Bookshelf:

Recently (Almost) Read & Reviewed:

• Kim Stanley Robinson, The Years of Rice and Salt

Currently Reading:

• Ken MacLeod, Engine City

Next Up:

1. Julian May, The Many-Colored Land
2. Julian May, The Golden Torc
3. China Miéville, Perdido Street Station
4. Daniel Keys Moran, The Long Run
5. Margery Allingham, The Case of the Late Pig

So Cool

Something very cool happened today. And it wasn't finding out that I didn't have any cavities at the dentist!

A couple of years ago, I wrote about a small press comic from the 1980s which I'd loved: Open Season, by Jim Bricker. Then two months later I received an e-mail from the cartoonist himself as a result of the entry, and we exchanged e-mail from time to time, especially as some of his old friends and acquaintances dropped me a line after finding my entry, and I put them in touch with him.

A few months back Jim e-mailed me that he'd found the original color proofs of the covers to the first two issues, which he'd had framed and which had been boxed up for years. And... get this... would I like to buy them from him for the cost of the framing work?

Would I?

Jim is a native of the Bay Area, so after a couple of false tries we hooked up for lunch today, with him dropping by Apple for lunch at the cafeteria. He's been out of the comics biz for a long time, more focused on his career and family, but we had a good time chatting about our lives and background and the comics industry (I'm afraid I might have bored him with my bizarrely-encyclopedic knowledge of things like the legal status of Miracleman). It was a lot of fun!

And yes, I bought the covers from him, including the one shown here, and when I got home I quickly put them up on the wall next to the end bookcase where my comics are stored.

It's very cool to have something which is absolutely unique like that. Even if Open Season isn't a household name (which is a crying shame right there), I'll always appeciate these. Thanks, Jim!

Debbi's off dancing tonight (country line dancing; I don't dance and I'm not country, hence she's off and I'm home). I'm watching the kitties tonight - all four of 'em. Blackjack is full of energy, and Roulette seems happy to just lie under things and ignore everyone. My cats keep coming up and nuzzling me, which is good of them. Overall it's just a nice, quiet evening. Can't complain.

No real plans for the weekend. After the last two weeks, that's probably a good thing. Maybe we'll go play minigolf.