In Comic Book Stores Today

Available today is CARTOON NETWORK BLOCK PARTY #42 which contains a Powerpuff Girls story I wrote.

Ben Chapman 1925-2008

I am devastated to learn that Ben Chapman has passed away. Ben was the actor who is best known for portraying the Creature from the Black Lagoon during all of his out of the water scenes (Ricou Browning played the Creature for the underwater scenes) in Universal Pictures' classic 1954 movie "The Creature From the Black Lagoon."

A few years back, I included a thinly disguised version of Ben in a SCOOBY-DOO story I wrote. When the issue came out, I sent a copy to him, not expecting to ever hear from him, mostly it was just a way for me to say thanks for being the persona behind one of my favorite monsters when I was a kid (all right, the Creature is still one of my favorites). I was pleasantly surprised to find an email from Ben, just a short time later, complimenting the issue and thanking me for putting him in the story. He seemed delighted by the inclusion, and also saw the story as a way to bring attention to the Creature to children who might otherwise be ignorant of the monster's existence. This led to a brief back and forth exchange of emails, and a desire to meet Ben in person at one of his numerous convention appearances. I never was able to, and am saddened by this missed opportunity. I'm more saddened by Ben's passing, as he seemed like a genuine, delightful man as evidenced in the emails he sent me, and in the many interviews I've read with him, watched on DVD, or the stories I've heard about him from people who actually did have the pleasure of knowing him.

R.I.P.

Scooby-Doo #129

Almost in time for President's Day, the ghost of John Wilkes Booth, not content with assassinating Abe Lincoln, menaces the Mystery Inc. gang in "History is History." This chilling AND educational story written by me, appears in SCOOBY-DOO #129, available today at a comic book retailer near you.

Read THE FOUNDATION #1 for FREE!

Now, courtesy of Boom! Studios and Newsarama, you can read the sold out first issue of THE FOUNDATION right here for free!

You may direct any comments you have back here when you're done, if you so choose.

In Stores Today

Available in comic book stores today is the second issue of "The Foundation" from Boom! Studios. The series has been receiving a lot of good reviews, plus a push from "Y: The Last Man" scribe, Brian K. Vaughan. The first issue sold out quickly. Don't let issue #2 slip through your fingers.

New Images

I've been pretty busy of late, which is why there haven't been any new posts in a while.

Not too long ago, I created a few new images for the website for the Shaman Drum Bookshop which can be seen by going to to the right of the screen and clicking on "Browse By Category" scrolling down to each category you will be able to see the thumbnail sized images I created.

I've only got five left to do. For the most part they are a fun challenge. Coming up with an image that encompases an entire field of study and having it work visually in a space that's 160 pixels x 200 pixels in size takes some doing. I'm pretty pleased with what's there so far. What image I'm going to choose to represent all of "history" or "philosophy" is beyond me at this moment. If anyone has any suggestions, feel free to drop them in the comments box.