Akiko #5

• Date: July(?) 1996
• Publisher: Sirius Entertainment
• Cover Price: $2.50
• 2013 NM Price: $3.00
• Stats: 22 black & white pages plus "Letters to Akiko" and one house ad
• Story & Art: Mark Crilley
• Notable Notes: Sea serpents and acid worms!

Are You Scared Of Bugs?

Do creepy-crawlies give you the creepy-crawlies? I am average when it comes to being squeamish, I guess. I don't usually freak out around bugs... but if you were to put a spider on me I might do the mad "get-it-off-me" dance! Here is a story where Akiko and her friends must show great self-control to overcome some creepy monsters!

Last month I was featured on the People and Blogs site! If you are interested in reading an almost-interview with me (I just answered some questions and sent them back via email) then head on over to Zachary's site and take a look. I talk a little bit about myself, my websites, how I go about writing, and my tech setup. Nothing too deep, but you may find it interesting.

"Johnny Mnemonic" is a 1981 science fiction short story by William Gibson. It is about a man with some sensitive information implanted in his head, who is running from a Yakuza hit man.

The Man of Steel #5

• Date: 1986
• Publisher: DC Comics
• Cover Price: 75¢
• 2013 NM Price: $4.00
• Stats: 23 color pages plus 12 page "Mask" insert and ads
• Writer & Penciller: John Byrne
• Other Artists: Dick Giordano, John Costanza, Tom Ziuko
• Notable Notes: The origin of Bizarro!

Are There Any Good Clones?

Why is it that in science fiction in general, and comics specifically, the cloning process always seems to have some fatal flaw? Has no big-brained superhero figured out how to correctly do it yet? C'mon people - we can clone sheep here in the "normal" world why can't you folks clone a fantastic superhero of unknown origins? Sheesh! ;-)

"Wild Minds" is a 1998 science fiction short story by Michael Swanwick. It is about a man who refuses to be like everyone else and get his brain optimized.

Walt Disney's Donald Duck #247

• Date: November 1986
• Publisher: Gladstone Publishing
• Cover Price: 75¢
• 2013 Price Range: $2.00 - $16.00
• Stats: 30 color pages plus house ads and "A Gander At Gladstone" column
• Writers: Volker Reiche, Geofrey Blum, Bob Karp, Carl Barks
• Artists: Daan Jippes, Volker Reiche, John Clark, Ken Feduniewicz, Al Taliaferro, Michael F. McCormick, Tony Strobl, Carl Barks
• Notable Notes: Several classic stories of Donald messing things up!

The Master of the Bluff... almost!

Have you ever tried to bluff your way through something? I sure have. Truth be told sometimes it works, and sometimes it fails spectacularly! I think Donald Duck is the master of saying he knows how to do something, when in reality he has no clue - I mean that is part of what makes his stories so funny! Here are some classic examples of Donald at his bluffing best!

In May of 2012 I was in the mood for flash fiction - super short stories. I had read a lot of flash fiction pieces, and was trying my hand at both writing it and getting it published. Here's a story I initially wrote for our writing group's Round 32, and which I submitted to an online site for publishing consideration. It got rejected because it was a smidge too long. Oh well, I still think it is a great story!

"Copperhead" is a 2001 science fiction short story by Gene Wolfe. It is about a very powerful remote control held by the President of the United States.

Thor #339

• Date: January 1984
• Publisher: Marvel Comics Group
• Cover Price: 60¢
• 2013 NM Price: $6.00
• Stats: 22 color pages plus ads, Bullpen Bulletins and "Page O'Thor Stuff"
• Story & Art: Walter Simonson
• Other Artists: John Workman, Jr., George Roussos
• Notable Notes: Odin forges a new hammer!

A New Hammer?

When I was little I would carry around my dad's hammer and pretend that I was Thor. I loved the whole idea of Mjolnir, especially how no one else could lift it - even the Hulk! Anyway, I consider Thor's hammer to be one of his most defining characteristics, and so I find this issue to be very intriguing - seeing as how Odin crafts a new hammer which is very similar to Mjolnir!

In the past few years I have read a lot of adventure and lost-world novels. I find most of them to be great fun, and it is a bonus that you can read them for free since most of them are old enough to be in the public domain now. My latest venture into this genre was James Hilton's 1933 novel Lost Horizon.