There’s a woman named Ann Burton who is a member of the gym that I’m also a member of. Ann is an elementary school teacher– I believe she teaches the 3rd grade. Every year, she asks me to come and speak to her class about comic books–how I got into the business of being a comic book artist, the characters I’ve worked on– what my daily routine is like…. that sort of thing. I’ve done that for the past several years… I can’t remember exactly how many, but I believe it’s been about 5. And at the end of each talk, I then proceed to do head sketches for every student in her class of each student’s choice of character. This past year, Ann’s class was substantially larger than in past years. I believe there were 28 kids this past time. And so, since it was also on one of the last days of the school year (it’s hard to believe that the 2005-2006 school year is already about to begin…..), I stayed past the class period and finished up what I hadn’t done while class was in session, working from a list of what the kids wanted. The sketches were then to be handed to them the next day, which was the last day of the school year. Finishing up took me about another hour and a half or so, and so what was to be a one hour presentation turned into closer to two and a half hours. But I didn’t mind… I think this was while I was still waiting on script for my first issue of FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD SPIDER-MAN, and so I had the time to spare. It’s always very heartening to see the enthusiasm that kids have for comic books and their interest in the drawing of comics, even if not all the kids actually read comics. There were, though, a couple of kids who surprised even ME with their knowledge of comic books and comic book characters this time. So all in all, it was a fun experience. I think Ann felt bad, however, that it took so much time for me to complete all the sketches for the kids– because one day a couple of weeks ago, she left a greeting car with a gift card to PETSMART enclosed in it at the front desk of the gym for me. The card had a nice note in it thanking me for staying late to do the sketches for the kids, and said that knowing I had a cat, she thought I’d like to use the gift card to buy something for Charlie. So I dropped by PETSMART this past Wednesday while I was out running errands to buy Charlie some cat food with the card.

All that leads up the subject of this post: While I was in line with 3 bags of food for Charlie, I looked past the registers to the pet grooming center. It’s a rather large enclosed room, with huge plate glass windows that allow everyone in the store to see what’s going on. It’s always pretty busy– it has, I think, four tables, and they’re almost always all occupied with pampered canine loved ones every time I’m in the store. It’s fun to watch the reactions of the various dogs to getting groomed and washed. You can always tell the veterans who are used to (and very much enjoy) the grooming sessions from the newbies who aren’t used to it and get a little freaked out by having someone washing them and trimming their fur. This particular time, as I was standing in the checkout lane– I saw what looked like a German Shepherd mix (what else it had in its gene pool I couldn’t tell) … and he/she was, I think, the most over weight do I’ve ever seen in my entire life. This dog was so round that I don’t think I could have gotten both my arms around it and been able to touch my hands together, and I’ve got very, very long arms. He/she was up on the table, leashed to the holding rod as all the dogs are… and was sitting on his/her haunches. Every time the groomer would prompt the dog to stand up so she could try to trim the fur on the backs of its haunches, she’d get about 3 or 4 clips done, and then it would sit right back down. It was also panting heavily, and it was very chilly in the store– they had the AC up full blast, so it couldn’t have been because it was hot. I’m sure it kept sitting down because its weight puts a constant stress on its legs and joints. And I’m sure it was panting because its weight is causing a huge strain on its heart, and thus its lungs. I knew it was obviously a well-loved dog, because it was being treated to a grooming session, and they don’t come cheap. But I’m sure that same love his (or her) owners feel for the dog have lead them to overfeed it to an enormous degree. And if that’s the case, that love is really cruelty, because that overweight condition is going to vastly shorten this dog’s life. I’m hoping I’m wrong– and there’s a chance that it’s some sort of medical condition that has caused this dog to gain too much weight. But the alternative– owners who overfeed their pets, and feed them fatty table scraps to boot– is something that I’ve seen way too often. There’s a lot of pet owners who love their companions into an early grave that way.

This is entry 137.

Mike

I realized with some alarm today that it had been quite some time since my last post…! I didn’t know that so many days had passed– and I apologize for that. I don’t have much to talk about, really…. no axes to grind or problems to air out. Those of you who give a fig will be happy to know that I got my car back last Wednesday and it’s been running just fine every since. I do, however, feel very paranoid about the temperature of the engine, so I spend as much time gawking at the temperature guage as I do the road while I’m driving. No problems, though– so it’s all good.

Today, Marvel released images of the second issues (November) of all the ‘SPIDER-MAN: THE OTHER’ covers at WIZARD WORLD Chicago. So I thought for those of you who might not have seen them, I’d post the cover from FRIENDLY NEIGHBORHOOD here. So here ya go:

OK… it’s a quick one this time.

This is Entry 136

Mike

It might be time to buy a new car. I have a 1996 Isuzu Rodeo, and it’s been a wonderful vehicle for me. No problems at all. But the last week or so have been a little frustrating. Week before this past, the battery died on me. Fortunately, I had just returned from running some errands, and had pulled over to check the mail at my box on the road in front of my house. When I started to drive up to pull into my driveway, my car stalled, and wouldn’t start again. The big problem is that since I live alone, and don’t really have any friends or family around, I had no one to drive me anywhere to get a new battery. And I didn’t really know that the battery was the problem at the time anyway– it could have been something more serious. So I had the car towed to the garage I usually take it to for regular maintenance. They called the next day to tell me that it was a simple battery change needed, and so I took a cab into town and retrieved the car.

This past Friday, while also out running errands, I noticed that the engine started making weird noises. I stopped into my regular garage, which fortunately was very nearby and asked them to check it out. They couldn’t find anything wrong. So I took off again, and the noises got worse. I quickly returned, but again– they couldn’t see a problem. So I took off for home again, and although there was some noise, I just kept going. By the time I got home, there was steam coming from the vents in the hood right at the bottom of the windshield. I opened the hood of the car, and the liquid in the radiator coolant overflow container (made of heavy translucent plastic) was boiling like mad. So the car was overheating. AND SO– I had to have it towed back to the garage, and they were finally able to make an initial diagnosis. The temperature gauge sensor had been disconnected somehow, so it wasn’t reading the engine temp. — and the fan that cools the radiator when the car’s not in motion had burnt out. Problem is, they couldn’t get a new one until TODAY. Fortunately, my parents were already coming to visit on Saturday, so we spent the weekend together, and I was able to get around with them until yesterday. They had to leave and get back home, so they left at about 2 p.m.– but I still have no car. I’m hoping to get a call from the garage that they’ve fixed everything– but there’s still the chance that there may be more problems yet. So until I find out, I just have to stay here at home with no way to get around. I’ve always thought that there’s no more frustrating problems than computer and car problems…… and I’ve had both recently.

So if I can get my ride back on the road, I might start looking for a new one……. just to be safe. I’m tired of sitting at home.

This is entry 135.

Mike

I’ve had a lot of folks asking me lately what I think about the big dust-up over the WIZARD folks wanting to start a WIZARD WORLD show in Atlanta during the same dates as the HEROES CON in Charlotte, NC. I have to be honest and say that I didn’t share the same sense of blistering outrage at their attempt to crush Shelton Drum’s long running and beloved show– because I really wasn’t surprised that they would try to do something like this. As they have been starting WW shows in the many different parts of the country over the past couple of years, I thought it was just a matter of time before Gareb Shamus would get around to trying to take over the South East. Y’see, I don’t think that Gareb Shamus really loves comics– if he ever did. I know that he CLAIMS to love the medium of the comic book and everything about it…. and he may very well HAVE loved comics early on when he started WIZARD MAGAZINE. But now, I’m of the firm opinion that the only thing that Gareb loves about comics anymore is making money from them. He wants to monopolize the ‘collector market’– which is why he’s trying to squeeze out any other decent sized show with his own extravaganzas. If he TRULY loved comics his magazine would cover more than just the same massively over-hyped output from Marvel and DC every single issue. The world of comic books encompasses SO MUCH MORE than Marvel and DC; there’s so many wonderful smaller publishers out there offering amazingly creative work– publishers like ONI, FANTAGRAPHICS, DRAWN AND QUARTERLY, DARK HORSE, IMAGE…. the list goes on and on. But books from those companies are lucky if they ever get a brief mention in the pages of WIZARD. If it’s not X-MEN, SPIDER-MAN, SUPERMAN, BATMAN, AVENGERS or the latest big budget superhero flick, forget it. Even their attempts at covering the indy and small press with WIZARD EDGE concentrated on Jeff Smith and Kevin Smith…. guys who get more than their fair share of press already. And they do this type of coverage in WIZARD to maximize sales.

I will admit to having a personal bias against Gareb Shamus and his magazine. There was a time, when I was working on SENSATIONAL SPIDER-MAN with Todd Dezago years back that I WANTED to be in their mag. They placed me in their ‘TOP 10 ARTISTS’ list many times during that time. And I would do FREE ARTWORK for them any time they asked me to as prizes for contests they would frequently run. I also did lots of pieces for their articles– and accepted, let’s say, less than fair market payment for those illustrations just to make them happy in hopes of staying in the magazine’s good graces. And they flew me to their big show in Chicago during those years as a guest, it’s true. Unfortunately, they never provided table space for me. They only wanted me to sign at their booth for 1 hour each day of the show and the rest of the time, I had nowhere to be. Honestly, I would have preferred to be home working and earning money. But the fact of the matter is, once I was no longer drawing a SPIDER-MAN title, I was no longer of any use to them. Todd and I tried to get some coverage for our creator-owned TELLOS comic, but were rebuffed. And when we joined with Mark Waid, Kurt Busiek and many other great creators to launch GORILLA COMICS, WIZARD proclaimed that we were dead in the water before we even got out of the gate– which became a self fulfilling prophecy, as fans and retailers read that and decided not to try our books at all. After all, WIZARD magazine said we wouldn’t last, so why waste money on GORILLA…? I still fume over that one. As I have come to learn, if one isn’t working on something that Gareb and Co. deem worthy, one doesn’t exist. And past generosity to the magazine means nothing– there is no reciprocation in that regard. But sure enough– I recently received an invitation from a WIZARD contact through my web site to their November Texas show. Now that I’m drawing SPIDER-MAN again…. lo and behold, I exist again….! Well, I won’t be going.

So I suppose you have to take my opinion on the WIZARD WORLD vs. HEROES CON debate with a grain of salt. But consider this: Shelton Drum truly loves comics and everything they represent. He’s the biggest SPIDER-MAN fan I’ve every encountered…. and he’s also one of the nicest men I’ve ever met. He truly believes that comic books are one of the greatest forms of entertainment ever invented. And his HEROES CONVENTION is a celebration of that form of entertainment– a huge party he throws every year to share that love and excitement with anyone who believes as he does. Shelton certainly doesn’t get rich from these shows, by any means. In fact, I’d wager just the opposite is the case. But he continues to do them every year despite that. He’s always tried to bring the best, most exciting guests he can to the show to share with fans. And HEROES CON for ME, PERSONALLY, is a place that has fostered many wonderful experiences and memories over the 20 years I’ve attended the show as a fan, and later as a professional. I’ve met many wonderful people there, formed lasting friendships and met some of my personal creative heroes (pun firmly intended) as well. It’s the kind of family friendly and comic book-centric show that everyone can be happy and proud to attend. We need MORE shows like Shelton’s HEROES CON– and not a monopolized show circuit by folks only in it for the money and not the enjoyment of the medium we all love so much. We’ve already got a monopoly on the DISTRIBUTION of comics– we don’t need any more of that kind of thing. It only hurts the business.

The fallout of all this has resulted in some very great creators signing up to appear at Shelton’s show next year. Folks like Warren Ellis, Mark Millar, Bryan Hitch and J. Michael Straczynski have all lined up to make the trek to Charlotte. And that’s wonderful. But I know that Shelton has also tried very hard to get others like Brian Michael Bendis, Jim Lee, Michael Turner and J. Scott Campbell to come to the show as well, but to no avail. I’d love to see some or all of those guys make it to Charlotte next year and help spread a little of their creative genius here in the Carolinas. I know they’d be warmly and enthusiastically welcomed and truly appreciated by the great folks who attend Shelton’s show.

This is entry 134.

Mike

We are probably going to break a record with the temperature here today. It’s forcast to be 100 degrees– and I’m sure it’ll hit that if not higher. I just checked the outside temp guage on my heating/cooling unit thermostat, and the reading was 106. Now, I’m sure that’s with the humidity and the sun beating directly on the exterior sensor, but that’s just what it would feel like to be outside at this time, I’m sure. I was out running errands yesterday for a few hours– and every time I had to leave the air conditioned sanctuary of my car, it would get a bit difficult to breath. I never knew what the weather forcasters meant by staying indoors when the ‘heat index’ would reach danger levels– especially for old folks and very young children as well as folks with asthma. But I got a little bit of understanding yesterday. The humidity is so high my breathing was a bit labored…. and I’m in pretty good shape. I can’t imagine what it must be like for those folks in the more vulnerable catagories. I’m just very, very grateful that my heat pump is keeping it a wonderful 77 degrees in the house. As much trouble as I’ve had with it over the years, I was terribly afraid that it would choose this time as a perfect opportunity to punk out on me…… but fortunately, it’s holding strong so far.

I hope everyone out there in the path of this temperature beat-down is keeping cool and safe. It’s a perfect day for staying indoors and drawing or reading comics…!

This is Entry 133.

Mike