some kind words from harlan...

okay...

several of you have already 'e'd me and brought to my attention the kind words that the one and only harlan ellison dropped about our little perhapanauts book in his interview on newsarama. you can check it out at http://www.newsarama.com/general/Ellison/interview_p2.html

i'll say that again.

HARLAN ELLISON digs our book!

i should point out that harlan actually called me several months ago to tell me this. he told me that he thought the perhapanauts was a fun and compelling book, that he really liked the story! and then cautioned me against overusing character dialect and vernacular too much. (molly DOES say "like" a lot...) we had a nice conversation and, of course, i was quite honored. i mean, c'mon--HARLAN ELLISON!!

and so i called him back the other day to thank him for the mention, and for my pal, ron marz as well, since harlan also gave great prase to ron and luke ross' book, samurai: heaven and earth. it just happened to be harlan's birthday, so i wished him a happy one and let him get back to his celebrating. so happy birthday, harlan--and thanks again!



with so much going on these days, i must admit that i've been quite remiss in keeping this blog on schedule and apologize for it. but i've also been at a bit of a loss as to what to write about. with no actual publishing date set for a new perhapanauts series, there's nothing to tell there. and there's been very little going on in the world of the paranormal or unexplained that has been inspiring enough to follow up with here. the "five on friday" trivia seems to garner some response, but i'd like to blow the doors open a bit and try to inspire more people to write in with comments and stuff.
and so, with that in mind, i thought that i'd try to stir things up a bit with a few questions and see where that takes us. bravo has been, for the past few years, doing list shows; 100 scariest films, 50 funniest movies, 100 sexiest stars. (i also dug vh-1s shatner-hosted, 100 one hit wonders...)

try these;

1. your five funniest movies

2. your five favorite songs

3. your five favorite cartoons

i dunno. maybe this idea will tank.
but maybe not...

happy memorial day!
and also, it's JAKE'S BIRTHDAY!!!
happy birthday, puppet!
smell ya later!
todd

where is my week going...?!

okay...

i've had more things going on this week and so am late, late, late...

while craig and i are unsure as to where we might be publishing the next chapter of the perhapanauts saga, i can tell you that we're hard at work on it! and if you think that we left a few too many plot threads laying around, i can also tell you that we'll be tying many (not all...) of them up in this next story!

and that's all the perhapa-news i can tell you.
(the other stuff is secret...!)

as many of you know, i'm a huge lost fan--and even moreso now that i've been watching it with my old lost buddy again
: ) --and while we were glued to last night's season finale, there certainly were (and, lately, have been) a LOT of questions from us regarding characters motivations and dialogue. sometimes it seems that some of the characters do and say things only because it's convenient for the writers, that they accept so many non-answers from others just too readily. if ben ever jerked me around like that--even conversationally--i'd mess him up!
anyway, i don't wanna wreck anything for anybody--it's still a fun show and i'm dying to see where they're going to go from here...

nothing more to say so...

here are the answers to the
"five on friday"

1. what is the correct term for a female peacock?
a peahen

2. who played fbi director gordon cole on david lynch's "twin peaks"?
david lynch

3. what was the name of the comic book that spider-man actually debuted in?
amazing fantasy (#15)

4. what is a "yegg"?
a criminal, burgaler, usually one who cracks safes

5. what first name is shared by both members of they might be giants?
john (linnell and flansburgh)



random picture of the week

more tomorrow!
smell ya later!
todd

oddly ill

okay...

so i woke up yesterday feeling kinda fatigued and achy. but we are still on this house cleaning mission and so i went to work, scrubbing the walls and floors and dusting/packing up books and boxes.

just before noon though, the achy feeling started to feel like something else and i got dizzy, feverish, sweats and chills...weird.

i have no idea what it was.

needless to say, i didn't and couldn't get to the computer to post a new blog, but aas i'm feeling much better this morning, here we go.

no real cohesion to today's post though--some trivia and some random pictures.


the first one is one of those comic book covers from the 70's that, as a young teen i found incredibly sexy. no, i shouldn't just say sexy--it's romantic as well. that's superman and that's lois lane and that 's neal adams depicting one tender, romantic, soul-stirring kiss. it's from superman 243, by the way...


another one of my favorite superman covers. this one from superman 317.


this one was sent to me by one of my myspace friends, a very talented artist from malaysia.


"five on friday"

1. what is the correct term for a female peacock?

2. who played fbi director gordon cole on david lynch's "twin peaks"?

3. what was the name of the comic book that spider-man actually debuted in?

4. what is a "yegg"?

5. what first name is shared by both members of they might be giants?

that's all i gots!
smell ya later!
todd

my very educated mother...

okay...

the other day, my uncle, who forwards me all manner of crazy crap from the internet, sent me this e-mail illustrating the relative sizes of the planets, and of our sun compared to a bunch of other suns. mabe you've seen this already. maybe you have some crazy uncle of your own and he's sent this to you...




anyway, i always loved studying the planets--need to know for any science fiction reader--but have never seen their sizes demonstrated so clearly. and i have to say, i was astounded!




when i was in school we were taught the mnemonic "my very educated mother just served us nine pickles" to learn them in order. Mercury Venus Earth Mars Jupiter Saturn Uranus Neptune Pluto i've heard lots of variations and some totally different (and send 'em in if ya got 'em!) but to see them lined up like that really gives me pause. and then, of course, when you get out to the other suns...dude! ours is dinky!



anyway, just thought i'd share that.

hope all is well!
smell ya later!
todd

invariably...

okay...

i an effort to distract ourselves from mother's day, my dad and i, hoping that the crowds would have died down by now, went to see spider-man 3 at our local cineplex last night.
have you ever run that bit of reverse-psychology on yourself, telling yourself that it's been a whole week since the opening, plus that it's mother's day, and then reverse-reverse-psychology it wondering if EVERYONE ELSE is making the same assumption, so maybe we shouldn't go 'cause it'll be packed, but then what if THEY'RE all thinking that too and the place is gonna be empty and...

well, i don't really do that. maybe a little. truth is, over the years, i've come to shun the theater experience when i can help it. i used to LOVE going to the movies! there was a time in my life when i went sometimes 4 or 5 times a week! now though, i'm so frustrated by the incivility of people; the talking, the cell-phones, the rampant YOUNG children, who in most cases are too young for the film anyway...it seems that, since the advent of the vcr back in the 80's, people more and more feel that they can talk during a film, like they're in their living rooms! in the movie theaters, inconsideration is becoming an artform!
this is my one pet peeve.
i gotta get offa this or i'll go crazy.

anyway...

fortunately the reverse-reverse-reverse worked out for us and the place was moderately comfortable.

and here's where the subject of this little post comes in...
i had, of course, heard a few reviews and comments from friends and acquaintences over the past week, and, as i said, craig's been waiting for me to see it so we can talk about it. most comments were that it was just too much, that there were too many villains, too many girls, too much over-the-top action to be able to follow...

INVARIABLY whenever i'm given an opinion by a friend or whoever, be it a negative or positive comment or review, i then go in and have the exact opposite experience. obviously because my expectations have been either heightened or lowered, i am almost always pleasantly surprised or somewhat disappointed, depending on how i went in. oh, even my constant optimism won't save a bad movie, but i often find that, though i try not to have ANY prejudices--or pre-judgements--it's tough these days, with so many trailers and previews constantly bombarding our tvs, to not have an idea of what to expect.

anyway...
i really dug spider-man 3.
no, it's not the movie i woulda made. i didn't like spider-man 1--felt that they totally missed the essence of spider-man, his compassion and sensitivity, his love and adoration of his aunt and uncle. the only scene we saw him with uncle ben they were arguing...what?!?!? his love and respect for uncle ben is what makes him put on that costume every night.

spider-man 2, i felt, redeemed this mistake a bit (the dream sequence/flashback with uncle ben was closer to the real relationship between them) and the doc ock storyline was solid.

so building on those, i really liked 3. i thought that the night fight scene right in the beginning with harry on the glider was too dark and too frenetic--i couldn't always make out what was happening, who just got slammed into that wall.


but overall, i thought it was fun. i still think that toby maguire only has one expression and it's one of shock and confusion. my pal, terry austin, says "he always looks like he's about to bust out cryin'."
but it was fun.
and i had fun with my dad.
and that's really all that matters.



is this the greatest panel in the history of comics?
my friend (and organizer of the awesome baltimore comicon!) mark nathan thinks so.
i told him i needed some time to consider, but now i agree.
anybody got a suggestion? an alternative? a contender?
send 'em in--even if you don't have a scan--i'll get it...

smell ya later!

addendum: curious rogues

okay...

not the best pictures--i don't know how to access the focus on my digital camera yet--but here are the strange villains featured on the borders of that batman bread wrapper i mentioned on friday.






and, while we're here, here are the answers to the

"five on friday"...

1. what mad artist won fame and recognition for his tiny and hilarious pantomimes in the margins of the mag?
sergio aragones

2. (i hate that new cat-look, but) what originally made rather human-looking hank mccoy gain his more beastial visage?
as scott, jeff, and colin said--thanks for the details, colin!--hank did it to himself while trying to "cure" his mutation.

3. before he became the joker, what was his wife's name?
jeannie (the killing joke)

4. who was travis walton?
in one of the most documented--and investigated--cases of ufo abduction, travis walton was a state worker in arizona who was apparently 'taken' for a period of five days. the movie "fire in the sky" was based on the incident and it's many ramifications.

5. yellowstone national park is primarily located in what state?
wyoming

smell ya later!
todd

the collector

okay...

i mentioned in my post the other day that i've been cleaning things up around here, throwing things out, and setting some stuff aside for either a yard sale or ebay, that virtual yard sale. now i have never avoided the term "collector", at times i have used it myself, been quite proud of it...but holy crap! i mean...HOLY CRAP!

over the course of my crazy, complicated, cartoon-like life, i have acquired so much trivial, useless, and in some cases, forgotten stuff that i find myself surprised by some of the stuff i've come across! an arnold schwarzenegger as sgt. rock movie promo button from the '88 san diego convention! my copy of mouse guard #1 (first printing) that i put in a safe place ('cause of the off-size) that i then couldn't find for almost a year now! three bread wrappers from the 1960's featuring batman and robin and a bunch of villains--a couple that no one ever saw! a spider-man print given to me and autographed by stan and john romita that i completely forgot i had!
COMPLETELY FORGOT I HAD!!!





anyway, i've gotta go and get some more cleaing done, but i'll leave you with five for the weekend...

"five on friday"

1. what mad artist won fame and recognition for his tiny and hilarious pantomimes in the margins of the mag?

2. (i hate that new cat-look, but) what originally made rather human-looking hank mccoy gain his more beastial visage?

3. before he became the joker, what was his wife's name?

4. who was travis walton?

5. yellowstone national park is primarily located in what state?

have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

catch up wednesday

okay...

i'm in a real purge mode these days, cleaning my house top to bottom, spring cleaning, getting rid of stuff and setting a lot of stuff aside to be "ebay-ed".

that idea has kinda seeped into everything i've been doing lately and has extended to my computer; i've been going through files and deleting them, updating them, etc.

as i go through the bookmarks that i have labelled "funny", i've found some of the following. if ya have a moment--read; time to kill--check 'em out. some of 'em are, some of 'em aren't, and what's funny to one person, might not be to another,. but...

here's a test you can take to see if you are a cool person.

http://www.sailinganarchy.com/general/2002/cool_test.htm

a site to find out a random fact about vin diesel...

http://4q.cc/index.php?pid=fact&person=vin

here's a picture of a dragon man bust that marvel is doing and that craig sent me 'cause he knows how much i love this character...



and a fun game...

http://www.winterrowd.com/maze.swf

and 20
Ways to Maintain A Healthy Level Of Insanity .

1. At Lunch Time, Sit In Your Parked Car With Sunglasses on and point a Hair Dryer At Passing Cars. See If They Slow Down.

2. Page Yourself Over The Intercom. Don't Disguise Your Voice.

3. Every Time Someone Asks You To Do Something, Ask If They Want Fries with that.
4. Put Your Garbage Can On Your Desk And Label It "In."

5. Put Decaf In The Coffee Maker For 3 Weeks Once Everyone has Gotten Over Their Caffeine Addictions, Switch to Espresso.

6. In The Memo Field Of All Your Checks, Write " For Smuggling Diamonds"

7. Finish All Your sentences with "In Accordance With The Prophecy."

8 Don't use any punctuation

9. As Often As Possible, Skip Rather Than Walk.

10. Order a Diet Water whenever you go out to eat, with a serious face.

11. Specify That Your Drive-through Order Is "To Go."

12. Sing Along At The Opera.

13. Go To A Poetry Recital And Ask Why The Poems Don't Rhyme?

14. Put Mosquito Netting Around Your Work Area And Play tropical Sounds All Day.

15. Five Days In Advance, Tell Your Friends You Can't Attend Their Party Because You're Not In The Mood.

16. Have Your Co-workers Address You By Your Wrestling Name, Rock Bottom.

17. When The Money Comes Out The ATM, Scream "I Won!, I Won!"

18. When Leaving The Zoo, Start Running Towards The Parking lot, Yelling
"Run For Your Lives, They're Loose!!"

19. Tell Your Children Over Dinner. "Due To The Economy, We Are Going To Have To Let One Of You Go."

20. And The Final Way To Keep A Healthy Level Of Insanity.......

and here are the answers to your

"five on friday"

1. in pulp fiction, how did tim roth know that he'd pulled samuel l. jackson's wallet out of the bag?
it's the one that says "bad mother f___er" on it.

2. what is the name of quint's boat in jaws?
orca

3. who did the voice of the joker on batman: the animated series?
maark hamill

4. how about harley quinn?
arlene sorkin

5.what's aquaman's wife's name?
mera

that's it! more on friday!
todd

occum's cell phone

okay...

once again, i have a lot of plates spinning...

several different writing projects--exciting all--and yet none that i'm at liberty to tell ya about at the moment.
i will, of course, letcha know when i can.
one or two of them will actually be big news...

i DID write the complimentary spider-man comic book that some of you were fortunate enough to get when you went to see spider-man 3 this past weekend! it was beautifully illustrated by my pal, stuart immonen, and i think it looks awesome!
the book was provided by target and marvel and, though the story had to tie in with the movie, i did try to have some fun with it. hope ya liked it.


i haven't seen the movie yet, however. hopefully in the next day or two. craig did and is patiently waiting for me to see it so that we can talk about it.

and on that note, we're making plans for our annual charlotte trip next month to be at heroescon the weekend of june 15th, 16th, and 17th! if you are a comics fan and are hankerin' to go to one of the last true comic book conventions in norht america, then don't miss out. craig and mike and i are regulars at heroes and hope to see ya there. craig and i will have the new perhapanauts>second chances trade (along with a few other interesting sundries) and mike and i >should< have copies of the tellos colossal hardcover on hand! mark your calendars and make your travel plans now!




random picture of the week--love it!

i don't really have much else to say--or rather, much else i CAN say...
so here's last friday's "five on friday"...

"five on friday"

1. in pulp fiction, how did tim roth know that he'd pulled samuel l. jackson's wallet out of the bag?

2. what is the name of quint's boat in jaws?

3. who did the voice of the joker on batman: the animated series?

4. how about harley quinn?

5.what's aquaman's wife's name?

that's all!
smell ya later!
todd

summer reading

okay...

though, in my area, spring seems to be taking it's damn sweet time getting here, we did have a burst of warm, almost hot, weather the other day and that put me in the mind of summer. and of what to read for summer.
to me summer has always represented a fine time to read the stuff you've been dying to read. this prob'ly goes back to school days when you were always being forced to read what the teacher made you read. summer though...that's free time!

of course, MY summer reading list always comprised at least one or two runs of one comic book or another, a chance to go back and re-read something that you haven't read in years. this summer i'm thinking about getting out all of my old batman/brave and the bold's, a series i loved as a kid, not only 'cause nick cardy had drawn a good handful of them but also because of the awesome jim aparo, who followed nick on the series! he did some great stuff, moody and dynamic, and maintained batman's shadowy countenence, depicting him--like the shadow--as a creature that could easily disappear into the night. and seeing batman paired with characters from every corner of the dc universe--that was always fun! maybe not all that plausible, but...it was comics!

one issue that will always stay with me, that represents so much of my childhood to me, is brave and the bold # 115, guest-starring the atom! batman dies! he dies! he REALLY dies! gunned down by a gangster's bullet, batman checks out! the atom arrives on the scene and confirms it and then--get this--shrinks down and enters batman's brain, neurologically stimulating and manipulating the dark detective's corpse to have him solve his own murder!! awesome! (and i learned a lot about the human brain, to boot!)


a good way to catch these old issues is to pick up dc's showcase series brave and the bold. although they're in black and white and i don't think they get up into the aparo issues yet. maybe volume two.


on the flip-side, i'm also planning on getting out my marvel team-ups to re-visit marvel's amazing pairings of their galaxy of stars with everybody's favorite wall-crawler! also a fabulous series and also available in the more economical essential series!
i loved these too as a kid and was really honored to get to write a marvel adventures version a few years back. and of course, mike wieringo had everything but the marvel team-up title on many issues of our sensational spider-man run!


okay, so that comics.
but i also remember buzzing through at least six or seven good books in a summer--some fantasy or science fiction book i had found or, later, some horror. so many great summer days spent outside in the grass or on the beach reading a good book in the sun. and sometimes, it's the book. one excellent summer book--that also happens to be about an excellent, adventurous summer, is boys life by robert mccammon. though the time period is about ten years before i was having my own adventures in the summer sun, it felt just like the wonderfully lazy, incredibly endless summers that i remember! the ending rumbles around a bit, finding it's one true conclusion, but other than the the book is a pure piece of summertime gold!


another one that i actually just stumbled over because of it's suggested horror elements is richard laymon's the traveling vampire show. there are vampires, and it does have some very suspenseful horrific moments, but this book is more a celebration of the surreal, directionless, anything-can-happen promises of summer. i've read a few other novels by laymon and they're usually good, solid horror stories, but they were different to me because they didn't capture the reckless abandonment of summer that this one does. don't get me wrong--it's not great literature--it's a paperback version of an exploitation film and somewhere along the line laymon fell in love with the word "rump"--maybe it's 'cause i never ever hear anyone use the word in real life, but it stuck out like a sore thumb--but the traveling vampire show is fun! a great summer read!


so that's what summer reading means to me--anybody got some summer reading recommendations?
send 'em in and we can talk 'em up.

that's all for now. here are
the answers to the "five on friday"...

1. starbuck's was originally owned by what famous olympic skater?
jo jo starbuck

2. what is the brand of cigarettes featured in all quentin tarentino movies?
red apple

3. what were the names of the two gangsters that bugs bunny bamboozled into the oven in the classic looney tunes cartoon?
rocky and mugsy

4. how did harvey dent become two face?
district attorney harvey dent had acid thrown in his face during a mob trial

5. in the early 90's, what burger did mcdonald's offer where "the hot stayed hot and the cool stayed cool"...?
the mcdlt

smell ya later!
todd