This week my nerdiest claim to fame comes to an end. For more than a decade, one of my creations has appeared in Robert Kirkman’s best comic. No, not that one. I’m referring, of course, to “Invincible.” Back in 2003, I named the comic’s letter column: “PENvinciPALS.” This week “Invincible” comes to an end with… Read More PENvinciPALs: The nerdiest thing I’m proud of
In August I was reading fantasy comics, which mostly means I was reading Bill Willingham comics. Or comics Bill Willingham created that were written by other people. Or comics created by other people that Bill Willingham wrote. Here’s a look at my list for the month. Fairest Vol. 3: The Return of the Maharaja: There… Read More My August comics reading list
July was a sci-fi themed challenge. I enjoyed most of what I read this month, though there were two books I didn’t make it all the way through. I do plan to finish some day, one I just started late in the month, and the other I was reading on my iPad, which I kind… Read More My July comics reading list
Back in 2010, former Saturday Night Live star Rob Schneider was coming to Des Moines to do a stand-up comedy show at the Funny Bone. I was offered the opportunity to interview him. I wasn’t especially excited, mostly because I have a terrible track record of getting comedians to be funny. I’ve had some great conversations… Read More That time I talked to Rob Schneider about Harvey Pekar
Fifty beers, what an accomplishment! Wait, I guess not really. But since I’m not currently working, every little milestone helps. Beer 46: Chateau 4th St. Chipotle Porter ABV: ? Consumed at: Chateau 4th St. Notes: My father-in-law regularly changes up what he’s brewing, but this porter has been a regular for the last few years.… Read More 365 Iowa beers 46-50
May’s reading challenge was a “choose your own” deal, so I decided to read as many Image comics as I could. Some background: I’ve been an Image reader since the company started almost 25 years ago. Yes, I’m aware there was a lot of crap in those early days. For the most part, I read… Read More My May comics reading list
I feel like there was a bit of a sophomore slump for Wizard World Des Moines in 2016. The first year saw heavy hitters like William Shatner, Billy Dee Williams, Lou Ferrigno, Robert Englund and several others. This year the biggest name draw was probably Chloe Bennet from “Agents of SHIELD.” That’s not a slight… Read More Wizard World Des Moines: Kevin Conroy & Loren Lester
UPDATE: Now I’m seeing that there’s some confusion on if reports of Darwyn’s death were accurate. I hope I posted this about 30 years too soon. Holy crap, 2016 has been a rough year. I just woke up with a nasty stomach bug and was flipping through my phone to see on Twitter that cartoonist… Read More RIP Darwyn Cooke, 1962-2016
Last week I wrote about the festering pile of dead and unfunny strips that comprise the current comics page. So is there any hope out there? At one point I would have pointed to The Boondocks, Get Fuzzy and Cul De Sac. Unfortunately, Boondocks creator Aaron McGruder shifted his focus to an animated series that… Read More Is there hope for the comics page?
In April, the challenge was to read comics featuring Superman, Batman or Wonder Woman, due to a big movie getting released at the end of March. I decided to put my focus on some unread Baman that have piled up recently. In particular, I had a lot of Scott Snyder New 52 Batman comics. I… Read More My April Comics Reading List
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