I am a hunter, and comics are my prey

So I've been a bad blogger lately, but believe me, it hasn't been on purpose (c'mon, baby — you know I love you). And it certainly doesn't mean I haven't been thinking about comics.

As you might guess, I'm thinking about comics almost constantly and I'm always on the look out for books new and old, as well as comic-related stuff (you'd think it would've happened by now, but if I ever come across a spinner rack for sale I'm buying that sucker). This is all just a way of explaining how I've managed to wrap myself in a sort of comic-cocoon (minus Wilford Brimley) that floats around me like a perfume that's equal parts used bookstore and fresh ink.

Aah. Let's bask in it for a moment.

A little more.

OK, that's enough. Now here's some of the things that have been added to the stacks lately:



Afrodisiac by Jim Rugg

This collection came out a few weeks ago, and I've been eager to get my mitts on it for even longer than that. Rugg has put together two of my favorite things — the look of 70s Marvel comics and the blaxploitation genre —to create something that is at once familiar and unique. I haven't been able to sit down and read the whole thing yet, but what I've seen is clearly smart, funny and — if you're paying attention — insightful and incisive satire.

It also doesn't hurt that it's just a very attractively produced book. The printing holds up well to all the different styles the art reproduces, not to mention Afrodisiac is designed with a cool sensibility that sets the tone for the character himself. And at a $14.95 cover price this slim hardcover is a bargain.

This book has been recommended to me by just about everyone, and now I'm recommending it to you.



Best of DC #8 — Digest

I used to love these as a kid, and my always-awesome LCS has a small collection of them I have to resist flipping through when I'm in the shop. Because when I do ... well, this is what happens. If you ever want to mainline some pure, unadulterated Bronze Age nuttiness, pick up one of these the next time you see one.

Seriously.



Miracleman #17

Neil Gaiman's first issue as writer on the notoriously embattled series (the rights to which Marvel recently acquired) — believe me, I was surprised to find it in the mostly ignored longboxes of a Gruene, Texas, antique store. Pawing through boxes in stores like that usually means mostly finding a bunch of 90s X-TREME! comics someone's trying to unload, so this was a pleasant and welcome change of pace.


And finally, something you can't get in stores.



(Sorry about the photo quality — I really need to get a light box.)

As I've mentioned a few hundred times, it was my birthday a couple of weeks ago. Larry and Erica, some good friends I'm very fortunate to have, went out of their way to make this card to mark the occasion. Larry sketched out the design, Erica did the crafting and I did the squealing and high-fiving. The Flash was always a favorite of mine, and this card makes me smile just like I did while reading those comics back in the early days.