two, I don't have any copies on hand right now.  Once I get ahold of some, I'll make sure that's there as well.

This blog page (...the one you're looking at right now) also got a minor update - along with listing online retailers that carry Teddy and the Yeti, I've compiled a list of physical comic stores that sell issues of the book as well.  For stores like Olympic Cards & Comics in Lacey, Washington and Evil Genius Comics in California, PA that have websites, I linked directly to those.  For stores without websites like Impossible Dreams in Bridgeville, PA and Gary's Comics & More in Morgantown, WV, I linked to at least the address on a map.  The list is over on the right somewhere...check it out.

- The website The Grouchy Gastronome has published another one of my blogs on food: the most recent one is titled "Hell Sandwich", which I think was a great naming decision on the part of she who runs the site.  Apparently I like to cheat places out of sandwich giveaways, and I finally stopped to think about some of the more lasting consequences.

- Finally, because this has become a regular feature here apparently, here's the latest episode of the popular Internet show Franks and Beans, "Rip Off".  I'm quite proud of it.

My comic shop

There have been a couple times where I've considered getting my comics from an online, mail order, discount service.  The promise of new comics at cheap prices has its obvious appeal, but I find that keep coming back to the same shop I've been frequenting since 2001 because:

- I fear change;
- it's easier to see that I am directly contributing to the welfare of the store/store owner;
and perhaps most importantly,
- I enjoy the "event" that is going to the shop, picking up my books, and interacting with the people there.

Every time I go on vacation, I find myself looking for a comic shop to visit, not only because I don't want to miss new books, but because I want to sample the atmosphere.  Now that I spend a lot of time in North Carolina, I go to Fanboy Comics every so often.  When I spent a summer in the state of Washington, I shopped at (and loved) Olympic Cards and Comics.  Now that Evil Genius has opened up  in my old hometown, I'm sure I'll be hitting them up from time to time.  But Impossible Dreams Comics in Bridgeville, Pennsylvania continues to hold my pull list, and I'll keep that list there until I move so far away that I can't possibly make it back in a reasonable amount of time.

The shop is pretty small and where others have branched out into gaming and cards, Impossible Dreams is exclusively comics - so you know what you're in for when you go there.  Anyone in the Pittsburgh area should check the store out (and pick up a copy of Teddy and the Yeti while you're at it...) on a new comics Wednesday and say hi to Lou, the store owner, and Caleb (or is it Kaleb?), his dog.

I think that everyone should have "their" shop...this one's mine.

P.S.  This is my 100th post.  You're welcome, world at large.