low content mode

An update.

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Hello everyone! I’m just popping in here for a moment to let you know that I’ll be doing Medical Stuff for the next week or so, which currently entails some early morning doctor visits and, with any luck, another eyeball surgery on Wednesday. I say “with any luck” because some complications have arisen that may delay the procedure…I’ll know tomorrow if things will still be on schedule.

As such, content may be slowed down a bit over the next few days, so I ask your patience as I deal with real world shenanigans. I promise you, I’d rather be writing about comics.

Thanks for reading, pals, and I’ll be back to normal operations (so to speak) and the Final ’90s Countdown very soon!

And now, proof I don’t use A.I. to write this site.

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Unfortunately, the post I was working on last night just wasn’t coming together, and by the time I figured that out it was too late to start a new one, hence the lack of content today. Sorry about that, folks!

However, I’ll take this moment to remind you this is the last week to submit your votes for the Final ’90s Countdown, in which we’re looking for your favorite 1990s indie books! Be sure to read the rules there (and make sure your book actually started in the ’90s!) and I’ll start discussing them all in a couple of weeks.

Thanks for reading, pals, and I’ll be back with (hopefully) something more substantial to read on Wednesday!

Better Red than dead.

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Sorry pals, part 3 of the look at the October 85 Bud Plant catalog’s retailer tip sheet will have to wait ’til Monday. Which is okay, as there are a few titles in this next batch that I want to ask my former boss Ralph about anyway.

So no big post today, but take a gander at this sharp-looking Red Sonja cover by Mary Wilshire and Walt Simonson:


Boy, that just leaps out at you, right? I’ve seen the later “homage” cover by the current publisher of Red Sonja stuff, where they pull back the camera to make sure you get the breasts in the pic. But the original is perfect as is.

My apologies…

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…but if you’re seeing this message, then your pal Mike decided that he was too beat after a two-day sidewalk sale at his store to put together a proper post.

The first part of our look back at the 2024 comic industry predictions, originally planned for today, will be up on Wednesday.

Thanks as always for reading.

I sure use the word “milieu” a lot.

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Hi pals! Thanks for all your responses to the recent “Question Time” posts…I will get back to those with some responses and reactions in the near-ish future. Unfortunately, I’m short on blogging time this evening so it’ll have to wait ’til next week, maybe.

In the meantime, let me tell you that I’ve read Absolute Wonder Woman #1, and it’s an enjoyable new take on the character. Yes, it’s a darker, edgier version of our favorite Amazon, as per the entire Absolute Universe milieu, but it’s well-told and has me looking forward to more.

Also, despite the fact that I’m still catching up on actual physical copies of things I have here in my home, I’m also trying to justify my subscription to the DC Universe Infinite digital comics service by reading stuff there too. Or, in this case, re-reading, as I’ve been revisiting the 1990s John Ostrander/Tom Mandrake Spectre series, which just keeps me burning through issue after issue. The art is amazing, dark and moody and filling just every square inch on the page. The writing, exploring the nature of justice vs. evil and the Spectre’s role in doling out vengeance.

It’s very much of its time — does Bill Clinton show up? You bet he does. Is there an O.J. Simpson stand-in (“B.J. Harrison”) who is caught trying to escape the scene of his murder of his ex-wife and her boyfriend in his white Bronco, and the Spectre takes care of him good? Yup again.

But it addresses some tough issues, despite giving some easy passes here and there (like Superman not going after the Spectre for literally wiping out an entire country). It remains a good read overall, and I’ll likely reread this creative team’s Martain Manhunter series afterwards.

Okay, gotta wrap it up here. Thanks for reading, and I’ll see you next week.

Nancy and Bill!

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Okay, instead of writing another big ol’ blog post today, I gotta do some research an’ such for a project I’ll be working on Friday night. I’ll let you know what that is in a week or so, but in the meantime, please enjoy this lengthy and informative report on the recent Nancy Fest at Ohio State University. Wish I could’ve gone!

And speaking of which, here’s Bill Griffith talking about his book about Ernie Bushmiller, Three Rocks and the importance of particular artists…along with a nice view of his art studio:

Thanks, pals, and I’ll be back Monday.

One must appreciate his sense of self-worth.

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“Hmmm, what does he love? Fishing? Scrapbooking? Who can say?”

Anyway, that’s how you introduce a character. Well played, Jack Kirby or whoever it was that blurbed this on the cover of Forever People #4 (1971).

Content may be a little short on this site over the next week or two, but I’ll check in when I can. Thanks for reading, pals, and we’ll be back to normal service soon.