Mikester

I’m just rambling about Swamp Thing. You can probably skip reading this post.

filed under Categories swamp thing 10 Comments

So on the Twitter the other day, when I wasn’t complaining about Superman movie villains or discussing my dream casting for the Wonder Woman TV show, I had this to say about Swamp Thing:

“So where is my ROOTS OF THE SWAMP THING HC Vol. 2 w/#14-#24 of the first series? That’s (mostly) Nestor Redondo art, friends!”

Volume one of Roots of the Swamp Thing came out a few years ago, reprinting the first thirteen issues (and House of Secrets #92, my twelth copy of that story!) and thus containing all of Len Wein’s writing work with the character. A theoretical Volume Two would be primarily illustrated by Nestor Redondo (with the last story by Ernie Chua and Fred Carrillo) – now, Mr. Redondo was a fantastic artist, and you can see a small sample right here (from Swamp Thing #18, September 1975):


…but alas, he’s not quite the “name” that Bernie Wrightson is, and I don’t know that there would be enough interest aside from weirdos like me and this guy to justify the expense. But man, it sure would be nice to have those Redondo pages recolored and on nice, white (well, not browning newsprint) paper.

Also, this currently-imaginary Volume Two would end with these two stories, which would probably leave new readers with…well, maybe not a bad taste in their mouths, but certainly a quizzical one. …A quizzical taste? Sure, why not. Moving on….

A Showcase Presents Swamp Thing trade paperback would be possible, squeezing 24 issues into one black and white volume. Sure, I’d rather have it all in color, but this may be the only way to get the non-Wrightson stuff reprinted, by pairing it with the Wrightson issues.

I’m not holding my breath for this run of Swamp Thing appearances to be reprinted anytime soon, however. But, you never know…if there’s a sudden bump in interest in Swamp Thing due to current DC Universe events – oh, wait, SPOILER ALERT – maybe some of this stuff will get some new exposure.

Something else I was reminded of when I was going through my Swamp Thing issues, and I’m pretty sure I’ve mentioned it before: there were only about six years between the end of the original series and the launch of 1982’s Saga of the Swamp Thing series. It sure seems like it was longer, doesn’t it? (Much in the same way there was only about eight years separating the Golden Age Flash from the Silver Age one.) The last Swamp Thing series ended in 2006, about five years ago, so I think we’re about due for a new one, in my own completely unbiased opinion.

In site-related news, I’ve started the arduous process of going back and “tagging” the appropriate posts with the “swamp thing” tag, so you can access them all with one clicky-clicky. …Turns out I’ve talked about Swamp Thing a lot, so this may take a while.

There may be some postings about Swamp Thing in the near future.

filed under Categories swamp thing 6 Comments

So I was reading some of the more recent Swamp Thing comics the other evening, for reasons that have absolutely nothing to do with Swamp Thing’s theoretical current involvement in the DC Universe which there absolutely isn’t and surely you can’t consider this a spoiler, when I glanced through Vertigo Secret Files and Origins: Swamp Thing (Nov. 2000) and spotted this:


Okay, the obvious bit is that “Holland” in “Abigail Holland” seems to be missing an “L.” Also, the characters’ first appearances (along with Matt Cable and Arcane) are noted as being in Saga of the Swamp Thing, which was the title of the second series which started in the early 1980s, and not the 1970s series where the characters actually first appeared. Also, Abby’s first appearance is given as issue #2, which is incorrect whether Saga of the Swamp Thing or the ’70s Swamp Thing was meant. It’s issue #3 of the original series, which Wikipedia (as of this writing) and some other online sources also get wrong. I mean, I went through that #2 about a half-dozen times just now, and didn’t spot her. Am I overlooking something? (EDIT: Just now fixed the Wiki entry. Let’s see how long it takes before it’s reverted back to the incorrect information!)

Also, I should note, because someone’s gonna say something about it, that #1 of the ’70s series is the first appearance of the Alec Holland version of Swamp Thing, as House of Secrets #92 featured, of course, Alex Olsen. But surely most of you knew that, what with the dozen or so different reprintings of that issue all of you own. I mean, it’s not just me that has them, right? …Right?

Anyway, I really don’t remember noticing those mistakes before, though it has been over a decade since it was released. Much like the terrible Superman art I’ve discussed, did I just gloss over the mistakes at the time, pausing briefly for a quiet sigh? Or am I simply more actively aware of these things now because I’m always looking for stuff to talk about on this here internet thingie? The world may never know.

• • •

Also, I completely forgot about my terrible Swamp Thing limerick, so if any of you missed it the first time, there it is again.

I’m still holding out hope for my Shazam Award.

filed under Categories self-promotion, sir-links-a-lot 5 Comments

  • Oh, hey, fellow Bureau Chief (and co-writer of Fake AP Stylebook‘s Write More Good) Josh Krach is writing a new webcomic: Troop Infinity, illustrated by Sheli Hay. Good stuff, and fun for the whole family!

  • Bully, the Bull That Is Little And Also He Is Stuffed, has been doing A Kirby A Day this week, and the most recent is a fantastic image from Jack Kirby’s Captain America’s Bicentennial Battles. In a good and just world, that scene would be in the new Captain America movie. Hell, in a good and just world, the entire movie would be based on Bicentennial Battles.

  • Pal Dorian unleashes this month’s installment of Previews for Gays.

  • The 2011 Eisner Awards are announced…and your pal Mike at Progressive Ruin was shut out yet again. Always a bridesmaid, never a bride.

  • Here’s an official announcement of all the hoohar that was going on in Brightest Day #23 that I wasn’t explicitly revealing over the last couple of days, but, um, did anyway. I do apologize if I spoiled it for anyone since, well, like was pointed out, even mentioning my particular interest in it was a spoiler all by itself. Sorry about that, pals.

So I should probably say something about that thing that happened…

filed under Categories dipsy doodle, everyone's going to hate me, run-on fun-on, S---- T----, self-promotion 9 Comments

…even though I hate talking about things that I’ve already read and maybe other people haven’t read — well, not old things that people haven’t read that I have, since the likelihood of any of you out there just randomly having a copy of, say, Star-Studded Comics from the 1940s, and you’re all “oh boy, I can’t wait to read this issue of Star-Studded Comics, but first I shall check the Comics Internet for the latest news and besides, it’s not as if some inconsiderate blogger out there will spoil my forthcoming reading enjoyment,” and suddenly here I am, posting this story, causing you to fall to your knees and cry out “Dipsy Doodle, nooooooooo!!! Why, Mike Sterling, whyyyyyy,” as I laugh maniacally behind my computer — no, I talking about my preference to avoid talking about spoiling current events in comics that have only been out for a day or two, since not every single person on the planet rushes into their comic book store on New Comics Day to grab the new releases, assuming they are going to comic shops and grabbing the new releases, or at least purchasing them through legitimate online outlets, and not just being cheap bastards and torrenting them for free, but regardless of how folks get the new funnybooks, if they’re also the type of people who get their comic news online chances are they’ve already seen press releases about the big news I want to talk about but even if I do discuss it on my site, even behind big SPOILER! warnings there’s always someone who says “whoa, dude, you spoiled it for me” even though as online pal Caleb has pointed out to me, even mentioning the fact that people were emailing me about the latest issue of Brightest Day is kind of spilling the beans in and of itself, and as Caleb says, it’s not like they’re writing to me to say that Sluggo appears in that issue after all, but just the same I’d feel kind of funny just coming right out and discussing it the day after the comic came out even if plenty of people have already put in their two cents and besides I haven’t quite figured out what I want to say about it so instead I thought I’d vamp a bit to give me a little more time to ponder the matter…could you tell?

In short: yes, I’m glad the character is back. I’m also looking forward to his interaction with the rest of the DC Universe, after being away for so long. That should be an interesting novelty in and of itself, and given the nature of this return, it brings sort of an extra bit of meaning to the last sentence of this post of mine from a couple of weeks ago.

Also, I knew I should have been picking up that new Green Arrow series from the beginning. Ah, well…took home ten issues of it last night. Yes, just because of its connection to the returning character. As the saying goes, we’re all fanboys about something.

• • •

In other news that’s not insane: oh, hey, whose book just got positively reviewed by The New Yorker? OH YEAH.

A bunch of dreck.

filed under Categories newspaper strips, self-promotion 8 Comments

Those of you with long memories or are simply stalking me may remember when I wondered, when it came for this series of Bloom County strips to be reprinted in the current Complete Bloom County hardcovers from IDW, if the original versions of the strips would make the cut, or the edited-to-satisfy-busybodies versions would prevail.

I am pleased to say that the original “Dreck” appears in Volume 4 of the Complete Bloom Country in all its glory:


Unfortunately, there is a minor technical glitch with one of the non-Dreck Sunday strips in the book…which, it turns out, is the strip they used on the back cover. Here is the detail from the panel which omits part of the gag song title “Let’s Roll Over Lionel Ritchie With A Tank” –


When I first saw this, I thought briefly that maybe, just maybe, a lawyer suggested against running that title on the cover, resulting in some…odd editing. But the same glitch appears on the strip inside, and the running-over-Ritchie gag is used again in another strip. So, who knows…just a minor screw-up, it looks like, hopefully fixed in future reprintings. But don’t let that stop you from enjoying this latest volume in this excellent and oh-so-welcome series. And besides, all the true Bloom County fans pretty much know that Lionel Ritchie gag by heart anyway.

• • •

In other news…yes, I know what happens at the end of this week’s Brightest Day #23. I’ll talk about it later this week, or maybe early next, after everyone’s had a chance to read it. I should note that sending me links to that one comics news site about it, either via email or through my comments, won’t do much good, since any messages containing links to that site are automatically spam-filtered. I do appreciate that you all thought of me when hearing the news, though, so thank you.

Also, in Write More Good news, here’s what Neil Gaiman had to say about it. And in case you were wondering: Fake AP Stylebook: The True Story. And if that’s not enough: here I am enjoying the fruits of my labor (Twitpic version if you can’t access the Facebook page).

WRITE MORE GOOD is out in stores today…

filed under Categories self-promotion 13 Comments


…at least officially, as we’ve been getting reports of some folks breaking that April 5th street date. But, it is now out, we’ve been getting some very positive advance reviews (some of which are linked in these posts on the Bureau Chiefs site), and here’s hoping the book does very well.

At the very least, what those of us who wrote Write More Good have in that book is a…well, “testament” sounds too presumptuous, and “souvenir” seems too frivolous, but whatever it is, it’ll remain for us as an example of a bunch of like-minded folks from all across this country, some of us having never even met, coming together and successfully assembling a project, mostly just in whatever free time we happened to have.

Some reviewers, and even Mr. Roger Ebert who noted this in the introduction for our book, commented on the fact that we didn’t just transcribe the Fake AP Stylebook Twitter account that got us this book deal, but actually put the effort into writing a lot of new material. But what amazes me about this is not just that we wrote all that new material, but that we were all as cohesive as we were in maintaining the particular tone of the writing. Also, that our respective senses of humor not only merged together so well, but complemented each other, each of us bringing our specific areas of knowledge and / or obsession into the mix. And having read the book, it certainly doesn’t feel like a mishmash of multiple writers.

Of course, it certainly helped that Ken Lowery and Mark Hale, creators of Fake AP Stylebook and editors of Write More Good, worked as hard as they did taking everyone’s contributions and assembling them together into the final product. For that, and for even inviting me into this project in the first place, I thank them.

I hope I’m not sounding like I’m patting my own back or anything here…I truly am astounded that something that just started as a goof among online friends amusing each other has resulted in an honest-to-Gutenberg actual print book that one can go into a real bookstore and purchase with authentic coin of the realm. Or, alternatively, buy a real book online:


So there we go. Write More Good is now officially out in the wild, and let’s see how it goes. If you’re going to buy the book, now would be the time, to get us pushed up those Amazon charts, and maybe, just maybe, onto a bestseller list or two. …LET THE BOY DREAM.

Thanks for putting up with yet another plugfest for this book. I promise to keep Write More Good discussion to brief links from here on out, should I feel the need to mention it again. Or at least until the one-star Amazon reviews start rolling in, because I’m sure those are going to be amazing.

Note that you never see a comic blurbed as having “7 Lusty Gutsy Red Tornado Stories.”

filed under Categories self-promotion, what is it good for 6 Comments

I’m mostly just pointing out this comic, G.I. Combat #211 (January 1979):


…because of the most excellent cover blurb:


Oooh yeah. That’s not something you’d see on today’s comics (with the possible exception of El Gorgo).

Of course, that’s “lusty” in the general sense of “characterized by healthy vigor” as opposed to “bow chicka wow wow,” despite all appearances of the “A Luger for Lisa” story advertised on the back cover:


NOTE: At no time in the actual story does Lisa tool around in a bikini top. She does, however, pack some heat.

I suppose the other stories are plenty lusty and gutsy, though having three Haunted Tank stories in one issue really was kind of pushing it, even if one of them is titled “A Nice Day for Killing,” which sounds nicely men’s true adventure magazine-ish.

The best story is “The Steel Storm-Troopers” (or “The Steel Stormtrooper,” as the cover would have it), where American troops fight Nazi robot soldiers, and we get some swell panels like this, approved by the Comics Code because, hey, it’s just a robot:


Oh, lusty, gutsy comics. Nowadays we’ve got talky, paddy comics, and pretty sure we’re not better for it.

• • •

Speaking of lusty gutsy books, the Fake AP Stylebook book Write More Good by me and a few people who aren’t me is coming out tomorrow…tomorrow! Here’s a sample chapter, and immediately below is the Amazon link:


I know I’ve been mentioning the book a lot, and I’ll probably mention it again tomorrow on the actual release day because, hey, I’m pretty excited about it. Thanks for putting up with me in the meantime, folks.

covers by Joe Kubert, interior panel by George Kashdan and Fred Carrillo

I use the word “also” a lot in this post, but I’m too sleepy to care.

filed under Categories self-promotion, sir-links-a-lot 3 Comments


So I just got in from one of our store’s semi-occasional Midnight Madness sales, where pal Andres helped out through the entire evening, and Awesome Hospital‘s Matt Digges brought me a case of Diet Coke as tribute, and also it was Employee Aaron’s fiancée Kempo’s birthday, and anyway, I’m tired, so all you’re getting today is that Questprobe computer game screenshot above, apparently from Hulk’s Bondage & Domination Adventure. Thanks indeed,Joe ‘n’ Jim!

Oh, also, I helped Moment of [Alan] Moore again, so enjoy.

Plus, pals Dorian and Ken have once again produced their monthly movie trailer reviews…only this time enlisting the Bureau Chiefs, including myself, to contribute their own reviews. I’m a terrible reviewer, but I did my best. Also, we have a book coming out this Tuesday, perhaps you’ve heard.

Okay, that’s enough…I gotta be back at work in about ten hours, so I’m getting some shut-eye. See you folks tomorrow!