"Searching for Steve Ditko" available on YouTube

Hey guys,

Not sure if you knew of this, but the BBC documentary "In Search of Steve Ditko" is available (in multiple parts) on YouTube. I'm only a few parts into it so far (and looking for it to get a little bit better soon) right now, but I thought I'd spread the word. You can't get the documentary on NetFlix, so it's cool it's available for free right there on YouTube.

Happy Thanksgiving to all our American members, please don't forget the soft deadline for PL # 52 is Dec. 1st!!!

Me, trav, bart... Drinkin.

Me n trav drinkin in lawrence!

Jayhawks!!! (cowboys.)

Ode to my editor-in-chief

My editor-in-chief, Ed, was laid off yesterday.

It's a shit economy, we all know that. It's been hard on the publishing business. It's been hard on my company. And yesterday, the domino fell that cost my boss -- one of my few mentors -- his job.

It sucks. That's not eloquent, but that's the way I feel about it.

Ed gave me my first shot at a job in journalism over ten years ago. I started with my company as an intern while I was still in college... I was a junior at KU at the time. I still remember the phone call I got from Ed offering me the internship... it was on my first cell phone, and this cell phone -- I think the company was Cellular One -- was about the size of a Burrito King burrito. It barely fit in my pocket.

I'm in class at 2:30 in the afternoon -- I remember the class, it was on the first floor of Fraser Hall. The instructor was a younger woman, she was nice, but too young, and something about her... I barely listened to her. My cell phone rang during class -- yeah, faux pas on my part, but I was hopeful for Ed's call, and I didn't care if it interrupted class. I think this was before 'vibrate' on the phone was invented.

I leave the room to take the call. "Seth, Ed from GCSAA... we enjoyed our interview with you, and if you think you can handle the schedule, we'd like to offer you the job."

I knew that it was a big-time call. I knew at that moment that it was important for my career.

I didn't know at the time that I'd still be working there in 2010. I didn't know that I'd meet the future Mrs. Jones there. I didn't know that that phone call would lead me to a beautiful wife, a beautiful daughter, a beautiful house, and the most kick-ass man-cave I know of outside of Bruce f***ing Wayne's. But that's what that phone call was: opportunity.

I've worked for Ed for the last 12 years. He's the only editor-in-chief I've ever had. And he single-handedly was responsible for keeping our team intact. He's a father figure, and my GCM team is more of a family than it is a work team. Ask people who work for other teams in my building: they envy the work environment of the publications team. And that's a credit to my former boss, Ed.

When I came back to that classroom -- the class was probably anthropology or something -- the young teacher barked at me for taking a call during class. I took it with a smile, apologized, told her it wouldn't happen again. And then I looked out the window and drifted away. "Seth Jones, intern, Golf Course Management magazine," I thought to myself. "On top of the world."

Twelve years later, I am on top of the world. Thank you, Ed.

How to Write a Novel

I don't remember if it was Arnett who posted this but it was on Twitter and you ought to look at it:
http://stiryourtea.blogspot.com/2010/09/how-to-write-novel.html?utm_source=twitterfeed&utm_medium=twitter
Don't be concerned if you don't want to write a novel. It applies to nearly any creative endeavor and it's meant for laughs anyway (though like any good humor, there's truth in it).

Pulp Legacy # 51 now available

You can download it here.

In this issue:

- Welcome to Aly! New to Pulp Legacy!

- Brad checks out Fan Expo Canada 2010!

- Mar runs a half marathon!

- Zarko builds a wall!

- Zep sees The Wall!

- Check out Jason's influence map!

- Seth's best business trip ... ever!

- Bart has fun in a bus station!

Download it and save it soon, the link will only be good for another couple days!

Info on Pulp Legacy # 52 will be out soon...

Head for the Cure, hurt for the cause

On Sunday morning, me and my sister and her friend Stacy ran in a 5K race in Lawrence. This was Jessica's idea... I ran a lot of 5Ks when I was a high school kid, but I haven't run one since I was 19.

The good news? I finished 5th in my age division.

The bad news? There were only five people in my age division.

Good news... both Jess and Stacy finished in FIRST PLACE in their age division!

As you can see, the race was called "Head for the Cure," and yes, this was a benefit for brain cancer research. Brain cancer is what took our Dad, so Sis thought this would be a good event for us to support.

Maybe next year I'll support them by just mailing them a check!

Seriously, the 5K hurt. It didn't help that I have/had a bad knee, a sprained ankle, a level 1 hangover and only four hours of sleep when I ran (I was at the Smashing Pumpkins/Cake show the night before). I ran the first mile straight through, but then ran/jogged/walked/farted through miles two and three. I was hoping to finish in 30 minutes... I ran it in a whopping 32:30. OUCH. Jessica and Stacy ran it in 26 and 25 minutes, respectively.

While I was on the first mile, I saw some poor runner stepped in a giant load of dog shit. There was a right shoe-print of dog poo that went on for about 50 yards. Within that same 50 yards, someone apparently got a nose bleed, because there were little splotches of blood on the sidewalk every six feet.

And I thought to myself: wow, there are two people actually having a worse time than me!

All kidding aside -- it was a great cause, I'm proud of both Jess and Stacy for winning their divisions, and I'm happy I actually made it across the finish line and that the camera man documented this occasion for me. (He must have realized the feat of me crossing the finish line was special, as I was the only person who seemed to get a finish-line photo taken.)

I'm also glad I didn't step in dog crap or get a nose bleed. Those two dudes may have had better times than me, but hey -- at least I didn't have to leave my shoes outside when I got home.

A Kind of Announcement

This is a cross-post that originally appeared on my website and my LiveJournal.

So I mentioned in several tweets that I was writing a 'very cool story'. I can tell you now that it's a new series for Actionopolis but there's an official announcement coming later on as to the title and content of my work so we'll keep that under wraps for now. Here is a press release that was picked up by a lot of folks, including Publisher's Weekly.

I'm REALLY excited to be doing this. I'll continue keeping you updated on my progress at Twitter. I can tell you that I've made several rookie mistakes that the editor is guiding me through. The first batch of notes stung a little, but once I got over it (about ten minutes later) I started learning and made my writing BETTER. With each batch of notes I learn more about structure, about plotting and about tension.

So, even though for a year I put a story each month up at my website for you to enjoy and haven't put anything up for a while now, I've been busy and you'll get to see the fruits of it in (I hope!) not too long a while. Stay tuned for more.

Mar's Half-Marathon

I've always wanted to run a marathon. I've run since high school, never part of a team but for myself, usually fairly half-assed but I knew I needed the exercise and I figured I might as well go as hard as I could. My dad was a star runner in high school so maybe I was genetically predisposed to be able to do it well. I rarely pushed myself particularly hard, except for the days when I'd get up an hour early to run or when I'd run on rainy December days (and that was challenging more for the circumstances than the activity), but I would always make an effort and it was always my aim to build up to a longer run and a faster pace, maybe even much longer one day. The places where I've lived I've made a running route, usually about two to three miles, usually for about 20 to 30 minutes a run. When I did it consistently I might lose some weight but generally I wasn't eating as well as I should have (even if I wasn't exercising regularly) so it never did a whole lot of good and not much I even noticed myself. But it always felt good to get out and run, to have that accomplishment that I did it, to spend sometime outside and take a break from the chaos of my life, and I would be more alert and focused for the rest of the day. I had some friends who ran marathons, some that were in worse shape than I was, and I thought that maybe one day I would do it but I knew that I would never make the time for the training. Just a pie-in-the-sky dream, maybe when I would retire. But it was earlier in the year when I was talking to Ryan & Carolyne, two good friends, and they brought up that they were thinking of doing the Disneyland Half-Marathon on September 5. They always dared each other to do it but never moved on it and when they mentioned it to me I said I'd do it and that was enough to get them going. Once they had signed up and I knew they were in for it, I signed up. It was still months away and I figured I could just train later. Worse comes to worse, it was only 13.5 miles (as I thought it was at the time) and while it had to be done in less than three hours, I figured I could walk that if need be and be fine. I was running, more for my usual exercise than training for anything, my usual 3 or so miles, usually at least once on the weekends, on alternating days through the week if I wasn't working, at one point a string of running every day, until I started to get pain in my ankles. I have a route at my parents' place in rural Riverside, with a lot of disused roads and some great elevation, including one steep hill near my parents' house early in the route, all of it being about three miles, part of which I would walk for about half a mile. Last Thanksgiving I was out running it and it was such a beautiful day and I was glad to be out of the house and I was so comfortable running that I didn't stop to walk and I just took off and added more streets to the route, all of it eventually adding up to four miles, with no stopping, and that was the furthest I've ever run consistently. It had been the best run of my life to that point. After that I would go that same route, pushing myself for it each time, though I wasn't there every weekend and even when I was I couldn't always get out, but it was always my goal to do that. That route and that amount of running was a turning point for me, that I could really push myself to do it, that it was possible to build my ability, that maybe I could really do it, that I wasn't at the height of where I could be. I had also been eating a lot better of late. I found out a few months ago that I have high blood-pressure, and it was coming at a time when I was sick with strep-throat so I couldn't exercise, and I was stressed-out from not working, but once I figured out that I needed to change some things to get better, I had improved my diet (more fruits and vegetables, no more canned soup and veggie-burgers, timing when best to have carbs, etc.) and felt a lot better in general. Diet is certainly important in relation to exercise and overall health, if not as important as working out and training. The time of the half-marathon started to get closer and I decided to step up my training regiment. There was one Sunday at home when I decided to run to the comics shop, which is three and a half miles away, so I ran there, rested (while looking at the new comics), then ran back. That was rough, especially since it was the afternoon and it was fairly warm, but I made it. Then I got switched to a different project at work and it required 9-hour days, not the 10 that I was used to, so that would give me an extra hour in my day which I could use in the morning to run. It worked out perfectly. I was still doing my 3 mile route at home but I could get in a better run when I was at my parents', which just happened to be the two weekends before the race. I had to step up my training but I knew I could do it. The first of those two weekends I decided to run on both days. The first day I was going to run the route once but once I got going I felt so comfortable with it that I just ran it again (though it was the old, shorter route and I walked for part of it). The next day I ran the longer route twice, though there was some walking. But I still felt great and I thought that maybe I could push it more. I changed up my route at home: I ran toward where I used to live, which I found out was only 5 miles there and back, so I changed that to running 2 miles to the track near there that I used to run, and each lap there was a third of a mile, so running there then running the track 12 times (maybe more if I forgot what lap I was on) would make about 8 miles. The track was also probably better on my knees. Two weeks before the race I also decided to start getting up early. 8 in the morning always seems early to me (but then, anything before noon usually does). I had been getting up consistently at 8, usually out of necessity, but even on the infrequent days I'd have off with no commitments I'd still get up at that time, not sleeping in, and I would do much better with it. But the race was going to be at 6 in the morning and I'd have to get up even earlier than that to get down there and get ready for it. So I started getting up at 6 for two weeks. Still a challenge but not as hard as I thought it would be. This gave me plenty of time to run as long as I wanted in the morning and still get to work. Of course, going to bed earlier (which sometimes happened) shoved out a lot of other things from my life but I was prepared for it and that was the price I was paying to do this thing. My original plan was to get up at 4 the week before the race, to get even more accustomed to it, but I found out we were going to get up and out even earlier than that the day of the race and I didn't see the point in it anyway so I ditched doing that. The weekend before the race was the make-or-break. I decided to do a full 13-mile run: 9 miles from my parents' house to Nuevo to Lakeview then back again and my old 4 mile route. It came out to 13.5 miles. I was determined to run the entire thing but maybe only to an extent. I gave myself an out to walk it if I needed to. The night before I had a bowl of shredded wheat for the carbs and went to bed just after midnight. Shortly after 6 a.m. and I was out running. And I did the whole thing. Every mile, every street in the route, every step. I ran the entire thing. Not that I was full-out running for even most of it but I was at a good jog at least and I was keeping a pace. At that point I knew I was ready for the full, actual race and I knew I could do it. That confidence maybe more than anything pulled me through when I ran the actual race. I was going to do it. I knew I could. What I had done, how I had been training, worked. The next day I was going to do just an easy 9 mile run but, same time of morning but with less sleep this time, I got within the first mile, up on that big hill, and I just wasn't into it. I had pushed my body further than I ever had the day before and I needed to rest, whether I wanted to or not. Maybe I could have done it if I was dying for it but there was no reason to push myself so far so soon. I walked back to my parents' house and took it fairly easy the rest of the day. Back at my own home, I ran the next day and it was fine. Two more 9-mile runs through the week then Wednesday was my last run before the race. For the next three days I was taking it easy and eating right, letting my body get itself ready. Saturday was busy for the race, not because I was getting things ready or training but because I had to drive to Anaheim to an expo at the Disneyland Hotel to register and pick up the provided materials for the race and that was a pain. I understand they wouldn't be able to register everyone the day of the race but it was still a hassle to go all the way down there when it could have been taken care of online or mailed. A busy Saturday but I got to Ryan & Carolyne's place in Diamond Bar and we carb-loaded that night at the Macaroni Grill (bacon is certainly part of my training diet) and got to bed at 11 that night, later than it should have been but a lot earlier than it could have been, especially since they have Rock Band.

3 a.m. comes early. But for some reason, even after less than four hours of sleep, I was ready. It's still dark out at 3 a.m. We were out the door by 4 and parked at Disneyland by 4:30 and since we'd registered the day before, there wasn't much to do except find safety pins to attach our number-bibs to our shirts and find our corrals. Ryan & Carolyne were in E and I was in F but it gave me a chance to stretch and focus myself for the race. There's not much chance that you'll be able to run the race alongside other people, unless you're doing it casually and not trying to place at a certain time, so we were cool to run it separately. I was standing at the back of the corral, which was also the furthest-back corral, and about a half mile behind us was one bend of the race, the four-mile mark as the route came out of Disneyland, and as we were waiting we saw the lead runner (who I think I saw before the race: a tiny, dark-skinned guy who looked more anorexic than toned) pass by, doing almost a quarter of the race in about a quarter of an hour. We had a pace, then. Probably the smartest thing I did before the race was eat and use the potty. Drinking water is a tricky thing to do before a race, since you don't want to drink so much that you have to stop to pee. But you also don't want to get dehydrated. And you want to eat so you have some fuel but you also don't want it to drag you down. I had three Tiger's Milk protein bars about a half-hour apart and I think they only affected me positively. Before the race started I left to pee and ended up, um, going #2, which was brilliant since that was something I would have hated to do during the race. (I normally wouldn't have had to go that early but it was probably the crabs I had the night before, nerves, and just being up that early.) The corrals of runners are let go in waves, about 10 minutes apart, but it doesn't matter which one you're in since your time doesn't start until you cross the starting line. There's a tag that you attach to your shoe and there's a microchip in it that records when you start and when you cross the finish line. So you can start whenever you want and you don't have to concern yourself with how your time is recorded time. They let the corrals in front of us go and I stayed at the back, so I wasn't deep within the crush of people. Since I was running it for time, it helped to stay away from the slow-pokes. And probably about 40 minutes after 6, we were off.

I can't say I have a lot of stand-out memories of the race itself. When I'm doing an activity like that I'm focused, and that day might have been the most focused I've ever been in my entire life. There was a choice between going along, enjoying the race, walking part of it and taking it in, and really trying my best to get a good time, pushing myself to do the best I could. I went with going for the time. I had considered not listening to music (they discourage you from wearing headphones so you can hear their P.A.) but I knew I had to have music to put myself in the zone I needed to be in, as I usually do. (Play-list for the day: Appetite for Destruction, Broken, Carnavas, License to Ill.) Within the first 20 feet of the race (during the opening strains of “Welcome to the Jungle”) I knew I had it. The training I had done was going to pay off and I had no doubt that I was going to get through it. I had worked hard to be ready for it and I was. The weather was in our favor too: overcast and just a little bit chilly. The fact that the sun was coming up just as we started the race probably helped. It had been pretty warm in southern California the previous week so there was some concern that it might be hot for the race but it was perfectly fine, for the entire time. The sun didn't come out until just after the race. I didn't notice much of anything around me, since I look at the end of the block and the person in front of me and up toward the sky, not at my feet or the surroundings, which was kind of a shame since it was a nice route. The first four miles was through California Adventure and Disneyland and the route went up and down Anaheim streets, around the Honda Center, and through Angel Stadium. As soon as I started I knew I was going to have to pee and I wasn't sure I'd be able to put it off for the three or so hours of the race. The first block of porta-potties had a line of a few people deep. Luckily, in Disneyland the restrooms were mostly empty, since maybe people didn't know they could use them or they'd already gone by the time they got that far, so I was able to duck into the restroom near the Dumbo ride and didn't have to wait at all and got to get back to running (and during “Sweet Child O' Mine” so that was some good timing). I didn't drink any water until the last few miles of the race. Water is a luxury I don't usually afford myself when I'm running and I got more on my shirt than in my mouth when I was trying to drink while running anyway. And I didn't have to go for the rest of the race (and a while after that if I recall). There were a lot of people who came out to encourage the runners, family members and friends, and I knew I didn't have that support so I could focus without looking for someone (who was looking for me) but it was inspiring to see so many to give support. Almost every block had a group of cheerleaders and pep squads and marching bands from the local high schools, even a mariachi band and Mexican dancers around mile 5, and they were so enthusiastic that it really got me going. A few miles into the race I got hooked on high-fiving the kids on the side-lines and they were encouraging, yelling out “Go, Marlan!” (how did they know my name? Oh, our names were on the bibs on the front of our shirts) and often I'd find after high-fiving a line of them I had really picked up my pace. I've never had a trainer or a coach, just doing it all myself, so I've never really had a strategy for running. I planned to start off fast, finish strong, and just keep a steady pace in the middle but a few times a song would kick in on the iPod (in particular “Well-Thought-Out Twinkles” at mile 7) and I'd have a burst of speed for a while, and I thought it would wear me out but somehow I kept up with it. People getting in the way were my biggest fear but it was unfounded, for the most part. I'd say that the greatest number of people were walking it, for most of it at least, but there were only a few bottlenecks where you couldn't get around them quickly, especially when there were stops for water, but it was just an obstacle and I was fast enough (or they were slow enough) that I got by them easily enough. There were a few stops in Disneyland when people stopped to pose and take pictures with the characters they had out for the day but I wasn't there for that. I was there to run. Probably my favorite part of the race, besides the very beginning and the very end, was a dirt trail on the other side of the parking lot of the Honda Center, around mile 8, probably because it was easier to run than the asphalt, it was a different environment than the streets, and it was when everyone had settled into the race and were just doing their thing. The map showed that we would be running the bases at Angel Stadium but alas, we were only running on the field, just near the dug-outs. There's a tunnel between the stadium and Disneyland and I remember being excited that I was going to run through it but I didn't even realize that I was inside it until I was almost out the other end, most notable because it was really loud in there, with all the people (especially the cheerleaders) hollering encouragement. Right after that I was coming up to Disneyland. I was saving something for the last mile but somehow I missed the last mile marker going back into the park or I mis-timed it, and I turned a corner and saw the finish line, probably that last .1 mile of distance. But that was probably the fastest I've ever run (“The New Style” helped, though people probably thought I was crazy when I was motioning to the music and mouthing along with it), to go over the finish line with a time of 2:28:36. I have no idea if that time was any good or notable at all. But I gave it my all. (Well, with a notable exception. I think I could have had a harder, faster last mile or two if I had known it was my last but I reckon it gives me room for improvement for the next race.) I knew one thing: I still had something left. This meant that I could have run that half-marathon harder and it also meant that maybe I could have made it through a full marathon. Maybe I wouldn't have been able to do that race twice that day but with some longer, more serious, more dedicated training, I could see that marathon I wanted to run somewhere in my future. I was proud of what I'd done – I ran 13.1 miles! -- but I knew it just wasn't enough. Call me ungrateful or overly ambitious or needlessly restless but I just had to do more. And if I could do everything that got me up to that point I could do more (even though I knew it was going to be much more).

Mar, Carolyne, Ryan -- post-race

A few people asked me what charity the race was for. As far as I could tell, it was just for Disneyland to turn a profit. $120 for each person to run the race, and I heard that there were 12,000 to 14,000 people there. You do the math. Then they wanted me to pay $80 to download the six or seven pictures they took of me (I didn't even know they were taking pictures. Then they knew to send the ones of me to me. Ah, technology). No on that one. It probably cost them a good amount of money to get Anaheim to block off the streets for the morning, then all the people to work it (if they weren't volunteers), but make no mistake about it, like everything with Disney, it's about profit.

After the race on Sunday we want back to Ryan & Carolyne's place and had lunch and I left. They were both going to sleep but I knew if I stopped and slept then I'd be out for most of the rest of the day. So I went and saw a movie, drove all over Orange Country, went on a date that evening – I didn't start crashing until after midnight, when I'd been up for over 21 hours. There were things I was going to do on Monday (off for Labor Day) but I ended up sleeping for most of the day. Then Tuesday it was back to running (though only my 2.5 route, as I wasn't getting up at 6 anymore and I didn't really have the time before work). I was looking at some of the other half-marathons coming up. There's one in October in Huntington Beach but I'm busy that weekend. One in Vegas a little later. One in Long Beach a few months later, I think. But there's one I could find somewhere, surely. Now 13.1 miles is just another run. But I certainly have in mind to do that full marathon at some point. Anything shorter than that just doesn't seem like a full effort.

I'd recommend the half-marathon to anyone. Even if you're not going to train strenuously or run the whole race, you could at least walk 13.1 miles and it would be a good work-out and you'd have a good time. Heck, you'd be at Disneyland. If you've ever entertained the thought of doing a marathon or a long race or even getting in some kind of shape, you owe it to yourself. Heck, I did it.

I'm on a private jet!

Well, I've already been, as the SNL crew sings, "on a boat!" Now I've been on a private jet, too.

Trust me, this is the best way to fly. The plane takes off when you get there. The pilots get up out of their seat and say, "Is the temperature in here OK?" And there's NO LINE at customs.

OK, so I flew to Cancun with World Golf Hall of Famer Nick Price. I'm doing the cover story on him in the December issue of GCM. And he helped me play big-time magazine writer by inviting me to join him on his trip to Cancun and back this Tuesday/Wednesday.



Pretty cool. That's me and Nick (and his jet). Nick is WAY COOL. Over a few beers I told him the story of Adro telling me we should buy a keg-o-rator (I've told you the story here) and he cracked up, saying it was the "greatest story (he) ever heard!"

So, yeah, yay me! A really cool assignment! And I'll be home tomorrow by 1 p.m. SWEET.

I really hope you'll ask me about this story over a beer next time we're hanging out and there's a lull in the conversation, because the whole trip was pretty bad-ass!

And yet, I can't wait to get home and see my girls!!!

Spent labor day in an airport

But that's ok, as i might be on the biggest/best assignment of my professional career. Wish me luck, details to come later...

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Go CUBS!

Two weekends ago, Mar and I went to Lollapalooza (expect a full report in the next issue of the APA). The last day of Lolla, Sunday, I asked Mar what he'd think of hitting the Cubs game before going to Lolla. We were staying only four blocks from Wrigley Field, and there weren't any bands that we were dead-set on seeing early that day.

I'm thankful that Mar was keen to the idea and we went and bought scalped tickets shortly after the second inning had started up. Our seats were midway between 1st base and the foul pole, 10 rows off the field. $80 face, we got our seats for $40 per tick.

The Cubs got licked by the Reds, but we had a great time anyway.

And yes, I know I swore to a Cook Co., Illinois court that I'd never return to Wrigley Field until the Cubs won the World Series, but... some rulings are meant to be broken.

Top 5 comic book characters I'd like to be

As of 6 p.m., Aug. 19, 2010:

1. Green Lantern: The ring, man, the ring. Is there anything you couldn't do?

2. Batman: Mostly for the gadgets -- batmobile, batcave, utility belt.

3. Captain America: But I'd be a cooler Cap, and bring back the Cap Van and the motorcycle.

4. Rhino: Lower your head and run. Sounds like fun. Imagine what I'd do to traffic or large crowds?

5. Iron Man: Somewhat an obvious answer, but the movies make it look like so much fun.

Deadline for PL # 51

Hi guys,

The deadline for Pulp Legacy # 51 is Monday, Sept. 13th. There is no theme for this issue.

And no, this photo has nothing to do with PL # 51.

Hello from the mile-long line at hall h @ comic-con!

Waiting in line for the green lantern panel at comic con. I got here three hours early (don't worry, i get paid by the hour) and brought a collapsable chair (this isn't my first rodeo) and am just chillin in the cool san diego weather right now. I've got pearl jam's "binaural" on the headphones...

The con has been good so far. Stressful at times, too. We've got our biggest crew ever reporting on the con this year, a staff of 34, and i'm the point man all weekend. But the traffic at cbr has been phenomenal, we're just killing it, so it's been a fruitful effort thus far.

Highlights from hall h have been will ferrell cracking me up (he was quoting anchorman!), "the other guys" and the movie "skyline"... Lowlights are "super" with rainn wilson and "green hornet" with seth rogen.

Ok, all for now... I'll have a full report in my next zine.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Hello from the mile-long line at hall h @ comic-con!

Waiting in line for the green lantern panel at comic con. I got here three hours early (don't worry, i get paid by the hour) and brought a collapsable chair (this isn't my first rodeo) and am just chillin in the cool san diego weather right now. I've got pearl jam's "binaural" on the headphones...

The con has been good so far. Stressful at times, too. We've got our biggest crew ever reporting on the con this year, a staff of 34, and i'm the point man all weekend. But the traffic at cbr has been phenomenal, we're just killing it, so it's been a fruitful effort thus far.

Highlights from hall h have been will ferrell cracking me up (he was quoting anchorman!), "the other guys" and the movie "skyline"... Lowlights are "super" with rainn wilson and "green hornet" with seth rogen.

Ok, all for now... I'll have a full report in my next zine.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

I write like....

Have you ever wondered how your writing style stacks up against the great authors of history? Is your prose style comparable to Tolstoy? Or perhaps Dr. Suess, rather? (based on the syntax of that last sentence, you'd think I was on par with the guy that wrote W's speeches). Well, you can wonder no longer. Thanks to this website, you can post a bit of your wrtiting and it will tell you which famous author your writing most resembles. I posted a few pieces from my blog and it categorically compared me to Stephen King. Try it out for yourself sometime.

Stop Bullying - You Can Help

I know this sounds a little too Sally Struthers, but there's a worthwhile program that's in the running for $50K worth of funding from Pepsi that would run in Lawrence. You can vote every day between now and the end of July, though it requires a registration at the site. I haven't gotten one email from them, so I think it's altruistic message is really true.

Anyway, all it costs is a couple of minutes to click and register and it's a worthy program. Help if you can. Bullying is a rotten thing and these kids want to do something about it.

Here's the link: http://www.refresheverything.com/fyipeereducation

I think this is the greatest comic book cover

Of all time. Agree? Disagree? Then what is?!?

By the way, this is my first PL blog post from my phone... It's pretty handy. The photo was also taken and posted from my phone.

Sent from my Windows Mobile® phone.

Pulp Legacy #1

I finally found my copy of #1. I was surprised to find how many of the original roster have moved on. The only ones left are me, Seth, Tom and Sean Taylor. It's funny to read all the complaining and referencing of the Legends zine, which I now realize, very few of you know what that is! It's been 10 years almost to the month...

Busiek's "Breaking In Without Rules"

Absolutely required reading for anyone in the world trying to break into comics as a writer:
http://busiek.com/site/2009/06/breaking_in_without_rules.php#more

Read it now.

PL # 49 now available!

Hey folks,

Here's the link to Pulp Legacy #49: http://www.minutemanlawrence.com/file_download/a033a8b2-9e80-480b-9265-a6a6d959243b

In this issue:

- Welcome aboard new member Ben LeMaster!

- Mar is all aTwitter over Coachella!

- Jason makes his first sale!

- Kia reviews four movies including Alice in Wonderland!

- Part 2 of Bart's Birthdayfunday story!

- I get jazzed over the Olympics!

- Eric enters a poker tournament!

- Brian talks comics!

- Brad is back and he's got reviews!

- Seth meets the President!

- A new comic from Jones and Pump!

- Toby gets into book binding!

- Tom talks beer!

GREAT turnout gang! Hold on to your hats because the next issue is #50!! Deadline: July 3 2010.

Please download ASAP! The link will only be up for a while.

-Zarko

Note from Zarko

From the boss:

Alright folks,

We're up to Issue #49 of */Pulp Legacy/*! The deadline for the issue will be *April 28*. That's 4 weeks from now. More than enough time to get a 'zine together. I'd like to get a few more people contributing than when we had for #48. Hey, before you know it we'll be at #50!

Okay, the theme for this issue is *BAD DATES*. Write about a bad date. Feel free to include photos. It could be a date you were on or maybe you heard of a really bad date from a friend or a relative. Doesn't matter. Let's try to put something down. It's funny, a lot of you say "We want themes" but when the issues come out, only a few people do anything related to the theme. I was even thinking of dropping the whole theme thing, but the support for themes was so strong. So stretch your creative muscles and try to put something down regarding the theme.

Also, let's try to hit the deadline, if possible. I don't want to drag it out too long.

Is everyone reading the old issues? Did you get the downloads for the previous PLs? Anyone have any problems? I haven't heard a peep from anyone. Let me know if there are any issues. Once you've read #48, try to include MCs. They don't have to be super long, but any feedback helps us improve as writers and creators. I think Seth's mentioned before that it's the lifeblood of any APA.

That's all for now. I'll bug you as we approach this deadline.

ZARKO

Dick Giordano 1932-2010

Dick Giordano Passes Away

I've been a big fan of Dick's since I started collecting comics. A great guy who always took time to handout free advise and encouragement.

Got my bound comics back!

Wow, they look super!

I got 12 books done total and couldn't be happier with the results. Needless to say I've got a lot of reading to do!

I sent these to a company in Texas named Library Binding Company...each cost a whopping $15! Of course, it took me awhile to create each cover...mostly out of art that I've inked, pencilled or commissioned. Very personalized.

Why Editing Matters

A great article about editing blogs, and writing in general:
http://mangacritic.com/?p=2910
It's vaguely about writing manga reviews but it applies to any other writing.

Spectacular Spider-Man #64 - the amateur version!

Ed Hannigan sent me over a copy of the orginal pencils from this cover. It was a blast to ink, but rather overwhelming in the details.

Healthcare

For everyone bitching about the healthcare bill, think about this: Now, you can't be denied coverage because of a broken foot when you were a kid (true story). Now, your parents can't be denied coverage because of blood pressure medication (another true story). Now, your insurance company can't kick you off the policy because you got sick (way too many true stories). "But now people are forced to buy health insurance", you cry. People are forced to buy car insurance too. "But people can choose not to drive", you cry some more. Yes, but people can't choose not to live (well, I suppose they could just kill themselves at that...hopefully, one of those people will be Glen Beck). No, there won't be any effin' death panels or rationed care, nor will the country become a socialist state (as if the previous administration didn't do enough to make that happen). It amazes how some people will believe anything told to them by a "famous" person like "Sarah Palin" (the air quotes were meant to be facetious both times). People were up in arms over medicare, too, when it was enacted in the 60's, talking about the end of our society. Well, just try and get medicare repealed today. That's a political death sentence. You don't like the healthcare reforms? Great. Move to Canada. Oh wait, they have universal health care too. Um, England. Nope, they got it too. Sweden? Same story for most of Europe. In fact, for those of you that state "We have the greatest healthcare system in the world!"....well, we don't. We're generally ranked in the low 30's amongst developed nations in healthcare (We are beating the Russian Federation for all you neo-cons out there). We spend far too much money and get far too little in return. Is this bill going to fix everything? Prolly not. We'll likely have to revisit the issue again. But it gets the ball rolling in the right direction. Which is something those Republican nay-sayers NEVER did. Thanks for reading, you can now return to your regularly scheduled blog reading.

I can't keep up with Spidey

This weekly Amazing Spider-Man schedule is killing me. I can't keep up. And the stories haven't been great lately.

The back issues are starting to pile up again... am I going to quit new comics again?

A couple days in Seth's office

Sure, most of the time I'm at work I'm at my desk writing or editing copy, but then there's also some days like these:

Forgotten Comics Wars

Get caught up on Stephen (Swamp Thing) Bissette's brilliant blog here:

PART ONE

PART TWO

PART THREE

PART FOUR


Then stay abreast of this. REALLY interesting stuff.

Comic Book Binding

Have any of you ever had comic books bound? I've recently sent off 12 collections to be bound into hardcovers. It's reasonably priced and seems like a good way to have my collection handy for casual reading.

Here's a cover I did for my binding of Suicide Squad...

My websites...

I've recently updated my two websites. The art site has been the same for 30 years or so. Let me know what you think!

tobymays.com

tobymaysconstruction.com

Pulp Legacy # 48 now available for download!

The link is to the right, above the cover for issue 47! Also, Zarko will be sending out the email shortly.

Sorry for the delay on this one, we had some issues that had to be dealt with before we went live...

Marvel trivia, anyone?

Some of this stuff is complete crap (it's amazing what people will believe). Some of this is a bit surprising. But it's a decent way to spend a half hour.

Star Wars Burlesque

It's enough to make even me a Star Wars fan:
http://blogs.laweekly.com/westcoastsound/synthful/star-wars-burlesque-mos-eisley/
Personally I like the Stormtrooper best.

And note the link at the top of the article for a slideshow of lots more pictures.

Only in L.A.

2009 Pulpies ballot... VOTE! SOON!!!

Cover of the Year
S is for Springtime … S is for Satan!, Griesbach #44
Machine Man, Heitmeyer, #45
What Would Jacko Do?, Jones #46
Batman, Giordano/Mays #47

Best Interior Art Moment
Photos from Java, Romelle, #44
May’s collaborations (Flash, Captain America, The Ray), Mays, #44
Pain Inside, Mays, #44
Flame of Justice, Jones #44
Dr. Solar, Jones, #44
Marlin’s Boob Pictures, Harris, #44
Jacko Preview, Jones, #45
Amateur Art Cover (Dr. Fate), Mays, #45
Quantum Mechanics Preview, Mays, #45
May’s inked commissions, Mays, #45
Photo of soldiers, Baxter, #46
Quantum Mechanics Preview, Mays #46
Professional Ink Jobs, Mays, #46
The Pros Ink Toby’s Art, Mays, #46
My Pencils, Mays, #46
Commissions, Mays, #46
What Would Jacko Do?, Jones, #46
(write-in)_________________________________

Best Fiction Story (written or sequential)

Disconnect, Arnett, #44
A strange object appears in Lawrence, Kan., with cryptic riddles

Don’t Take Me Alive, Arnett #44
Another trip to the Well

Ghosts of Constantinople, Sweeten, #44
A Russian General has a conversation with his commanding officer

Pain Inside, Quantum Mechanics, Mays, #44
Minor Threat goes through some tough times

Dr. Solar Makes a (Death) Wish, Jones, #44
Dr. Solar takes a boy fishing

A Snippet I Wrote to Fill a Page, Zaric, #45
A guy is on the run after being double-crossed by a friend

The Receivers, Arnett #45
A group a boys find a mysterious object that grants them powers

Two Hands Arnett, #45
A mechanic falls in love with a witch

The Insulated Man, Arnett #45
A strange, isolated house is the setting of a cosmic conflict

A Deck to Eternity, Mays, #45
A battle with the Devil to build the best deck

The Family Tree, Tyler, #46
A girl climbs a tree only to meet a phoenix

What Would Jacko Do?, Jones, #46
A sequential art story featuring the recently departed Michael Jackson

Summer, Zaric, #46
Bittersweet story about coping with a break-up

Dentin Debacle, Zaric, #46
A sequential script featuring a few members of the Umbrella Academy

A Very Long Walk, Arnett, #47
A compulsive gambler is forced to pay his debt in an unusual way

Sender, Arnett, #47
A futuristic logistics pro gets in trouble

She Has Become Like They Are, Arnett, #47
Another instalment of the Well series as a Seeker goes to the Exchange for a soul

(write-in)_________________________________


Best Written Work, Single Issue

Who’s on Deck in Kansas, Arnett, #44
Discussion on Kansas’ Kathleen Sebelius

Dog House, Zaric, #44
About getting a dog for the first time

“My Songs” series, Zaric, #44-47
Zarko discusses the meaning of songs important to him

My Mother Takes Me to Air Capital Comics, Jones #44
A young Seth’s world opens up when he discovers a comic store

Two Months in Afghanistan, Baxter, #44
Will is an embedded journalist in Afghanistan

What My Kids Are Up To, Bowen #44
Eric talks about his family

Watchmen #4, Zaric, #45
Zarko uses the written style of Watchmen #4 to discuss his life

Motivation, Zaric, #45
Zarko goes for 10-K run early in the morning

Intellectualism, Arnett, #45
The importance of being appreciative

Captain America #332 Hit the Stands in Waldenbooks, Jones, #45
Seth gets hooked on Cap’s stories

The Summer Edition, Zeppa, #46
Zep recalls good times in the summer

Mar’s Mailing Comments, Harris, Any Issue
Mar continues to set the pace when it comes to detailed, interesting MCs

Eulogy for My Dad, Jones, #47
Seth recounts his eulogy for his father


(write-in)_________________________________

Best Non-fiction Story

Lessons, Zaric, #44
Zeke’s team loses every hockey game

The State of Things, Sweeten #44
Travis discusses major changes in his life

One Frustrating Day, Jones, #44
Evey barfs in Applebee’s

Marlin at Coachella, Harris #45
A visual diary of Mar’s time at Coachella Music Festival

Worst Purchase – Ever!, Zaric, #45
Zarko gets a new furnace for his house

Up the Mountain, Arnett #45
Jason’s family trip get buggered up by car problems

Daisy Lee Mays 6/17/2009, Mays #46
Toby’s daughter is born at home

Mar’s Comicon Report, Harris, #46
Mar breaks down the most recent San Diego Convention

My Dad’s Battle with Brain Cancer, Jones, #46
Tough times for Seth’s family

Chicago Con 2009, Zaric, #46
Zarko’s take on the Chicago Con

Boston or Bust, Zaric, #46
Zarko’s marathon doesn’t go as well as he would have liked

Back From the Future, Jones, #47
Seth meets his future self

What It’s Like … Having a Beer with Iron Man, Jones, #47
Seth meets Cal Ripken, Jr.

Going, going…!, Zaric, #47
Zarko recounts the day he almost hit a homer

(write-in)_________________________________

Funniest Moment

Ants are crawling out of Graham’s laptop, Roemmele, #44
Ants infest Graham’s computer

Roger’s Profanisaurus, Roemmele, #44
Kooky British terms and their American translations

The Ozymandias of One Group, Jones, #44
Seth is crowned the smartest golf turf industry editor

An Interview with Marlan Harris 03/10/09, Harris, #44
Marlan interviews himself

Marlan Cuts His Hair, Harris #44
Before and after shots of Mar

An Interview With Marlan Harris 06/04/09, Harris, #45
Marlan interviews himself -- again

The Last Ride of Captain Fabulous … Maybe, Littlejohn, #45
Bart’s birthday celebration

Things I learned in Chicago 2009, Spendlove, #46
Tom recounts 2009’s Chicago Comicon

A Potato Peeler that Cost More than My Car, Jones, #46
Seth uses new math to figure out his car is a better deal

The PL Crew See Three Naked Chicks, Zaric, #46
You had to see it to believe it

Mar and Seth’s Comicon Sketches, Harris/Jones, #46
Drunken doodles while sitting in a Hooters in San Diego

Marlan Harris Tour Rider - 2009, Harris #47
If you want Mar to show up, you better get the items on this list

Kia’s son is a chilli dog, Tyler, #47
Kia’s son asks for an unusual Halloween costume

Where I Stand on It, Bowen, #47
CJ tells us what he really thinks about Pink Floyd


(write-in)_________________________________

Best Blog Post (http://pulplegacy.blogspot.com/)

Batman as “order”, Jones, 2/23/09
Seth argues against the comparison of Batman as “order,” Joker as “chaos,” then lists his top 10 comic book rivalries

Which is the better trilogy?, Sweeten, 2/25/09 Travis compares the Lord of the Rings trilogy with the Star Wars trilogy

How much Watchmen stuff do we need?, Jones, 3/2/09
Seth wonders if the marketing machine is going overboard with the Watchmen products

For Super-Friends fans, Harris, 3/5/09
Marlan shares photos of a Warner Bros. building mid-construction, being turned into the Hall of Justice

Who watches Wizard? Jones, 5/11/09 Seth predicts the demise of Wizard magazine

Jaystalker, Littlejohn/Bowen/Jones, 7/28/09
Bart is stalked by a giant Jayhawk in this YouTube video

Where the Wild Things Are, Arnett, 10/18/09
Arnett reviews the movie

Another dangerous idea, Arnett, 10/20/09
Arnett suggests we pay our favourite creators up-front to keep them doing comics

Rediscovered comics, Jones, 12/14/09
Seth talks about a box of comics he rediscovered in a YouTube video

(write-in)_________________________________

Best Use of CD-ROM Medium

My Songs, Zaric, various issues
Zaric writes about why a song is significant to him, includes the song

Half-Formed Thoughts, Arnett, #44
A video set to music with captioned quick-reviews, where Arnett shows us what comics he’s been reading

Motivation, Bowen, #45
Happy Boy!

Steve Earle plays “My Old Friend the Blues”, Bowen, # 46
Eric includes a song with his concert review

Pulp Legacy # 721, Jones/Littlejohn/Bowen/Harris/Baxter/Zaric, #47
Another broadcast from the future, this one starring four members (and one member cameo) of PL


Best Reviewer

(write-in – first place) _________________________________
(write-in – second place) _________________________________
(write-in – third place) _________________________________

Best Designed ‘Zine

(write-in – first place) _________________________________
(write-in – second place) _________________________________
(write-in – third place) _________________________________

Best MC’er

(write-in – first place) _________________________________
(write-in – second place) _________________________________
(write-in – third place) _________________________________

‘Zine of the Year

(write-in – first place) _________________________________
(write-in – second place) _________________________________
(write-in – third place) _________________________________

Make your own pulpys:

(worst attitude, most likely to get hit by a bus, most typos, etc.)

Relationships

This is kinda cool:Or look at it closer at:

http://www.uncannyxmen.net/images/article/relationship/relationshipmapv1.htm

Apparently there's now sex in the Marvel Universe.

A little sneak peek

at what a lot of my 'zine is about this issue...

Call for Pulpy Nominations!

With 2009 wrapped up, we also wrapped up another year of Pulp Legacy! Now is the time to send in your nominations for the best writings, drawings, videos and blogs 2009 had to offer.

Who had the best zine? The best joke? Which issue had the best cover? What was your favorite fiction story? Non-fiction story?

You can email your nominations to me at sjones@gcsaa.org or Zarko at Zaric@mts.net. Or you can post nominations in the comments section of this blog post.

Here in a week or so, we'll be submitting the full ballot to everyone, so you have several days to get us your nominations. Don't get mad at us if we missed your limerick, or your abstract drawing of Sharon Carter, Agent 13. Nominate it now! Get it on the ballot!

YOU'VE GOT TO BE IN IT TO WIN IT!!!

Avatar

Dear Hollywood --- please tell me a story FIRST. Don't be lazy and rely on the prettiness of Hi-Def and the novelty of Real 3D. They're not important. Tell me a good story with great actors being well-directed and use sound and vision TOGETHER. Film has all this going for it. Remember?

Okay, I went and saw Avatar yesterday with my son. I thoroughly enjoyed the film and think Cameron's retelling of the Europeans conquering indigenous peoples was deftly handled and acted well enough. I like that the Na'Vi language is new and is developing. I like the motion (performance) capture graphics on the animated characters. I think it's a neat idea that was well-executed.

But I didn't like it in 3D.

I've never liked 3D, and I don't know that I ever will. It requires too much of me and is too distracting. I already wear a pair of glasses and putting on a second pair to watch the film is annoying. It's pretty, but it's an effect. It's not a storytelling device. Cameron didn't do anything in the film to make me feel like 3D was absolutely necessary to telling the story. That means it's still just a stunt to lure people in. Avatar didn't need the 3D and I resented paying an extra three bucks to see it that way.

The last time I went to see a picture at our local twelve-pack theater, they weren't showing 3D films because they didn't have the projector. Fine, it looks like they paid for it but now they want me to choke up extra for it. I won't pay extra going forward for a stunt like that as it only rewards filmmakers and theater chains for bad behavior. I refuse to have the extra cost of a film passed on to me for something I won't enjoy.

I did like the movie though. The distraction of things popping out of the screen (I only ducked to the side once) was just that: a distraction. The story was long in spots (editing seems to be a thing of the past nowadays and I don't know why --- extended cuts are supposed to be on DVD/Blu Ray, aren't they?) but held my interest. If not for the silliness of the 3D stunt I'd've loved the film. As it is, I paid $10.50 for a goddamn matinee and the knucklehead behind the ticket counter was rude and didn't care. Avatar was not worth $10 a head at the theater and then when they ask me to buy it in 2D format at home, they'll ask for another $20 and I don't know if I'll pay that or not.

If it's the future of filmmaking, god help us. Use surround sound to pull the viewer from the back of the theater into the front of the screen if we're to feel 'involved' in the film. A master filmmaker can do it. We need more master filmmakers.