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 →
Souvenir …
One of my favorite souvenirs from all my trips to the United Kingdom is this one from 2014. It was the second time I visited the country and the first time I journeyed to Notting Hill to check out the famed Portobello Road antiques market. I picked up one of these small type trays and... Continue Reading →
Stan and Ollie Funnies #02 …
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 →
February 2022 Books …
A couple more books about Marvel Comics, two more movie-themed biographies, a cultural history of Britain in the early 1960s, and an eagerly-awaited mystery novel make up my February reading list … Carrie Fisher: A Life on the Edge by Sheila WellerI love a good movie star biography and Sheila Weller’s 2019 bio on Carrie... Continue Reading →
The Godfather at 50 …
In the fall of 1972, I was all set to see The Godfather in my hometown theater, the Victoria. I had made a date with the younger sister of a classmate. She was a freshman, I was a senior, and even though I had an unrequited crush on her older sister, I reveled in that... Continue Reading →
Stan and Ollie Funnies #01 …
Here's one of those comic strip samples I mentioned in My Life in Comics, Part 7D, featuring my cats, Stan and Ollie. There are three pages of strips like this in Innocent Bystander #4, my self-published comic book series from the 1990s ... this strip is just about 25 years old at this point, making... Continue Reading →
Arrangement …
I love displays of all types and this lovely garden wall here in Coronado caught my attention for a number of reasons, including the orange frames with the blue sky color-combo, and just the kind of randomness of it. If I did it, it would all be gridded-out, lined-up, and orderly, so I intensely admire... Continue Reading →
My Life in Comics, Part 7D: Innocent Bystander #4 …
Innocent Bystander #3 did so well in the early part of 1997 that I was inspired to jump right back in and do another issue. Where I found the time and—more importantly, energy and MONEY—to do this, I have no idea. I often referred to my self-publishing side gig as my “early mid-life crisis” (I... Continue Reading →
Colorful …
I came across this colorful cafe in Los Feliz on a recent trip to the Los Angeles area to explore some bookstores. Los Feliz has a great one in Skylight Books which has a main store and an annex which features art, photography and film books, and graphic novels. I didn't make note of the... Continue Reading →
Year-End Report …
From the home office in Coronado, CA One year ago today, I went to my place of employment—which I hadn’t been to in 11 months, due to the pandemic—signed a few forms, handed in my work-provided laptop, and, after almost 21 years of working there, retired. I apologized to the human resources assistant who was... Continue Reading →
Soon … But Not Soon Enough …
I am currently planning a lonnnng trip to the UK for this fall. I don't know if I'll actually be able to take it, since my 2020 and 2021 plans went awry (like pretty much everyone else's), but I'm being cautiously optimistic. It'll be the longest trip I've ever taken—25 days—and I kind of look... Continue Reading →
January 2022 Books …
It’s all Marvel, Marvel, Marvel for me in this first month of the year, as I catch up with some Christmas gifts and visit some old friends … namely 1960s Marvel Comics! When You Are Mine by Michael RobothamThis is the third year in a row that I read a Michael Robotham book to start... Continue Reading →
The Traveler …
I see this a lot on my walks: A person calmly paddling along in the San Diego Bay, commuting to or from their destination. It's something I would never think of trying ... I'm not a water person, but I admire those that do choose to be out there. While I was able to keep... Continue Reading →
Our Current Banner Image (#008) …
I recently upgraded my iPhone to a later model and I'm pretty amazed at what the camera can do. The image above is a super-wide frame, way farther out from my previous iPhone XR. While I don't like paying the bill for having a new phone (I'm too cheap to buy it outright in my... Continue Reading →
The Bridge …
It's the thing that separates us from yet connects us to the mainland. I travel this 2.1 stretch of arching steel two or three times a week, to and from visits "over there" and I am never not in awe of it ... it's beauty, it's architectural excellence, it's engineering precision. The view coming across... Continue Reading →
