smart vs wise

okay...


Smart vs Wise

A young boy enters a barber shop and the barber whispers to his customer, 'This is the dumbest kid in the world. Watch while I prove it to you.'
The barber puts a dollar bill in one hand and two quarters in the other, then calls the boy over and asks, 'Which do you want, son?'
The boy takes the quarters and leaves
'What did I tell you?' said the barber. 'That kid never learns!'

Later, when the customer leaves, he sees the same young boy coming out of the ice cream store. 'Hey, son! May I ask you a question? Why did you take the quarters instead of the dollar bill?'
The boy licked his cone and replied, 'Because the day I take the dollar, the game's over!'

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so, it seems that some people still haven't had a chance read PERHAPANAUTS 2 yet, so we'll save the discussion 'til monday, okay?

that doesn't mean that i can't go on a little bit more about the awesome job my pal, rich case did on our back-up story, "the other arisa." rich did it all one these pages--pencils, inks, and color--and if his lush artwork didn't fit the story perfectly, i don't know what would have.
here's a taste of rich's rough pencils and then the finished piece for you to gaze at!
enjoy, everyone!





thanks, rich!
wonderful!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"five for friday"
it's "what actor?" time
i'll name 3 movies and
you tell me the actor that
appeared in all 3.
ready?

1. beethoven, jerry maguire, the green mile

2. the deep, firewalker, enemy mine

3. dark city, requiem for a dream, dark water

4. what dreams may come, dead again, moscow on the hudson

5. noises off, deathtrap, the remains of the day

have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

rats!

okay...

so, a few weeks back, i went on about how i would like to, someday, be able to say that i've visited all four of the tv land commemorative statues located in various parts of the country. and, of course, if they make more, and they should, i'd wanna see them too!
this is the kinda thing i like. interesting and/or odd landmarks.
especially the odd.

about ten years or so ago, while taking the train down to nyc with fellow spider-man scribe, howard mackie, he walked me out of the lexington avenue exit of grand central station and bade me look up (this after i don't know how many times he told me to stop looking up on other visits to the city so i wouldn't look too much like a hick...!)
(and, of course, i was just looking to see if i could catch spidey swinging his way through those concrete canyons or daredevil battling stiltman atop one of those rooftop water towers...)

but what howard wanted me to see this one time was the rat entrance to grand central.

the canopy overhanging the entrance/exit to gst, features cables made to look like ropes leading onto a ship, and on these ropes the bells designed to keep rats from gaining access to the ship, and on the bells---rats.

here are a couple pics i took when i went down there last wednesday followed by a short write up i found on
www.roadsideamerica.com




New York, New York - Metal Rats of NYC
On the canopy above the entrance to the Graybar Building and Grand Central Station near the corner of 43rd St and Lexington Avenue are three cast metal rats just below the rat guards on the support rods. An architectural detail without an explanation. Evidently the architects (Sloan and Robertson) of the building had done prior buildings with a nautical theme; the reason for these rats has not been fully explained however.

A wonderful and enigmatic detail that most commuters pass under daily without noticing. [Phil Pasquini, 01/31/2007]

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so, about three or four years ago, my pal, terry austin, and i got to talking about how reading old archie comics made us feel like kids again. i started buying up old copies on ebay and terry started gifting me with doubles that he had from his vast collection. these were mostly issues from the late 50's and early 60's, although i've also been picking up some copies from the early 70's when the comics were doing a phenomenal job of reflecting the changes that were happening with the american youth at the time. groovy!
about this time, last year, i had a conversation with kc carlson who was also looking for that wonderful innocent childhood excitement in some of today's comics and i told him that he needed to go WAY back to find that again. well, kc already knew about the archies, had a huge collection of his own going already, but now we had that in common and it was nice to have someone else to share that with.
a wonderful friendship was in the offing.

then, about a month ago, in response to my plea for some of you to fill in with a guest post here on the blog, kc sent me a couple of e-mails PACKED with jpgs of archie covers from over the past 50 years that feature weird and wacky creatures (or situations) on the covers!! like the paranormal issues of archie! these came with the suggestion that i could write up a post reflecting on these wild and wooly covers.

yeah, thanks, kc...!
i wanted to do less work!

: )

anyway, here are, i guess, the first in a series of archie covers from days gone by, courtesy of our pal, kc, featuring archie, jug, betty and veronica in some crazy, flipped out, and just plain bizarre situations!

(and no, i'm not really mad, kc.
it's funny.)






~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

that's it!
i gotta get to work!
those of you who were not able to pick up PERHAPANAUTS 2 last week, can finally pick it up today!
and EVERYONE--please let your local comic shop know that you want it!!
(and that they should stock an extra issue or two...!)
thanks!
smell ya later!
todd

memorial monday!

okay...

happy memorial day all!
hope you're going to a parade or are in a parade or are doing something fun with your family!
because today is jake's birthday, i used to take him to our home town parade and tell him that the parade was for him 'cause he's so special...
at 15, now he just likes to sleep in on his birthday.
me too.

later sharon and i will have my dad, my brother and my niece and nephew out for a bar-b-que and there will be a huge water balloon fight and then i think we're all gonna watch cloverfield on the big screen.

today is the day to remember our fallen heroes and friends and those who have served our country.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as i posted in the comments section the other day, apparently, for reasons none of us can understand, diamond split the perhapanauts orders last week and so, while some of your local comics shops got them last wednesday, others won't be getting theirs until this wednesday.

like i said, who knows why.

but out of respect for those of you who haven't gotten theirs yet, we won't have our review and discussion until next monday...okay...?

side note: we are also being told that, while orders have actually gone up slightly on issue 3, many people feel that the PERHAPANAUTS is still being grossly under ordered. hopefully we'll be able to reach those retailers and make sure that they get the comics they want...!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

as i've said before, my uncle jack forwards me close to 7,000 e-mails a day. i don't know if he actually looks at them himself, but i love him dearly and so look at each one as if it were a private, personal message from a loving relative to his favorite nephew. some of them are funny, some not so much, some are political.
and some are those incredibly poignant, emotional ones that, though you promise yourself you're not going to tear up, you do anyway, cursing yourself for the sentimental sap you are.

this is one of those...



In 1986, Peter Davies was on holiday in Kenya after graduating from Northwestern University. On a hike through the bush, he came across a young bull elephant standing with one leg raised in the air. The elephant seemed distressed, so Peter approached it very carefully.
He got down on one knee and inspected the elephant's foot and found a large piece of wood deeply embedded in it. As carefully and as gently as he could, Peter worked the wood out with his hunting knife, after which the elephant gingerly put down its foot. The elephant turned to face the man, and with a rather curious look on its face, stared at him for several tense moments. Peter stood frozen, thinking of nothing else but being trampled.
Eventually the elephant trumpeted loudly, turned, and walked away.

Peter never forgot that elephant or the events of that day.

Twenty years later, Peter was walking through the Chicago Zoo with his teenaged son. As they approached the elephant enclosure, one of the creatures turned and walked over to near where Peter and his son Cameron were standing. The large bull elephant stared at Peter, lifted its front foot off the ground, then put it down. The elephant did that several times then trumpeted loudly, all the while staring at the man.

Remembering the encounter in 1986, Peter couldn't help wondering if this was the same elephant. Peter summoned up his courage, climbed over the railing and made his way into the enclosure. He walked right up to the elephant and stared back in wonder. The elephant trumpeted again, wrapped its trunk around one of Peter legs and slammed his stupid ass against the railing, killing him instantly.


Probably wasn't the same elephant.



This is for all of my friends who send me all those stupid-ass, heart-warming stories.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

here's something else someone sent me in an e-mail that i thought was kinda interesting.
almost like a hidden treasure...


I've been using aluminum foil for more years than I care to remember. Great stuff, but sometimes it can be a pain. You know, like when you are in the middle of doing something and you try to pull some foil out and the roll comes out of the box. Then you have to put the roll back in the box and start over. The darn roll always comes out at the wrong time.

Well, I would like to share this with you. Yesterday I went to throw out an empty Reynolds foil box and for some reason I turned it and looked at the end of the box. Written on the end it said, “Press here to lock end”. Right there on the end of the box is a tab to lock the roll in place. How long has this little locking tab been there?

I then looked at a generic brand of aluminum foil and it had one, too. I then looked at a box of Saran wrap and it had one too! I can't count the number of times the Saran warp roll has jumped out when I was trying to cover something up.

I hope I am not the only person that didn't know about this.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


"five for friday"

1. who was the creative team that originally created the wolverine?

len wein and herb trimpe, though john romita sr. did the original basic design for the costume.

2. in what comic did he first appear?

the incredible hulk #180

3. in the line-up of the all-new, all-different uncanny x-men there were TWO brash, rebellious, loose cannon types and it was decided that one of them would bite it. who lost the coin toss?

thunderbird

4. before hugh jackman was cast as logan, who did fox want in the role?

keanu reeves

dougray scott had the role, but was injured while filming mission impossible 2. aaron eckhart, russell crowe, mel gibson, and edward norton were also considered, but fox really wanted keanu.

5. what was the line-up of the all-new, all-different uncanny x-men?

banshee, colossus, cyclops, nightcrawler, storm, thunderbird, wolverine
(the rest of the original x-men, including havok and polaris, and sunfire opted not to join the new team)

happy memorial day!
smell ya later!
todd

icebergs!

okay...

my uncle forwards me about 129 e-mails every day.
and, 'cause i love my uncle, i look at them.
sometimes they're funny, sometimes they're political, and sometimes, every once in a while, there's one that's really fascinating.

this is one of those.


Amazing Striped Icebergs

Icebergs in the Antarctic area sometimes have stripes, formed by
layers of snow that react to different conditions.

Blue stripes are often created when a crevice in the ice sheet
fills up with meltwater and freezes so quickly that no bubbles form.

When an iceberg falls into the sea, a layer of salty seawater can
freeze to the underside. If this is rich in algae, it can form a
green stripe.

Brown, black and yellow lines are caused by sediment, picked up
when the ice sheet grinds downhill towards the sea.






Antarctica Frozen Wave Pixs - Nature is amazing!

The water froze the instant the wave broke through the
ice. That's what it is like in Antarctica where it is the
coldest weather in decades. Water freezes the instant
it comes in contact with the air. The temperature of the
water is already some degrees below freezing.

Just look at how the wave froze in mid-air!!!











Having the Internet means that we get to see something
that we never imagined! Pass it on for others to enjoy!

You can go see for yourself. Latest tour cost seen recently: $10,000

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Lots of people have asked me about the recent solicit in PREVIEWS for the WOLVERINE SPECIAL coming out in August...

Back in January, my Editor pal at Marvel, John Barber, asked if I could write two 11 page Wolverine stories so that they could give them to new or in-coming artists (meaning artists they stole away from DC... : ) to try them out. I said sure, and John gave the first one to Steve Kurth (Last of the Mohicans) to bide his time while waiting to start New Universal with Warren Ellis.

It takes place on a glacier in the Antarctic.
See how that all ties together...?




~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so to really make this the trifecta,
here's some wolvie-related trivia
for your
"five for friday"

1. who was the creative team that originally created the wolverine?

2. in what comic did he first appear?

3. in the line-up of the all-new, all-different uncanny x-men there were TWO brash, rebellious, loose cannon types and it was decided that one of them would bite it. who lost the coin toss?

4. before hugh jackman was cast as logan, who did fox want in the role?

5. what was the line-up of the all-new, all-different uncanny x-men?

that's it!
have a great weekend and a fantastic memorial day!
(my boy, jake, will be 15 on monday!)
smell ya later!
todd

PERHAPANAUTS 2--On Sale TODAY!!!

okay...

so, in case you hadn't heard, the super spectacular second issue of the all-new, all different PERHAPANAUTS will be available on the shelves of your local comics shop LATER TODAY! and while the first issue see some ground work for this, our first story arc, in this issue things really get rolling!

i was GOING to give you a look at the first few pages to whet your respective appetites, but blogger isn't cooperating today, so i'll just have to leave it to your imaginations...

gotta cut it short today--
gotta catch a train into marvel and talk about some spider-man stuff...

have a good one!
smell ya later!
todd

close to cryptid

okay...

the other day i got an e-mail from my ex- and now best pal, dani, with a list of 25 of the most bizarre animals in the world. so, not cryptids, by definition...
but, man, are they weird!
i've picked out the five that I thought were the wackiest, but here's the link to the whole article if you need to read some more...!

http://divaboo.info/



Tarsiers are prosimian primates of the genus Tarsius, a monotypic genus in the family Tarsiidae, which is itself the lone extant family within the infraorder Tarsiiformes. The phylogenetic position of extant tarsiers within the order Primates has been debated for much of the past century, and tarsiers have alternately been classified with strepsirrhine primates in the suborder Prosimii, or as the sister group to the simians (=Anthropoidea) in the infraorder Haplorrhini. Analysis of SINE insertions, a type of macromutation to the DNA, is argued to offer very persuasive evidence for the monophyly of Haplorrhini, where other lines of evidence, such as DNA sequence data, had remained ambiguous. Thus, some systematists argue that the debate is conclusively settled in favor of a monophyletic Haplorrhini.

Tarsiers have enormous eyes and long feet. Their feet have extremely elongated tarsus bones, which is how they got their name. They are primarily insectivorous, and catch insects by jumping at them. They are also known to prey on birds and snakes. As they jump from tree to tree, tarsiers can catch even birds in motion.[citation needed] Gestation takes about six months, and tarsiers give birth to single offspring. All tarsier species are nocturnal in their habits, but like many nocturnal organisms some individuals may show more or less activity during the daytime. Unlike many nocturnal animals, however, tarsiers lack a light-reflecting area (tapetum lucidum) of the eye. They also have a fovea, atypical for nocturnal animals.



The octopuses of the genus Grimpoteuthis are sometimes nicknamed "Dumbo octopuses" from the ear-like fins protruding from the top of their "heads" (actually bodies), resembling the ears of Walt Disney's flying elephant. They are benthic creatures, living at extreme depths, and are some of the rarest of the Octopoda species.



The Pygmy Marmoset (Callithrix (Cebuella) pygmaea) is a monkey native to the rainforest canopies of western Brazil, southeastern Colombia, eastern Ecuador, and eastern Peru. It is one of the smallest primates, with its body length ranging from 14-16 cm (excluding the 15-20 cm tail) and the smallest monkey. Males weigh around 140 g (5 ounces), and females only 120 g (4.2 ounces).

Despite its name, the Pygmy Marmoset is somewhat different from the typical marmosets classified in genus Callithrix. As such, it is accorded its own subgenus, which was formerly recognized as its own genus, Cebuella.

The Pygmy Marmoset has a tawny coat, and a ringed tail that can be as long as its body. Their claws are specially adapted for climbing trees, a trait unique to the species. They are omnivorous, feeding on fruit, leaves, insects, and sometimes even small reptiles. Much of their diet, however, comes from tapping trees for sap. Up to two-thirds of their time is spent gouging tree bark to reach the gummy sap. The Pygmy Marmoset has specialized incisors for gouging holes in bark. Unfortunately, because of its small size, and its swift movements, it is very hard to observe in the wild.

In captivity, the Pygmy Marmoset can live up to 11 years.



The Aye-aye (Daubentonia madagascariensis) is a strepsirrhine native to Madagascar that combines rodent-like teeth with a long, thin middle finger to fill the same ecological niche as a woodpecker. It is the world's largest nocturnal primate, and is characterized by its unique method of finding food; it taps on trees to find grubs, then gnaws holes in the wood and inserts its elongated middle finger to pull the grubs out.

Daubentonia is the only genus in the family Daubentoniidae and infraorder Chiromyiformes. The Aye-aye is the only extant member of the genus (although it is currently an endangered species); a second species (Daubentonia robusta) was exterminated over the last few centuries.



The Axolotl (or ajolote) (Ambystoma mexicanum) is the best-known of the Mexican neotenic mole salamanders belonging to the Tiger Salamander complex. Larvae of this species fail to undergo metamorphosis, so the adults remain aquatic and gilled. The species originates from the lake underlying Mexico City. Axolotls are used extensively in scientific research due to their ability to regenerate most body parts, ease of breeding, and large embryos. They are commonly kept as pets in the United States, Great Britain, Australia, Japan (where they are sold under the name Wooper Rooper, and other countries.
does anyone remember aquaman and aqualad's old pal, quisp?



or, wait...

maybe i'm thinking of space ranger's old buddy, cryll...?


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and here are
the answers to
"five for friday"

1. yes, in the late 90's rachel green was one of our friends, but at the time nbc touted another show that featured a character named rachel green(e) as well. what was it?

rachel greene was the daughter of dr. mark greene (anthony edwards) on ER

2. with over 3,000 cover versions, what is considered the most recorded song in history?

yesterday by the beatles

3. in latin, what does the word trivia mean?

tri- meaning three, via- meaning ways or roads

4. what is the term for someone who collects trivia?

a spermologist meaning seed collector

5. created on a budget of $35,000, what is the most profitable film of all time?

the blair witch project


that's all!
smell ya~
todd

vodka trivia & creed

okay...

i have said before that when we would go to conventions, mike and craig and i would usually get ahold of some saying, catch phrase, line from some tv show, comedy album or whatnot, and just proceed to beat it into the ground all weekend. (last year in charlotte, it was from joe rogan's latest comedy album and we would just shout the word "jihad!' at each other...which almost got us into trouble at the airport when mike was dropping us off...)

other years included the following from the following:

"aye, mira..." "joo got some bal-loonce?" from the jerky boys
"i'm brian fellows!" from snl
"computer says 'no'." "bitty?" "that's right; ching chang chinaman." and a ton more from little britain
"that right. i farted. jealous?" from snl
"what if he's did?" from flight of the conchords

this past weekend in seattle, craig and i couldn't stop running through one of our favorite bits on last week's the office, from one of our favorite wacky guys.

creed: hey, pumpkin. we're gonna ditch this bitch. you in?
angela: no!
creed: pumpkin's out. let's go, gang!

ah, creed...

for some big fun, even if you don't watch the show, check out creed's wikipedia entry here

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Creed_Bratton_%28character%29

i laughed through the entire thing.
but then, i was also drunk.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Who knew?!!!!

1. To remove a bandage painlessly, saturate the bandage with vodka. The stuff dissolves adhesive.

2. To clean the caulking around bathtubs and showers, fill a trigger-spray bottle with vodka, spray the caulking, let set five minutes and wash clean. The alcohol in the vodka kills mold and mildew.

3. To clean your eyeglasses, simply wipe the lenses with a soft, clean cloth dampened with vodka. The alcohol in the vodka cleans the glass and kills germs. (don't do this if your lenses have been uv protected or tinted.)

4. Prolong the life of razors by filling a cup with vodka and letting your safety razor blade soak in the alcohol after shaving.
The vodka disinfects the blade and prevents rusting.

5. Spray vodka on wine stains, scrub with a brush, and then blot dry.

6. Using a cotton ball, apply vodka to your face as an astringent to cleanse the skin and tighten pores.

7. Add a jigger of vodka to a 12-ounce bottle of shampoo. The alcohol cleanses the scalp, removes toxins from hair,
and stimulates the growth of healthy hair.

8. Fill a sixteen-ounce trigger-spray bottle with vodka and spray bees or wasps to kill them.

9 Pour one-half cup vodka and one-half cup water into a Ziploc freezer bag and freeze for a slushy, refreshing ice pack for aches, pain or black eyes.

10. Fill a clean, used mayonnaise jar with freshly packed lavender flowers, fill the jar with vodka, seal the lid tightly and set in the sun for three days. Strain liquid through a coffee filter, then apply the tincture to aches and pains.

11. To relieve a fever, use a washcloth to rub vodka on your chest and back as a liniment.

12. To cure foot odor, wash your feet with vodka.

13 Vodka will disinfect and alleviate a jellyfish sting. (and i thought it was just pee)

14. Pour vodka over an area affected with poison ivy to remove the urushiol oil from your skin.

15. Swish a shot of vodka over an aching tooth. Allow your gums to absorb some of the alcohol to numb the pain.

And silly me!
All this time I've been drinking the stuff.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"five for friday"

1. yes, in the late 90's rachel green was one of our friends, but at the time nbc touted another show that featured a character named rachel green(e) as well. what was it?

2. with over 3,000 cover versions, what is considered the most recorded song in history?

3. in latin, what does the word trivia mean?

4. what is the term for someone who collects trivia?

5. created on a budget of $35,000, what is the most profitable film of all time?


that's all!
have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

ITEM:

okay...

so as craig and i continue to recuperate from the weekend in seattle, here are a few quick ITEMS like they used to run on the Mighty Marvel Pages back in the old days...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ITEM: returning home from our whirlwind trip to the pacific northwest, craig and i were greeted by our very own copies of PERHAPANAUTS 2! it's always nice to finally hold in your hands something that you worked months on, but issue 2 is even better 'cause it's just filled with cool extras by some of our most talented friends! an awesome back cover by our pal, Rich Woodall (with Ken McFarlane and Matt Talbot), a pulse-pounding pin-up by Denis Medri, and a stunningly beautiful back-up story by our pal, Rich Case!


oh, also, craig and i did a little something in it too...
and the rico.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

ITEM: on the TELLOS front--with the huge success of the TELLOS COLOSSAL Hardcover, and the subsequent high orders on the upcoming trade paperback version, Image Comics is moving ahead with a second volume, the TELLOS COLOSSAL Hardcover Vol. 2, containing all of the remaining Tellos material! the big news here, however, is that Tellos inker extraordinaire, Rob Stull, and colorist supreme, Paul Mounts have taken one of Mike's later Tellos sketches and created the gorgeous illustration for the second volume's cover! (i'd buy the book just for that cover...stunning!)


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
ITEM: a joke

I was walking past the mental hospital the other day, and all the patients were shouting, '13...13....13...13.'

The fence was too high to see over, but I saw a little gap in the planks and looked through to see what was going on.

Some bastard poked me in the eye with a stick.

Then they all started shouting. '14...14...14...14....'.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

gotta run!
smell ya later!
todd

back from seattle!

okay...

well, we're back from seattle and the show was great! met a LOT of really nice people and hopefully found ourselves a few new PERHAPANAUTS fans! craig and i talked to a LOT of people at the show and if you're one of them and you took us up on our invite to check out the site (and the blog!), please let us know whatcha think of it...and the new issue!

while the trip out (and back!) was a nightmare for me (delayed flights, missed connecting flights, 8 hour wiat for the next flight out...), the show itself was big fun and, in addition to meeting so many really nice folks, craig and i got to hang out with pals like karl kesel and jeff parker, we got to meet new friends, like paul tobin, writer of marvel adventures fantastic four, colleen coover, artist on jeff's x-men: first class, matt maxwell, writer/creator of the werewolf/western strangeways, david hahn, artist on marvel adventures fantastic four, and alex and andy who own a comic shop that, beacuse of all the beers we were drinking, i can't remember the name of. sorry,guys...

brian and bill were there also, brian helping with the table when he wasn't following up on his commissioned sketches (he scored some really beautiful stuff!) and bill helping as a shill in the aisle when he happened to be passing by. : )

besides being a really nice show, the organizers treated all of their guests to some fine accommodations. the hotel rooms were especially gorgeous, inspiring craig to launch himself onto one of the cloud-like beds as soon as we got in the door--



here's us with our pal, jeff parker, playin' it cool!


here's the table staff in an exclusive photo...



and the same shot from brian's camera which somehow magically gifts one person in the photo with sunglasses! i dunno how it works, i just know it was craig's turn...


thanks to all of you who came out to see us and support the haps and we really hope you'll join our perhapa-family!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

here's a picture of a pinata.

pinata's are fun!
adopt one today!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

here,
the answers to your

"five for friday"

1. how many feet of wire is in a slinky?

80

2. what is the band steely dan named after?

a dildo from the william burroughs novel, naked lunch

3. in what town could you buy your comics at the android's dungeon?

springfield

4. how did attila the hun die?

a nosebleed that wouldn't stop (on his wedding night no less...)

5. what famous candy bar was named after it's inventor's horse?

snickers


smell ya later!
todd

iron man! (no spoilers)

okay...

so, as you are reading this, i am more than likely winging my way out to beautiful seattle for this weekend's EMERALD CITY COMICCON! craig is flying out too, as are brian and bill.

we were invited out months ago by our old friend, jim demonokas, formerly of image comics and now the emerald city organizer. jim's a great guy and has put together an impressive array of guests--lots of friends i'm dying to see--jeff parker, scott kurtz, karl kesel, kurt busiek--and people i'm hoping to get a chance to meet and/or say hello to.having never been out to the pacific northwest, i am very excited and hope to at least see the space needle...if you live out in that part of the country, please come by and see us on our west coast leg of our PERHAPANAUTS USA TOUR!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

so, i went with sharon and my dad the other night to see IRON MAN finally, and i loved it! much more than the first iron man movie...oh, i mean, batman begins...

usually i try to stay positive here on the blog and keep any negative thoughts about comics, comic-related movies, or the industry on the whole to a minimum--but after seeing iron man the other night, it got me thinking about how easy it was for them to make a movie once they decided to stay true to the character and his history. sure, there were a couple of minor plot holes, continuity glitches here and there--what movie doesn't have that? and a couple of instances where they "hollywooded" some little bits, but all in all, that WAS iron man! robert downey WAS tony stark.

which brings me back to the batman franchise...
craig and i went to see batman begins together two summers ago, i happened to be visiting out at his house when it came out, and we both were thrilled at the first half of the film; the retelling of his origins, the training sequences in the himalayas--all new, all unique, and offering such promise that maybe this time they'd gotten it right.

and then it turned into iron man. millionaire, lots of toys, lots of tech.
wasn't he in asia to train to be a ninja?
wasn't he learning stealth and honing his physical prowess?
isn't bruce wayne supposed to be rather brilliant and incredibly resourceful?
everytime he ran into any opposition, he'd turn to morgan freeman and say, "hey, do we have anything that would do this...?"

and then the whole thing degenerates into car chases and explosions.
(very stealthy. i've seen lots of ninja movies where they do that...)

and not just any car...
in his graveliest batman voice, christian bale says, "i love this city and i need to protect the people of gotham."
and then he drives his tank over the rooftops of gotham doing, easily, millions of dollars in property damage, putting all of those citizens in immediate danger, and blows up everything in sight.

why do action movies always end in car chases and explosions?

and the trailer for the dark knight looks to be more of the same (interspersed with the late heath ledger's unconventional new interpretation of the joker.)

(yeah, i'll see it--but i'm not holding my breath...)





i loved iron man!
that's the way to do it.



~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

oh, yeah, wait...!
here are your
"five for friday"

1. how many feet of wire is in a slinky?

2. what is the band steely dan named after?

3. in what town could you buy your comics at the android's dungeon?

4. how did attila the hun die?

5. what famous candy bar was named after it's inventor's horse?

have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd

your true tales

okay...

because i'm feeling that we need to get things creepy around here again, here are two entries from our friends over at
Your True Tales at paranormal@about.com

this first one took place right across the river from where i live and i remember there being an smattering of reports of a bigfoot or something being sighted in that area at that time...

Your True Tales
April 2008

The Shrieking Hulk
by Anonymous

This takes place in about 1990-1992, I cant remember exactly. When I was younger (5-18) I lived in a very small town in upstate New York. I would rather not say the name of the town to protect its sheer natural beauty, but I will say it is near Coxsackie. Now I was young at the time (5-7 -- again don't really remember my age, but this event is in my mind like it was yesterday).

We were in the middle of nowhere surrounded by trees, and being a young boy I liked to go out and play and stay out when it got dusk. We had a pond in the backyard, so I liked to go back there and look around. But one night was different. The area was usually loud with bird, and insect sounds, but not this night. I happened to look at the edge of the woods, and what I saw will stay with me until the day I die.

It was very large -- at least 8 feet tall, hairy as the day is long, bending over a sapling and staring at me. There was still some light out and it seemed to smile at me, as if it wanted me to come closer. But as I backed away, the smile turned into more of a sneer. Then the noise it made was the most god awful thing you have ever heard. It was like a howl with the sound of a dying rabbit (yes, they make a shriek right before they die).

I bolted to the house in record time. I never made it that fast before and slammed the door shut. My parents asked what was wrong, but I couldn't say a word. But the real strange thing happened that night. I don't know exactly when it happened, but when I woke up in the morning, the screen in my bedroom window was ripped out and thrown all the way across the stream next to my window (about 30-40 feet away).

I never saw or heard it again, until about 10 years later a close friend and I were out camping in my backyard. I heard it, but it was far away. We ran back to the house, but teenage pride got the best of us and we went back out there, but this time with a machete, a hatchet, and a large stick. But we never heard it again.


Your True Tales
April 2008

Chupacabras Attack
by CJ

This event happened on May 13 of 2006 in San Antonio, Texas. On this day, my friend was having a family celebration in which two other guys and I were invited. We had dinner and then decided to spend the night in a tent. Our tent had five windows, one right about where I was going to sleep. About 50 yards from our tent was a chicken coop filled with about two dozen chickens.

We all fell asleep at around 12:30. One of the other men woke the rest of us up with a scream. I continued to lie down, listening to his story about why he screamed, with my head leaning slightly against the side of the tent. Then, unexpectedly, I was hit in the head with three sharp nails. Each of these objects were outside the tent. I got up and looked out the small tent window only to see a small creature running on two feet away from the tent. It ran up to a tree and hid behind it. Then it popped its head out from behind the tree and I saw two big yellow-reddish eyes staring directly at me, which made me feel stunned and dazed, like I was in a dream or something.

After a couple of minutes of hearing the creature run by the tent over and over again, I realized it was stalking us. I told my friends what I saw and we decided to make a run for our trucks. One of the guys slowly unzipped the tent, but when I was nearly open, he yelled and fell backward on top of me. He said it was standing in front him staring at him, and then he said, "The quills on its back went straight up when it saw me."

We tried it again and this time we all darted out of the tent, running full speed. But when we nearing the trucks, I slipped and fell in some grass. Everyone else ran by me, leaving me behind. I got up and started running again, but this time I could hear the creature charging after me, directly behind me! But I managed to get there and jump in the bed of the truck and we drove off.

The next day we came back for our stuff and found 14 dead chickens, all mutilated with no blood. We also found footprints with three toes and claws. And where I got hit in the head up against the tent were three claw marks that slashed through the tent and left gashes in my head. I have never spoken of this story until now with anyone besides those friends.


as i've said before, i read these with a grain of salt--it is, after all, an open forum, but i do buy some of them more than others because of the way that they're written or because of some sincerity that comes through.
you decide...

have a great day!
smell ya later!
todd

emerald city comiccon!

okay...

i KNOW that all of you check out craig's blog over at www.craigrousseau.com from time to time and i want to make it clear right here that the reason craig hadn't posted for so long was because we've just kept him so busy, he hasn't even had the time to think about posting anything else.
but ya better hustle over there 'cause that's where he's posted the cover to the all-new, all-different PERHAPANAUTS 5!

go on.
i'll wait.




cool, right?
that's right--choopie alone in bedlam!
but it's nothing like you think...

i'd tell you more about the story, but i know how you like surprises...
: )

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

our next item is our wild and crazy con schedule as craig and i hit the road once more to get as many people as we can to take a look at our favorite perhapanauts comic book! we will be guests at the EMERALD CITY COMICCON in seattle this weekend and, if you're in the neighborhood, please come out and see us! we'll have all the favorites; choopie butt cards, perhapa-postcards, the new trading cards, some of our new york exclusive, double-sided t-shirts, and, of course, copies of the PERHAPANAUTS ANNUAL and the nearly sold-out PERHAPANAUTS 1!!
we're both scrambling to get everything done so that we can go and i plan to have posts for monday and friday done ahead of time so that you won't miss us TOO much...
come out and see us if you're fortunate enough to live out there in the pacific northwest! i've never been out that way before and very i'm excited to go! (that's up around where big was first captured...)

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

a short while back, our pal, mike estelle, sent me this awesome pic of the jersey devil by artist ryan doan!
dig it!



ryan's done a lot of great paranormal cryptozoological pieces, one of my favorites being his dover demon in the book weird new england! i'll hafta see if i can find a copy of that...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

and, while all but one
of these were answered
in your replies, here are
the answers to your

"five for friday"

1. why wasn't the andy griffith statue placed in mayberry?

mayberry is a fictional place.

2. who were the first television couple to be seen sleeping in the same bed?

fred and wilma flintstone

3. who started out as a writer for the smothers brothers before breaking out as a stand up legend in the '70's?

steve martin

4. in 1968, what movie pre-empted the last 50 seconds of the jets-raiders game?

"heidi"

5. match the song with the television show


a. those were the days=5. all in the family

b. suzanne=8. taxi

c. the fishing hole=3. the andy griffith show

d. i'll be there for you=7. friends

e. tossed salads and scrambled eggs=1. frasier

f. where everybody knows your name=6. cheers

g. love is all around=4. mary tyler moore

h. you're my greatest love=2. the honeymooners

'kay--i gotta go get some work done!
smell ya later!
todd

tv land

okay...

we've had so much going on lately and i've had so much to report about conventions and t-shirts and trading cards and the flurry of activity that's been surrounding the re-launch of the PERHAPANAUTS, i realized that it's been quite a while since i posted a plain old plain old post about something fun, something that everyone can relate to...
and so here's an easy goin' post and some fun "five fors..." to take you through the weekend...

because i was raised on television, and because i owe so much to that box and the people who appeared upon it, one of my guilty pleasure goals in life is to get a chance to visit each of the tv land tribute statues in their various locations across this great country. i don't know if i've ever mentioned them before--i might have--but so far there are four such statues paying homage to andy and opie taylor from "the andy griffith show" in mt. airy, north carolina,







mary richards tossing her hat from the opening of "the mary tyler moore show" in minneapolis,







dr. bob hartley from "the bob newhart show" in chicago,










and jackie gleason as ralph kramden from "the honeymooners" at the port authority in new york city.

this last one i took myself, last year, when craig and kelly (upcoming perhapanauts back-up artist and our super-pal, kelly yates!!) and i were making the trek from our hotel to the javitz in nyc. so i've only got three more to see...although i hope they make more!

so...
hoping that the DO make more, who would you pick? what classic tv character or characters do you think should be immortalized in bronze?
lemme know...

and here are your

"five for friday"

1. why wasn't the andy griffith statue placed in mayberry?

2. who were the first television couple to be seen sleeping in the same bed?

3. who started out as a writer for the smothers brothers before breaking out as a stand up legend in the '70's?

4. in 1968, what movie pre-empted the last 50 seconds of the jets-raiders game?

5. match the song with the television show


a. those were the days

b. suzanne

c. the fishing hole

d. i'll be there for you

e. tossed salads and scrambled eggs

f. where everybody knows your name

g. love is all around

h. you're my greatest love



1. frasier


2. the honeymooners

3. the andy griffith show


4. mary tyler moore

5. all in the family

6. cheers

7. friends

8. taxi

have a great weekend!
smell ya later!
todd