oldmilwaukee6er

Some Splendors... Oh yeah

My most recent pickups...

She did it; she emailed me the following this afternoon. Supporting images added by me, otherwise her words. The Lady Speaks(!). . . About Harley Quinn Please bear with me here. I know many of you are completely entranced by the fair lady clown and her exploits, but I’ve been struggling with Harley Quinn for a while. I fall in and out of love with her at an astonishing rate and I’ve been trying to figure out why. Here’s what I’ve come up with so far. . . I’m not excited about the Suicide Squad movie. I don’t want that to be Harley’s first big-screen appearance. She doesn’t look like a harlequin, she looks like a college woman making a perpetual walk of shame. She looks like she’d smell. Bad. That’s fine if you’re Lobo or even Wolverine, but Harley shouldn’t look she’d be covered in a miasma of cigarettes, stale bourbon, dirty feet, garlic armpit, and peppermint (as she tries to chew gum to cover it all up). But that’s what this Harley looks like. Suicide Squad Harley I watched Batman The Animated Series pretty religiously through high school and like many people I was intrigued by Dr. Harleen Frances Quinzel, MD. What wasn’t to love? She was an intelligent, advance degree-holding career woman who falls in love with the ultimate sociopathic bad boy. Half of Hollywood’s romantic comedies start this way. I loved her voice. I loved her self-referential harlequin costume and the giant smile painted on her face that hid her perpetually broken heart. For the Joker is incapable of love. He’s too invested in his sado-masochistic relationship with Batman. Harley knows this herself and her awareness and inability or unwillingness to leave gives her a vulnerability that makes her relatable. We’ve all been in situations (a bad job, bad relationship, bad friendship, bad fantasy football quarterback HAHA) that we knew were awful but we just couldn’t leave. I loved that she was allowed to outsmart the Joker and Batman on occasion. Here was a woman who could hold her own against the DC boys. Animated-style Harley Except for the whole domestic violence thing. Upon a recent re-watch of some of her key episodes, I realized I was witnessing the Joker beating, strangling, shooting Harley- all played for laughs. It’s not so funny. The animated series puts Harley in a “Burning Bed” (1984 movie starring Farrah Fawcett) situation where you actually root for her to be as violent, if not more violent than the Joker. Harley Joker moments: This violent homicidal nature is played up in the current iterations of Harley, including Amanda Conner’s work. At times Harley is presented as a female Deadpool, all foul-mouthed and breaking the fourth wall. I also take umbrage with Harley’s latest stripper clown costumes. I know the Arkham games (sooooooo much fun to play) are a strong influence on how she’s currently drawn but the harlequin outfit was so much sexier than the crop top and hot pants with platforms that she’s currently running around in. I don’t like that Harley who will randomly attack a bus driver and act, well, like the Joker. The Joker’s motivations are purely for his own amusement. He’s a full-blown sociopath incapable of empathy. Originally, Harley’s violent tendencies were cultivated by the Joker and used for specific purposes. Now she seems aimless but she’s not as terrifying as the Joker. Arkham Asylum game Harley & New52 Harley Harley shines brightest when she’s with her female friends, especially Ivy. Then Harley is confident, funny, quirky, insane and intelligent at the same time. We see her seemingly endless love for animals. I realized this as I read her recent road trip issue. That’s the Harley I know and love! Not the Harley who goes to San Diego with some randos, beats up a few people, crashes a party on a balloon, and makes out with an entire roomful of Joker cosplayers. Not the bizarre Christmas Harley who pretends to be a little girl’s pet. No! When Harley is with Ivy and Selena, she’s amazing. She always has been her best when with her fellow women. I’m surprised at how little I enjoy Conner/Palmiotti’s work with Harley. I enjoy both of them immensely on other works. Heck, Conner illustrated one of my all-time favorite characters from the 90’s (Painkiller Jane; created by Palmiotti/Quesada). But with Harley their work seems forced. Maybe they’re trying to cater to the slutty violent Harley that fans want. Maybe they don’t really understand her. I don’t know. But the road trip special gives me hope.

Friday thoughts THURS interview went pretty well, one can never fully know until the offer comes in. Seven, count ‘em seven, individuals interviewing me. I gave it my best; remained humble, balanced, and observed some very positive feedback around the room, but one never knows. On the positive side, I broke the ice, revamped my resume to highlight instructional design work, and I can look outside my current institution. This. Will. Happen. After the interview, I slipped down to the LCS and chatted with my comic guy. He says that the 5th week of any month is usually pretty slow in terms of new books, and that Marvel saves their annuals for the 5th week. We talked music too, as we share some common ground in classic rock and jam bands. The Chris Robinson Brotherhood is playing Turner Ballroom on Sunday night and he is going with some friends and invited me. I may go (haven’t bought the ticket yet), but honestly I need a working/grading weekend as the WED class gives me 9 credits and I have to stay on top of those. However, music may be a nice reward for a job well done. Last night I took the lady out to see our favorite local band, the Magnificents (house band for Deadman’s Carnival), perform at the cigar bar. Four piece band, classic swing/bop Louis Jordan, Cab Calloway, Sam Cooke, some Tom Waits. Good stuff and no cover. First Friday of the month is Deadman’s Carnival- a Milwaukee based music/variety show- side show acts, vaudeville, burlesque, etc. We attend every once in a while ($15/ea). Still plugging away at Gotham. Very much enjoying it, but the Fish / Dollmaker plotline is fuuuuuuuugged up. I am a big one for positive psychology and generally do not put those images in my head. Oh well, it is still a good show and I cannot wait to keep watching. We killed our cable in 2013 and haven’t looked back- focusing on Roku, Netflix, & Amazon Prime as our main sources for content, and buying a digital antenna that gets about 40 HD stations ($40). The only things we miss are live sports. College and NFL football we can watch on network TV, and asked a friend log me into the Watch ESPN channel (some soccer) and most Liverpool matches can be streamed online, so there are workarounds. Cable TV is going the way of the land line telephone (we killed that in 2008). I put down the future of comics post I was working on TUES. I want to pick it back up soon and keep plugging away- almost three pages, single spaced already. The next steps are to support some assertions and then apply some futurist theories to the general themes that bubble up. So far, the general themes are pretty intuitive (as many are already happening) and so I want to at least try and be predictive, if possible. I asked the lady if she would consider writing some posts (“The lady speaks,” we have been calling it), and I am going to keep leaning on her, as she is on the fore of many things geek and teaching a visual arts course that focuses on video games. Finally, I have enjoyed writing. As future months unfold, I may not be able to keep up the pace of the journal, but it has been a healthy exercise for me. 1) I do not have a lot of people that I can share my hobby with. The lady gets it, and I am blessed to be able to share so much with her. The chef gets it, and so I can share some information with him. And these boards get it. Those are my outlets, and I am thankful. 2) I get to talk about money a little, which is generally gauche, and so I do not get this outlet in real life. Maybe you know what I mean… that moment you tell your friends (or family) and they look at you like ‘you spent $300 on a comic?’ One only does that once. Finish strong this week! Om

The Thursday One (10/1) Soundtrack: The Thursday One this week is 3 books, with regular pulls dominating this week (and I worked all day yesterday, not hitting the LCS until this afternoon). Based on my review of the forums this past week, it appears that I hit my first solid spec book when I bought that all-ages Harley Quinn crossover (Scooby-Doo Team-Up #12). I posted last week that I thought it was the usual spec pressures that pushed this book to the fore, namely character (old school Harley & not the stripper clown), TV rumors, and the perceived lower print run of all-age title. It appears at least two of those pressures will serve to keep this books appreciating in the near term, namely the old school, animated style Harley (slight homage to BA12) and the low print run (confirmed somewhere around 6700-7000 copies). I think I will try to flip a few of my spec books at the next Mighty Con in November and see what results I get. This week’s pulls… two for the lady and one for me: **Sandman Overture 6 **Jem & the Holograms Outrageous Annual 1 **Spawn 256 (the longest legacy numbered title in comics) Me and my Spawn-O Spawn, as previously said, is pretty much destined for a skim, bag/board, and put it away in a box. However, Spawn represents something more symbolic for me as collector. I have written in the past (namely Newshane’s journal) that I collected Spawn regularly for close to 20 years, often hand-selecting the best of the copies on the LCS shelf. A few newsstand issues (63, 131, 133) dot the times I moved across the country, lost a LCS, etc. As of this writing, I have 1-149 complete and am missing 13 issues for 1-170. I have 200 and several of the homage covers (221-231; display purposes) and I have been run-collecting again since 250. Simply put, I am nostalgic for Spawn. Fun facts about my Spawn collection: •I once owned 100 copies of #1 & sold them on consignment during college for beer money. I have three left and they are stunners, the best copies of the original 100 •#63 newsstand was bought during the summer of 1997, I was living in sin with my eventual wife in Missoula, MT, canvassing for clean water and cooking at a Mexican restaurant. Awesome. My lady never liked Mexican food growing up, but I would bring her home shrimp/mushroom quesadillas when we were poor and she loved them. Coincidentally, she now loves a variety of Mexican food. •I have 13+ duplicates!? Probably the product of moves, college, or light/dark covers where I was trying to find a flawless copy- 166 variant? 151 variant? 57, 50, 30(2), 25, 23, 21, 18(2), 12, 9, 1(2) •Angela appearances- 9, 62, 89, 96-100 •I also have- Spawn the Movie TPB, Blood & Shadows, & Simony •Finally, I have two CGC books- CGC 9.8 #100 Ross variant & CGC 9.6 #101SS Perez & Medina

Celebrate the wins, celebrate the losses Soundtrack: My lady and I have formed several informal rules for our relationship in the nearly 17 years since our nuptials, but one important one for us is- you celebrate the wins, and you celebrate the losses. Together. Last week was a storm of creative output, spurred on by me finally breaking my procrastination and testing the job market (successfully too- I have a solid interview on Thursday for a new position). I like to describe myself as gainfully underemployed, mostly doing adjunct and administrative work in higher education since relocating to the Brew City in 08 (in the middle of the Great Recession). At times, I have held three jobs and made more money than at any point in my history, and more recently had my steady position cut back to quarter-time. I like to say that I have survived five layoffs since late 2012, and survived would be the operative word and not thrived. At times, I have indulged my p/t status, for example, we had a mini retirement of sorts this summer and I have had a chance to work a variety of volunteer positions and even worked a lucrative consulting gig on a whim. Plenty of ups and downs, and last week was an up week. ANYways, it makes karmic sense that I would hit a road bump. And that came with the return of my first CGC package on Monday night… CGC 3.0 Justice League of America #1 (1960) Ouch right!? I got the grade I was hoping for, but clearly missed (based on the designation C-1) an obvious small color touch. The purple label of doom (PLOD). Moreover, the color touch (CT) keeps this label Restored, as the reinforced spine would likely have led to a Conserved Label. Immediately upon opening the package, I went into a negative space (shame-spiral). However, I breathed a little and began to gain a little focus, and after scooping up the lady from work then we went for a walk and ½ off burgers and pints at a fave local spot. To celebrate the loss. In doing so, I gained a little perspective. 1. This does not really change my approach to this book. If this was a 3.0 blue label I might have flipped it around time for the movie, I might not have. I certainly would be tempted to, as that is money I could put toward my ASM1 savings. However, one of my main goals is to downsize into SA Keys for a long-term hedge against the market and inflation. That is what the ASM1 symbolizes. 2. I cannot beat myself up too much on the CT, as before I purchased the book two very reputable dealers (which I will not name) held it. Everyone missed it. And this is only the second time it has happened to me, though the first when a few hundred dollars are involved. Still, there is a very real lesson here and the lesson is one I will take to heart. Continue to educate myself on resto; be very cautions buying hot books, and consider buying the book already slabbed. 3. If you collect long enough, this is going to happen. Everything does not happen for a reason, but mistakes do happen. There are all sorts of memes and ‘tinternet’ wisdom on the topic of mistakes, but my point today is that you have to learn to forgive yourself. Sure learn a lesson, better prepare, ALL THAT JAZZ, but also learn to forgive yourself. When I woke up this morning and saw the book sitting on the dining room table, I smiled. It does not make me angry. I still love it, and WILL for some time. I will HAVE TO since it is now worth half what I have into it! C'est la vie, Om

100 years of observations Soundtrack: This weekend my side of the family gathered in north central Illinois to honor my grandmother Grace, who celebrated her 100th birthday. Amazing woman and one that I was pretty close to, as we wrote for years and she loves my spitfire lady even more. It was a fun celebration. My grandmother received a birthday card from the President, and several tokens from companies to whom she has brand loyalty (all my oldest sister’s doing), including Skippy peanut butter, Bugles, Reynold’s wrap, Oscar Meyer, etc. I particularly associate her with white bread, real butter, Bugles/Fritos (and her shrimp dip), Hellman’s mayonnaise and Velveeta cheese. All the things we could never have as children. Sometimes I like to think about all the amazing things that she saw in her lifetime: The Great Depression, WWII, the advent of the interstate system, air travel & television, just to name a few. I like to think about what amazing advancements OUR generation will see (I’m a Gen Xer). I use her as an example in my classroom and ask ‘the kids’ about what killed us 100 years ago versus what kills us now (generally infectious diseases versus lifestyle diseases)? Or whether the quality of life is increasing or declining? What are the amazing things we have seen / will see in our lifetimes? Certainly the internet (I mean I took typing and drafting in high school) The exponential growth of human population, information & technology The convergence of the above (after the original Shift Happens videos ; or the rise of mobile phones or 3D printing) The unknown future of the above; the theory of accelerated returns The death of the gold watch, the brass ring; the one career (I am closing in on my 4th) The loss of childhood (the loss of play, the overscheduling, the rise of the helicopter parent) The singularity, when our species becomes something other than sapiens ( technologie?) the *spoon* autoedit Peak child, the end to fast population growth Peak oil, the moment maximum extraction is reached and then begins to decline The mapping of the human genome Nanobots in our bloodstream? Augmented reality? The rise of geek culture? Or better… the death of counterculture, where everything is mainstream? What will we see for the future of comics? A nice topic for an upcoming post methinks (already doing a little synthesis here). Have a great Tuesday! Quiet one for me and so I will indulge a little creativity and work ahead a little.

LEGO wants you to build an $800 video game Soundtrack (in honor of the blood moon): The lady (the gamer in the family) and I have been following news on the new Lego Dimensions game via teh interwebs and blogosphere. LEGO Dimensions "LEGO Dimensions" requires physical toys, which can be used as interactive pieces in the video game. According to Verrier (2015), “Warner and Lego are late entrants into the toys-to-life category (estimated to be a $1B industry). Activision pioneered the concept in 2011 with its popular "Skylanders" game. Walt Disney Co. also has had success with "Infinity," which was introduced in 2013 and combines characters from Disney, Marvel and Pixar movies. And Nintendo made a splash last year with its game "Amiibo" (para. 17). The starter pack, which comes with the game, three characters, and a vehicle that you assemble, will sell for about $100 (a typical video game costs $59.99; Acuna, 2015) Additional characters, adventures, and levels can be added to the game over time. For example, level packs come with a character, vehicle, gadget, and an added level to the game. Team packs come with two characters along with a vehicle and gadget. In addition, fun packs come with a character and vehicle OR gadget (Acuna, 2015). The breakdown (after Acuna, 2015) Thirty seven different supplemental game packs are featured in the checklist / poster included with the starter pack. They are: **7 level packs at $29.99 ($209.93) **3 team packs at $24.99 ($74.97) **27 fun packs at $14.99 ($404.73) _______________________________ As stated by Acuna (2015) “If you were to buy everything, including the $100 starter pack, you would spend: $789.62 (before tax).” An $800 video game! Targeting ages 7-14. WTF!? Mark this watershed moment, readers, as between now and Deadpool’s theatrical release in February 2016… this marks the peak of the boom, the largest circumference of the bubble. Once Batman vs. Superman hits (March ‘16) and begins to underperform, and assuming JLA c. 2017 will underperform relative to Avengers (which I am), then we will look back fondly on the 2015 Convention season as the peak of the bubble. Now we just have to hope the comic companies respect the classic properties, the source material, the intellectual property (IP)… like Fantastic Four, X-Men, Wolverine, or Batman (read LEGO Batman farce). And we have to worry about companies cashing out of the boom… Oh. Natch. Signs of bubbles Limited editions High quality printing / paper Mainstream press focus Movies! Buzz about adaptation to other mediums Pandering to collectors specifically- variants, polybags, gimmicks, novelty items Expansion in price guide publications Enormous supply of high grade Increase in specialty shops Increase prices (e.g. Marvel 65c > $1.25 in 4-5yrs) Companies cashing out. E.g. like Valiant > Acclaim for $65M or Valiant to China for $100M Constant reboots References Acuna, K. (2015). Here's everything that comes with the new $100 LEGO Dimensions video game. Tech Insider [blog]. Retrieved from http://www.techinsider.io/lego-dimensions-unboxing-2015-9 Verrier, R. (2015, Sept. 23). Why Warner Bros. new Lego video game budget rivals what it pays for a tentpole movie. LA Times [online]. Retrieved from http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/envelope/cotown/la-et-ct-warner-lego-20150923-story.html

X-Men #1 Ahh the Silver Age, I never thought I would get bit by that bug. I suppose it was the Geek Con Era boom. I suppose it was seeing books that I had shed (Pre-Unity Valiants, Deadpool, Harley Quinn) rise in value. And for sure it was a little FOMO after watching Amazing Fantasy 15 move beyond reach. I wanted something to hang my hat on, something to show for my hard work collecting. Silver Age seemed like blue chip to me and I longed to own a really key book, easily recognizable. And liquid. And in the early 2000s the same $600-1000 could buy some interesting books. I particularly liked X-Men #1. I generally do not buy superhero books, instead gravitating toward indy and underground titles. When I first collected, I liked Milk and Cheese, or pre-Unity Valiants. Solar Man of the Atom was one of my favorites, having liked Barry Windsor Smith since Marvel Comics Presents Weapon X. I collected them, but they were always bound to be sold. But my indy books, I loved. However, I was fond of speculating on hot X-Men books back in the day, as I had a few friends who collected and so my eye became trained to them. My wife collected X-Men as well, but lost most of hers in a flood. And for a stretch, in the mid-to-late 1990s, we collected Uncanny together (have since shed all of those as well). She liked Gambit & Rogue. I asked her to describe her memories and here is what she said- Starting reading when she was freshman in high school, right around the time of Executioner’s Song. She read all the X titles and all the crossovers and owned them all at one point. I believe she lost a bunch when her basement bedroom flooded. She started to lose interest when they killed off Jamie Maddrox, in her words “never liked Scott and Jean, loved Gambit & Rogue, and liked Polaris and Havok. Never into Wolverine all that much; Beast is cool, Angel is a douchewaffle but she likes Angel / ArchAngel and kinda had a soft spot there (perhaps an ex-boyfriend from privilege?). One of the few people that likes Jubilee, Dazzler, Psylocke; enjoyed the angsty overwrought relationships and constant drama. So as our lives and collecting intertwined, X-Men became common ground, a shared mythology and one we could enjoy on the big screen. Through the years I have picked her a few nice things on the cheap- a CGC 8.5 Avenger’s Annual #10, Rogue variant action figure, Dazzler 1-2, most of which is up in her office. I remember our first encounter with a real X-Men #1, c 1997- Kalispell, MT, antique shop, GD 2.0 for $300. It was priced at 10% guide at the time, that is my memory and the condition was rough. We made a call to the owner and he was set on the price for all the early X-Men and at the time, it was not to be for a young, engaged, and still in college couple. But the moment stuck in my mind and it would not be until 2004 that I would spend $300 for a comic book (NM/NM+ Mom’s Homemade Comics #1 straight from Denis Kitchen; Milwaukee’s first). I would not see the book again until c 2012- Milwaukee, WI, Sunday Burnham Bowl show, GDVG for $1200. I felt like the book was doable at $1000, and that was probably the maximum we could take out if we found an ATM or 2 that could to the maximum number. I probably could have followed up faster, I had the name of the store at the time and might have still gotten it. But I flinched. If you play poker, it was the moment where I was PUT IN for all my chips and I flinched. I vowed there would not be a third time. C 2013- St. Louis, MO, Wizard World St. Louis, VG- $1700 (Vancouver area commission OWW PQ from Greg Reece) Someday this will see a slab. Someday.

The boom is dead! Long live the boom Soundtrack: Football Weekly Read the Batman Endgame Special edition (free with purchase yesterday). It was ok, kinda would hate to be all excited for the book, only to find I am paying for the same art that book previews. A little disjointed. To cleanse the palette, I started Gotham on Netflix. Nice start, I must say. My favorite parts are the mythology, of course, and how the series has a timeless, low-fi quality to the scenery and costumes. Nice. I love the Geek-Con-Era-Boom. Long live the boom! Because the bust is tough. Steel yourself to the bust. The de-valuing of your books. Things you loved. They might even blame your comics for the crash themselves- your Clone Saga, or your Valiants, or your Fantastic Fours or your X-Men. Because what you collect sucks. What will we do then? They [Marvel] might sell your favorite property in a moment of weakness, and you might feel the repercussions for decades. They might even tell you that after 50 years Inhumans are the new X-Men! What will you do then!? Signs of a bust *Declining sales & print runs *Closure of specialty shops *Major company bankruptcy (ala Marvel ’97) or companies cash-out (Valiant > Acclaim) *Poor decisions about popular series, major characters *Decay in non-regular comic colleting community- e.g. speculators, cosplay, cons, movies, overall geek culture zeitgeist ends *External factors. E.g. Diamond vs Capitol distribution or adaptations fail (e.g. movies), or unknown *Loss of focus on art and stories Well, you get ready to hunker down and hold, bwoy, because you bought what you love, and this too will pass. For pre-Unity Valiant it took over 15 years until an external factor, CGC grading pushed the books back into the spotlight. The cream rises to the top. Glassman (2014) notes that the best and easiest to understand strategy for winning is so difficult to adhere to- buy and hold. It is behavior that determines investment success or failure- not knowledge, or skill or luck. Losing something makes you twice as miserable as gaining the same thing makes you happy (Thaler & Sunstein, in Nudge, as attributed in Glassman, 2014). People let their emotions get in the way of smart investment moves. “The values that help one succeed in the market are the values that Aristotle extolled: moderation, persistence, and humility” (Glassman, 2014). Next up, a little celebration of X-Men. References Glassman, J.K. (2014, May). The power of patience. Kiplinger’s Personal Finance. Pgs. 18-20.

The Wednesday One- 9/23 (Time to catch up with the reading) TUES was a productive day, yes indeed. Worked all morning without stopping, one of those storming highly productive days. The lady is getting sick, I can sense it… she ended up staying home from work and I played care-taker in the afternoon. Discovered the Cracked Youtube channel and so watched a little tele. Now she’s PS3 gaming on Dragon’s Age Origin (she’s always been the gamer of the relationship), and I am doing a little creative work before the Muppet’s Show). TUES night looking through the advance preview list of new comics and thinking about NEW COMIC DAY. WED is a fun day for me these days, teaching and then chit-chatting with the LCS guy for 30min to an hour depending upon his mood (I try and respect, it is his big day after all). Fight Club 2 #5 seemed an obvious choice. I have been buying them all since the FCBD edition. HAHA I should probably read them, Palahniuk and all. Maybe score a “true believers” reader $1 Princess Leia #1 or Silk #1, but that does not sound like something my LCS would carry (no luck, in the end). Perhaps Spawn #256? Is that due out (nope)? Spawn’s a lock for “a bag, board, and put it in a box” as we say. But honestly these days I skim it and COLLECT it. Checked 1-2 spec sites for recommendations…Scooby-Doo Team-Up #12 (Harley crossover)? Hmm, Harley in an all ages title, and my LCS had two copies. I had to snag one, sucker that I am for a good Harley one-shot. Wallet-saver week as someone posted in the Modern THIS WEEK thread, maybe I should be content with that for now. In that case, perhaps is time to catch up with the reading? I have five big issues of Fight Club to catch up with and one or two Usagi Yojimbos that are worth a gander. I trashed on that title a little last post and I should say that I still really do enjoy it

Liverpool drew 1-1 (ack) Nice bike ride, saw my sister and her family, spent time with the littlest nephew and saw the other nephew net a goal and two assists. Picked- Clerks the Animated Series 2-disc dvd ($2) Dogma dvd ($1) Darksiders for PS3 (Joe Madureira; $7) Blue-collar short sleeve workshirt ($3) Not the most productive outing, but a fun afternoon with a friend. Mostly thrift stores. Was very happy to find Darksiders. The lady and I watched with amazement as Joe Mad met his Kickstarter goal for the Battlechasers video game (now exceeded it). This was the only game on my list. Tried Vortex again for the $1 books (half off this month), but they were closed Got my handed to me in fantasy football. Bad beat.

You had me until YOLO Wow! What a week. Pretty enjoyable in the end. Besides the usual work-a-day, I did have fun on new comic day. I pulled the latest Usagi Yojimbo (haven’t read it; 24 pages for $3.50… damn near the biggest rip on the planet, I mean mess Sakai has EARNED it, but seriously who else do you know that can charge $3.50 for 24 pages!?), the new Star Wars (consumed it and its digital brethren), and the new Jem & the Holograms (both covers, for the lady). I wanted Tokyo Ghost #1 based on my favorite LCS employee’s recommendation… as well as my favorite spec site’s recommendation. Plus, I mean singularity… dystopic future, I mean if you know me; you know that mess interests me. But my small East Side LCS burned through 8 copies in less than an hour, and thus I was shut out. But I could not let it lie. The next day I was off work, and still feeling a little punk. I wanted Tokyo Ghost, and I thought (after many errands) I might be able to locate it at one of the other stores in town. I got started early in the morning… too early for most LCS however, as only one shop was in open at 11am- Vortex Comics. I hauled over to 84th n National to check that store (no luck, LCS only heard about it through me) and the other stores were not open until later. But since it was my day off, and feeling punk, I thought I might also catch the Liverpool vs. Bordeaux Europa league match at the local pub, and so hauled to have some lunch and catch the match (1-1 draw, disappointing). After lunch, I thought well… I cannot give up now, I already drove over to that side of town to look for a copy without success- dammit I am going to try one more time. Hit the single best store in town- Lost World of Wonders- and scored two copies of the book. Cruised home just before the rush hour traffic and read it in my chair before I zonked out for an hour. Tokyo Ghost #1 (Remender/Murphy) (or the Adventures of Tank Girl & Maxx Bane) I LIKED IT (BUT)! Remender’s world is one that my lady and I teach (she in particular uses Kurzweil as a textbook and teaches a course on the Singularity), yet somehow it seems dated. I was excited to score the copies, and excited to share it with my lady. I liked the art and described it to her as Jim Mahfood meets Jamie Hewlett (VERY much Tank Girl inspired, and she agreed). I wanted her to like it and so made her read it upon returning home from work. And part of me likes the gamer-speak, but lady captured it perfectly-you had me until YOLO (acronym for you only live once). You might recall this as something ‘the kids’ say, but in reality NObody says it anymore. The writing is already so dated for 2015, like an old man trying to appeal to ‘the kids,’ that upon further reflection it seems absurd that we would talk that way in dystopic 2189. STILL… I’ll hang around for another couple issues and follow the adventures of Tank Girl and the Maxx Bane. FRI usual work-a-day stuff, except afterwards I went to the Walmart Supercenter and started the process to procure some new spectacles. That took a while, but worth it in the end… put some cash down and bought a new pair of specs and some prescription sunglasses for only $97 on the debit. Not bad at all and kinda made me wonder why I left it four years this time. Upon returning home I bought another pair from my favorite online retailer (eyeglasses direct), cheapies with a yellow fashion tint (night driving, shooting, Steampunk, etc.) for $36 shipped. Schweeeet deal. SAT, after the grading was done, we bussed over to the Bay View Bash to street team volunteer for my fave local radio station 88Nine Radio Milwaukee. Beautiful day, 70F and sunny, street festival. Just grand. We were handing out promos for the station and talking to folks, a little different than the normal ‘boothing’ (and scored a new T-shirt and messenger bag). Saw some good music, Brewgrass stood out, as did one of favorites the Magnificents (house band for the local variety show- Deadman’s Carnival). The local brews stood out too… Lakefront, Milwaukee Brewing, & Sprecher were all on scene, solid 14oz pours for $4. Just a lovely, lovely day. Covered about 12k steps before busing it back over to the east side beast side to close out the night at the corner spot. SUN, streaming English footie in the AM. What else!? Cmon Liverpool cmon Liverpool! Slow sip some coffee, writing, posting in my online courses, and then hop the bike 4.5mi to my nephew’s soccer match. Afterward, the chef and I are going picking/thrifting. He was lamenting how his life had distilled down to a few square miles and so I offered and he took me up. See some country, as I like to say. Burn a little go-juice. I know the feeling of having to get out of the city, as Milwaukee is the largest city I have lived in and the concrete jungle wears on me. Maybe I’ll find a nice comic, or some old hippie stuff, or a video game for the lady. Happy picking! Peace, Om

No idea... but I looked it up in my underground guides and could not find anything Nothing in Kennedy 2982 Nothing in F U G 2006 Nothing in F U G Supplement 2010 Nothing in F U G G 2015 Series Title University of California, Santa Cruz: Student Publications Title All Slug Comics (No. 5, 1976) Publisher Santa Cruz, CA : Graphic Stories Guild, College V, University of California, Santa Cruz Date 1976 Geographic Location.TGN Santa Cruz Santa Cruz (county) California United States Subject.LCSH College student newspapers and periodicals Comic books, strips, etc. Type Text Linkies Golden Slug #3 http://www.comicvine.com/golden-slug/4050-73959/ Slug #4 http://www.comicvine.com/slug/4050-74017/ All Slug #5 http://www.comicvine.com/all-slug-comics-5/4000-452983/ All Slug #5 http://digitalcollections.ucsc.edu/cdm/compoundobject/collection/p16019coll3/id/10852/rec/1

Rando thoughts Still working on my underground comix pedigree text, I need to do a little more research on the Massachusetts pedigree Last week’s Wednesday One was two books, both readers. They won’t even see a bag and board. Star Wars Shattered Empire #1 and the Harley Quinn Road Trip special. Both were good reads, even the lady liked HQ, and lately she has not been much of a fan of the ‘stripper clown.’ Both books are lying on the bathroom floor. Funny how one can hoard 9.8s and then still have beat readers strewn about. Working on that balance. Cannot wait to see what tomorrow brings at the ole LCS. My classes are kicking my butt. I feel punk and my body letting down. Classic early semester let down. Trying to ‘heed the call of the stress;’ exercising at least once per day, been on the bike several times, even a little street art, but may need to slow down and rest. New comic day sounds perfect for that. Eye exam today. They over-dilated my eyes, like giant saucers, and it took hours for them to normalize. And every fiber in my being hates that pressure test. I have not had a new prescription in over four years though, so some new specs will be welcome. Binged on Narcos (Netflix). Damn I enjoyed it, though it is very hard to watch at times. I do like creative nonfiction. Also been listening to Fletch while I am grading. Easy movie to listen to. A 1.5 hour grading jag goes by like nothing. My 3XL Spawn shirt came from Taiwan. It is American sizing and thus HUGE on me. Whoops. The Spawn nightshirt. The funny thing is that I will probably wear it all the more now because I will care for it less. Meanwhile, I just hang the airbrushed shirt in my room, a shrine. Saw my nephew net a hat trick in U8 soccer. Played with my little U3 nephew in the playground. Boy he is a talker, what a cool little kid. He was wearing a JLA t-shirt. It made me want to give him comics. Speaking of JLA, my #1 is due back from CGC any day! Shiny! Each day I check for the mail slip and expect to just miss it. Hopeful for at least a GD+ 2.5. Told the lady that if it came back 2.0 I was probably underwater on it. She said “well isn’t that what you do with blue chips? Buy and hold.” LOVE THAT GIRL! Volunteering SAT for 88Nine Radio Milwaukee’s street team at the Bay View Bash… little sun, little cold beerz, little muzak. Lots of acquaintances perhaps? And the lady by my side, who needs to get home to watch her LSU Tigers beat up on Auburn. SUN I am thrifting/picking with the chef; gonna see some country. Some of the bottle club members are metal detecting copper mine tailings up in the Upper Peninsula of MI. Yes, I belong to a bottle club. Speaking of football, won my Wk1 fantasy match up. Play in a 12 team South Park themed IDP league with a few old friends. Monster WR corps, captured the 1st, 4th, and 6th top performances this week. Plus had 15+ pts J Jones (GB) on my bench. Plus have M Bryant (PIT) coming back from suspension in a few weeks. Monster WR corps. Spoiled for choice and will likely work a trade soon. My two big misses were starting P Manning over P Rivers and A Blue over B Sankey. Those are my big changes for Week 2. Plus I am gambling waiver wire kickers all season long, just trying to play match ups and because I think it is funny. That’s about it sans Nyquil and a solid 8 hrs of sleep (hopefully) Be well, Om