There are a number of things which will always scream "CALIFORNIA!" to me, and this is one of them, along with Volkswagen vans and palm trees: the ubiquitous In-N-Outs which dot the landscape of Southern California. A family-owned chain, it's almost a cult, and its uber-friendly workers (who, for a long time, boasted the best... Continue Reading →
I spent a most enjoyable evening with Groucho Marx the other night. Yes, he’s been dead for well over four decades now, but his spirit lives on in writer/actor/director/producer Frank Ferrante, someone I’ve known for close to three decades (that’s a lot of decades for one paragraph). A new filmed version of Frank’s wonderful one-man... Continue Reading →
Spring is definitely in the air here in Coronado, as the photo above shows. While most of the trees around me—palm and evergreens—stay green year 'round, some with flowers (along with bushes) are starting to come into full bloom. This lovely scene is from the old ferry landing in Coronado, with downtown San Diego off... Continue Reading →
The 1960s were a turbulent time in the history of our country, in fact, in the history of the entire world. And adding to that turbulence was my own little ongoing battle with my mother over whether or not I was allowed to stay up late on Saturday night and watch monster movies on television.... Continue Reading →
It looks spectacular in the daytime and even better at night, providing the neon is cared for and all lit up. The Loma Theatre is, sadly, no longer a movie theater, but it is a bookstore, which in my mind is the next best thing for it to be. It was opened in 1945, and... Continue Reading →
Last weekend (April 1-3), I attended WonderCon 2022 at the Anaheim Convention Center. This was the first time the show has been held since 2019, and truth be told, at that point in time I was gainfully employed by San Diego Comic Convention, better known as Comic-Con International, the same company who puts on WonderCon,... Continue Reading →
I feel like the world is on the precipice right now, just dangling on the edge. It's so difficult to find some sense of normalcy. We start to come out of a two-year pandemic siege and the nutjob ruling Russia decides to start invading Ukraine, with some unspecified restoring Mother Russia glory in mind. Will... Continue Reading →
An amazing Hollywood bio, a trio of comics-related histories, and a small stack of graphic novels make up my March readings … a record-setting (for me at least!) ten books for the month. Buster Keaton: A Filmmaker’s Life by James Curtis We seem to be undergoing a mini-renaissance devoted to the silent film comedic actor/writer/director... Continue Reading →
I will be attending WonderCon at the Anaheim Convention Center this weekend (April 1-3, if you’re reading this later), and it will be the first time I’ve attended the event as a "civilian." I’ve been going to the show for twenty years, in four different cities: Oakland, San Francisco, Anaheim, and Los Angeles, and for... Continue Reading →
Including Innocent Bystander issues #5 and #6 and Is This the Way to Fiction? The Collected Innocent Bystander Vol. 1. 1998 was a pivotal year for me, not only as a small press comics creator and publisher, but on a personal level, too. It was the year when everything changed: My job, my home, and... Continue Reading →
My final comic strip sample from Innocent Bystander #4, featuring the "world famous IB cats, Stan and Ollie." Long gone, but not forgotten, at least by me. Click on the image below (but NOT the one above) to see it larger on your screen. Click here to read the IB4 installment of My Life in... Continue Reading →
Who doesn't want pizza? In my humble estimation, it's almost the perfect food. It's tasty, portable, and ubiquitous, especially in New York City where this shot was taken down in the lower East Side. In fact, the block it was taken on was like a pizza block. I believe there was at least one more... Continue Reading →
Another comic strip sample from Innocent Bystander #4, featuring the "world famous IB cats, Stan and Ollie." Long gone, but not forgotten, at least by me. Click on the image below (but NOT the one above) to see it larger on your screen. Click here to read the IB4 installment of My Life in Comics,... Continue Reading →
Long ago and far away, I spent a good part of a few of my teenage summers visiting the library and devouring books. I didn’t swim and I didn’t have a bike (the reasons being a long, sad story I don’t want to get into), but I did love to read … and still do.... Continue Reading →
Well, it doesn't quite have the ring of Prince's "Little Red Corvette," but it sure is a cute little car. I find some of the most unusual cars on my walks here in my native Coronado, along with Volkswagen vans, golf carts of all shapes and sizes, and—unrelated—free little libraries. But this little beauty is... Continue Reading →
@innocent-bystander.com 