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!

The Christmas haul, 2014

These posts make me seem superficial, I'll bet.  But what better place to show off the stuff I got for Christmas?  It is a conundrum, I tell you.  Off we go!

I got some great comics and comic-related items this year.  I finally picked up the Fantastic Four cartoon series on DVD.  From what I remember, it wasn't a great adaptation, but I hear that the second season is actually pretty good.  We'll see.  I also got a copy of Jennie Wood's new book, "A Boy Like Me!"  Jennie's doing a lot of promotion for this book, so I'm happy to be able to grab one.  You can get one, too, here: http://smile.amazon.com/Boy-Like-Me-Jennie-Wood/dp/0692238069/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1421198014&sr=1-1&keywords=a+boy+like+me+jennie+wood

I got a bunch of DVDs.  You know I've managed to get most of the shows I actually want to watch when I start asking for shows like the 1990s Flash TV series.  It's fun to have but I'll put it in the player and probably immediately regret the decision.  I also landed the complete Caprica series, True Detective and the reissue version of The Tick live-action series.  It's basically the same as the one I already have, but this is a one disc release.  Now you can hit "play all" and watch 'em all in a row without that pesky task of changing discs.

I only got a couple comics for Christmas, but I'd like to think that I did a good job at the ones I did get.  On the left is a reprint of a DC Treasury book from the '70s.  It features some great creators, most notably Joe Kubert.  The content is watered down a bit for a younger audience but it's still a treat to read.  On the right is the second volume of the gigantic Sandman collection from Neil Gaiman.  I got the first volume last year.  Each volume contains over a thousand pages and, if I'm not mistaken, the entire Gaiman run on the character (until last year's prequel miniseries).

I'm not sure if the picture does this justice.  It's a huge collection.  I've never read this series, but now I can read it in style, I guess.

It's not Christmas without a few new Steelers items.  I got a hat for the top of my body and socks for the bottom.

Larry and I went to the playoff game at the beginning of the new year.  It was disappointing.  But the Ravens lost last week so they can officially eat it.

I got some electronics...most notably a GoPro camera.  I imagine this will be used for both Comic-Con and Franks and Beans.  I also got a new flash drive and a 2TB backup hard drive.

Funko has the license to every brand in the world.  Here's a Firefly bobble head.

Every December, Gallery 1988 has a sale on their prints.  I got these two for myself, but they're too cool not to show off.  They are both limited, high quality prints.  Of course I go for the Weird Al prints, of which there are many.  This year I picked up two with a UHF theme.

This blue poster had a run of 200.  This one was a bit more rare.

Only 12 made.  Yikes.

This was an eBay find...but still too cool not to show here.  This is a postcard that was given out in advance of the movie's release in 1989 advertising a sneak preview at a college campus in California.

Larry got me some cool things this year.  Anyone can now pretty much dress up entirely like the Thing, thanks to the new jacket.  Grab the fists and feet that were made for the first movie and you're well on your way.  Please note that my dog totally did not see that clobberin' coming.

Lastly, we have this Fantastic Four storybook from the late '60s.  It's part of a series of licensed kids books, and Larry managed to get one that's in pretty nice shape.  It was made for younger readers, but now, of course, it's a collector's item.  Nearly ever page spread has some art, such as...

...the Thing beating up a chair.  Or...

...the Thing beating up Dr. Weird, who I think was created just for the book.  It's goofy madness, but I love it.

But my best gift of all was you, dear blog reader.  Okay, I'm kidding (but only a little).  Take your pick from these pictures.

The Haul, 2013

Christmas was, as always, good to me...in more ways than just what I got, but what I got is a very visual thing, and it's easy to display, and this is a comic book blog, and...here's what I got.  Yes.

I got quite a few comic related items this year and I'm happy to add 'em to the giant pile of things that I've got to read.  Case in point: the fifth volume of the lavishly packaged Hellboy library editions.  These oversized giants present Hellboy in a deluxe setting and they are obviously put together with care.  I've only got one more edition to get until I'm all caught up on these.

Gutters is a webcomic that spoofs mainstream comics and the industry in general with one-page parody comics.  This is the first volume of the hefty collections that they put out and I'm excited to crack it open.  Jeff McComsey, Steve Becker and Jim McMunn (all of FUBAR fame) each have a  page in this book, which makes it a good find.

The newest piece of Weird Al merchandise is this Royal Bobbles bobblehead, and I'm glad that I was able to snag it for Christmas.  It's labeled as part of a limited edition, but who knows what that means. In any case, it's pretty much a must-have for fans.

I bought a portable charger to take with me to Comic-Con this past summer, and it was really helpful...except that it didn't hold much of a charge.  This guy here is just about the best you can get right now.  It's a bit bulky (like carrying around a second phone), but it's supposed to have nearly three full charges in it.  It's definitely coming with me to San Diego the next time I go.

Christmas isn't complete without a new item commemorating the history and success of the Pittsburgh Steelers.  This DVD set collects the "America's Game" productions about the Steelers' six Super Bowl championships.

Your friend (and mine) Larry got me this awesome Star Trek shirt.  I think my wife already stole it.

And lastly, check out this monster of a collection.  It's Neil Gaiman's Sandman omnibus, volume one!  This collects half of the much revered Gaiman run and man, is it thick and heavy.  Sandman is one of the classics that I've yet to read, so I'm glad to finally get on board.

I got a few other things, but these are the highlights for sure.  I had a nice time spending the day with family and friends, and I hope that you, faithful readers, had a lovely holiday as well.  I hope you enjoy seeing some of my stuff.

Free Comic Book Day - Reviews and Wrapup

It always takes me a while to decompress after any big event, and while this year's Free Comic Book Day doesn't match up to something like, say, Comic-Con, it was still a pretty big deal for me.  As with a lot of things of a similar nature, I spent a lot of time on the buildup to FCBD 2013, and the event itself flew by in a blur.  There are a lot of things I'll take from Saturday, May 4th, but overall I want to express how grateful I am for getting to be a part of it, because it was without question the most notice I've ever gotten in the field of comics.  I got to work on two books that people around the country (and, heck, the world) actively sought out and read not because I talked them into it at a convention or because they were being nice, but because they wanted to and had a genuine interest.  That's very rewarding and it's something I've worked toward for quite some time.

Beyond this, I was able to travel to Boston to meet comic fans and, specifically, fans of the Tick, all of whom were gracious and friendly.  Not only this, but the staff of New England Comics was generous and accommodating to the point that I felt like blushing on several occasions.  It was all very overwhelming, something difficult to put into words.  I realize that comic book careers, such as they are, can be fleeting.  Even if I fall off the face of the earth tomorrow (a distinct possibility, considering how close I live to the edge of the earth), I'll appreciate the time I got to spend in this alternate reality where what I do for fun actually means something outside of my small understanding of existence.

So what I'm saying is that I had a good time.  But enough of that junk.  Let's see what the world had to say about some of the stuff I did for Free Comic Book Day!

Probably the most positive review I saw of both The Tick and FUBAR came from the website "Geek Hard", which not only reviewed both of them, but reviewed both of them consecutively, as the image above displays.  It seems that the website staff enjoyed both books, and they enjoyed FUBAR enough to dedicate a specific review just to that book.

USA Today had several articles about FCBD, and both books were mentioned by the newspaper giant.  In their overall guide, FUBAR was highlighted as a suggested pick for people who like zombies (which seems obvious, I'll admit), with the author saying, "for something completely different, give FUBAR a spin."  In their list of 10 books to pick up, the Tick made it as the number four recommendation!

The websites "Fruitless Pursuits" and "Paradox Comics Group" also had nice reviews of The Tick, with Fruitless Pursuits saying that the issue was "perhaps the most complete offering overall", and PCG scoring the book a 7/10, saying the book "raises a smile", specifically mentioning the two short backup stories with art by Pietro.

Comic database websites were also quick to be updated with information from the two FCBD offerings, and, surprisingly enough, I genuinely had nothing to do with it.  Comic Vine even has a personal entry for me where before there was nothing (that I know of), and Comic Book DB has a fairly comprehensive list of the books I've worked on, as well as information like...my birthday.  Did I put that in a long time ago and forget about it?  It's...it's possible.  But someone has updated the page, at least, to include several of my more recent books, including some of my lesser-known contributions to books like Hawken and Apes with Uzis.  Perhaps if my OCD gets the best of me, I'll complete the list...for posterity.  Yes, that's it.

Comics superstar (he's also a superstar in other areas of life) Neil Gaiman posted some FUBAR art on his Tumblr page!  Yippie!

"Earth 2 Podcast" did an audio review of some FCBD books, and the Tick was front and center, at about the eight minute mark of the program.  The guy doing the reviews HATED it!  I mean, really despised it.  This is pretty funny, and as strange as it sounds, it's an accomplishment in its own right.  If someone hates your work, at least they care enough to have an opinion about it.  When no one cares one way or another, it's a little worrisome.  But yeah, this guy liked nothing about the book at all.

Twitter was abuzz with reactions to Free Comic Book Day, and the Tick got a few mentions over the infosphere.  I even sent some copies to a few of the folks who couldn't find any for themselves.

One of the funniest things to come from the FCBD weekend was seeing issues of both books pop up on eBay, and especially this, pictured above - someone who stood in line to get an autograph on the 4th put their copy online to sell, assuming that someone would actually like to purchase a book that I both wrote and wrote on.  Furthermore, the person started the bidding at an exorbitant $19.99!  And to top it all off, someone actually bid on the damn thing!  This means that my signature is worth somewhere in the neighborhood of 20 dollars.

Of course, that's absolutely not true, and it's kind of silly that someone decided to spend money on an autographed copy of the Tick FCBD 2013 special.  This book had a healthy print run, and I'm sure that copies of it will be floating around for just about eternity, and they'll be easy to find, to boot.  So if you're reading this post, and you've managed to make it all the way down here, take some good advice from your ol' pal Jeff: don't spend $20 on this book!  I'm sure you can find a cheap copy somewhere, and if you want me to sign it for you, heck, I'll accommodate for no charge.  Promise.

Free Comic Book Day 2013 was a pretty special day for me, and I'm happy to have been a part of it.  It's been very rewarding to read some feedback, and I'm relieved that most of it has been very positive.  There's more to come from both properties, I'm happy to say, so here's to bigger and better things in the not too distant future.  Thanks to everyone who made this a great series of events for me.

Q&A with Paul Little, part 2

Here's the second part of my interview with creator Paul Little, Teddy and the Yeti colorist (he also does other stuff as well, I imagine).  In this edition, Paul mentions that he is a secular humanist, and the only thing I can think of is a scene from Seinfeld where George talks about "the human fund!"  Is it anything like that, Paul?  Probably.  Also, I ask Paul, a native of Niagara Falls, about the television show Wonderfalls, which people should totally pick up.  Anyway, back to the interview - if you want to read part one, click here!

JM: Who are some of the colorists you admire - historical and contemporary?

PL: I'm certainly not alone in this, but I think Dave Stewart is the alpha and omega of comic book colorists.  The guy creates some of the most beautiful color schemes I've ever laid eyes on, and he approaches each project with a sense of innovation, know-how and sheer gusto that most of us can only dream of one day possessing.  I love Marte Gracia, who's doing a bunch of Marvel books at present, and who has one of the most vibrant and distinctive approaches to coloring that I've ever seen.  The shapes this guy finds hiding in his artists' lines are as unexpected as they are wonderful.  I like Matthew Wilson for making it look simple and easy especially when it isn't, Christina Strain for making me wonder how anybody could create such intricate detail on such a tight deadline, Moebius for his harmony, Matt Hollingsworth for having colored a single panel in Neil Gaiman's It's Only the End of the World Again that made me realize I had to at least try coloring comics instead of just writing and drawing them in my spare time, and Laura Martin for basically showing everybody how it should be done.

JM: What else are you working on right now?

PL: It might actually be faster to mention the books I'm not working on! (laughs)  This summer you can see my colors over Joe Eisma's lines in "Notorious," a back-up feature running in the Image Comics miniseries "Dynamo 5: Sins of the Father."

I had the pleasure of being asked to color a few stories in "Fractured Fables," an oversized hardcover for all ages curated by Jim Valentino that comes out in July from his Silverline books imprint.  Jimmie Robinson's always outrageous "Bomb Queen" returns to Shadowline/Image after a yearlong break this November, and I'm really proud of the work I'm doing on that new mini.  I'm halfway through the third issue as of this writing, so fans can rest assured that this bad boy will ship on time!  Jimmie's back in the saddle again and he aims to stay here.

I just finished coloring a Shrek story for Ape Entertainment, and I'm also inking and coloring the four-issue miniseries "Pocket God" for them at the moment.  It's based on the popular iPhone app and will be out this summer.  For Blackline Comics, I'm doing the forthcoming OGN "Assassin and Son", created by WWE wrestler Shad Gaspard, with some truly amazing art from newcomer Randy Valiente.  There's a lot more in the wings, but I've been sworn to secrecy for now!

JM: I'm currently watching the show "Wonderfalls" on DVD.  It takes place on the American side of Niagara Falls, and it makes the whole town seem like a bustling tourist trap.

PL: Oh geez, I remember that show, short-lived though it was!  Thronging tourism is certainly the name of the game in this town - the government of Ontario owns the parkland surrounding the Falls, and directly adgacent to it are several square blocks of hotels, casinos, restaurants, bars, attractions and the like.  Once you get away from all that, though, we're pretty much the same as every other Scranton-sized burg in North America.  There's no bustle to speak of outside the tourist district, apart from some spillover into a few arterial roads that service that part of town, since tourists need gas and groceries too, I guess (laughs).

JM: How is it living near one of the Natural Wonders of the World?  And how many times have you taken a ride on the Maid of the Mist?

PL: It's easy to lost sight of the majesty of the Falls itself when you've lived here your whole life, so I tend to stray a bit off the beaten path and enjoy the city's lesser-known geographical and historical sites of interest, of which there is a staggering amount.

The Niagara Gorge is a beautiful place to hike and picnic, Queenston Heights is alive with history, and even from my little apartment downtown I'm only a city block away from the historic Drummond Hill Cemetery, which occupies the site of the bloodiest battle of the War of 1812.

Along with much of the rest of the Niagara Region, it's supposedly one of the most haunted sites in the world, if you're into that sort of thing!  Alas, I'm a secular humanist who doesn't believe in the supernatural (THE HUMAN FUND! - JM), so it's kind of lost on me.  This is a pretty interesting town with a sometimes frustrating but never boring dual identity.  Oh, and as for the Maid of the Mist, that tired old girl's got nothin' on the Whirlpool jet boats! (http://www.whirlpooljets.com/)

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My thanks to Paul for taking the time.  Look for more of his work on Teddy and the Yeti soon!  Once again, check out his deviantART page at http://zepsloan.deviantart.com.

What I'm reading right now

There are few unequivocal truths in the universe, but here are two of them:

1) I will never be as good a writer as Alan Moore

2) I will never have a beard as scary as Alan Moore's

I hesitate not in the slightest at either one of these statements.  In all seriousness, I think of Alan Moore as the greatest comic book writer in the medium's history.  I am an absolute captive to Neil Gaiman's writing, and it can't be denied what Will Eisner has done for the industry, but Moore is the writer who, for me, sits at the top of the field.  I think he has the body of work to back up such a claim, as well, with Watchmen, V for Vendetta and From Hell on his resume.  So when DC Comics (through their Vertigo imprint) released the first volume of Moore's Saga of the Swamp Thing collection, I bought it right away, and it has not disappointed.

The Swamp Thing might best be remembered for the live action television series that lasted three seasons in the early 1990s, but the book with Moore at the helm is the definitive take on the character.  I mean, think about it - the character is called "The Swamp Thing".  Literally, "the thing from the swamp."  A guy gets blown to hell and lands in a swamp...and becomes a super hero.  With all due respect to Len Wein and Bernie Wrightson, creators of the character, what?!  This is the origin tale?  Not that there aren't tons of unbelievable creation stories out there (nearly every Marvel character from the 1960s should have died of radiation poisoning), but this one just seems silly.  Moore took that concept and made it work.  Swamp Thing wasn't Alec Holland, it was just "a plant that was trying its level best to be Alec Holland."

Horror comics usually are simply filled with gore or just have some ironic twist to them; Swamp Thing is genuinely frightening.  Super hero books are sometimes vapid and shallow; Swamp Thing is layered and meaningful.  Comics from the 1980s are often lackluster; Swamp Thing is fulfilling.  From Moore's first issue, you can tell that he has a plan, and he sticks to it throughout.  Supporting characters add meaning to the overall story.  Guest stars, including the Demon and the Justice League, are used appropriately and respectfully.  But through it all, you know that this is the Swamp Thing's book, even when he/it doesn't appear much in some issues.  All in all, it's a breathtaking piece of work.

If you couldn't tell, I am in love with this book.  I can't recommend it highly enough.