Ryan Claytor (And Then One Day) sent over a copy of his latest project, Coin-Op Carnival. Co-written with Nick Baldridge, it’s an illustrated zine that aims to “celebrate and explore the history of electro-mechanical coin-operated amusement devices.” That means, for those of us (like me) not clued in, pinball machines. And boy, that brought back memories of hanging out in the student lounge in college, playing them. The zine is 64 full-color pages in digest size, making for a substantial […]

I met George Michail last month at the New York Comic Con. He’s got a new comic, Cover of Darkness, coming out in January from Source Point Press, and he agreed to answer a few of my questions. Q: How and why did you start writing comics? A: I’ve always loved comics, ever since I was a little boy. If you would have asked ten-year-old George what he wanted to do when he grew up, he would have told you […]

One of my favorite recent discoveries (recommended to me by the story’s author, Thom Zahler) is My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic #83. Because it features the ponies redoing the classic Sherlock Holmes horse story “The Adventure of Silver Blaze”, with art by Kate Sherron. Since our heroes are horses for kids, obviously, there are a lot of changes. Twilight Sparkle and her dragon friend Spike are heading north to the Highlands for the tortoise races. Only the champion turtle, […]

I wrote about my time at the 2021 New York Comic Con for the Beat. Heidi, Brigid, Deb, and I recorded a new episode of “Four Women in a Hotel Room” talking about the show. (I also guest-starred in Heidi’s first day writeup. So good to see con friends again!) Most of my pictures are of meals or buildings. That’s what the city means to me.

I like Hope Larson’s books, so I preordered All My Friends from my local comic shop. Under Diamond code JUL21 1661, it was originally due out yesterday. The book didn’t ship. Amazon says it’s been rescheduled to next January. That’s a shame, but it makes sense — lots of publishers are having production and distribution delays. What bothered me about the whole thing was how Diamond handled it. It’s a good thing I wasn’t relying on my Saved Items at […]

Less than a month until New York Comic Con! Are people ready? Should be interesting to see what this is like, as I can’t find any information on publishers setting up there. Guests — of whom the biggest names are William Shatner, George Takei, John Cena, and Chris Claremont — are appearing, but photo ops have no touching. Guest and attendee will be separated by plexiglass. Proof of vaccination is now required for attendees. Under 12 years of age will […]

Underground was a miniseries, later collection, written by Jeff Parker, illustrated by Steve Lieber, colored by Ron Chan, and published by Image Comics back in 2010. I enjoyed the adventure story, about two rangers playing cat-and-mouse in a disputed cave system with those who are trying to kill them. The local businessman wants to turn it into a tourist attraction, regardless of what that would do to the ecosystem. He sends some hired hands to start the destruction, and when […]

I did not realize that DC Universe Infinite — the latest incarnation of the service, it no longer has video programming but merely online comic issues — provided a small selection of comics to read for free. (Registration required, as you can’t get something for nothing, and they want to build their mailing list.) The current offering consists of the first eight issues of Suicide Squad from 1987, the classic run by John Ostrander, Luke McDonnell, and Karl Kesel. Of […]