Comics Mayhem!!!

Hey everyone! Well, our Kickstarter for our EC HORROR comics tribute "TALES OF SEQUENTIAL MAYHEM" was a sweet success! We got officially funded yesterday and then some. So I am putting the finishing touches on the files before they go to the printer today and tomorrow. Here's a look at a color version of a pinup of "ZOMBIE QUEEN" I did for the book. It appears as a fake ad for a drive in movie:

Zombies are lead by her boobs!

I've been pencilling new STARSLAM strips and I uploaded Chapter 5 to the site. So we're good until July. Its looking likely that I will get all the original art done before that too. So I am thinking by the fall time I will have a full book for that comic in the online store here. I've done too many book plugs this early part of the year so I don't want to drop that on you now. Besides, we got our SUPER ONLINE BOOK SALE going on right now. Don't want to get any of my books lost in the mix as we go along.

So this makes FOUR books published by me this year. With a FIFTH one promised around the fall. Eh? What cha think? Aren't we the hardest working indie comic people out there right now? :) Its all for me celebrating 20 years of doing this, this year. I love this life!

In non-pluggy type of news, I've been working my way through Band of Brothers and re-watching Game of Thrones with the wife. Almost done with the first show. Its quite good. I also have been moving around furniture and I am ready to get a big box and start tossing crap. The weather outside is hot and then cold here in Michigan, but I am forcing spring to hurry up via doing some hardcore cleaning and moving. I moved the living room and office around a bit. Hopefully the kids stay out of my books because they are now at a level where they can tamper with them. They are gonna hear a lot of "NOs" from me!

I've also been reading some of the comics I've bought recently and forgot I read or giving them a fair shake read on the toilet (as I often do). All New X-men, Batman, The Dirty Pair, Empowered, Invincible, 90's Prophet, Soul Saga and others. I also finally got my buddy Jay Fosgitt's Bodie Troll trade. I gotta make a list of the comics and trades I am missing. And I am trying to finish Neil Gaiman's The Ocean at the End of the Lane, but with all the work I am getting done, I don't have much time to sit and read a book like I did. Hopefully soon I'll get ahead of where I need to be and then I can slack off some more to read some new shit.

As far as vinyl, I haven't picked up too many new records. The most recent aquirements are Pearl Jam Vitology, Def Leppard's Pyromania and Saxon Denim and Leather. I did order White Zombie's Astro Creep 2000 and it should come in soon. Record Store Day is coming up and I got my eye on that Type O Negative record. I scored tickets to see Nine Inch Nails and Soundgarden for the summer as well. Finally going to scratch those bands off my list.

I suppose thats enough updating for now. Be sure that you are keeping up with my PODCAST for additional news and talkingzzzz. Much love to you all!

T

Year End Lists - Xmas - More

Hey everyone! We're close to Santa's arrival! You got alla yer shoppin' done yet? Wife gets her bonus this week and thats when we are gonna rock and roll. We got all the kids squared away, but not ourselves! So looking to do that this weekend. I'm anticipating all vinyl-related materials. :)

Hey folks! The 200th Episode of the IDIOTHEAD MORNING SHOW is up, and we're at episode #202 now, where I do my annual year end TOP 5 lists and all that. I will redo it here in the blog (see below) but this is audio extra content, plus my list of RIPs of people we lost this year. Download and subscribe via Itunes right HERE. Its free! Can't beat that!

I've been working on some card commissions this week, however I did go through a bout of sickness too. It really derailed me. A nice feeling of weakness and nausea. Awesome. But I am back to 99% today and feeling good. I need to rock and roll on these cards and other commissions tonight and this weekend and get caught back up. I'm really behind on shit. I need to light the fire here!

Scott is having his year end/Xmas parties at school and that is fun. Holidays are great now that I get to celebrate with kids. I finally get over my sadness over the holiday season of bad old memories and get to make new ones. I enjoy shopping for them. I made my oldest son happy by scoring him an Xbox360 and we got some choice things for the other kids too. Very exciting times. I just gotta shop for myself and the wife now. She's easy. Jewelry, fuzzy pants/socks. Etc. But I got a few fun things in mind for her. I won't state it here in case she happens to read my bloggy.

2014 CONVENTION DATES are already beginning! The MSU COMICS FORUM in Lansing, MI will be On Feb 22nd on the campus of Michigan State University. I'll be set up there for the third year in a row! For info on the show go HERE.

Also, I am going to be at CHERRY CAPTIAL CON May 23-25th. My first time there! Details on the show are HERE.

Okay, without further bullshit, here's my LISTS of the year for 2013:

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BEST NEW ALBUM:

Ghost – Infantessimum

Alice in Chains – The Devil put Dinosaurs Here

Nine Inch Nails – Hesitation Marks

Rob Zombie – Venomous Rat Regeneration Vendor

Pearl Jam – Lightning Bolt

Black Sabbath – 13

The Winery Dogs

Ghost – If you have Ghost EP

Nirvana – In Utero Deluxe

Saxon - Sacrifice

BEST SONGS FOR THE YEAR:

“Year Zero”  - Ghost

“Get Lucky” – Daft Punk

“Came Back Haunted” – NIN

“Hollow” – Alice in Chains

“Rare Jam” – Nirvana (In Utero Unreleased song)/Crucified – (cover) Ghost

BEST MOVIES:

(to be honest, I haven’t seen a lot of new movies this year. Its hard to get out of the house with the kids. But the two I have seen and will put on this list are)

Sound City—EASILY My favorite movie of the year

Gravity

(and yes, TREK isn’t on my list. WOW!)

BOOKS:

(these are books that I read this year and ranked)

Ghost Rider – Neil Peart

Smoke and Mirrors – Neil Gaiman

These are the Voyages – Cushman

The War of Art – Pressfield

Happy Endings – Jim Norton

(Hon. Mention: Girlvert – Ashley Blue)

BEST EVENTS:

Concerts I went to: Rush, Black Sabbath, Saxon. All fun events!

Wizard World – I sold well. It was a great vacation. The aftermath home was not so good, but the show itself went great.

Rediscovering my Love of Vinyl Records – This is a newer development but I am submerged deeply.

Wife’s New Job – Wife got a new job as the store manager of a FIVE BELOW and she’s kicking ass at it. The money is better, she’s getting treated better and she’s really performing well, so much so that the president of the company is noticing. This leads too…

Me quitting The Strip Club – A long time coming. Glad it finally happened. Read the aftermath in my upcoming tell all book! (Due 2014)

WORST EVENTS:

Bankruptsy – Declaring it was shameful but it worked out for the best for us. Happy we did it now. But we’re working on re-building.

Scotts Meds – Trying to figure out what will help him learn what he needs to has been a roller coaster.

Star Trek Into Darkness sucked my fat balls. Yes.

Dental Surgery – All year I was dealing with a broken, rotten wisdom tooth. Got it pulled in November and its been wonderful ever since. The surgery itself was easy as hell, but the anticipation sucked.

10^th Wedding Anniversary – Not the Anniversary sucked, but we couldn’t really do anything for it. I wanted to have a big event and gather our friends but with everything going on, it just seemed impossible. I regret that we couldn’t. Maybe for the 15^th or 20^th?

BEST TV SHOWS

Breaking Bad

Walking Dead

Toy Hunter

Doctor Who (especially the 50^th Special!)

For What its Worth (helped me rediscover vinyl)

TOP THINGS I’M LOOKING FORWARD TO IN 2014:

Finishing all my projects. Especially my written books.

My 20^th Anniversary in comics celebration and convention tour.

Delving deeper into my vinyl obsession.

Paying off all cars with the wife’s new job bonus structure.

Continuing improving myself physically and mentally and ignoring  old bad habits like focusing on internet hate and social media. Just disconnecting from it and not caring anymore.

Thanks for reading! Be safe this weekend! Peace and Love, Peace and Love.

T